The Lilac Fairies

Recently I had the opportunity to become a Lilac Fairy. Surely not, you say? Weeeellllll, I guess not really. But we all found the chalkboard description on our dressing room door so delightful, nobody wanted to replace it....
This is actually how I looked in full regalia. Yes indeed, I entered the convent. Well, er um, briefly, just for a few weeks.
And here are some of my companions in crime in the alto seconds. Yes, of course, we were involved in a very famous musical. And I am certain you can probably guess which one. (No, not Sister Act.)

And here are some wee miniature versions made by a couple of my fellow nuns in 'recreation time' in the dressing room.
Regretfully we have now all left the convent, miniatures included. But I am sure if an opportunity for a reunion came along, eg Sister Act.... we'd all take up the habit again in a flash!!!

What we Love

“The things that we love tell us what we are.”
~St Thomas Aquinas

Western Ruahines - Heritage Lodge

This summer, Forest & Bird have been running a series of walks to various parts of the region. Today the bus trip was taking us to Heritage Lodge in the Western Ruahines, run by the Deerstalkers Association. We were met at the carpark by a member who told us that there are not so many (exotic) deer by the river flats in this area these days. It seems that many of the deerstalkers are just as interested in preserving other wildlife, especially the endangered blue duck which is found in upper reaches of the river. The deerstalkers are heavily involved in a scheme in which trap lines are being laid to catch stoats and rats, in the hope that blue duck will be able to extend their range.

It was a gorgeous summer's day, sunny but not too hot. The first part of the walk was over farmland on which quite a lot of bush regeneration is happening, and we had beautiful views of the ranges in all their rugged beauty.

Here is one of the traps, a DOC approved design, that obviously caught something if you look at the tail. If you are horrified by trapping, I am sure you will get over that if you read a little about the impact these introduced animals, especially stoats, are having on our endemic birds.

There is a wonderful little humped bridge to cross once you reach the bush area.

We were warmly welcomed into Heritage Lodge and people ate their lunch there. Well, at least most people ate their lunch there: I had got my wires crossed and thought I was on a half day trip so had just brought a snack with me. Then we had the options of relaxing in the hut, taking a 'hard' walk down to the river and back up, or taking an 'easy' walk along the ridge line. I opted for the easy walk!

We arrived back in town at about 4:45. Fortunately for the others involved in my Sound of Music rehearsal, this did give me time to whizz home and have a shower first!!

For those who would like to know more about the Oroua valley stoat trapping project, there is a pdf file you can access part way down this DOC volunteers page, under the "Oroua Valley Stoat trapping project" heading. Actually, I found this whole page quite enlightening... I had no idea I could volunteer to do some of these things!!

Beehive Creek

Today I joined PNTMC for a family walk on the Beehive Creek walkway, up in the Pohangina Valley.

Lovely views were had across the valley to the Ruahine Ranges behind as we started off. The forecast was for plenty of warm sunshine, and it certainly felt warm as we first headed up the road so we could make a circuit.

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the day: we were passed by quite a few vintage cars out on a rural rally. It came time to head off the road and up the hill on farmland. Felt very warm making that climb, and I was the slowest...... I am always the slowest up the hills.....but I don't think I was as slow as last time I made this climb two years ago.

I was reminded as I climbed of the lovely walker from the mountains of Grenoble, who passed me heading up the steep road out of Montbonnet last April. She was sticking with me, but I told her to go ahead, as I knew I was holding her up. She kindly replied with the French understanding that 'each person has their own rhythm' that always makes you feel better when you are the slowest!

Once we had descended the hill we all gathered under a shady tree for a rest and drinks of water. Someone produced some "Buzz Bars" since we were on the Beehive Creek track.... And here Doug demonstrates the only kind of snake you get in New Zealand - edible ones!!

It was a great day out, with all ages on the tramp. Here a very young tramper descends from the stile. Who knows where this young one will choose to go in the future?!

Much of the last part of the walk was down the stream itself. It was just heaven splashing through the water, which was actually quite low, and warm. I caught sight of this native koura in the stream bed. Maybe it wasn't in the best condition, being out in the daytime, and with the water temperature as it was. If you want to know more about koura though, here are some links, from DOC, RSNZ, NZ freshwater org, and a photo from the Rimutaka Trust.

After the big splash-along, we collected our lunch and found a shady spot to enjoy our lunch in the nearby picnic ground. Then we headed home, but not before the tramper's traditional cone icecream treat from the Ashhurst shop ;-)

Out on my old 'training' route in the sunshine

This has been an awfully lazy holiday. And I haven't exactly been up early often. So when I decided that today was the day I would walk my old 'training' circuit, Old West-Turitea-Greens-Kahuterawa Rds, I knew I would have to set the alarm to get up early enough to beat the heat at the end of my walk.

The alarm came as an awful shock before 6am. I had prepared my day pack yesterday evening, so somewhere in my befuddled brain I knew I was off out walking, but somehow I forgot I was at home, and in my confused state I was trying to work out exactly which village in France or Spain I was in, and what day it was....etc.....

I set off with the early morning sunshine, and after an hour or so I met the traffic on Turitea Rd starting the journey to work. And shortly after that I became desperate for a cafe in the next local village where I could get a cola kao con leche. No such luck on the rural New Zealand route I was on of course!!
I was glad to reach upper Turitea then Greens Rd, where I got to climb. I had forgotten quite how steep some of these climbs were. But I see now why they stood me in good stead when I had to climb up and down so much in the early days from Le Puy.
The first part of the climbing was in lovely shady bush, but later on the walk became more exposed to the sunshine.

After three hours walking I felt quite tired!! But a circuit is a circuit, and I was only just over halfway. I sat down on the grass verge for a snack, enjoying the hill view. At least I didn't have to worry about snakes in the grass here at home, just the odd cowpat or two.

After four hours walking I received my 'reward': at the high point along Greens Rd you suddenly emerge to this view over the Manawatu Plains. I remembered walking here not too long after I arrived home one winter's day, when it was bitterly cold, wet and windy along here, and I needed to don all my warm layers. Today by comparison, it was obvious from the outset I had much more need of sunscreen and a sunhat and plenty of water to drink.

Lovely blue skies, and warm and calm today.

I thought I caught sight of the red under-feathers of a kaka swooping by.
And finally I was into the home stretch down Kahuterawa Rd. We used to have a Camino saying that the last four kms is the hardest, no matter whether you walk 14km or 28km. Today I walked about 20km at a guess. And the last four kms did feel like the hardest! The soles of my feet are not quite as accustomed to walking as they were just a few months ago!!
But ahhhhhh........ it was a lovely summer's day!

Postscript: Next day: I didn't wake before 6am today- without benefit of the alarm I was back in holiday mode and it was nearly 8am. My muscles are also a bit stiff, unaccustomed as I am to regular long walks now!!!

Happy New Year 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!!!
OK just cos we are 'early' here to welcome in the New Year.... here are some photos from how we rocked in New Year 2009 in Palmerston North Square.

There was a great party in the Square in downtown Palmie, and the crowd had a really good vibe. Lots of families, lots of people of all ages. First photo is of the two 'vocalists' from Abba Addiction who started singing soon after I arrived, about the same time as a shower of rain arrived at about quarter to eleven. Fortunately, the rain never came to anything much.
By the way, all these performance shots are taken via the wonderful big screen.....I couldn't see the stage for all the young ones dancing;-)

With about twenty minutes to go before midnight, the act shifted to a group called Sound Workshop from Hamilton. They'd performed earlier in the evening as well I gather, before I arrived, and were back on stage by popular demand. They rocked!

They were really energetic and a whole lot of fun to watch and listen to.
Their drummer enjoyed turning on a show.
And this vocalist seemed to really enjoy what she was doing.

It seemed no time before the countdown clock was whirring it over for the last minute of 2009 in our part of the world.
And then the fireworks began from the top of the Council Building. Such an ugly building usually...... nice to see it can look attractive for once.



And then when the fireworks were done, Sound Workshop took to the stage again so everyone could rock on!

Stanfield Hut

I joined a PNTMC tramp to Stanfield Hut today, just the three of us, in glorious weather, about 23C, warm but not too hot. They had a lovely new sign there at the beginning of the walk, and we could clearly see the little 'grunt' we faced at the beginning to climb up to Holmes Ridge.... nothing like the grunt to get up to the top of the ranges on the other side though! However, four months after getting home in a fit state, I was appalled to find that after winter laziness, I found it a real grunt up that hill!! (Mind you, it was quite steep and rugged underfoot, and I don't recall anything quite so tough on the Camino..... or maybe there was and I was fitter then!!!) No photos of the grunt.... I was too busy holding onto trees getting my breath back as I climbed!!

After climbing the grunty hill, we reached a 4WD road, then walked along the ridge top for a while, until it was time to descend again back down to the river. We had a short break before we tackled the river section, and there I distinguished myself by grabbing hold of some ongaonga- native stinging nettle- as I passed. Ouch!!! Not nice!!! I plunged my hand into the stream a few times to feel the cool water and try to reduce the stinging feel.

Twenty minutes or so later, we reached the hut and ate lunch in the sunshine. Too nice to sit in the hut. This native clematis was flowering near the long drop.

The return trip was via the river, and we walked along the river in the sunshine, and crossed the river numerous times.....numerous numerous numerous times.... as you do sometimes in Kiwiland. Water level was quite low though. Lots of debris still lying around from the 2004 floods when the water level would have looked completely different through here. Various plants starting to colonise the rocky areas.

At one point we had to negotiate our way under this massive fallen rimu tree.

And just to finish off, this is a shot of some ongaonga I saw as we were ending our tramp. Looks vicious doesn't it, with all those nasty looking spines. Next time someone warns me there is ongaonga nearby, I will try to remember their warning as I pass!!!

The Camino keeps following me!

One of the remarkable things about the Camino has been the re-discovery of contacts since I came home. While walking, I only shared my e-mail address with two people. But since I have come home, contact has been re-established with a whole bundle of people I walked with. People have tracked me down via other people, via photos on blogs, etc. The nature of the Camino was such that you sometimes walked with people for a few days, but then you never saw them again, as your pace of walking differed. But in those few days, you often came to know those people in a special way, as you walked together in the landscape, and/or shared evenings in the albergues/gites.

The latest 're-discovery' was yesterday. There was a French couple I met after three weeks of walking in France, "les DDs", who I saw often for the next month, but who 'disappeared' after Viana in Spain (near Logrono.) Three of us, who had often walked with them, wondered where they were, whether they had suffered an accident, or whether some event at home had meant they had to leave the Camino. It was their plan to walk from home to Santiago, then walk home again.

As it turns out, though we never saw them again after Viana, we only just missed them in Santiago, where they arrived on July 7th. That was the day we took the bus to Finisterre, then I left early the next morning to take the train to France. They had a fortnight's rest in Santiago, then began the return walk home, arriving back where they lived in France on October 31st, seven months after leaving home. I am proud of the 1500km I walked. But it pales into insignificance against their 3600km!!!

Trouble is, they only speak French, so I need to e-mail them in French, and I am already forgetting my French fast! Just as well there is such a thing as Babelfish these days!!!

Desert Rd

Last week I took a drive up the Desert Rd, and had spectacular views on the way north. First up here is Mt Ruapehu, which had its drama last year when the crater wall finally had an expected collapse, letting a lahar loose.

Mt Ngauruhoe was looking deceptively peaceful with its snow covered peak.

And just north of Taupo, I took a walk around the Craters of the Moon, which I had heard about from my cousins but never made time to see before. Lots of steam rising from the ground, and one dramatic large mudpool. Quite a reminder of the activity that always lurks close to the surface in this whole area!

World Famous in Palmie

Palmerston North has quite a few events that are 'world famous' here in Palmie.... The Sakura springtime festival at IPC is one such event, and this year the weather has smiled for the cherry blossoms and the multicultural crowd drawn to see them.

And just like they do in the parks of Japan..... people pose to get their photos taken under the blossoms.

And tomorrow there is another legendary Palmie event... the St James Gala Day. Let's hope the sun shines for them as well......

Walking from Le Puy to SJPP- YouTube

Here is a slide show of some of my photos taken while walking between Le-Puy-en-Velay and St Jean Pied de Port, along the Chemin de St Jacques. I left Le Puy mid-April, experiencing some snow in the early days, then 30+ degrees by the time I reached Conques a week later.... I was very happy when I arrived in SJPP late in May, and am still amazed I did it!

My Camino in Spain -Youtube slideshow

I have been making various slideshows of my Camino photos, and this one is of the route I walked along the Camino Frances. It starts from St Jean Pied de Port in the south of France, across the Pyrenees, then along to Santiago in Galicia in north-west Spain.

The music you might find a bit repetitive and not all that interesting.... but I have been experimenting using Garageband and I am only a beginner ;-) (We all have to start somewhere!)

Moana Roa beach

One of the things I realised doing the Camino was that a major 'love of my life' is walking outdoors ;-) And I have just joined Forest & Bird to do some more of that.

This morning I joined a group to walk at Moana Roa, down Parewanui Rd from Bulls. We walked in the sandy area just inland from the beach, until we reached the estuary where the Rangitikei River arrives at the sea. The great thing about going with F&B is that there are real experts who tend to go with you. Today our leader, Viv, was someone who had a lot of knowledge about coastal plants. She pointed out the native convolvulus (pictured).

She also knew a lot about where katipo live. She searched under a few likely looking small logs, and pointed out some nests to us. Then someone, using what we had just learned about their habitat, turned over another small log.... and hey presto, we were viewing a real live katipo, complete with a bold red stripe on its back! You can find out more in this local DOC report, and on the Te Papa website

And Viv also had a photo of a banded dotterel so we could look out for them. It wasn't long before we saw one.... though they blended in superbly with the stones and dunes. You can see a wonderful photo of one on this website.