Mangaweka Awastone to Tiahape (15.01 miles/24.17 kms)

With the clock set back Sunday I woke up before 5:00 am, instead of the usual time of 6:00. It had not rained, and no excuse for me not to trek today, so I packed up and was out the door around 7:30.

It took me about twenty-five minutes to climb up the steep grade the one mile to the highway. It was probably the steepest grade of the day, but thankfully a short one. The temperature was in the low forties, which helped. Not the best way to start the day, but it got me warmed up because the next climb started immediately on the highway and continued for nearly four miles. It was a slow steady climb and still took a lot of effort.

Once at the top the view was beautiful and panoramic of the mountains and the river gorge below. The downhill was very steep and the shoulder was narrow and had either a curb or gutter that kept me from moving over, so I moved to the other side of the road. The asphalt shoulder was very wide and I was able to move six to seven feet to the left, but I still felt uncomfortable not facing traffic, especially since it was coming down fast on a steep hill. Near the bottom I was able to move back to the right.

Once at the bottom, the next eleven miles was a gradual uphill all the way, except one short very steep climb just before Tiahape.

It was cold all morning, which is good trekking weather, but after getting sweaty I was so cold that I had to put on another shirt. I had my hoodie on, but it was so cold I considered putting on my wool cap. The sun finally peaked out of the heavy cloud cover and it warmed up a little.

I had the usual honks and waves throughout the day, and a few miles from Taihape a man stopped and asked if I needed a place to stay the night. I appreciated the offer but his place was in the other direction.

I got to Taihape before 2:00 and had actually made good time. I had planned on staying in Tiahape because the next town, Waioura, is about 18 miles. The next town after that is about 40 miles, or at least two days of trekking.

I booked a room at the Safari Motel on-line as it was less than at the motel. It is a nice place and unfortunately is about a half mile on the outskirts of town, and so I had to walk back into town for shopping and dinner.

The manager, cheerful Bob, seemed like a very pleasant man when I checked in. After I had showered, I wanted to wash my clothes and he showed me the facilities and how to premix the laundry detergent he gave me. I mentioned that I wanted to go shopping and get something to eat and didn’t want to wait until my wash to be done so I could put it in the drier. He kindly offered to keep an eye out for my laundry, no worries he said.

I headed back into town and decided to get a hair cut at the shop I had seen. I walked in and there were three men there, two of them soldiers. All had super short hair anyway, and were getting it trimmed and shaped. One guy in fatigues asked me a few questions because he heard my accent. That of course led to my trek, and then everyone was asking me questions. One guy in the chair was done and he wished me well and shook my hand as he left. By then three more guys showed up, a young funeral director and two more military men, and of course more questions.

When the other man in uniform was done, he too shook my hand as he was leaving. Finally it was my turn, but the questions didn’t really stop. The barber didn’t take credit cards, so I went across the street and got some cash from the ATM. When I went back and paid him the funeral director was in the chair, and he also reached out and shook my hand and wished me well! That was an interesting experience, as I not only got a good hair cut, but I was treated like a celebrity. But, I think it’s just that friendly Kiwi nature.

I did my shopping and then went to the Straits Kitchen, a Malaysian resultant Brian and Shirley had told me about. It was a great find as the food is a mixture from Malaysian, Maluku, Singapore, and Indonesian. The menu was great because I recognized a lot of items as the Indonesian food I grew up on. I end up getting gado gado, which is a variety of rice, tempe, tofu, cabbage, egg, potato, shrimp chips, and a number of other items that you mixup like a salad and cover with a hot spicy peanut sauce. It was great!

Interesting that the owner was a police officer in Singapore and then moved here and became a police officer here. He recently left the police department and started the restaurant.

By the time I headed back to the motel it was getting dark. I had forgotten about my laundry and figured it have to throw my clothes in the drier. I stopped at the office because there was an issue with the lock on the door and I had to get my key. Bob, very cheerful again, handed me the key and said he had put my clothes in the drier, folded them, and placed them in my room! He also told me not to worry about the four dollars for the drier.

Oh yes, before I left the office, Bob asked me what time I was leaving in the morning. I said around 8:00. I’ve got my crew coming in before that so if you come to the office I’ll give you a ride up the diversion grade that starts right here. It’s pretty steep and it will save you from having to walk up that steep hill. I thanked him of course, and told him I wanted to do my trek on my own power.

Back to my room and sure enough there were my clothes, neatly folded. What is this, am I in Pleasantville, where everyone is so kind and friendly?! I’m going to have a hard time going home to reality!

Tomorrow’s forecast is for clear weather. I know there’s a steep grade starting first thing out the door, but hopefully with the cool weather and energy in the morning, I’ll trek it without an issue. I hope to make Waioura tomorrow, which is where the military base is, and where the desert road starts.

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Please excuse the typos, spelling, grammar, etc., as I am typing this on my phone, and I am probably pretty tired.