Around the Mountain Circuit – Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

34. Kahui – North Egmont (AMC 4)

Thursday, March 14: Clear skies above this morning, cloud below, a couple of half-hearted showers, a few sunshowers and fairly warm

Tramping: 18.6 km

Colin & Theresa’s (airbnb, $68.9)

Was up around 6:00 this morning after all the sleep from yesterday and nothing much was very dry, but it all had to be packed in. Noticed almost too late that the water I was trying to boil had almost the color of the coffee I was trying to prepare. The water from the drinking tap was not much better, but anyhow the coffee had to be finished up, as well as a couple of other things.

I was ready to go by 8:00 and had enough time to look around for the lost croc for ten minutes. Nothing found, so I set up the GPS. I had left the ski undershirt on, had the camera in the pack, and had the pack cover on as well. Got a signal after a while and set off. Read more…

33. Waiaua Gorge – Kahui (AMC 3)

Wednesday, March 13: Storm with rain overnight, less rain @ around 7:00, until quite a rainy period from 11:00 – 15:00

Tramping: 6.4 km

Kahui Hut (Doc, $5)

The hut hadn’t really cooled down that much during the night, although the fire had soon been reduced to embers. I was up @ 7:00 and was packed ready to go soon after 8:15. It was going to be a rain-prepared day so I had the raincoat on, camera in the pack, GPS in a plastic bag, and I would have put the two bob watch in a plastic bag as well, but inserting it pushed two buttons at once which reset the time to the zero hour. This had to be rectified before continuing, so the camera had to be taken out again to find the time. Tripod was carried breastwise, the two crox were tied to the front strap extensions and the pack was put under wraps. Read more…

32. Lake Dive – Waiaua Gorge (AMC 2)

Tuesday, March 12: Clear skies overnight with mixed cloud returning during the day

Tramping: 9.3 km

Waiaua Gorge Hut (Doc, $15)

Venus was very low as the morning star, and the sunrise was almost photographable. When I had my stuff together I took off for the lake to take photos of the reflections of Fantham’s Peak. Quite a day for photos today – at least while I was walking – as the sun shone through a little.

Took the climb at a very measured pace (was still sweating) and was surprised to be at the turnoff after just an hour. A ten-minute break was necessary here before I took off around the mountain. Fairly easy to begin with, then the ravines became more and more daunting and difficult to cross. Got some good photos anyway. This took a good two hours, and the final part was around the base of some basaltic flutes, just like Madeira, but somewhat drier. The track, however, was shot to bits, and care was required. After a while I could see where the route went down a ridge and decided on lunch in the sun on the ridge at just after 12:00. Read more…

31. North Egmont – Lake Dive (AMC 1)

Monday, March 11: Lovely sunrise, followed by variable cloud

Tramping: 17.0 km

Lake Dive Hut (Doc, $15)

Day for a 6:00 start. I had knocked over a glass of water on the night stand reaching for the bed lamp and that corner of the room was a little wet. Apart from that breakfast proceeded apace and I even got to wash the dishes (although I left them on the rack to dry) and had the remaining stuff in the suitcase or the pack and was ready to go @ 6:45.

My shuttle was on time and agreed with me that clockwise was the way to go. He also suggested aiming for Lake Dive as the first stop. On the way up the mountain there is a second car park with a shuttle service. Apparently things are starting to get crowded here as well in the summer, particularly because overnight stays are also allowed in the upper car park at the Visitor Center. Shortly after 7:30 we were at the top. There was a man in hiviz with a radio obviously talking to the car park further down the mountain, because today might also be busy as it is Taranaki Day, a local holiday. Read more…

30. New Plymouth: Pukekura Park

Sunday, March 10: Cooler and variably cloudy

Walking: 7.6 km

Paul’s

There was time for a little real shopping (bread, cheese, sausage – the latter two for the tramp) and some of the window variety (mainly to see whether a dollar shop had screw-capped 100 mL containers – have seen some by Sistema, but they appear very bulky) while waiting for the weather reports. Not going to be easy for the tramp, with showers or even heavier rain forecast.

Also started having a look at Taupo and found a place that looked quite nice. Will have to make a list for tonight so that I can see what needs to be done most urgently. Read more…

28. Whanganui – New Plymouth

Friday, March 8: Rain on and off throughout the day

Paul’s (airbnb, $37.6)

Made the acquaintance of Sid & Angela at breakfast this morning, and a discussion of criticality followed – he was an (Indian) epidemiologist in public health, and I never found out what she did, except that she plays the piano rather well, and the upright in the lounge room was in tune. They escaped rather quickly after that and I was left on my own with Marina & Brennagh.

Surprise, surprise was that Dempsey’s had refunded me the full $108 I was asking for. There is a real issue of getting email through to them, though, as mine was already labelled as spam. I deleted my remark on their facebook page and will leave it at that for a while. Read more…

27. Whanganui: Virginia Lake

Thursday, March 7: Warm and sunny with a couple of clouds

Walking: 10.2 km

Dave’s/Brennagh’s

The photos were on the line this morning, what with trying to get the computer to accept the SD card (Microsoft, what do you do for a living?) and copying them first to the folder “Backup” on the local hard disk and then, somewhat organised to folders on the external drive. This should all be better organised & rationalised. Timelapse sequences could be recognised and taken to different locations, the remaining DNG/JPG pairs automatically renumbered. Shouldn’t be that hard to do (!?!).

In the meantime with the outside tap localised, boots and pack could be washed out (although there was no hose that would have connected to the tap) and left hung up on the clothesline in an attempt to dry. Read more…

26. Pipiriki – Whanganui (Mail run)

Wednesday, March 6: Cloudy the whole day with a little sun shining though occasionally and a sprinkle or two of rain

Brennagh’s/Dave’s

Sleep was unusually fragmented – I managed to fall asleep fairly quickly (what a difference a bed makes) but awoke from about 12:30 for an hour and a half before sleeping through to 7:00.

The one guy with the very compact tent had it packed away in next to no time and was a Tasmanian on the Te Araroa (south to north) and was going via the road (in lieu of a jetboat) to National Park. Also spoke to a British couple with daughter at breakfast, who were also going kayaking together with the older American woman (jetboat up, kayak/canoe back). As for my breakfast the egg was the last thing over that I wanted to eat (muesli bars excluded for the time being) and there was enough coffee for one cup. The last remaining yoghurt in the fridge had been opened and had started to sprout a fungus so that had to be thrown away. Read more…

Kia Ora!

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to another journey to the other side of the planet.

This time it’s the North Island, and the dates are February 9 – April 7, 2019.

Whanganui River Journey, February, 2015, just after starting

There is still unfinished business: The Whanganui River Journey still has to be filmed after the loss of the camera on the last trip (2015). And while in Ohakune, there’s plenty to do, and escape the crowds at the same time. Why not the Round the Mountain Track this time, instead of the Tongariro Northern Circuit? And perhaps shoot some views of Ruapehu in the sunset or sunrise. Read more…