Gorge Closure

It's hard to believe how many months the Gorge road has now been closed- and there is still so much slip clearance and stabilization to be done.

At first it seemed like the Gorge track was closed as well, but there is now a sign that makes it clear you can travel ahead to the DOC carpark if you want to walk the track. 

And from the first viewpoint, after about half an hour's climb at my speed,  you do get a small view of the slip.

 

I think I would be very giddy if I had to work along this terrace that is being constructed on the slipface. What a huge job they have done already...

Back in the Gorge

Sunday was Gorge day this weekend. After the rain and cold of Saturday (though the weather bomb fortunately passed us by) the sun was shining warmly as I headed onto the track. And the sunlight was just catching the wee waterfall you see as you emerge from the under-the-road passage.

You could see that progress had been made on the benching since the last time I was here, though the slip still looks very large.

I wonder if the road will be open by the time I return to New Zealand in July?

It's autumn now, so not so surprising to see fungus of various kinds along the track. This orange fungi is quite prominent- quite fluro, and stands out in the dark!

One thing that always amazes me is the sheer variety of fungi, many growing from rotten logs or tree trunks. I seem to often see kinds I have never seen before...

And I always like to see leaves lying on the track, caught by the light that is filtering through. So many little treasures to notice along the way...

Calm before the storm

We have been promised a 'weather bomb' in the coming hours, so I decided I should get out and walkabout this morning while I still could- so here are a few 'bits and pieces' from along Turitea Walkway.

We have a series of quite interesting drain covers here in Palmy, that show some of our native stream fauna and flora:- this 'brown mudfish' cover was over a storm water drain near the bridge where I parked.

Near the Turitea Stream they had been renewing a bit of the track where some of the path had slipped away into the stream- and I found the cut surface of this felled tree trunk quite beautiful.

I always love catching sight of the light on drops of water, and mostly I see it on spiderwebs or plants. But on the ground this morning I caught sight of a gleam from the ground at my feet, and there were droplets on some fallen cicada wings.

It was eerily calm this morning- definitely the calm before a storm. And in a more northerly direction looking towards the ranges, the sky definitely had that weird pre-storm appearance.

 But looking in a more southeast direction, the sky still looked more blue and less threatening...

 I am becoming very conscious these days that my 'training' time is drawing to a close, and in less than six weeks I will be heading off to France for some much more intensive walking. And somehow that makes me more conscious of 'local' signs here at home. When I walked in France and Spain last time, I became quite intrigued by taking photos of signs, so much so that I 'stopped myself' from taking such a 'ridiculous' number of them. But I actually really like looking at photos of signs later on- they tell such a very regional story. I will be sure to take plenty of them this time, without censoring myself!

As I neared Old West Rd and came to this pond, the whole scene looked so peaceful and calm in this direction, almost like a summer's day.

On the path heading down to the pond, I was intrigued by the shadows of the fenceposts, so took this photo. But once I downloaded it back at home, I realised this photo showed the steepness of the path very well. I have been struggling with how to show 'steepness' in photos, and perhaps this is the simple answer- to show the scene from the top rather than the bottom! Then I will be able to 'prove' to friends and family how 'arduous' parts of my walking was when I get home from France!

Summer has come to an end, and it seems like there are many spider-nests like this one on some bushes. I especially liked seeing this one today. The gorse bush with its sharp spines is an invader into our landscape that is not well loved. But it has been found to provide a 'nursery' for native plants re-establishing themselves- and here it allows a spider to make a 'nursery'. I find the contrast between the sharp spines and the nursery to be an appealing idea...

Well, those are a few tidbits from this morning's walk. Now I guess we will wait and see how bad the promised 'weather bomb' gets overnight and in the morning.

Along Green's Rd

Last night I read an account written by someone who has walked the route I am planning to walk in a few months- and it scared me somewhat! I knew that the Cluny route was going to be very hilly- but I didn't really think too hard about the long distances that might be needed if the limited accommodation is booked out... So, I decided that my 'training' so far has been a bit like 'playtime' compared to what is to come, and today had to be another 'hill' day. And finally, we had a 'proper' summer's day for it. I parked my car at the end of the sealed section of Turitea Rd, so I could walk up the metalled road and through the walking/biking section onto Green's Rd- then return.

There were lots of wildflowers along the way.

 And it also seemed to be a busy time for 'nests' for various insects or spiders.

The sunshine was pouring down as I reached one high point, ready to walk downhill then up the other side again. You can't see them here, but a group of soldiers were training for what looked like mine-sweeping operations. One of them offered me some water if I needed it: my face probably looked quite red and sweaty when I passed them, but I had a bottle of drink ready for when I reached the high point of the walk at the top of the very next hill.

 As I sat down at the high point for a drink and some fruit, I noticed a power pole, that seemed to provide a good contrast with yesterday's small pylon...

 There were quite a few native tree ferns alongside the road in various places.

And to finish- a bee on a thistle...

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.

Ten Week Countdown

Today most people I know are back into the teaching year -whether for a Teacher Only Day or the New Class- while I still have lots of time to 'please myself'. Regardless, the start of the school year has really galvanised my thinking, as it makes my departure date very concrete! It's just over 10 weeks before I leave for Paris and my walk from Cluny, and the school term of 10 weeks seems to provide the perfect 'number' for a countdown.

I've already walked many of the nearby hills, so I keep trying to find ways to put variety into my training. Today I decided I'd walk the Turitea Walkway uphill from Massey, but as a variant I would start near the bridge and cross the river first. Then, instead of my usual combo of city walkways from Old West Rd, I decided I'd turn right along the road until I reached the Massey entrance, and come back downhill that way.

There was a spot of 'variety' right where I parked my car, as work is being done on the stopbanks near the bridge.

 I love the flat beginning of the track on the edge of the Massey campus, as there are bridges that cross the Turitea Stream several times. Today with the sunshine, there were some lovely reflections on the water.

Once I was out onto the more rural part of the track, I passed some of these berries. They looked quite yummy, but I had no idea what they might be, and whether or not they might be poisonous- so I had to leave them alone. They were another reminder that the season is progressing, even though we are all moaning about the mostly lousy summer so far.

When I reached Old West Rd, I had my last view of the stream as it passed under the bridge, before I headed up the road for my return journey via the Massey campus.

It was quite warm by then, so I was glad to find some sheltered seating under trees near the Massey library, and gulped down plenty of my water. It was an easy descent, and return to my car. Week 10, Walk 1, done.

These feet are made for walking...

Having a rest after some 7-8km of walking this morning, before the climb up the metalled part of Turitea Rd and onto Green's Rd. Another place where these feet went a-walking. Good hill climbing and descending practice!

And a second shot of the same feet, once I had reached the top end of this climb.

It's a variation on an earlier theme....

I think it's time I added a 'feet' label... I know it's all a bit self-centred- but I like the slight quirkiness of it all :-)

Pork Chop Hill and Esplanade

Mostly these days when I head out walking, I am aiming for some up-and-down hills that will get my heart pumping, and mostly it seems like I am not getting much fitter yet, despite all the effort. Today I had a more leisurely walk planned, though it still had one 'big' hill in it, 'Pork Chop Hill'- or Anzac Park. (I had checked this out by car before Christmas, when the police dog handlers were up there putting their dogs through their paces.) Yeehah, I was pretty pleased to find that this morning's climb up here was 'easy'!

This is a view over to Wharite from the top of Pork Chop Hill. The cloud coming down from the east reminded me of cloud you could see in the valleys below as I descended O'Cebreiro in Galicia- happy memories.

 When I realised the walk and climb was just 'short and sweet', I decided I may as well make the rest of the morning's walk a 'dawdling' one, and so took out the camera. Fennel was flowering all down near the river, so I took (quite a few) shots of it- such a dramatic looking plant that reminds me somehow of all the wild places from my childhood.

 An old man  passed by on the track and was surprised to see me taking photos of what he said was 'only a weed'...

 Maybe so, but it does have a beautiful flower...

When I crossed back over the river, I took a short walk in the Esplanade. I had to check out if there were still monarch butterflies near the dahlia patch. 

 And there were- but last year they seemed to be more numerous.

It was a very relaxing morning. I drove home via the Lagoon and fed the ducks- and now it is time to have a shower before heading out to see a friend and her two young children... Holidays- ahhhhh- gotta love them!

Upper Kahuterawa Rd

Yesterday I walked 4km- 8km return- up the lower end of Kahuterawa Rd as far as Green's Rd. Today I walked the next 6km- 12km return- from Green's Rd up to the bridge over the Kahuterawa River, where the Sledge Track starts.  As soon as I parked the car at Green's Rd, I was immersed in a beautiful morning. A tui was eating from flax flowers right nearby, and I hadn't walked far before I saw a hawk flying up in the sky.

Yesterday's route had more hills in it, so in a sense was more use for 'training'- but the upper part of the road feels so much more wild and remote, and mostly follows the river quite closely. You get to listen to the sound of the river over rocks below as you walk by on the road above- very peaceful.

 This is a view of the river from the bridge at the top of the road, where the Sledge Track and Back Track both begin.

About 2km from Green's Rd is a riverside park, with a few facilities for a bbq etc, and I sat there for some morning tea on my way back down the road. Very peaceful place to sit, just listening to the sound of the river as it flows by. It strikes me I could make a series of photos of my shoes/feet at resting places. (Here is a similar shot from a month ago!) Ok, you can comment- not everyone is as interested in my feet as I am!

Chemin Prep

No excuses anymore- in three months time I will be packing for my flights to Paris- ready for walking the Chemin from Cluny... Yesterday morning was very wet and the evening brought what seemed like gale-force winds. But today dawned fine and sunny, so I walked up one of my favourite routes, Kahuterawa Rd. I always love seeing this line of letterboxes, but they are often in more shade than this as I walk past: today there was this lovely dappled sunlight on them. On the way up they are a sign that I am reaching the 3km mark, and if I've walked a long way, on the way down they say that it's 'not far to go now'.

Today I walked up as far as Green's Rd -just over 4km in an uphill direction. I sat down and rested at the top, and a couple of swallows flitted down onto the road nearby. They made a couple of attempts to pick up a strand of dried grass lying on the road- then finally one grabbed it, and they took off together, presumably to their nest. We mostly take our homes for granted, but each strand on their nest must be hard won.