Weka Dietary Education
The second journey in the late summer of 2009 started with my arrival in Auckland on Sunday, February 1. After picking up a small camper, a Toyota Lucinda, which was named “Juicy Lucy”, I visited my school friend Tom and his family, then it was by way of Kawhia to New Plymouth where I made my first attempt at climbing Mt Egmont. A couple of nights at the old motorcamp in Stratford to discover the Forgotten World and make a second – still unsuccessful – attempt at Egmont from the south and then on to Wanganui and Waikanae to visit Don and Sally Matheson who were giving me their holiday house for a couple of days in March. Across the Cook Strait I drove down to Kaikoura hoping to get a glimpse of the eclipse of the moon, but the clouds got in the way. Stayed there for a couple of days and did some walking and by then it was almost time for my conference in Christchurch, where I arrived after taking a detour via Hanmer. After the conference I drove inland to Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook, landing in the motorcamp in Kurow; then to Dunedin where again I stayed in the old camping ground which had been thoroughly modernised. Down the coast to Invercargill and across to Oban where I redid the Big Bungaree hike and the rest of the Rakiura Great Walk in the pouring rain. Then to Manapouri to the old campsite and some exploration of the Milford Road before tramping the Milford Track. Got bitten to bits by the sandflies at Gunn’s camp and walked onto the Kepler and Routeburn Tracks for some practice. The Milford Track put on a great show, including not raining at all for four days (well, a shower or two in the very early morning of the fourth day), and at Mackinnon Pass there was not a cloud in the sky.
Then it was through Queenstown and up the west coast in the rain. In Nelson I drove around the countryside for a bit; and in Wellington I met up with my fellow tramper Mel for a meal, and drove her back to her digs. Then it was along the road to Hastings for the gannets; Golden Springs and Waikite for the hot waters; Don and Sally’s place in Kuratau to try to get on the Tongariro Crossing but no such luck. After rediscovering Waimangu I took the long slog to Auckland to show Tom 50 pictures of my journey and then headed up north to Paihia where I could not identify the old motorcamp, but enjoyed a couple of days of swimming nonetheless. Then it was back to Auckland for one last night; gave my talk at the Liggins Institute and dinner was with the Bays on Cathedral Place.
Weka Dietary Education
New Zealand Robin, Lake Gunn
I had the time of my life and it was a tough trip to come down from. All those memories distorted by the passage of time, now set uneasily straight.