Or the long and dusty road.
This the last of our walks in NZ and the only one in the north island. It was a complete contrast to all the others as it was like walking in a primitve landscape where there was no visible sign of life. That is except for humans of which there were many at some points that were accesible to day trippers. However they needed to get up early to find a place in the car park which we heard was full by 07.00. The terrain consisted of solid lava and dust where the lava had eroded.This made walking difficult and even hazardous at some points, particularly when trying to descend slopes. This slowed us down considerably and made us quite tired. Over the 4 days we accumulated more and more dust with no opportunity to shower it off. It was interesting to see how life manages to take a grip as time goes by. The most recent recent lava fows were in 1975 and 1952. As you came away from it primitive forms of life such as lichen and mosses took hold until eventually there was tree growth and bird life.
Again we were sleeping in multiple occupacy beds which were unisex. This time we had more consistancy in our bed fellows. Our walk synchronised with a mother Beth with her adult daughter Holly. and niece Liz. Her husband came from Ivybridge and they have relatives in Ugborough. One night we were joined by a contingent of army personel. I thought they were a load of softies sleeping in a hut, but I didn't tell them to their face. I might have upset them. On the walk in one of the huts we met a german gent whom we had met on 3 previous occasions in NZ in different locations. Once wading across an estuary and the other in a hostel in Wellington. Who was following who?
The weather on the walk was warm and sunny with a spotof rain on the last day. However this soon cleared. We have heard thereis a cyclone due on Sunday the day we leave. NZ is desperste for rain.
We are hanging around at the moment waiting for a bus to Auckland and then tomorrow to California.
