Today is December 12, one of the 12 days of the year that the US and most other countries write the date the same way. I’m getting used to saying and writing the date with the day first then the month, which actually makes a lot of sense and leads me to wonder why the U.S. does it differently and if any other countries also do month then day.
Borrowed hiking poles from Mary’s sister in law, then headed out on the train. On the way I saw several people on bikes, including parents with kids on the back, riding on a busy street as several large dump trucks went by (it was the road to the tip), yikes! Also saw a biker with a park on that said ‘Human being’, I guess trying to remind drivers that hitting him would have more drastic consequences than hitting a car. We passed the Children’s Dental Clinic. I remember Brendon telling me the dental training schools used to be attached to primary schools so they could practice on the students! They used to call it the murder house, no wonder. Also saw a few buskers out, often they are university students trying to earn some cash.
Passed the Beehive just before I got to the train station, still amazes me that you can walk through the grounds, in fact many people use it as a shortcut! Picked up a banana and brekkie sandwich at the station (they have a full sized supermarket, cafe and bar on site) and hopped on the train. There are several transport officers on the train, it appears their main job is to make sure people have paid, either by snapper card or cash. I guess they would also make sure everyone follows the rules, don’t disturb others, etc. Maybe because it’s outside of commute time, but there seemed to be many more than necessary. The train had mechanical issues so we all had to get off in Porirua and wait 15 minutes for the next train, this gave me a chance to eat my brekkie sandwich that consisted of a hard boiled egg, hashbrown patty, bacon, slice of tomato, cheese and sweet tomato sauce on an English muffin. Very filling.
When the next train arrived we all piled in. It was a beautiful ride through farmland and next to the coast. A little girl was looking out the window as we passed the beach and Kapiti Island and said ‘That looks like Moana!’
When we arrived at Paekakariki station, I was feeling a little nervous about doing the Escarpment Track, part of the 3,000k Te Araroa trail that stretches from The to of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. The Escarpment Track is one of the most natural stretches of the trail and is only a 1 hour train or car ride from Wellington. It’s not very long, only 10k total, but has lots of steep staircases and narrow, rocky trails with long drop offs and I wasn’t sure how my lungs and knees would do. It was also more humid than I expected. The first couple of k’s were undulating hills so that was nice, but then we began the ascent up 221 meters (725 Feet) in a little over a kilometer. It was a butt kicker! But the views were absolutely stunning, it was incredible to be so high above everything. The day was sunny and gorgeous and the occasional ocean breeze was very appreciated! When we were at lower elevations I could hear the crashing of the sea on the shore, when we were in the Kohekohe forest the birds made their presence known and crossing the two swing bridges the waterfalls resounded.
I was very grateful I chose to do the hike from North to South as there were many more very steep down staircases going that way (which meant I didn’t need to go up them!) The poles gave me security going down the stairs as there were no handrails and helped in sections of the path that had narrowed due to erosion or been made uneven from rock fall. One part of the trail had been rerouted and the alternate track was pretty ‘dodgy’ as they would put it here, luckily there was often a guide rope attached to poles, though at one point it became just a knotted rope to assist in either rappelling down or climbing up!
The forested bits of the trail were lovely and cool, a nice respite from the exposed sunny areas. The views of the ocean and Kapiti Island were just incredible, I got to take them in often when I reached the top of a staircase and needed to catch my breath. There were lovely curved benches along the way, which I took full advantage of, especially on the second half of the hike, when my legs got tired. I loved the swing bridges – they were fantastic, and made for an even more adventurous hike.
When I reached the end of the trail at the Pukerua Bay train station, I quite happily followed signs indicating there was a restroom and a place to get ice cream! I had the most delicious mango popsicle I have ever had while waiting for the train back to Wellington.
It was a gorgeous evening, and we all enjoyed dinner outside on the upper deck helping Verena plan her trip to the South Island. I’m envious that she gets to stay in New Zealand for a few more months. While I watched the movie Mahana (starring 2 of my face New Zealand actors, Temuera Morrison and Nancy Brunning) I treated myself to a Crunchie bar for dessert, the first one I have had in many years. Crunchie bars are made up of hokey pokey (like a honeycomb toffee) covered in chocolate.