Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Manawatu Gorge

Now that I am 'seriously' into the countdown, I expect to walk the Manawatu Gorge track at least once a week until 'departure'. It's the 'best' (ie steepest, hilliest, longest) track near to home. By NZ track standards it's actually not all that steep, and the track has been graveled so it's easier walking, but it was perfect training for the kind of hills/tracks I walked on last time in France.

When I walked the Camino I used to carry little pieces of paper in my shorts pocket, with quotes on, that I'd read and think about during the day. Today I took a couple of short quotes. and one was: "We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake." ~Sir Francis Bacon. So I was pretty 'switched on' to noticing little things around me, and enjoying them, being aware of their passing beauty. There were raindrops on leaves, fungi of various kinds, sunlight on ferns...

 Then when I reached my 'endpoint' for the day at the "Windy Point" lookout, it was the big view that took my breath away. At this point you can look back along the Gorge, or look over to Woodville and the landscape beyond. Today the weather was in the process of 'changing', with real drama in the clouds above.

 I retraced my steps back to the newish lookout over the wind turbines, and had lunch at the picnic table. The turbines were really humming in the wind. The 'front' was really obvious, stacked up from the eastern side, with little clouds lower down scudding over from the west.

 Not so many people have been on the track since the Gorge road has been closed- and there's a patch where ongaonga (native stinging nettle) is growing well. It is every bit as vicious as it looks, but fortunately I never banged into it today!

 I was a bit surprised to see this bridge. Maybe I have daydreamed my way across it before- but I couldn't find an old track- so perhaps it just looked different with new planks on it...

 Some of the little fungi were quite well 'camouflaged'.

One really nice surprise today was to see these nikau palms flowering. There's quite a big patch of nikau, but I've seldom seen them flowering. I know they are doing quite a bit of 'pest control' on the track, so maybe these flowers are a sign that possum numbers are being reduced.

9 comments:

  1. Woohoo, what a MAGIC day! I LOVE your photos! You inspire me with you walks, your words and your photos! How exciting to get closer and closer till your journey! Happy walking...

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  2. Thanks Anne. Ten week countdown concentrates the mind on what needs to be done! It was a magic day. The way the clouds looked up on top was very magical!

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  3. Possum's aren't native?? or are they??

    Really looking forward to your Camino...This blog & Annie & Emilene will have to be my fill for the year!! Wow...Ten weeks!! I can almost hear the clock ticking!!

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    1. Karin, no they are not native, they were introduced, and have no natural predators here and are a huge pest in our forests. I have another blog I'll use when I am walking- http://dawdlingwalks.blogspot.co.nz/ but internet access in rural France is pretty sparse so I don't know how often I will be able to post- it'll be more a retrospective affair I think!

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  4. I was intrigued when you said that you start your walk in Cluny France. I know there is the Cluny Museum in Paris, but that is in the middle of town near Metro St Michel. Then I looked on the map and there is a town called Cluny in Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne region, but that is going east and I thought you were going to Spain or Portugal? That is a lot of walking. What type of shoes to you wear? Do you camp along the way? Do you go through towns or nature? What an undertaking which must need careful planning – you must be a strong hiker. Have you hiked in other areas of Europe?

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    1. It's the Cluny in the Bourgogne region I will be starting from, and on the first part of my walk I will be heading south-west towards Le-Puy-en-Velay, which is about 300km. I've got a Merrell walking shoe, and I don't camp- the weight of a tent everyday would be too much for me. There are places for walkers to stay on the route, though not so many north of Le Puy. I will be mainly walking in rural areas, but passing through villages and towns along the way. I have already walked from Le Puy to Santiago in 2008 http://chemincamino08.blogspot.co.nz/ The terrain on the walk from Cluny will be hillier than what I have done before. It's not so much being a strong hiker that's important, as being a determined one!

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    2. There's a rough map to the Cluny-Le Puy route at the bottom of this webpage. http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZE1.10.RhA_Clu-Puy.htm

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  5. Even though it is rather cold right now in France, there is nothing like it! However, I must admit these photos of your hike are beautiful and the vistas look breath-taking!

    Michèle

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    1. The vistas are breathtaking, and from what Francis has told me, it seems like the views on the Cluny route are also superb. We haven't had much of a summer though. Was 40c short of change for entry to the swimming pool today, but it turned out to be so cold I didn't even end up wanting a swim!

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