We have now been travelling around the North Island for some months. In this time we have walked some of the tracks depicted in the book ‘Excellent Short Walks in the North Island’. I am a short walker. It has been an excellent reference so far as each walk time has been accurate and the intensity it depicts each walk will provide has been correct. If I have taken longer or puffed a lot it is not the book’s fault.
The tracks we go on are always well maintained. They fill me with admiration for the people who cut the many steps and toted gravel to such high altitudes. Often there are small traps off to the side of the tracks, indicating that the area is striving to be pest free.
My husband and I have been astonished to see signs that warn against wallabees. We did not know that they existed in the North Island and in such numbers as to become pests. We are only used to thinking about a couple of these animals residing in Waimate.
The DOC employees (I am giving DOC the recognition here, although I am not sure if this organisation is responsible for all these tracks or not) have had such success with their pest control in Whitianga that when walking to the lookout there we were surrounded by fantails. In the open area at the top nine or ten fantails fluttered around us. They were not scared of us in the least and one just about landed on my shoulder.
My husband informed me that these little birds were not so interested in us as the small insects we were disturbing as we walked. Fantails are actually expert insect killers, using their tails to turn and twist quickly.
Even so their presence made for another special short walk.
I’m loving these weekly blogs. We’re not the kind of family that calls up to chat to each other on a regular basis so this is an excellent way to get the gist of how things are going for you guys. The word count must be climbing towards a book sometime in the future called ‘Gypsies in NZ’ or something similar. Keep the blogs coming.