Taranaki Falls

When lockdown was over and we were in Level 2, the Chateau Tongariro was advertising special deals to stay- and I decided to take advantage of their offer. The weather was brilliant, and I was able to walk the Taranaki Falls track, perhaps my favourite New Zealand track as it has turned out beside the Hooker track in Mt Cook National Park.

The track started not far from the Chateau itself. It was a loop track, and by accident really, I took the lower of the two tracks first, which in hindsight I am quite pleased about. It descended at times down to streams, and so the views up higher came as a delightful surprise.

 It wasn't long before I was noticing icy deposits near the path.

 You could look back past the alpine scrub to see the Chateau.

 The stream that I walked alongside in places had icy stretches in the shade. The patterns in the ice were quite beautiful.

 Then all of a sudden I found myself climbing a little out into more open alpine scrub. The three young men in this photo were from France- so had obviously been with us through lockdown.

 Up high I came across a stream that was pretty much completely iced over, and frozen into stillness.

 The Taranaki Falls came into view, and were stunning.

 The white 'circle' around them was ice, as you could see when you went closer. Not a pool to plunge into midwinter!

 I sat beside the waterfall on a rock for ages, just soaking in the unbelievable sunshine and blue skies, listening to the sound of the water falling.

 But then came the return loop. There was a bit of a climb, though not unduly harsh, and soon you were seeing the stream away from the falls from above.

 And above on high you had views of Mts Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, and also in the distance, Mt Taranaki.

 Later, back in the Chateau I could relax in deep armchairs and enjoy the art deco windows...

 This view of the sunset was from the terrace of the Chateau building, right beneath my window.

 Next morning I drove home via the road near Rangipo and over to Turangi. There was a frost, and the drive was somewhat scary in places with icy roads- but it was so worth it just to see this icy spidersweb- a first for me!

A walk along the beach

It's only a month now until I leave on my trip, and I felt the need to have a good dose of a Kiwi beach walk today. It was a lovely calm, warm morning and Himatangi Beach was at its glorious best.

It's a long, flat beach, and the tide was fairly far out when I arrived, so there was lots of firm sand to walk along.

I meandered for about an hour and a half, paddling my feet in the shallow wavelets, greeting the occasional fisherman, dog-walker or jogger as we passed each other. And I enjoyed noticing the 'little things' on the sand...

 ...the flotsam and jetsam being tossed in today's tiny waves. (It was so calm I almost began to wonder if I had stumbled onto an east-coast beach by mistake.)

And then I walked back again, back to my car. And I will hold the memory of this beach walk warm against my heart, to give me strength on any 'hard' days when I am far away from home.

'Foreigners' tend to think that Palmy is so unfashionably 'inland'- but it only takes half an hour to reach Himatangi beach. I'll be back here again as soon as I get home...

365: looking ahead to 2012

Well, I had hoped to end the year and this 365 blog with a beautiful sunny landscape- but rain seems to be our lot today, so you are getting an indoor shot to finish. But though you may not be looking at a sunny landscape, this is a 'looking forward' shot to the Chemins I plan to walk in France in 2012. Eventually, on the Festina Lente blog that I will compile, mainly after I get home again, you will see some of the sunny and not-so-sunny landscapes that I walk through. (And if it seems too long to wait for the blog from the new Chemins, here is the retrospective blog about my first Chemin/Camino in 2008.)

Last night I had two friends staying the night, who plan to walk the Camino Frances in a few months time, so we were comparing equipment for 'packing'. New adventures call us into 2012...

Well, it's been a great adventure, but this blog is now 'ended'. I will leave it here -as is where is- for another month or so, then will merge it with my 'occasional' Kiwinomad blog. See you over there sometime perhaps. One blog may have ended, but it seems I am an inveterate blogger, in one place or another, and you won't get rid of me just because 365/365 has arrived!

362: homegrown salad

 

I have a friend who is not only a superb cook, she is also a wonderful gardener. Most of the veges in this salad have come from her own garden. Fresh and delicious!

345: roadside rest

In just four months time I will be starting some long walks in France, so the summer needs to be full of walks to improve my fitness. Today I took one of my 'circuits' around some quiet country roads. I started earlyish, just after 7am, and after three and a half hours, I decided it was time to stop for a morning tea break. And ahhhh how I love taking my shoes off!

335: Night time in the Square

This is now the last month of my 365 project, so a 'reflection' seems appropriate. On my way home this evening, I saw these reflections in one side of the 'butterfly' lakes in the Square.

And in case anyone is wondering, December 31st will indeed bring the end of this blog. Next year I will be walking in France, probably without too much e-mail access. But there will be a different blog for recounting it all...

312: kitchen still life

I love noticing details in kitchens- not in the neat, tidy, ultra-modern kitchens where everything is hidden away- but in the kitchens with 'personality' where things spill out all over. This photo was taken in my kitchen, which tends to be a bit chaotic at times(!).

286: rock climbers

I don't usually put many 'people' shots on here but here is one exception. Had a lovely little 'adventure' in downtown Wellington with my two nieces. What was one of their favourite activities? Climbing all over the three large rocks outside Te Papa. This beautiful specimen happens to have originated from Mt Egmont- it's andesite.

247: ready for guests

It's been a busy weekend with a 21st celebration (Go Joe!) and visitors from out of town. Here is a selection at a friend's house, ready for people to have drinks of tea, hot chocolate, water etc...

212: Beach Feet

I took a lovely walk along the beach today, and have quite a few lovely landscapes I could put here. But I feel that the last day of the holidays calls for something a little quirkier- so I hereby wish to prove that not only did I take my shoes off to walk along the sand, I also even paddled in the water- only ankle deep I know- but that was bracing enough!!

206: Wrist warmers

Well, quite a bit of the country is having snow at present, but not us. I feel deprived- though it is still cold enough- only about  6C. You can tell there is snow falling on the nearby ranges though, and can see a sprinkling of it below the cloud level, so maybe I can bring you a photo of that tomorrow... 

Meanwhile, here is a bit of warmth with these wrist warmers. I found them in a market in Rotorua on Saturday morning. They are made in Nepal, and a UK friend suggested such a thing to help with some winter wrist pain in the bone I broke last year. I had never seen them before in NZ and was quite amazed to come across them. And did I buy one of the nice sensible neutral or pale coloured pairs? Well, ummmm no.... I went for the bright rainbow connection! And they do seem to be doing the trick. Although it is now really quite chilly, my wrist feels pretty comfortable.

199: shells & stones

The sun is shining in the back yard this morning, and onto this collection of stones and shells on my back deck- all collected on various walks around NZ countryside and beaches.

182: obsession / passion

 

I guess this bookshelf shows a bit of an obsession, but I know other fine people who share it... The next escapade is in the plotting stages- probably involving Cluny to Le Puy, maybe as soon as next year...

PS: One of the fine people who walked the Camino with me has told me to call it a 'passion' rather than an obsession- and she is quite right!!! Blog post title duly amended.

173: a special corner

A special corner on my lounge wall- includes my Compostela and some Camino photos from France and Spain. This time three years ago was the day I arrived in Astorga, with the mountains ahead heralding that I was coming to the end of a very long walk...

Christchurch and Darfield

I had a few days in Christchurch before it was time to head home to the North Island. I must admit to some nervousness about this, as my local friends and family were clearly anxious about aftershocks still happening after the major 7.1 earthquake centred near Darfield.

I headed off downtown to see the sights and the Ron Mueck exhibition that my friends had recommended. There was a building being demolished beside the carpark I found.

But the city has done very well clearing up so much of the damage from the earthquake. Roads have been patched, and many dangerous buildings have been demolished and removed. In a few places in town you could see where buildings had been 'propped up' pending repairs, and on this historic building someone had taken advantage of the props to install some sculpture.

 After seeing the damage in the Akaroa cemetery, I decided that I wanted to check out the group of four family headstones in the Darfield Catholic cemetery in case they were in need of repair, and I must admit I was expecting to see some damage. However, despite being only kilometres away from the eathquake epicentre, I could see as soon as I reached the gate, that they were fine.

Yes, my great-grandmother was only 29 when she died, as many did at the time, of 'consumption'.

 I drove home via what was the family land at Charing Cross, where my great-grandfather used to run sheep.  This year the present-day farmer has planted crops here to feed the sheep over summer, as this land gets very dry. The epicentre of the earthquake lies very close to this old family land.

I returned to my friends' house. I love some of the glass and pottery ornaments they have in their home, and took some time to photograph a few bits and pieces. Soon it was time for farewells, but not before a party was held. Usually I keep 'people' private and out of this blog, but in this case I will make an exception for an exceptional event. It was the eleventh birthday of the eleventh grandchild, on a date filled with 1s. So the camera had to be switched to mark the date on each shot!

Off to Okains Bay

I joined my friends in Christchurch for a couple of days, and saw signs of earthquake damage at their home, largely due to soil liquefaction. Here is my wee doll Arohanui checking out their garage which has to be demolished and replaced.

Soon it was time to be off to Banks Peninsula for camping at Okains Bay. 

It took no time at all to sink into that relaxing feeling.... These next three photos from the sunset that evening.

 

These two oystercatchers are part of a group  of three I saw often along the beach. I think that one is a juvenile. Certainly, one of these three was very belligerent, perhaps protecting the young one. I am much further away than you might think, as this camera has an excellent zoom, but I was dive-bombed several times on various occasions, and saw the same happen to others who inadvertently strayed too close!

It was a peaceful time of evening to take out a flounder net, but I think their efforts only scored them crabs this time....

Christmas Day- Celebration

I spent Christmas Day with friends. No people photos, but here are a few photos that show our lovely celebration meal.