Walk 05 - Tawharanui Regional Park

Apologies for the delay in this blog but the inevitable happened....I was left too tired to type on Sunday! And then, feeling like I had fully recovered on Monday night, sat down and.....fell asleep. Tawharanui Peninsula officially got me. But it wasn't just the hike, but the slightly misleading description of an "easy, rolling walk" that left me ill prepared for the mornings adventure.

In an effort to not go through all my Auckland based walks at once, I decided a little trip up North was in order over the weekend, so I picked Tawharanui which is a lovely 1 1/12 drive..well mostly lovely as the last 20 minutes is a very narrow, windy gravel road which my little city car struggled with, as did the little city driver. I'm still not sure what the proper response is when you approach a blind corner and a helpful, dented road sign indicates the lanes are about to become one, but I'm sure my sailors curse was incorrect, though it made me feel braver for but a moment.

My company was my very brave Mum who only 11 days earlier had been in hospital having surgery, but the idea of an "easy, rolling walk" had appealed and she was suffering a little cabin fever. So over the hills we zoomed, towards the park - a predator free sanctuary once again. Brown ducks and Pukeko poke about amongst the grazing sheep and the silence envelopes you and helps to erase the memory of the gravel lane you'd just barley survived.

 

It's a short drive to the car park by the beach where a bus from the surf school was leaking half dressed, tanned, athletic types which we politely nodded to before scurrying past before we blinded them with our paleness. I could write a whole blog on the toilet facilities at the beach, but I need to leave something to talk to my therapist about. All I shall say is that I never would have imagined that soap and a 'flush' function on the loo were luxury items.

Now I shall be very honest and confess that the reason our walk took such a dramatic turn and would, on reflection NOT be described as easy, is that I may have, by mistake and without meaning to, lead us the wrong way round the track. Though in my defence, a white marker looks an awful lot like an 'off' white marker and so with my trusting mother at my side we headed out and immediately encountered our first hill which took us up and out away from the beach and across the farmland.

With the memories of the toilet and the drive fading with each step we started to enjoy the surrounding views and the lovely noises chirping out of the trees. They were similar views to those from the walk around Shakespear Park - rolling hills and seascape but still enjoyable and the breeze along the hilltops were a relief.

 

 

The main challenge of the day were the hills...oh the hills! Four crazy, mean spirited hills. The first one as we set out was tough as we hadn't really warmed up, but the other three were super steep and the loose gravel under foot on the last two added an extra degree of difficulty which under the weight of the guilt I was carrying at subjecting Mum to them, made for a lung busting effort.

I tried to capture the degree of the climb, but without the sound effect of my tears it doesn't have as much impact..

Mum did exceptionally well and lead the way (though i was carrying all that guilt remember) and most of the complaining was coming from me, which may have also stemmed from the knowledge that I had taken us the wrong way (extra guilt anybody??) but at the top of the hills were some spectacular sights, I especially enjoyed the canopy of trees which seemed to have purple plants dotted through it.

As we came down off the final hill we were treated to a gorgeous bush walk where Bellbirds, Saddlebacks, Tuis and Wood Pigeons flew around us and the pain of the climbs were quickly forgotten. The paths were lined with beautiful old trees who's roots snuck out across the path. A stream wound it's way along beside us and the "easy, rolling walk" we were expecting, suddenly appeared.

 

The path finally looped back to where we had started at the beach, which was much busier than when we had left it. Families out enjoying the sunshine, blankets laid out under trees and surfers still enjoying the waves.

Definitely the toughest walk so far, but I know there will be tougher...much tougher...and yet as we sat under a tree at the end, enjoying our lunch, we felt good about what we'd achieved and being able to enjoy the bush at the end made it all worthwhile.

Now which "easy" walk shall I do next??

Walk 1 - Tiritiri Matangi

After enjoying a good nights sleep, I woke to a bright sunny day and enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee before making my way down to the harbour. This, was how I wanted my blog about walk number one to start. This, did not happen...

At 3am I awoke due to the crushing heat that we've been having here at the moment (be quiet Australia...we're more fragile than you!) and noticed that my phone wasn't blinking it's little charge light at me. It took a few moments for my 3am brain to realise that nothing in my room was blinking at me and that a fuse had blown. I could still hear the fridge/freezer going so my 3.03am brain chose to ignore it and try to go back to sleep. My 3.15am brain started to worry that without a charged phone, my alarm wouldn't go off and without an alarm I would sleep in, and if I slept in I would miss my ferry etc etc etc, so my 3.19am brain decided to fix the fuse. Unfortunately once reset, everything in the house whirred back to life including the house alarm, which my 3.23am brain couldn't remember the code to so *click* the fuse was switched back off again. So the 'good nights sleep' part of my grand plan became the 'half-asleep so I don't miss my boat' toss and turn.

Once I was up at the right time and we had fixed the fuse the next problem became the rain outside. Only the second day of rain we've had since Christmas I'll just add. With everything that I had on my 'to buy' list a raincoat was very near the bottom so I had to pull out a dusty old poncho I brought during our last trip to Universal Studios. If it can keep Dinosaur expressed water off me, than it can keep my backpack dry. This is not to say I don't have a rain jacket, it's just ours are mostly heavy duty winter coats that are a little too snug to go over body, pack and camera.

So here I was tired, about to be wet and heading out for walk number one. But even these little hiccups couldn't quash the excitement and as I was standing on the dock, looking out at the ferry bobbing about in the water I was all smiles.

The ferry leaves from Downtown Auckland which was all a buzz with the Rugby League Nines competition happening this weekend and the trip takes just under one and a half hours. The first great thing that happened was that I saw Trish on the boat who is a fellow Zoo Volunteer and also a guide on Tiri. Familiar faces are always a good thing and we chatted about the Island, and what I was doing which helped take my mind off the bumpy ride we were having. By the time we arrived Trish had gotten approval to be my guide for the day and accompany me around the island! Looking back, doing the walk alone would have been such a different, less fulfilling experience and I'm so grateful to Trish and the other guides for that opportunity. She was excellent company and my brain is overflowing with facts about the history of the island and all the different native trees and birds. If you're ever visiting the island I can't recommend enough booking a guided tour - it's a very small cost for what you get back.

This was the sky over Rangitoto Island as we headed out towards Gulf Harbour. At this stage I thought all I was going to get out of the day was a ruined camera and a cold.

After the ferry drops you off the visitors are gathered round for a quick talk about the Island. There are some important rules to follow as it's a predator-free sanctuary and environment for scientific research which I know sounds like the set up to the Sci-Fi movie of the week but there are some guidelines that all visitors have to follow.

The track from the book that we followed took us away from the main attraction, the lighthouse which is where the bulk of the crowds go. We went down past Hobbs Beach, then along the Kawerau Track towards the North East Bay track, then back along the East Coast track past Pohutukawa Cove and Fisherman's Bay, up to the Lighthouse then back down the Wattle track to the Ferry. We had to be back by 3.15pm or the Ferry would unceremoniously abandon us.

Our first treat were the nesting boxes they have set up just before Hobbs Beach for the Little Blue Penguins.

One of them had a nesting bird inside which I chose not to photograph as I didn't want to disturb it with the sound or flash of the camera.

Part of the beauty of the island is the different types of environment you walk through in a day. From beach to paddock, to bush to coastal paths, you're really spoiled with the different scenery. And it's probably the best time to say that none of my photos properly capture the beauty of being in these locations.

 

 

While we were walking along the Kawerau track there were some amazing trees that looked like they'd come from a Tolkien universe. Their roots were these incredible, interweaving structures and they had beautiful, mutually beneficial relationships with the trees around it. The oldest we saw was a 1000 year old Pohutukawa tree.

 And of course as you lose yourself within these tracks your company becomes the collection of native birds that call the Island home. By being a predator proof sanctuary Tiritiri is one of only a few places you can see...but mostly hear...the Takahe, Kokako, Stichbird, and Saddleback as well as Bellbirds, Robins, Whiteheads, Tui, Wood Pigeons and Kakariki. It's a symphony of sound for your whole visit that beats the sound of the city any day.

We got to see a lot of birds, but I wasn't quick enough on the camera to capture photos of them all. If you'd like to hear their calls the Department of Conservation website has samples of most of them at this link

 This is the Tui which has two voice boxes that allows them to make a wide range of calls and can trick you into thinking that there's more than one about.

The Kokako was the most elusive but we finally spotted on on our way down to the ferry.

The little Bellbirds flitted around us all day.

And we were so lucky to see a family of Takahe up by the lighthouse with their newest chick, who is all feet and totally gorgeous.

So the track took us about 3 and a half hours to the lighthouse and then another 40 minutes down to the boat which I'm really happy with and I can't say enough about how wonderful the guides were and an extra special thanks to Trish for helping make walk #1 such a special day. And.....we didn't have a drop of rain.

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A penny for my thoughts...please...

As fun as I hope this journey is going to be and as much as I'm excited to be getting out and exploring New Zealand there is a serious and important component of this whole plan and that is to raise money and awareness for people living with Parkinson's Disease. I aim to do this by taking donations for Parkinson's NZ which is a non-profit organisation that offers support for people with Parkinson's as well as their families and carers.

To accomplish this I've set up a fundraising page on the GiveaLittle site which I feel is the perfect place for this type of collection for a couple of reasons. Firstly, at the end of the collection period 100% of the money raised goes straight to Parkinson's NZ not to me, or a third party so people can donate knowing that the right people are getting the funds and secondly the minimum amount you can donate is $1 which is perfect because I'm hoping people will do as it says on the label and give a little. I know that sounds like a strange statement from someone hoping to raise money but I'm very aware that not everyone has a lot of money to spare, even when they want to spare it. So it's my hope that over the period of these 202 walks (which will be a couple of years) that people may be able to spare a dollar or two every few walks or when they can and gradually we'll be able to raise some funds for this great organisation. Of course if you have more money than you know what to do with I'll happily take a $5 or even $10 donation ;)

It's also not my intention to hound people for money but I will post the link to the site after each walk as part of the blog and I certainly won't be using it as a measure of peoples support - your comments and messages mean the world.

Don't forget to join in on the Facebook page here and the donation page can be found here.

Only two more sleeps until Walk #1!

Here we go

Hi there and thanks for visiting my new blog!

Blank slates are always a scary thing to stare at, so I thought it was best to start with a little bit about how I’ve got to this moment…staring at an empty blog site imagining myself hiking effortlessly across 202 different trails.

Well firstly let me begin as I hope to continue - by being painfully honest. It’s not going to be easy. If it was it would be a very boring blog. I’m not athletic and by no means an ‘outdoorsy’ person. The thought of getting sand in my shoe almost makes me want to cry and getting wet in the rain magically transforms me into a grumpy sod. I am the most unlikely child of two camping, skydiving, bush tramping parents. Almost as if two magnets had come together and created their polar opposite. They did try to take me camping. Once.
But beneath the skin of this amenities-loving gal beats the heart of an adventurer. I just know it. And 2015 is going to be the year I break free of the shackles of these wi-fi hotspots and hot water showers and try to tap in to that. So I went out and purchased a copy of ‘202 GREAT WALKS’ by Mark Pickering (http://www.penguin.co.nz/products/9780143567950/202-great-walks) without much thought as to what to do once I had it but the tingle of anticipation was there and almost immediately I realised I could use it in combination with another goal I have - raising money and awareness for people with Parkinson’s Disease.

One of those crazy parents that I mentioned earlier, my Dad Tom, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s last year. The time that’s followed since has mostly involved learning what exactly that means. How it’s going to affect him and how, as his daughter I can support him during the stages that will follow. It’s (like many) a scary disease and I feel at times he’s dealing with it better than I am but it’s changing him, we both know it and for me the feeling of helplessness as that happens is overwhelming. I’m not a doctor and I have no magical powers that can cure him but I need to help. My personal journey with my Dad will be my own. He wouldn’t want any light on him while he lives with this but my effort to raise awareness for the disease and support Parkinson’s NZ is one I want to share. So here I am.

My goal is to use Pickering’s book as my guide and walk these 202 trails. Not over a week or a month - it will take time. Some I’ll walk on my own, others with my friends. I’ll be writing about the preparation involved and each walk as it happens. Sharing the highs, lows and sand in my shoe reflections as they happen. And along with that we’ll be raising money through my give-a-little page in support of Parkinson’s NZ. I won’t be asking a lot as I know it’s hard to spare but if a few people throw $1 our way with each hike we should be able to raise a nice amount for them over time. I am literally asking for people to give a little.
As we get closer to our first walk on the 31st January I’ll post more information on the fundraising page.

So thanks again for stopping in - I’ll try to keep it entertaining and fun as I get up and out for Parkinson’s.