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Water is usually at least covering the filter off the side of the tower.
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Rewarewa in bud
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Puawhananga - clematis paniculata
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Ernies Hut
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| View towards the low reservoir |
Voting day in New Zealand was a stunner, and The Scout and I headed off to the Hunua Ranges after casting our votes to hike Ernies Track. The Scout has hiked this track about six times previously and it was my first. I had heard conflicting stories about a how bad the hills were.
We went in past the Mangatawhiri Dam which is worryingly low for this time of year. I think Auckland will definitely have severe water restrictions in place over summer. The forestry road we hiked up had a long slow seemingly endless incline. I would call myself moderately fit, yet I seem to struggle up hills. The Scout who doesn't exercise regularly seems to walk up them without any trouble, which I find frustratingly annoying.
Eventually this torture passed and we stopped for lunch at Piggots Hut, before coming to the bush section of the track. This was much more enjoyable despite the stairs, mud, gnarly roots, more uphill and downhill. I saw some native plants I hadn't seen before, Puawhananga (clematis paniculata) and Rewarewa (New Zealand honeysuckle).
The track is just under 15km and took a a couple of hours longer than the 3.5 hours I had been told, but that could be my fault for my slow uphill start and stopping to take photos. Overall an enjoyable day out.
Thanks for sharing a beautiful pick into your part of the world.
ReplyDeletethat was a long hike! I haven't been able to hike that far in a very long time.
ReplyDeleteAren't we the lucky ones having access to such beautiful walks and scenery.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the beauty of a part of New Zealand. Love seeing beautiful photos from other parts of the world, as we are in a (partial) lockdown again.
ReplyDelete