Bush Trials

So the process of settling in to life in New Zealand continues.  I started work for Greater Wellington Regional Council last Monday and had the luxury of only working a four day week.  So far, so good at work.  The team and managers are very friendly and helpful.  I still haven't got my head around exactly what I will be doing day to day and have a steep learning curve ahead of me.  Each day brought new questions and an ever growing list of information that I need to know.  The best experience so far was on Tuesday when I got sent on a induction day to the Wairarapa to meet various workers from different departments of the organisation.  The day showed me very nicely how I fitted into the bigger picture (plus I got a tour of the district and a fish & chip lunch).

This Easter weekend the better half and I decided to do some exploring of the area so we headed off on a mini road trip.  Friday we headed north up the Kapiti Coast then through Manawatu Gorge near Palmerston North.  Having missed out on equine activity for nearly two months we had booked on a short ride with rural horse trekking company.  By lunch time we were mounted on Blacky and Buddy and riding through bush, farmland and rivers on the edge of the Tararua Mountains with Cameron, our guide.  It was a relaxing way to see the countryside and the weather (as it has mostly been since we arrived in NZ) was perfect.  We did have one iffy moment when, having emerged from fording the river, unexpectedly and without warning, Blacky decided to roll in the sand, still with saddle and rider on.  Thankfully, the better half scrambled clear as he went down (not sure I would have been so quick) and horse and rider were okay.  Following our ride we had a late picnic lunch and headed to Palmerston North for the night.

    

Saturday we had a relatively lazy day and after a late, delicious and very large breakfast in a cafe in Palmerston drove back through Manawatu Gorge and into the Wairarapa region.  The Manawatu Gorge is a "water gap" (geological term apparently) and was formed as the two mountain ranges, Ruahine and Tararua, were raised under the existing river, which continued to erode through them.  It is also unusual as a river which completely crosses a dividing range.  We spent quite a while exploring little country roads (and in some cases the word road is used loosely) eventually ending up at Pukaha - The National Wildlife Centre.  Pukaha has a collection of rare New Zealand birds and has a big captive breeding programme, releasing birds in its own reserve and others around the country.   The big attraction is a extremely rare white Kiwi (apparently not an albino but still a genetic anomaly). They also have Hihi (Stitchbirds), Kakahi (parakeet), Takahe (an extremely rare water fowl) and Tuatara.  There was a pleasant walk through the native bush with aviaries housing rare endemic species and other wild birds all around.  For our lunch at their cafe we were joined by a Kaka (a bush parrot) who was completely fearless and sat on the back of the chair next to us looking longingly at our food.

    

In the afternoon we drove on to Martinborough, again via some little gravel tracks (which Scooby, the car, handled with ease), and to our B & B for Saturday night.  Martinborough is the wine centre for the Wairarapa and we will definitely be returning to tour the vineyards.  At the B & B, set on the outskirts of the village amongst dairy farms and vineyards,  we received the usual friendly Kiwi welcome. The evening was spent with the locals in the pub, cheering, and drinking, the Hurricanes (Wellington rugby team) to victory.

Sunday was to be an epic day (not necessarily in a good way).   I had picked out a walk in the Waiohine Gorge area to explore some pristine bush in the Tararua Mountains.   Following a delicious breakfast (including home made feta cheese scones) we drove, again along gravel tracks, into the gorge and to the start of the walk.  I had planned a 4hr walk which was roughly an equilateral triangle on the map (each side being 3-4km).  We crossed the 50m long "swing" bridge high over the gorge and headed up hill into the bush.  After approximately an hour of climbing through native forest the path levelled off and the rain set in.  It was not particularly heavy so we pressed on.  Sure enough after 2hrs we reached the first apex of my triangle and the highest point of the walk.  It was still raining but, having done what I thought was all the ascent, we carried on.

    

 

I won't go into detail over the rest of the walk but suffice to say it took a total of 7hrs to complete our bush trial. The rain was persistent throughout, the second side of the triangle was barely a path with stream crossings (swollen with rain water), the gentle descent was actually many short steep up and downs (contours on maps lie) and the third side of the triangle involved wading across a raging torrent that passed for a stream on the map (good job the temperature was relatively warm). The most amazing thing was that we came across other people on the same route - who also believed it was only a 4hr walk. Suffice to say we were elated to get back to the car (damp and exhausted) and drive back to home, sweet home, Wellington.