I've been doing some biking and not blogging that here and then the weather got bad so I was restricted to hiking in town. When it rains here it can really pour, it reminds me of the monsoon rains I saw in Beijing. This is not the kind of rain I want to hike in. Also most of the trails in my area at least are made of slippery clay. Wet clay is not fun to hike on. I've slipped and fallen a few times since I got to New Zealand. I've been told that it is just this area, that not all of New Zealand is made of slick clay. I hope that is true.
I got off to a late start because I did not sleep well the night before. I think I hit the trail at about 11pm and I had planned to do about 7.5 miles with about 2,500 feet. The time quickly got away from me and I nearly had to hike out in the dark. I got out well after sunset but was never forced to put my headlamp on.
This trail did not excite me other than a few big trees and some colorful mushrooms the greenery did not impress. There was a good view point about a quarter of a mile before the top of Mount Mckenna and I opted to have my lunch there. I've been up Mckenna from the other side three times and I know there is no view on the summit.
Abra dropped me off at the start of my hike in Catchpool Valley and I through hiked up the clay ridge trail over to the Mckenna trail and down the Whakanui trail. Then I took three busses to get home.
The bus drivers have been striking and the bus service is no reliable. I took the first bus that arrived even though it did not go all the way to where I wanted to go. I was afraid that the actual bus I wanted would get cancelled and then I would be really stuck out in the middle of no where. So I took a bus that only went to the bus barn and then I waited there for another bus to take me to the BP station so I could walk over to Fitzherbert road and catch my final bus home.
This hike was not a lot fun for me today, I was tired and there was a lot of elevation gain and I did not pack as much food as I would have liked to eat since I am trying to lose weight.
7.5 miles with 2,400 feet (rounded up) elevation gain
New Zealand is treating me okay. There is no covid here and I might be able to afford healthcare once I am a resident, so I am loving that. The people are friendlier on the street, there is a bit of a relaxed attitude.
But also the houses are built very poorly, they are basically just wooden tents. They don't put plywood on the exterior of the house at all, just chicken wire then paper and then the siding or the roofing. Insulation is minimal, there is generally only one heat source in the entire house. Extractor fans and roof vents have to be retrofitted into most houses. Even the new builds don't have roof vents and have condensation problems. These are very expensive wooden tents, young people starting out have no prayer of ever owning their own home, but still you don't see tent cities here. The government puts all the homeless people in hotel rooms.
Kiwis get ripped off on most consumer goods. Food is expensive because there is so little competition, the grocery consumers and the farmers are both getting ripped off by the grocery stores. The government is thinking about trying to do something about that. 95% of the food produced here is exported and what stays here is over priced.
I'm adjusting to life here, but I do really miss my Olympic Mountains, my warm insulated house and cheap cilantro, I don't miss the crowds in the Mountains though. At least the trails around here are not crowded since I'm not in a touristy area.
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| Rimu tree |
Giant Rimu tree
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| Escaped domestic goat eating all the native tree seedlings so only older trees remain and no new ones come up to replace them. Everywhere I look the environment here is degraded and still being degraded. |
