Well how’s that for a picture.
This was on a trip through the Hukutaia Reserve, just outside of Opotiki. Ngaio my lovely host here at the Motu Trails offered to take me up there one afternoon to show me the area. Things are quiet for them here with the end of the season and the weather turning a bit cold and blowey.
It is a lovely 4.5 ha of reserve with natives from all over the place planted and well looked after. In this reserve is also Taketakerau the burial tree. So it is an area of significance for local Maori. The tree was used when the bones of their loved ones were dug up after a year and placed inside the hole in the huge Puriri tree that they believe is over 2000 years old. When European came along the bones were moved elsewhere as the area was not respected.
It was neat to take a picture of Ngaio standing by a Ngaio tree….
So after a couple of lazy days I went fishing on Saturday off Tirohanga. John (Ngaio’s husband) sugessted that as the sea was flat that is where everyone seems to go for kayak fishing. So I headed up there and launched into a nice flat sea and paddled about a km out towards White Island hehehe
So cast the lines overboard, one with each type of softbait that I use.
The second is Crazy Legs in Newpenny.
Interesting that the Jerk Shad did nothing yet the Crazy Legs got me two lovely kawhai.
Still forgot to take photo of the other one! go figure. So excited after cleaning the first one!
Anyway that was a nice little trip out and a bit of a slog back as the wind had picked up an was heading off shore. Still a nice little paddle and upper body workout to go with the biking I had done.
So then I get an opportunity to tag along with another group doing the Pahiki Track. Interesting that on the maps it is Pahiki but on the hut it is Pakihi! Go figure.
So we headed off into the mist. Three lovely girls form Wellington who were staying in Rotorua with their families and some more friends all keen mountain bikers. They had spent yesterday biking around the tracks in Rotorua and headed over first thing this morning.
John had loaded my bike up front AGAIN, so it was as muddy as get out before I even started!
It was a nice dry trip with most of the trail being pretty dry. no rain to speak of, just grey and overcast.
About 3km after the end of the track, about 17km from Opotiki, while still on the dirt road out from the Pakihi Valley I blew a tyre and boy did it blow! Everyone heard it go!
So lovely Val lent me a spare tube but we realised that the tyre itself was pretty knackered so I said that I would limp out as far as I could and then call for a pick up. The tube was an old one and had a slow leak but I managed to ride another 11km before it finally gave up the ghost.
So I walked the final 6km back into Opotiki and was only about 2km from home base when the girls came to see if I was alright! So neat of them. But they were all loaded up and it wasn’t far and they needed to get on the road back to Rotorua so I thanked them, got Val’s address to send her a replacement tyre and they headed off.
A lovely walk not too hot but the thing that really got to me was the fact that after slogging it home last weekend with the huge head wind, I could not take advantage of the lovely tail wind today! Still a lesson in keeping on top of maintenance on ones equipment. I am soooo lucky that it didn’t blow earlier in the day!
Anyway its been a lovely week here in beautiful Opotiki, washing done today, bike cleaned and blog updated…. probably do some more baking. The muffins and biscuits from earlier in the week didn’t last long….
A lovely shot from out the bus door one night last week! Just beautiful.
Well off now to ….. not sure what yet, but I’ll find something to do, house work, baking, reading book … mmmmm too many choices.
Safe travels everyone.
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