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. 

 

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.    

 

 

Paekakariki Escarpment

The sky was blue, the ocean was blue and there was a gentle breeze. It was a perfect summer day to walk the Paekakariki Escarpment. Alison and I traversed it north to south and I think that was a good direction to walk it. There are steep steps both ways but in the morning we had the sun behind us and the added interest of two swing bridges towards the southern end. It was a popular outing for holiday makers today although we started a bit earlier than most of the walkers. We passed a lot of people heading north as we descended and there were about a dozen people waiting for the bus (train replacement today) at Pukerua Bay. 

Kapiti Island

Best birthday present to myself ever - an overnight trip to Kapiti Island. I have a whole new appreciation and understanding of the bush clad island I see every day now that I have climbed it and walked among the trees. The bird life is amazing and we saw several rare and endangered birds such as hihi, saddleback/kieke, takahe and kokako.

Alison and I were very lucky to see the kokako. Sightings are infrequent but one flew across the path in front of us and landed on a low branch nearby. There were lots of kereru in the small trees near our cabin and they even graze on the grass in front of the cabins. Two old takahe (one is blind) live around the houses at the north end where we stayed and we saw them several times. The kaka are food thieves but one landed on my shoulder and sat there for a about a minute even though I wasn't holding any food. One had grabbed a biscuit from someone nearby and then a bunch of them turned up. A little robin hopped around us when we sat on the path and scratched at the leaf litter with a stick. It was so cute and so close. A weka pecked my thumb but I deserved that. I lured it over to me with a shiny chocolate wrapper. It pecked the wrapper a couple of times and when I wouldn't let go of the wrapper it pecked my thumb.  I still didn't let go of the wrapper!

I'm so pleased we stayed overnight and not just for the day. The weather was great, we met some lovely people (14 visitors stayed overnight and Wayne was a very friendly and informative host) and there was a great variety of birdlife.  We heard but didn't see kiwi, they are rather elusive at the moment, but the night walk in the bush was still interesting. It was a beautiful, still and starry evening, so quiet that we could hear weta in the bush. 

 

 

Save Our Auckland Flights

I went to the rally at Paraparaumu Airport today to protest Air New Zealand cutting flights to the Kapiti Coast and to show support for Air Chathams to fill the void. I am usually a great supporter/customer of Air New Zealand but felt very disappointed in the way they dealt with the suspension of the Kapiti-Auckland flights. Not only did they make the announcement just five days after a big open day at the airport attended by over 1000 people but they only gave the community four weeks notice. The airport is only five minutes away from my house so even if I have to pay a bit more for an airfare it still works out cheaper and/or more convenient than traveling to Wellington Airport. 
Boo Air NZ; Go Air Chathams.

 

New Job, New Library

My poor neglected blog. I've been busy finishing one job, starting another, selling one house, buying another and commuting from the capital city to the Kapiti Coast. Fortunately all is going well and I'm enjoying my job at Paraparaumu Library.