Winter Wonderland - NZ from the ISS

The International Space Station captured a stunning view of New Zealand as it passed over the country this morning. I would have waved from outside the library at 8.30am if I'd know they could see Kapiti. 

Wild Weather

June means short days, long dark nights and this year plenty of thunder and lightning. According to a meteorologist on TV it has been an 'exceptional' period of bad weather rather than a new pattern of weather due to climate change. ParkRun was cancelled on Saturday because the river flooded the track and by the end of the weekend Otaihanga Domain was full of water and a couple of tornadoes had blown through Waikanae. Alison had a cracked window and a tree blew down. I got off lightly with a worsening leak in the porch roof. 

The forecast didn't look so bad a week ago. It quickly changed to warnings of heavy swells, gale force wind and severe thunder and lightning storms.

Water on the Waikanae River track. 

Glamour at the library

Life in the library has been rather dull with Covid putting most events on pause during the past three months. However things were more lively and a lot more glamorous this week as we hosted a Rainbow Story Time starring Erika and Coco Flash. My role was limited to introductions, thanks and pressing play for the music. They were lovely and appreciative of our efforts but my Tamariki Times certainly don't match their glam and sartorial style! 

Ruapehu Visit

Alison and I had a couple of days in Tongariro National Park at Easter on the way to visit Mum in Te Awamutu. We walked part of the Old Coach Road, a couple of hours in from the Ohakune end. I finally made it to this track after missing it in December. The next day we walked the Taranaki Falls track and laughed at the memory of Alison falling in the stream at the top of the falls. Not so funny for her at the time but it hasn't put her off walking the track again. The weather was perfect and it was surprising to see Ruapehu bare of snow on the Whakapapa side. 

Kapakapanui

Seven river crossings, a goblin forest, 1001 metres steep uphill and 1001 metres steep downhill. That pretty much summarises the Kapakapanui Track but what a marvellous tramp despite the objections of my knee joints. The river crossings are near the beginning and were fairly easy to cross although it does mean wet feet for the walk. Most of the walk is through beautiful native forest and the trees dripping with moss in the goblin forest was especially pretty. A stunning view from the top, across the Tararua ranges to the east and along the Kapiti Coast to the west. Now I know what the peak that I can see from my house, occasionally covered in snow, is like up close. There were 10 of us in the Parawai Tramping Club organised trip, including my tramping and work buddies Nisa and Simon. 

 

Plant Shopping

Alison finally received a belated Christmas present  from me today - a plant of her choice from a garden centre and lunch at a café. It was very belated because we decided to wait until the March planting season, after the hottest part of summer had passed. Today was a gorgeous late summer Saturday and a perfect day for plant shopping. As usual I was tempted by the offerings at 100 & 1 Plants in Otaki. I spotted a Peperomia Urvilleana, the NZ native peperomia, which I was pleasantly surprised to see was only $9 (as compared to the P. Rubella which was $60!). They also had a good selection of Lithops and I spent ages choosing the 'best' one. So many cute little living stones in different colours and patterns. I also bought a Hypocalymma cordifolium Golden Veil which is a very big name for something with such tiny leaves. 

Next stop was Watsons in Otaki. I was pleased to find a Metrosideros Tahiti as it was on my list for replanting the garden where the cherry tree was removed. I also bought a pretty red lobelia, a Gazania, and a couple of plants for Alison.

By the time we reached Harrisons at Pekapeka we were more interested in food and drink than plants so we ate at their lovely café. The plants are a bit expensive at Harrisons but beautifully laid out in a garden like setting. We were starting to wilt by 2.30pm so we headed home via Pekapeka with a boot full of plants. 

Sore Throat Dilemma

I have a niggly sore throat. More of a throat ache than a scratchy, irritated throat. It could be nothing but it could be something. What if I ignored it and went to work but it was the big C (which at the moment means Covid). So I alerted my team leaders that I wouldn't be at work today and booked a Covid test. I was given a pick up time of 11.59am which was interesting for two reasons. One is that 11.59 is an oddly specific time and the other was that it was a pick up time not a PCR test time. I turned up at the back of Team Medical at 11.56, was handed a box and returned home to do the Rapid Antigen Test myself. The good news is that 15 minutes later I knew I didn't have Covid-19. I had also been feeling very tired for the past few days so I had a restful day at home and postponed my squash game until Thursday. This evening I feel better and now have four spare test kits in case I need another RAT. 

Covid-19 Hits NZ

Two years ago today the first Covid-19 case was identified in New Zealand. Since then we have largely been protected from the waves of illness and death seen overseas by our closed border, MIQ, lockdowns and alert levels. In the past week that has all changed. Omicron, the most contagious variant, sneaked in a month ago and positive case numbers are exploding. Fortunately the vast majority of eligible people are vaccinated and that should prevent many hospitalizations and deaths. However the next few weeks could be quite disrupted as people get sick, have to self isolate, and supply chains and services are affected. One of my friend's learned this evening she has Covid. After two years the nasty little devil is here, circulating in our community.  

Covid Case Numbers

24 January             25

31 January             91

6 February            208

13 February          810   

20 February        2522

27 February     14,941

ParkRun

 After a six month hiatus due to Covid, storm damage, then Covid again, ParkRun finally restarted yesterday at Otaihanga Domain. At least it is still summer and not cold or dark rising at 7am on a Saturday and slogging my way down the Waikanae River path at 8am. It really was a slog and my time was slow. But I ran the whole way and completed my 44th ParkRun. 

Three Invasions

1) Protestors invaded central Wellington and are still there 18 days later. 

2) Omicron invaded New Zealand with thousands of cases per day now.

3) Russia invaded Ukraine yesterday.

The worst invasion by far is Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine. People are fleeing, fighting and dying. The protestors in Wellington believe their rights and freedom have been trampled on by vaccine mandates but that pales into comparison with what is happening to the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Ukraine. I agree with the right to protest but the Wellington protestors have ignored the rights of others to go about their daily lives unimpeded and free from threats and abuse. The Covid-19 Omicron invasion is now in the exponential growth stage we were warned about. In the past three days the number of known positive cases has shot up from 3297 to 6137 to 12 011 cases. 

Some items of interest I have read today:

'No place for kids': Police officer talks about life on the frontline of the protest. 

Vanishing Number Plates

 After a pleasant walk with Mary yesterday I thought there was something odd about my car as I approached it parked on the road below her house. It took me a couple of seconds to figure it out but then I realised the rear number plate was missing. I walked around the car and the front plate was also missing!

Some lowlife ratbag had stolen the plates during the hour we were out walking. It was broad daylight between 5.20 and 6.30pm so it was a very cheeky heist. I was disgusted that someone would steal my number plates to use in some sort of criminal activity. 

It was also a real hassle because I had to go through the process of sorting it all out. I was on hold with the police 105 call centre for an hour before I could make a report yesterday evening, today I had to visit the AA office to organise new plates, then it took me a while to track down where I could purchase anti theft screws. I bought a packet of screws from Repco on the way to squash then couldn't figure out how on earth to attach the plates to the car. The screw holes on the plate don't match the holes in the car. Ahhhh! I will leave that problem until tomorrow. Meanwhile I am driving around without number plates and with the police report in my car in case I am stopped. 

Mount Taranaki

My weekend in Egmont National Park was both awesome and disappointing. It was disappointing not to make it to the summit of Mt Taranaki but still an awesome walk, despite the awful weather, with a great group of people. 

I joined a Parawai Tramping Club trip to Mt Taranaki. We travelled up to Stratford on Friday and stayed at the lodge at the Stratford Holiday Park. We popped down to the main street to find takeaway dinner in the evening and Mt Taranaki was clearly visible against a bright blue sky. However the next morning it was cloudy with a mixed weather forecast. We set off from the North Egmont Visitor Centre at about 8.30am and began the slog - up a steep four wheel drive track to Tahurangi Alpine Lodge, then up a rocky gorge, a long flight of stairs and onto the scree slope. The scree didn't seem too bad to start with but after a while it got thicker and looser and it was difficult to take a step without also sliding backwards. Unfortunately the weather was wet and became much windier and colder the higher we went. After climbing about 1000 metres we decided the only safe thing to do was turn back. We were all wet, the wind was strong and as soon as we stopped moving we felt cold. The loose scree wasn't much easier going down. I fell backwards a couple of times but didn't do any damage. A couple of others had scrapes and bumps. The rough scoria could easily graze skin but I had so many layers of clothes on that I didn't get scratched. Next time I would take better gloves - someone suggested gardening gloves which sounds like a great idea. 

We made it back down to Tahurangi Lodge and instead of going directly down the four wheel drive track we took a side route to Maketawa Hut. The track consisted mostly of puddles but our socks and boots were already soaking wet (they squelched as I walked) so it was easier to walk straight through the puddles than try to manoeuvre around them. We had a lucky break at lunch, the sun came out as we sat on the deck so we warmed up and filled up at the same time. The best thing about the Maketawa walk was the lush and beautiful vegetation. It started with shrubs on the higher part of the track then from the hut back to the visitor centre it was dense rainforest, dripping with moisture from the misty rain. 

 

Extreme Weather

It rained all last weekend and it has rained most of this weekend. Both Sunday temperatures plunged to 15°C and were windy as well. Today the whole North Island copped the remnants of Cyclone Dovi with flooding, wind damage and cool temperatures. But it hasn't been too depressing for me because I have been on annual leave and enjoyed the sunshine and being outdoors during the week. I was productive during the rain and made two skirts. I was productive during the fine weather and tackled several garden jobs. I did the Nikau Reserve up and down twice on Wednesday morning and sweated buckets. The temperature reached 28°C that day but the view from the top was excellent (twice). 

The wait for Omicron to dig its claws into the country seems to be coming to an end. In the past few days the number of cases has risen sharply from 200 to 810 daily cases (a week later on 20/2 there are 2522 cases). Café Lane and a Thai restaurant have been named as the first locations of interest in Kapiti. Fortunately Alison finished working at Café Lane a few weeks ago. The protestors outside Parliament are living in a sea of mud after the weekend rain (photo from Stuff below). It would be ironic if Covid spread through that unmasked, unvaccinated group but I guess that's a risk they are willing to take.    

 

 

Castlepoint

Making the most of another perfect January day to visit another spot on the Wairarapa Coast - Castlepoint. It's not the first time I've visited. The first was on a family camping trip but my main memory of that trip is the awning ripping in fierce wind and we retreated to the Patrick's farm at Gladstone. My second visit was with a group of colleagues from Mt Ruapehu and we visited to watch the annual horse race along the beach. This time it was to explore the area and enjoy the fabulous scenery. There are lots of interesting rock formations and we climbed Castle Rock for wonderful views north and south along the coast. A first for me on this trip was travelling via the Akatarawas. It's a single lane, winding road with blind corners. I'm glad Simon was driving while I enjoyed the forest view and tried not to look at each upcoming corner. 

A Winning Day

 A routine day today that finished with a little flourish. Sometimes you have to enjoy the wins when you can get them, no matter how small, and today the stars were aligned for a run of small wins. 

• A 3/1 win against Gill at squash today. I'm slowing down against her as time goes by but today I proved I can still enjoy a good win if I follow a couple of basic rules - play long and tight, and get back to the T.
• No strikes needed to win Stuff's three strike trivia test. All correct on the first attempt.
• Solved Wordle on the second word even with only one correct letter (and not in the correct place) on the first line.
• 15/15 for the Stuff Quiz. Woohoo!

I'm on a roll. Maybe I should buy a Lotto ticket.

Omicron and Covid Red Light

Following the confirmation of several Omicron cases in Motueka the whole country has moved the the Red Traffic Light setting today. We were warned it was just a matter of time. I'm glad I visited the supermarket about an hour before the Prime Minister's announcement yesterday. It was quiet at Pak 'n Save at 9.30am but apparently people felt the need to stock up on supplies (despite the PM saying 'do not panic buy') and it was very busy later in the day. 

Today is Wellington Anniversary Day and I love these three day weekends. Sue and I went to see the new movie version of Westside Story today and the film was very good. I was surprised how much Spanish was spoken, but it was easy for me to follow all the dialogue. The picture below gives the impression of fun and dancing but actually the story is a rather violent and tragic version of Romeo & Juliet. The only problem was the theatre felt like a sauna. I was in the top back corner furthest from the door but I crept past everyone to go out and ask a staff member to put the air-conditioning on.  

South Wairarapa Coast

 A fabulous day out with Nisa & Simon. We visited the South Wairarapa Coast - Cape Palliser Lighthouse, seal colony (so many seals!), Putangirua Pinnacles and Lake Ferry Hotel. We really needed a cold drink after a hot slog up through the bush to the pinnacles and back down following the stream bed in the intense afternoon sun. My new boots got a work out clambering up and down rocks and I think they will be just fine.