Rosemary's Ramblings

February was a month with something to write about, for a change. 

For the North Island generally it was a month leading to the drought conditions which were declared early in March.  It is heart-wrenching to see the land dried up and know the animals – and the farmers – are suffering.  We in Putaruru might be considered smug as we have a continuous supply of pure water.  Not for us dried up gardens and brown lawns!  Or so we thought.  About mid-February we were put on water restrictions.  The District Council banned sprinklers, and allowed hand-held watering devices for 2 hours morning and evening, between the hours of 6 and 8.  Did these restrictions, needed in Tokoroa, Tirau and Arapuni, apply to Putaruru?  Seems they did, because the pumps were kept running 24 hours a day.  The powers that be did not like that.  But we still have water!

For me it was the month of my Bush and Beyond South Island holiday.  I try to have one every year.  It is something to look forward to in the meantime.  For the past two years Margaret has been with me.  Prior to that I always had TC and family down there to stay with.  This year it was solo.  Before and after the walk I stayed at The Hat Trick backpackers' lodge. It was more like a hotel for me, who had a private room with en-suite. I was welcomed back warmly by the proprietors.

On the morning of February 22nd, Bill and Maryann picked me up at 8 am. We picked up two other ladies of mature years – but not as mature as I – and we were off to the West Coast. On the way we stopped for lunch at Lyell.  Mark and Nicola will know the place.  It used to be a gold mining town last century – or was it the century before?  The last time I visited the spot, there was no indication a town had ever been there, but now there are information boards with photographs and newspaper clippings telling us all about it.

The thing that captured my interest was a sign near the river indicating The Old Ghost Trail.  A cycle-way entrance and a new bridge were already in place. The trail follows the route of an old road over the hills to the West Coast.  Bill said there are huts already built but the track is not ready for cyclists yet.  He thinks it will open within a year or so.  I hoped he was planning to add it to the Bush and Beyond agenda.  If not, who will come with me?  Mark, Nicola?

We stayed three nights at the Karamea Hotel, going out for walks by the day.  We had dinner at the hotel every night. So that was why this trip was more expensive than usual!  Great dinners they were. Bill and Maryann had a suite that they always use when on Bush and Beyond trips. The suite had a spare bedroom, so I stayed with them, while the 'ladies' had a motel room.  Maryann provided breakfasts and food to take for lunches.

The only 'all day' outing was to the Oparara valley.  This was a place unknown to the world 70 years ago.  Even loggers did not get that far up the hill.  By the time they had the equipment to do so, logging there was banned.  Hunters found the cave system in 1949.  They named the place Honeycomb Hill for good reason.  Only about 5% of the caves have yet been explored.. There are caves open to anyone who cares to enter, but to enter the main cave one must be accompanied by an official guide.  Maryann had made the appointment for us. Our guide was another man named Bill.  He just loved the cave, and was zealous in making sure no one desecrated it by touching the surfaces, except where the descent was hazardous.  Then we were allowed to hold on to the rocks alongside. I felt I should be wearing gloves.

We saw the usual stalactites and stalagmites and various weird and wonderful formations – the kind of thing one finds in many limestone caves.  What we had here that was unique was moa bones.  They had been found in the cave, but were gathered and displayed on several rocks beside our route.  There were glow-worms too.  At one point we were told to turn off the lights on our helmets.  After a moment of adjustment, we saw myriads of glow-worms above our heads. They seemed close enough to touch.  In fact they probably were, because when we put on our lights again and looked up, we could see clearly the actual worms, and the threads hanging down to catch insects that were carried on the breeze from a nearby fissure. 

We spent about an hour in the cave. It was interesting but I cannot say I much enjoyed it. The best thing I saw was the green glow of the egress!  This was largely because I had developed a cough which I could not subdue. This was embarrassing as well as unpleasant, so I could not wait to get out of there.  As we climbed up and out, the guide told me that it was the cold and damp in the cave that caused the cough.  I guess he was right, because as soon as we got out, the cough was gone. 

That afternoon our own Bill took us the see the Oparara Arch, a mighty limestone arch over the river. Impressive, but I preferred the path through the forest to the scramble under the arch.  Then we went to see another arch, and this one I was quite taken with.  It is called the Moria Gate Arch, named, long before the movie, from the Lord of the Rings.  Through a little cave we went down to a magic world by the river under the arch.  The walk to this arch was through the forest primeval, i.e. never logged, and I loved it.

Another day we walked the beginning of the Heaphy Track, and spent some time on Maryann's favorite of all beaches, Scotts Beach.  The beach was empty and serene.  We did a few side trips on the way back to Karamea, including a visit to Karamea beach.  I did not know there was one!  It was some way out of town.  A good beach, I suppose, as beaches go.

The day we left Karamea we did walks in the bush and a walk to a lovely little lake, Lake Hanlon. Then we walked up the track of an old railway to Seddonville beside the beautiful Mokihinui River.

Not long ago there was a petition afloat to save the Mokihinui, which a hydro-electric company was proposing to dam.  Because I had read of how a dam would destroy an irreplaceable ecosystem upstream, I actually joined a petition through Forest and Bird magazine to save it.  I had no idea of the beauty that would be desecrated downstream.  I am so glad the petition was successful.

Our last night on the Coast we stayed at Gentle Annie Beach, in a house built by friends of Maryann and Bill. The house overlooked the sea, was backed up against the bush, and was out of sight of any other dwelling. It was a magic place to stay. 

The next day we visited Denniston. That was an altogether different experience.  It was a sunny day, nature had healed much of the wounds caused by mining, and most of the old buildings had gone, so what we saw was not much like what it was like from the 1880s to the 1950s when it was a productive coal mining town.  However, we had seen a DVD the previous evening, and there were lots of photographs and artifacts in the museum to show us what it had been like.

Maryann, the ladies, and I walked down the bridle path the miners had built in their own time so that they did not have to travel up and down the Incline in the coal cars when they wanted to visit Waimangaroa, the town at the foot of the hill.  It was now a lovely walk.  Bill met us at the bottom.

I am not sure why Maryann, Bill and I always referred to Tessa and Freda as 'the ladies'.  As if Maryann and I were not!  We had a last picnic beside the road before the long ride back to Nelson to drop off the ladies, and back to Motueka for a last night for me.    A great holiday.