May 2019 – Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

5. Ohakune

Wednesday, February 13: Quite cool to begin with, somewhat cloudy, becoming hot & sunny

Arawa Lodge

I was in no rush this morning and arrived at the tail end of the little girl’s breakfast. I helped myself to some cornflakes with apricots and milk, some toast, about two glasses of orange juice, and a coffee. With Jo and her granddaughter out of the house I was free to pursue some planning.

This seemed to go fairly well and by 10:00 I was ready to go to the supermarket for the shopping spree. On the way a couple of gas bottles were picked up from the hardware store, and at the end of the New World spree the small backpack was already filled, with the beer having to be carried extra. Unpacked the shopping onto the kitchen table to contemplate for a while, then went back into town, first to see the swimming pool, then to find some lunch (no hot sausage rolls in the supermarket) and went to the Sweet Pea Cafe (19a Goldfinch St) across the road which had a sausage roll with sauce to eat in for $4.5. Thus strengthened I took the walk to the carrot-themed playground (along the way a brick commemorated the fact that Simon & Sue had paid for it – the brick or section of the path) and then back into town. Here I discovered the laundromat on the main street – so washing could be done here, if not at the lodge. Read more…

4. Auckland – Ohakune

Tuesday, February 12: Very cloudy to begin with, some drizzle, later changeable & somewhat warmer

Arawa Lodge, 43 Arawa St, Ohakune 4625 (airbnb, $50.8)

I was awake from about 5:00 onwards and got out of bed just before the alarm rang at 6:00. Not an eardrum bursting experience, but will do just in case I snooze off. Turning the thing off seemed to require going through the whole procedure.

No one else was up, although eventually Adam did make an appearance. I was concentrated on finishing the liquids, the yoghurt and the toast, and when that was done, the rest of the stuff had to be packed into the suitcase and the large backpack. I was wearing the boots today, but the shopping of the last couple of days made up for the space saved. Anyway an elephant was required again, but it all went very quickly and I was all set @ 7:15, waited around for a while and then decided to push off for the bus. Read more…

3. Auckland: Shopping

Monday, February 11: Hot & sunny, barely a cloud

Nadia’s

Fragmented sleep again but this time I was up just after 8:00 and had my breakfast just as the Korean women were finishing theirs and starting to pack their stuff up. Finished off yesterday’s diary entry and skyped Ranya who wanted to take me to Botany to collect the PLB and then to Sylvia Park mall for a selection of shops where I might be able to get the remaining equipment together.

We were fairly soon @ Hunting & Fishing in Botany, but the friendly staff had no idea of my order, so Rayna and I went in search of some wifi for me to access my email account and try to contact the bloke who was hiring me the stuff. At some point Rayna realised she could use the data on her phone for this purpose and after reaching my provider, Ionos, and a couple of attempts at the password, I finally got into my account, identified the guy, sent him a mail to contact H&F and we were back in the shop. They had their act together after a little while and we had all documents filled out and signed, cash changed hands, a flap cap with a chin strap was bought for $20, and we were on out way to Sylvia Park for the remainder. Read more…

2. Auckland: Orakei Basin, Rangitoto

Sunday, February 10: Completely clear skies very early, a couple of clouds turning up later in the morning & by late afternoon only a few land clouds

Walking: 8.6 km
Kayaking: 14.0 km

Nadia’s

Sleep was quite fragmented and when I was awake at 6:00 I could hear bellbirds. Short contemplation led me to the conclusion that I might record them – or at least attempt to in the quiet of a Sunday morning, so I got out the voice recorder and went downstairs to leave it out on the balcony.

The time needed to be reset on the device (not quite accurately achieved without glasses or a clear mind) but it was recording OK, so that was worth the effort. Slept another hour after that then had to buy some stuff for breakfast before such could be partaken of. Read more…

1. Auckland, Mission Bay

Saturday, February 9: Some rain on the approach, a couple of showers on the way into town otherwise becoming sunny and hot

Nadia’s (airbnb, $62.1)

Spent some time watching the flight path while listening to the music, and tried to decipher the Arabic signs for what are almost always transliterations of the Latin alphabet. Sunrise was becoming visible as we flew over Kingsford-Smith itself. Then after a longer lull there was a rush for breakfast (I had the scrambled eggs) and the collection of all of the used equipment before landing. My English neighbors were going on a cruise; apart from that they had owned a house in Spain for some period of his retirement, and so were obviously Brexit opponents. Anyway after landing they were keen to get off & I wished them well, then looked for and found the pen I needed to fill out the entry form in the top compartment of the pack, and not in the satellite vanity bag where it should have been. Anyway there was enough time to fill out the form while I waited for people to actually move forward. In doing so I had dropped the passport into the chunderbag pouch and everything had to be systematically searched before the pack could be closed, and by then movement along the aisle was possible. Read more…

0. Hannover – Frankfurt – Dubai

Friday, February 8: Cloudy, then fine, not really cold

That was cutting it a bit fine. Up at 8:30, then off to the office for a short chat with Joy. Was trying to finalise things back here in the flat, when I heard some scratching at the front door, and Jennifer and Theresa had come early with all of their belongings. Jennifer had taken the day off and was keen to move in at the noon mentioned in the contract. Anyhow I still had a good hour and forty minutes to do, including a shave and a shower, taking out the rubbish, filling in a last couple of boxes, removing my smelly old clothes, and trying to find a way of packing the boots, a pair of shoes that can be thrown away, and the paddling clogs. In the end wore the shoes, put the boots in the backpack and the clogs dangling off the backpack with the bed roll and the ratsack. Read more…

SE: Rivö – Göteborg – D: Hannover

Thursday, August 30: Rain overnight (one shower), overcast during the day

Sea kayaking: 4.9 km

Home

The plan was for an early start: Up @ 7:00, leaving by 9:00, with the hope of reaching home some time in the night.

All of the coffee, sugar and milk were put into one cup; Kirsten offered her milk as well, but by the time I had put it into the coffee I noticed that it was curdled (hardly detectable smell of lactic acid). Then everything was packed up for the last time and we were away half an hour before plan. Read more…

SE: Glöskärviken – Rivö

Wednesday, August 29: Overcast in the morning, becoming sunnier during the day, overcast again towards evening, dry

Sea kayaking: 23.8 km

Rivö wilderness camping

My eyes were stuck together for most of the night and whenever I woke up, but the symptoms of itchy eyes and runny nose were resolved by the time I got out of the tent. An attempt to wash my face didn’t remove the last albumin crystals from the eyelashes, but that was going to be as good as it gets.

Breakfast was dealt with from 7:30 onwards; everything is coming to an end as planned. Tent was still a bit wet from condensation despite Kirsten’s attempts at using the sponge to dry the outside. Read more…

SE: Klädesholmen – Glöskärviken

Tuesday, August 28: Cloudy to begin with but calm, becoming sunny & warm

Sea kayaking: 26.1 km

Glöskärviken wilderness camping

Time to get back onto the water today, and that meant an early rising for everyone from about 7:30 onwards, breakfast with the luxury of a table, and packing away everything and carting it all down to the boats, which were quite full of water after yesterday’s storm. Once the hut had begun to empty somewhat, some cleaning, sweeping and vacuuming could be done, but all were very enthusiastic again after the day off, and we were ready to go by 10:00. Read more…