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"Roping Down"
Members of the Gisborne Canoe and Tramping Club tried their skill recently at what mountaineers term "rappelling"--using a rope to descend overhanging, or near-vertical, cliffs. A party assembled at Sponge Bay to hear a short talk on the use of ice-axe and rope, and then, led by two exhuberant Te Puia members, they began lowering themselves down the cliffs to the seashore.
Club captain Mike Dixon starts descent
Chris Sharp (Te Puia) swung down in a few seconds.
Jan Stewart tries her hand at the game.
Chris Sharp, David Bacon, Bob Cresswell and Vic Brough watch a descent from cliff-top.
Bob Cresawell and David Bacon discuss problems half way down
Club president Keith Thomson gets feel of ropes before taking off.