It was a 4 days hike in the mountains, where I had to climb about 1000 meters and descend them afterwards, cross many creeks and one river, and many kilometers of rough terrain to conquer. Since it was a multiday hike I also had a fairly heavy backpack with me, carrying my tent, food, and other gear.

I thought – what the hell, this is going to be a difficult tramp, so why not try to make it a bit easier by using trekking poles. And guess what? They did a terrific job! Lets see how they helped me:

1. My backpack was heavy so when I had to walk through rough terrain, it was pretty difficult to keep my balance, but with trekking poles I felt much better, it was like having four legs.

2. When I climbed up, I made my trekking poles shorter, and they helped me to maintain straight posture while climbing, where otherwise I would bend.

3. When I descended, I made my trekking poles longer, and they did the same thing as when climbing – helped me to maintain straight posture.

4.  Crossing creeks was that much easier – you can hop from stone to stone and the only thing that gets wet is, of course, the trekking poles.

In addition to my own experience manufacturers claim that using trekking poles reduces the strain on your knees by 20% ! So by using them you can help preventing future injures and knee problems.

Of course, using trekking poles is something that you’ll have to get used to. It can take you more than one tramp. And I also don’t recommend using them on all the tramps that you do. For example if you go out for a one day (or less) walk, and you only take a water and snacks with you, then most of the chances are you will do just fine without trekking poles.

So in my opinion every tramper should at least give trekking poles a chance.

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On March 14, Hokitika will host its famous WildFoods festival. This year (2009) is festival’s twentieth anniversary!

Every year the mysterious aromas of exotic food attract thousands of people to this festival. Visitors are going to watch an exotic food fans swallow crickets, chew on huhu grubs, struggle with sheep eyes and eat bull penis sausages. All these are cooked from fresh produce and are actually healthy food. And if exotic food is not enough for you then there will be a big party afterwards, which will last till morning.

History of the WildFood festival
Claire Bryant, local woman, instigated the very first celebration of local wild food which is coincided with the 125th anniversary of Hokitika foundation in March 1990. Since then the Wildfoods Festival has become a famous event in New Zealand.
While the first festival attracted a crowd of 1800 people, the number of visitors grew rapidly to peak on 2003 at 22,500 !

WildFood festival features
New wild foods are introduced every year. This year’s innovations include wasp larvae ice cream, cucumber fish, wok fried clams, sheep milk cheeses and much more.

Of course wild food is not the only attraction on the festival. Roving entertainment and continuous stage performances by bands, solo artists, mime, comedy, and much more will keep everyone excited and entertained all through the day and night.

About Hokitika
Hokitika is a township on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, 40 kilometers south of Greymouth. The resident population of the Hokitika is about 3,000 people.

Hokitika was founded on gold mining in 1864, being the center of the West Coast gold rush. By late 1866 it was one of New Zealand’s most populous centers. After gold rush faded the population of Hokitika greatly declined but now it is rising again thanks to “lifestlye inhabitants”.

For more information about the WildFood festival visit wildfoods.co.nz

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Recently I wrote a post about safety while tramping and just now this post received a comment from Mike McGavin. Mike’s comment makes a good point, and I would like to post it as a separate post, so it would get more attention. So here is Mike’s comment:

” Hi Greg. I stumbled on your blog this evening and it looks really impressive. Thanks for putting it together, and I’ve subscribed to the rss.

I just thought I’d comment that I think around the Tongariro area (especially the crossing) must be one of the most frequent places all over New Zealand for people to go unprepared. That particular daywalk (the Tongariro Crossing) is the most popular daywalk in New Zealand, and I’m not an expert but I suspect the whole thing is at least partly because people factor a single day to walk the Crossing, but don’t take into account that their preferred day might simply have bad weather.

When we walked it, there was a lot of clag around, and strong icy-cold winds in several exposed places. We were completely covered up, visibility was about 10 metres, and were near having out maps and compasses (possibly a GPS) just in case. Still, we were surrounded by hundreds of people throughout the day who looked to be completely and absolutely unprepared. Most probably would have started because they really wanted to do it, but hadn’t planned for not being able to, and there were definitely people who should have been turning around near the start (but often didn’t) because they weren’t coping well with fitness and could have gotten themselves into terrible problems given the conditions. I honestly came away with the impression that some day in the future a bad storm’s going to come through without much warning and wipe 50 people off the mountain.

I’ve heard some really absurd stories about that area too from other people I’ve met, ranging from people trying to cross the mountain wearing high heels (without realising it’s not actually that kind of footpath) through to certain people who’d just finished military training and ditched one of their friends who they lost without bothering to report it. (With all that military training he could probably look after himself and get back on his own, after all.) That last one was a story from a Department of Conservation ranger who’d been stationed at a hut at the time, and came across the chap in jeans and a t-shirt unable to find his mates.

They’re sort of funny stories in some respects, but the disturbing part is that I still think it’s a matter of time before something really seriously bad happens. It really says something for making sure you’re properly prepared, and also be mentally prepared to not go at all if that’s what it takes on the day. ”

Mike McGavin has his own site named Windy Hilltops, where he talks a lot about his tramping experiences.

Whatipu is a remote beach located on the west coast of the Auckland Region. The whole area is a scientific reserve owned by the Department of Conservation. Personally I don’t know what scientific activities are being done there, but what I do know that it is a very beautiful place.

A magnificent area of coastal dunes and wetlands, and also the breeding ground for some of New Zealand’s endangered species, so the dogs are not permitted at Whatipu.

Gibbons Track. Photo by Greg Brave.

The beach is great and demands a swim, but Whatipu has no surf patrol, and as with all the beaches west of Auckland, swimming is not safe due to rips. But walking along them is highly recommended – one of the famous features of the area is the volcanic black sand

Walking Tracks at Whatipu

There are also some walking tracks in the area. For example Whatipu-Gibbons track. It begins at the car park at Whatipu and leads up the hill to the right of the parking. The track follows the top of the cliffs to the Pararaha Valley where it descends to the beach at Pararaha point. It then follows the beach back to Whatipu. There is a swamp near the beach, but don’t try to take shortcuts through it!
I tried but eventually got stuck and had to return to the beach and continue along the coastline.

Flower at Gibbons track. Photo by Greg Brave. Click on the photo for larger preview

Place to stay

If you want to spend the night at Whatipu you can stay at Whatipu Lodge, which is nested against the steep hills at the back of the beach flats. This “lodge” is really a collection of old buildings, the oldest being the Gibbons homestead, built in 1867 by mill manager Nicholas Gibbons, with its characteristic steep-pitched roof. There is also a camping ground available at Whatipu Lodge.

Getting there
Take the North-Western Motorway to the Great North Rd Exit. Follow Great North Rd onto Ash St which leads onto Rata St. Take Titirangi Rd right through Titirangi Village to the roundabout, take Huia Rd through to Huia. Continue on to Whatipu Rd for access to Whatipu at end of Whatipu Rd. From Auckland it is a 40 minutes drive.

But there is also another kind of blogs. Blogs in which people who live in a small country describe their experience of traveling around it. These blogs are also very valuable when you are in your trip-planning stage. They can give you an inside information that you won’t find in travel blogs.

Recently I discovered such blog named PohanginaPete.

Pete McGregor lives in the beautiful Pohangina valley, located in the lower half of New Zealand’s North Island. Pete writes about several different topics such as mountains and mountaineering, New Zealand’s natural history, his New Zealand’s (and other countries) traveling experiences, life in general, photography, and other things.

I liked his posts very much. Since he is enjoying hiking, traveling across NZ, and photography, most of hist posts include beautiful photos. But more important – the way Pete writes. The spirit of New Zealand feels so strongly in his posts that when I was reading, I felt like being there myself. I can say for sure that he really loves living in New Zealand and getting close to its nature.

If you decide to read his blog, I suggest concentrating on imagining the things Pete writes about. This way you will be able to really feel New Zealand. Of course it will be through Pete’s eyes and mind, but it is still a great experience. And when afterward you’ll be visiting New Zealand, your personal experience will be much more profound than it would be if you didn’t read PohanginaPete.

It might seem that I am recommending this blog only to people who intend to visit New Zealand, but it is not so. I am recommending this blog to anyone who loves the wonderful place called Planet Earth, who likes to truly live, feel, and experience, since Pete’s blog can enrich your experience of the world. It truly enriched mine.

Visit PohanginaPete

I am sure that anyone who saw the fireshow once, if at least for a fleeting moment, had a strong desire to try it.

Not many people know but the origin of the so famous fireshow is New Zealand. Here it is called POI, which in Maori means “ball” on a cord. Originally POI didn’t include fire – it was made from stone, which was held by Taro leaves. Later instead of leaves a simple linen rope was used. Maori Used Poi for equitable development of hands strength, coordination, and feat.

One of the Maori legends tells us about how the fireshow (or fire dance) appeared:
During the ceremonial dancing, in which shaman danced with torches, lightning struck and inflamed the other end of the torch, but shaman didn’t stop his dance. Maori warriors inspired by this spectacle, imitated shaman by lighting their staffs from both sides and doing all his moves. Since then shaman used to select capable and natty young men and trained them in handling the flames.

Maori have continued to develop this union of man and fire, bringing to the dance new moves and experimenting with different items instead of torches and sticks. This training of strength and feat soon evolved into a dance and the accessories became more and more decorated.

Women danced POI to their slow and plaintive songs making the female POI soft and slow, which used to hypnotize the spectators. Male POI was more stringent from the very beginning, it incorporated some rhythmic strength moves. Nowadays, in addition to basic rotation, masters of the fireshow “swallow fire”, make their poi imitate butterflies, waves, fountains, crossers, windmills, stalls, and wraps.

The first tourists who saw this wild dance brought it with them to their homes. Growing popularity of POI is obliged to the shows in Australian circuses, and also to its adaptation by “hippies” all around the world.
Though the popularity of the fireshow grows rapidly all around the world, New Zealand remains the best source for everything that has to do with it.

New Zealand is still POI world centre, it makes the best equipment for the fireshow, trains the best POI dancers, and hold the largest POI festivals, in which in addition to fire you can see also use of ultraviolet and LED lights.

Mark Pilbeam, aged 70 lives with his wife of 47 years, near Stratford-on-Avon in England and plays at photography when he has time. This is at least what he says about himself. I think he is too humble, since I saw his photographs and liked many of them. He agreed to share a short story of his trips to New Zealand. You can see a few of Mark’s photos at the end of this article.
Greg.

My wife and I, both in our late 60s, toured the South Island in December 2006 and January 2007. Our son, who lived in Christchurch at the time, drove us and, although we didn’t get as far south as the Fiords, we did a fairly extensive tour, plus we spent quite a bit of time in Christchurch.

We went more or less where the spirit moved us but I was always conscious that my wife and son, neither of them interested in photography, would have become bored and frustrated if I had stopped for every shot I saw; I quickly formed the idea that I needed to be on a motorcycle and alone to do such an expedition justice.

All that said, New Zealand is so spectacularly beautiful that it’s difficult to make bad photographs.

Quite a few of my photographs are untitled since they weren’t intended for anything more than my own selfish amusement. i.e. I was on holiday, not working.

We stayed in the North Island during February and March of 2008, based in Napier, and I took a few more photographs there, although I was ill for much of the time so we didn’t tour as extensively as we would have wished.

All-in-all then, NZ is a photographer’s and naturalists paradise and I would recommend anyone to visit.

Click on the thumbnails to view larger photographs.

If you liked Mark’s photos, you can see more of them at his Flickr page

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Dear Merrill! Please accept my sincere condolences for death of uncle Pete. Be strong buddy. Forgive me for not writing for a while. I hope that Ingrid is fine. Kiss daughter for me, she must have grown much. Yours Evgeny.

Then he sealed the letter, on the backside of it wrote his own real address and send this letter.

The unexpected answer
About two months passed since Petrov sent the letter, but it didn’t come back so he decided that it was lost and forgot about it… But came August and something came back from New Zealand. But it wasn’t the letter Petrov sent! It was an answer! At first he thought that someone played with him in his own way, but when Petrov read the address of the sender he almost got a heart attack – it was “Hideberdville, Rathbeach st. 7 from Merrill Eugene Wellesley” And there was a real blue stamp of New Zealand’s post on the envelope. The text in that letter was as follows:

“Dear Evgeny! Thank you for your condolences. It took as half a year to overcome the ironic death of uncle Pete. I hope you can forgive me for delaying this answer. Ingrid and me often recall those two days that you were with us. Glorya is grown very much and this autumn will go to the second grade. She still keeps that teddy bear you brought her from Russia. Sincerely your friend.”

Petrov have never been to New Zealand, and he was even more amazed to see in the photograph that was in the envelope a stranger hugging him! On the back of this photograph a date was written – 9th October 1938. Petrov recalled that at the same date he was in hospital unconscious with severe pneumonia. At that time doctors fought for his life for a few days and already told his relatives that his chances to survive are very small.

The second letter which came too late
In order to understand and sort this out, Petrov wrote a second letter to the same address in New Zealand, but he didn’t live enough to receive an answer. On first of September a second world war began and from the first days of the war he became a military correspondent for two main Russian newspapers “Pravda” (the truth) and “Informburo” (bureau of information). His colleagues said that he changed since that letter. He became enclosed, thoughtful and even stopped joking at all. In 1942 the plane on which he flew to the front of the war got lost. Most likely it was shot down. At the same day Petrov’s wife received the news about the airplane, a letter from Merrill Wellesley came to his address in Moscow. It was translated to Petrov’s wife, in it Merrill was fond of the courage of Russian people and expressed concern for Evgeny’s life. He wrote:

“When you were with us, I got scared when you went to swim in the lake. The water was very cold. But you said that your destiny is to die in a plane crash and not by drowning. Please be careful and fly as little as you can… “

What a mystical story! To tell you the truth I found hard to believe it when I heard it myself. I even tried to find Hideberdville in New Zealand and didn’t find it… This story maybe isn’t real but Evgeny Petrov is a very real and famous person (in Russia), and it is a fact that he died in a plane crash.

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One of New Zealand’s main sources of income is tourism, hence there are many businesses that rely mostly on tourists, and among such businesses there are many photographers. I saw hundreds of photos from different photographers across New Zealand and I must say that not all of them were professional, not all at all! But the photographs of Lindsay McLeod touched something deep inside of me, and made me realize from within that they were real works of art. I wish him many more years of photography and health.

Thank you Lindsay for sharing your photographs with me!

Greg.

P.S. If you would like to see for yourself the photography of Lindsay McLeod, please visit: Lindsay McLeod Photography

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