Given my long day in the saddle (as it were) yesterday, I figure I can be excused for getting up after 9. Plus, it was raining, so there was no need to rush: there would be no views of Taranaki in this weather :-(
Breakfast, some sudoku, a look through the local rag came next.
I had planned to go up to Dawson Falls & walk a bit, but figured that it would be even wetter in the cloud on the volcano, so decided to go north instead of south & find the wood-turner & horse trekking places I'd seen advertised the day before.
 |
| The steps down into the Eco-Lodge
garden on a rainy morning
|
The wood turner wasn't far out of town, & he also did pounamu, but 1st I looked around the wood shop, & bought a bowl made of puriri for $40.
 |
| Puriri on pine btw ~ it's not a white mark, it's a termite hole! |
It had a cute little hole made by an insect or something, & wasn't one of those 'perfect' bowls you see for sale. It was my Christmas present to me, & apart from going on the kitchen floor for the photo, it's been living in my lounge with all my other wood.
Here's a bit about puriri from Wiki:
The Māori used infusions from boiled leaves to bathe sprains and backache, as a remedy for ulcers, especially under the ear, and for sore throats. The infusion was also used to wash the body of the deceased to help preserve it. Puriri trees or groves were often tapu through their use as burial sites and puriri leaves were fashioned in to coronets or carried in the hand during a tangi (funeral). Puriri timber is usually greenish dark-brown, but sometimes nearly black or streaked with yellow, it was often used for implements and structures requiring strength and durability. The Maori preferred other timbers to puriri as its cross-grain made for difficult carving, but puriri garden tools and weapons had a long life and legend has it that buckshot used to ricochet off puriri palisades. It was used in the construction of hinaki (eel traps) because it was one of the few timbers that would sink. Puriri was sometimes used to dye flax fibres yellow, the sawdust can produce intense yellow stains on concrete floors.
The Puriri provides the strongest wood in New Zealand, allowing to make things such as bridges and paddles from it.
Highly pleased with my visit, I left for the north on a still drizzly, & misty day, & found the turning off the SH3 for the HorseTrek'n place on Piko Rd. near Urenui.
More than 25k later, I found the stables deserted, so I knocked on the back door of a nearby farm to be told you had to ring 1st.Ah well :-/
I continued the way I was going, thinking it would take me back to Tatara ~ I was going in the right direction.
Apparently not!
Piko Rd ran out a few miles further on, so I did a 3-point & drove back.
On the way I saw a bunch of weirdly mossed trees, so stopped for a pic.
 |
| Mossy tree impersonating deer antlers |
Pukeko are great :-)
This photo's off the web. They always walk or fly off before I get a photo of my own: so far, anyway :-/
Back on the SH3 I stopped at the Mud Bay Cafe in Urenui & had a coffee (crap) & a Brazilian coconut corn cake (great), then headed shore-wards & did a 'beach-trawl' looking for good photo opportunities. Urenui wasn't promising, but the next one down, Onaero, was.
 |
| Sea & a tree ~ Onaero |
Shame it was still a manky day.
Next up was the north bank of the Waitara (I'd crossed the river way upstream the day before), & then I headed for the other bank & the Bell Block beach. No pics there, but I was breathalysed on my way there.
Gawd!
Shades of Taumarunui 2/9/11! ~ see blog: The Journey, the Quest, the Thing from September 2011!
At least the petrol was cheaper at Bell Block, so I took the opportunity to fill up.
 |
| I think I took this from Fitzroy Beach?? & I think they are Moturoa & Motumahanga |
 |
| & this at the end of Hobson St., NP |
Still on a beach-trawl, I kept heading for the end of roads & got a couple of interesting pics at Fitzroy & the end of Hobson street in town.
I think?
Don't quote me!
I drove back through town & found a spot for a free 2 hour park while I went to Puke Ariki & shopped for a replacement black bum-bag: the fastener had gone on mine & I was tying it on ~ not a good look!
Back at the Eco-hostel it was time for some tea & I caught up on some Emails using the NZ mob.
I didn't write down what I did during the evening, or what I ate, but I have a memory of cheesy pasta & a cryptic crossword.
I could be wrong, of course ;-)
Day 30. Taranaki, Dawson Falls, & too many truffles
 |
| The stream in the garden |
We gave them bits of bread, & they were most obliging & posed nicely for the camera.
 |
| The eels in the stream |
 |
| Another eely pic |
 |
| The NZ flora on the way to Dawson Falls |
So, I flagged down a passing truck & asked the 3 guys inside. They said to go left. They also said it was towards Inglewood, & I knew I didn't want to go that way, so once they were out of sight I went right along Carrington Rd.
 |
| The road through the rainforest |
It was nice driving up & down the fumeroles through the bush, & catching sight of pockets of sunlight.
It looked like when I came out the other side, Carrington Rd would give me my 1st sight of Taranaki that day.
& it did :-D, but before that it got even windier, so I asked a lady walking her dog, & she gave me further directions to keep me on track.
 |
| Taranaki with green egg boxes in the foreground |
After the photo stop, the Lumix battery was low ~ again :-(
That meant no more pics until I could charge it.
The signpost for the turn to Dawson Falls said it was 6k up the mountain & there were some A ma zing trees on the way there, but I didn't stop.
It was another lovely mountain road to drive, though.
At the top there was a DOC info hut & a cafe/B&B Lodge. The guy at the DOC hut kindly let me charge the battery while I went to the cafe, & I had a mid-morning brew & some (3) yummy truffles.
They told me they were home made by Rik from Belgium.
Hardly surprising they were good, then :-q
The Lodge was like a Swiss mountain chalet decor-wise, & I figured it would be an awesome place to stay ~ next time ;-)
I chatted to the Swiss owner (from St Gallen), & had 3 more truffles with my 3rd cup.
Well, they were orgasmatronic :-D
Truffled out, I went back to the DOC hut, read all the info inside & picked up the Lumix before heading up the left hand path to Wilkies Pools.
It was a great path with some awesome trees, so more pics ensued.
 |
| Furry trees on the path to Wilkies Pools |
 |
| This trunk looked a lot redder in real life |
They were using the smooth chutes made by the Kapuni Stream as rock slides into the little pools on the way down.
I fancied a go, but my cozzie was back in the car.
Maybe next time when I stay at the Lodge??
 |
| Purple stunt bum-bag & the pool they were sliding into |
 |
| Looking up Kapuni Stream at Wilkies Pools & the peeps having fun without sun. There's a mountain up there somewhere! |
I crossed Kapuni Stream over the stones, & headed back down on the circular route.
There were some lovely little streams & waterfalls to see & photograph.
Some of the waterfalls weren't so small, but all fed the Kapuni Stream which would eventually drop over Dawsons Falls.
I also found a little bud of NZ fern & took a pic.
I don't know if it was a tiny cyathea dealbata ~ the iconic NZ fern, but it was very cute.
After a while in the bush, the track crossed the Kapuni Stream again, & I came back to the path through the wonderful trees.
 |
| NZ has some of the best tracks through trees I've ever walked on :-) |
Passing over the lawn by the Lodge, I headed down the road to the Dawsons Falls track where the trees were as wiggly as the track was.
The track came out near the top of the right-hand side of the drop, & eventually wound down 192 steps to poolside.
On the way along the track I met a Brit couple who also found the trees an excuse for a photo stop.
They were from Stafford.
At the bottom were several pools between the rocks.
Naturally, me being me, I had a paddle, & took a couple of pics of the falls from the middle of the Kapuni Stream.
 |
Like I said, I took photos from the pools
& rocks in the centre of Kapuni Stream
|
 |
| Zoomed in to the top of the Falls - - |
 |
| & the bottom |
Then it was back up the 192 steps, & up the road to the DOC hut & the Lodge.
On the way up the road met a bloke on his way down who commented on my speed of walking!
Well, so much to see & so little time, eh?
There was a kinda famous generator in the bush just below the Lodge, so I made a short detour to see it.
 |
| You can tell the generator hut was in the bush from the reflections of fern in the window |
Any excuse for more truffles was fine by me!
As the Lumix was on charge, before these 3 disappeared in the same direction as the other 6, I used the mob to get a couple of pics.
 |
| They may look like something unmentionable beginning with a T, but - - |
 |
| - these truffles were totally tastylicious mouthfuls of chocolate scrumtiousness ~ despite their appearance ;-p |
I asked the lady at the Lodge to give Rik a hug from me for his glorious chocolate concoction.
Truffle time over, & the camera recharged, I went up the look-out platform near the DOC hut & got a couple of the view looking away from the mountain, before I got back in the car & drove back south down Manaia Rd.
 |
| Not sure, but I think Taranaki is to the right, off shot? |
 |
| The sea is over there on the left |
 |
| Now I had some juice in the Lumix, I stopped on the way down for these tree pics |
 |
| A head tilt to the left required here ;-) |
At the Manaia Rd/Opunake Rd crossroads I went right, keeping the mountain ~ now in sunlight, to my right, before stopping at a junction & using a 5-bar gate for a max zoomed shot of Taranaki in the afternoon sun.
Even then, there was cloud at the top.
 |
| Taranaki from the Ihaia Rd crossroads |
 |
| This time I used trees at the bottom rather than the sides to frame this gorgeous mountain |
I decided to go back to NP via the coast road in the hope I might get some sunset/sundown shots of the mountain from the west while I drove north back to New Plymouth. So, after the photo stop at the crossroads, I went down Ihaia Rd to Opunake & turned north.
Passing through Okato I noticed 3 beautifully kept rugby pitches: it was clear they took the game very seriously here, & needed 3 pitches to cope.
The pitches were very different from the single set of posts on a rough mown field I'd seen in Te Hapua the previous month, & on Stewart Island in 2011.
At some point between Tataraimaka & Oakura a pukeko walked across the SH45 about 50y in front of the car, so I pulled up in the hope of finally photographing a pukeko.
As usual he/she tried to hide in the grass, but at least he/she didn't fly off, & I got a decentish picture ~ mostly of his/her white bum, & you can't see how lovely & blue pukekos are, but it finished my picture taking off nicely :-)
 |
| Shame the grass was so long the lovely red legs weren't visible either :-/ |
Just north of Oakura I spotted a sign for the Okurukuru winery, so went to have a look in case there was something I fancied for tea & next day.
Sadly, the cheapest was $50, & that was pinotage, which is one of my least liked grapes.
Back on the SH45, I found a gas station for some petrol, called in at Chaddy's Charters to book next day's sail round the Sugarloaf Islands, found a free parking spot in town, & had a successful shop for a new black bum bag.
I also called in at the little mall on Egmont St., & picked up a bottle of pinot noir for $10, some chinese noodles, & some apricots.
At some point in the proceedings, I also found out that I could park near Ariki for free between 1700 & 0900, so ~ as it was after 5pm by this time, I found a spot outside Starbucks, only about 100m away.
Sorted :-)
Also at some point, someone must've told me that Ariki meant chief, because my hieroglyphics say so ;-)
Dinner tonight was the aforementioned chinese noodles with the last of the Gibbotson cheese, the last avocado, the last two bags of the Paihia tea, and my last taste of NZ pinot noir on this trip.
But not all at once, obviously ;-p
My notes say I sat about afterwards, doing sudoku & that I drank nearly the whole bottle I'd bought at the Egmont St. mall.
I didn't take much rocking that night!
OAO
No comments:
Post a Comment