We did this tramp over a year ago and loved it, and Travis has run on this trail lots and done some tramping on his own here when I was working. We decided instead of parking on each end and doing the full 10k trail, that we would go out and back and just park at the entrance.For those aware of the big "slip" in the gorge; you can actually still get through the blocked road to the parking lot for the track. You just tell them what you are planning to do and they will direct you to the parking area.
We thought about walking the entire 20k's, but then remembered how the last 3k's of the tramp are really downhill. Not feeling like having to come back up all of that, we opted to go out 7k's and return for a full trip of 14k's.....This was plenty for my poor out-of-shape knees/hips.....The Gorge Track is actually a lovely one. It is mostly all through covered trees so you stay protected from the heat of the sun. I will give you a fair warning, however, that while this tramp is lovely, there is a lot of uphill! Essentially the first 6k's is an uphill slope and then the last 4k's head back down (So, you can breathe a sigh of relief when you reach the 6k marker!)....A lot of folks were out running the trail - which incredibly impressed me!!
When we reached one of the windmill look-outs, there were heaps of people up there participating in a community planting event. It was really awesome to see so many out working with DOC on their biodiversity project. 
This was an event for kids and families to come together and plant trees as part of the "Living Legends" events that tie in with the Rugby World Cup. (It is a way for New Zealand communities to honour the rugby legends by planting trees in their memory - The goal being to plant 85,000 native trees in the process!!) To be honest, I didn't really know about this event until we ran up on it, but it was super cool to see such a great turn out!! The kids seemed to be having a ball and it was just an awesome way to get the community involved in supporting DOC. 
It wasn't the best weather for photos as most of them turned out too bright, but you can sort of see Mt. Ruapehu in the background.
A great day in the Manawatu, and hopefully all the travelers for Rugby World Cup were out enjoying Palmerston North!! - Go The All Blacks!!
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