Saturday 3rd November to Friday 9th November – Guy Fawkes night, NZ style!

Saturday 3^rd November – Fireworks party

It was a challenge to wash all of the black sand out of my wetsuit this morning but essential. It had passed the test yesterday and kept me nice and warm so I need to look after it.  I didn’t mind heading into the SPCA office today – the weather was dismal, traffic was light and it would be a distraction from yesterday’s sad outcome.  

Unexpected entertainment at the fireworks party

Tonight’s fireworks party had been arranged for ages at Huihana’s friend Linda’s place in the middle of nowhere, near a place called Onewhero (pronounced on-ay-fero, not one-wahero apparently). We’d met her and her children at the infamous paintball event a few months ago and Linda and I go to the same gym. In New Zealand the law only allows the public to buy fireworks for three days before Guy Fawkes Night… pretty sensible, eh? It doesn’t stop people stockpiling for their Christmas festivities apparently though!  We took along some salads, meat and fish with us for our contribution.

Shame the weather wasn’t playing ball. It wasn’t a complete washout but the winds were verging on gale force I’m sure.  Somehow, the gazebo remained standing up, so someone had done a cracking job in pegging that down. We had fun meeting new people and standing around the campfire chatting whilst various fireworks were let off and small children burnt themselves with sparklers. There was one hairy moment when a semi-automatic weapon with tracer bullets was shot into the sky, but we’ll skirt over that one….. (yes, that actually happened!). But eventually most people succumbed to the cold and we found ourselves inside listening to one of the younger attendees serenading us with his ukulele (above). A very confident young man. The huge bonfire sadly never got lit due to the gusting winds and its proximity to the house and everyone’s cars – a sensible moment of health and safety in amongst an otherwise risk-filled evening!

Sunday 4^th November – SPCA

A calm day in the office, assisted by extra paws in the form of Panda the cat

Glad to see it didn't take her long to feel comfortable...

Monday 5^th November – Bird rescue

I tried getting Zambesi to entertain us by making some echoes inside this plastic igloo…. But he wasn’t having it!

Tuesday 6^th November – Visit to the KMA (Kokako Management Area)

I’ve been waiting to tackle this until I’d improved my fitness. The north section of the Hunua ranges is further away from home, about an hour’s drive, and the walking is more extreme, as I would find out today. But the rewards are to have a higher chance of seeing a kokako and to explore some different untouched NZ bush.

Meeting time was 8am. I got a little nervous a I slowly drove up the slippery gravel road and through a gate I thought was supposed to be locked….. how far up this hill was I meant to go?!  But then I saw Willow’s van, so I knew I was in the right place.

After initial introductions I was paired up with Richard – another ex-pom!  He and his wife have lived here for a little longer than us though – fifteen years.  It was 845am when we left the car on the gravel road and headed into the bush along K-track, each of us carrying a pack containing nine eggs to replace the old ones in the traps. 

Much easier just to say K track...

 But the region we were heading to was far away. First stop after about an hour was as the ‘café’:

The hut there was much better equipped than the run down public one at Piggotts – it had a fully functioning kitchen and sink for starters, along with one of the best views in the Hunuas:

What a gorgeous day for it. One of the sheds here has also been found to be the roosting spot for some bats… inside this old rucksack on the wall (right), hence the ‘do not disturb’ sign. 


We continued along K-track until we reached a junction where we turned left along a ridge track that was closed to the public.  Having reached bait station number 36, this indicated that we could start work... after nearly two hours of walking!  At least stopping every 50 meters or so gave me a break. I didn’t want to slow Richard down too much, but he is over six foot with much longer legs than me!  We made it to the last of our sixteen traps we needed to visit, having replaced all of the eggs and found not a single victim along the way.  And then we were officially half way… time to do the same route in reverse!  We did stop briefly for a couple of drink and snack breaks but it was pretty much continual walking other than that.
I get the impression that it isn’t as sociable volunteering over here and with less opportunities for cake!  The days are longer and with everyone covering large distances it is less likely that people bump into each other for drinks.  We made one extra detour to our route to reach the trig at the summit. We were going so close it would have been silly not to have paid a visit.  I’m told that you can see for miles around on a clear day but a haze had settled in over the mountains since the morning:

That's the Firth of Thames in the hazy distance

My legs were definitely tiring on the way back but we’d done most of the hard slog on the way in so  thankfully the majority of the track was downhill on the return journey.  It was 1445 when we arrived back at the car – after six hours of tramping with only a couple of breaks!

I was pooped (check out my Fitbit tally) but glad that I had been able to hold my own and explore a new region. I would definitely be sleeping well tonight.

 










Wednesday 7^th November – recovery day

I could’ve gone on my normal tramping day today but my legs needed a rest. The most exciting thing to report was finding a double-yolker in one of my free-range eggs for lunch! (right)

Thursday 8^th to Friday 9^th November – SPCA

Not much to report. Apart from the fact that, with the help of a very roughly drawn diagram, I have managed to get my phone set up working at home and have acquired an office chair and a flat pack desk.  Working from home may be coming soon….