Walking is a man’s best medicine. (Hippocrates)

SOUTH WAIRARAPA TRAMPING CLUB
While crossing a busy intersection in Christchurch last week I spotted a banner sporting the message: WALK2freeTHE.MIND. This surely captures in a catch-phrase a credible philosophy.

Throughout the decades numerous walking quotes have been recorded, many of which portray the physical and mental benefits of a brisk or recreational walk in a pleasant environment. Here are some examples:
Walking is a man’s best medicine. [Hippocrates]
Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise. [Carrie Latet]
I have two doctors, my left leg and my right. [G M Trevelyan]
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. [Paul Dudley White]
The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. [Jacqueline Schiff]
If you want to know if your brain is flabby, feel your legs. [Bruce Barton]
SO… bin your excuses and start walking this week to reap the benefits of pleasure and the sense of good health and wellbeing that is associated directly with walking. Find someone to walk with or enquire about linking up with a local walking group. Better still, tap into your local South Wairarapa Tramping Club.

And – please – once you have discovered the joy of walking and have mustered the confidence to venture further afield such as a bush walk or walking track, do take note of these 5 simple rules to help you stay safe:
Plan your trip
Tell someone
Be aware of the weather
Know your limits
Take sufficient supplies

These “know before you go” rules are recognised as the Outdoor Safety Code. And here’s where the safety-in-numbers rule also comes into play along with the benefits of joining a tramping club with experienced trip leaders.

December scheduled trips with South Wairarapa Tramping Club:
2 Dec: Mikimiki-Kiriwhakapapa (phone Mary Lambert 379 6106)
9 Dec: Kaukau to Karori (phone Peter/Ruth Graham 306 8822)
For details of upcoming trips in early-2018 please phone Ed Cooke (304 9407) or Barry Kempton (304 9353); or for information relating to the South Wairarapa Tramping Club phone Carol Major (304 8210). 
Website: www.swtc.org.nz 
TRY IT…YOU’LL LIKE IT!