Trip report by Johanna
Trip dated: Friday 24 - Monday 28 March 2005
Easter
Trip Report (seen through the eyes of a Wisconsin girl)
As some of you know, I'm from Wisconsin and studying at the University of Auckland
for the semester. I came to New Zealand with an open mind, not really sure what
to expect, but with a desire to take in as much as I could of the culture, countryside,
and Kiwi lifestyle. I found out about the Auckland Catholic Tramping Club from
the Newmann Hall on campus when I inquired about Catholic groups I could possibly
get involved in. I called Dianna as soon as I got her number to see what the
club was about and what I needed to do to participate in the tramping trips.
My first trip was to theWaikato area , and I absolutely loved it! It was my
first time getting out of the city (a real thrill for me since I'm not much
of a city girl), and the hills and scenery were more incredible than I had ever
imagined. Even though I was a little sore the next day from climbing all the
hills (which I am not used to at all back in WI), I had a wonderful time and
couldn't wait for the next trip.
My next adventure with the club was the Easter trip to Cape Reinga. It was one
of the most unique and rewarding experiences I've had in New Zealand since I
arrived a couple months ago. We left on Thursday evening and drove until Okaihau
where we stopped to sleep for the night. Sleeping with 13 people in the back
of a bus proved to be quite an interesting experience for me. I was told jokingly
by Fr. Bill that if I didn't fall asleep before everyone else did (or at least
at the same time everyone else did), the likelihood of falling asleep wouldn't
be so good. I just so happened to not be very tired, which meant that as I was
lying there in my sleeping bag, I soon heard the reason for why I needed to
be the first one asleep. I was surrounded by what was kind of like a musical
ensemble made up of different snoring sounds and patterns. I tried playing a
game (hoping to make myself tired) by matching up the various snores with the
people on the bus. I don't think I slept much, but somehow I wasn't even tired
the next morning. After a breakfast of porridge with sultanas (which was something
new for me, but I really liked it), we continued onward. We stopped at Spirits
Bay and walked along the beach and had lunch. On the way to our campsite, we
dropped off 6 people in the group who were going to tramp from various locations
and meet us at the Cape. Our campsite was right on the beach, which was awesome.
We tramped up some huge hills for a couple hours and had a gorgeous view of
the ocean and Spirits Bay in the distance. Since it was such a clear day, I
was hoping maybe I'd see whales or dolphins but no such luck there (although
Ken reassured me that it wasn't entirely impossible). It's so nice to hike anywhere
here without having to worry about snakes, ticks, poison ivy, etc. We were all
in bed before 9:00 that night after a long day. There were only 8 of us in the
bus for the next 2 nights, and I actually slept very well.
On Saturday, we packed a lunch and left at 9:00 to tramp along the coastal walkway.
It was quite steep in many areas but there were great coastal views, especially
of the waves slapping into the rocks. We went to the lighthouse on the Cape
and saw the meeting of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean. There were tourists
everywhere. One could certainly tell the difference between our group and everyone
else, because they were all wearing nice clothes and carrying video cameras,
and we were a bunch of sweaty trampers with backpacks and sun hats, etc. It
was kind of neat to be going to a touristy place and yet not really feeling
like a typical tourist. We didn't get back until about 3:00, so it was a long
day of hiking in the sun but well worth it
.
On Sunday, we drove to the lighthouse and started our tramp from there heading
towards Cape Maria van Diemen. We walked along the beach for quite a ways and
then got to this big sand hill that we had to go over. Upon getting to the top
of the sand hill, everything was sand for what looked like miles before reaching
our destination of a lighthouse at the top of this bush-covered hill. I kind
of felt like I should've been doing the hike through the desert during Lent
rather than on Easter. J We had lunch at the lighthouse (there was no way to
get there by bus or cars, so there weren't any tourists at this one) and then
headed towards where the bus was supposed to pick us up. We had to walk all
the way through the desert area again, only this time it was mostly uphill rather
than down. We reached this forested area, which was kind of spooky because the
base of the trees was completely black, but at least it was cool and we were
able to get out of the sun for a short while. When we got to the edge of the
woods, there was an area of really tall grass with cattails, and then all-of-a-sudden
we were in a pasture with beef cattle! I've found that the land changes quite
drastically on many of the tramps. First there's the ocean, the beach, the desert
(or what feels like a desert), the woods, the grassy marsh, and then cows! It
was a tiring and yet accomplishing day. It's always kind of astonishing/rewarding
to stand at the top of a hill and turn around after walking for hours and look
at how far you've gone. We certainly covered a lot of ground that day.
Having spent most of the day walking through sand, I didn't really want to see
sand again for a while. I was soon over that thought, however, since the next
day we drove to the sand dunes along 90-Mile Beach. Being the youngest, I was
nominated to be the trailblazer (a title I thoroughly enjoy having) of the group
when climbing up the dunes, and everyone else just got to follow in my footsteps
(or what was left of them since sand doesn't exactly stay in the same spot).
It was quite hilarious trying to get to the top because it was so steep. I'd
take one step and end up sliding most of the way back down again. Getting to
the top was worth it (as always), because the view was so incredible. The sand
dunes seemed to go on forever along the beach, but in the opposite direction
was farmland and hills covered in trees. The highlight of this climb was running
down the dune (I didn't have a board to go sand boarding so running was the
next best thing). I was screaming and laughing the whole way - and when I got
to the bottom, I almost wanted to go all the way back up to the top and do it
all over again! It was so exhilarating!
The bus ride back home was quite long, and since everyone else was also travelling
back into the city after the holiday, it took longer to get home. I learned
how to play Taranaki Rummy, and I taught the group how to play Spoons, which
helped pass the time and was a lot of fun.
The whole 4 days was so wonderful. Everyone added something unique to the group,
and they really made me feel like I belonged. Being that I was the youngest
one on the trip, they asked me if the big age difference of everyone else in
the group mattered to me. I think I definitely had way more fun with them than
I would have with a group of college-aged students. Not only was I surrounded
by mature adults (unlike most of the people my age) but they've had so many
different and interesting experiences in life to share stories about, and they
know so much about...everything. As we were tramping, I'd ask heaps of questions,
and I learned about so many different things. I learned all about the geography/history
of the area, different kinds of plant life, trees, insects, volcanoes, shark
attacks (in Australia), clay (how it comes to look like a rust colour), and
we also had conversations about marriage, commitment, etc. Dianna and Ken had
their 40th wedding anniversary over the weekend and Raymond and Rosemary have
also been married for over 40 years. It's very inspiring for me to see people
who've been married for so long and are still happy being together.
It was great fun when we weren't tramping as well. We all took turns helping
to make supper and do the dishes and clean up afterward. It reminded me somewhat
of camping with my family back home. I learned rather quickly on this trip that
tea was a really big thing with this group. As soon as the first person woke
up, he/she put the pot of water on the stove for morning tea. And whenever we
got back from a tramp, the first thing anyone said was, "How about a cup
of tea?" I've never seen people drink so much tea! Tea isn't really my
thing, but I got used to drinking Milo instead. We'd sit around and talk after
supper (we ate very well, by the way) and watch the sunset and then shortly
afterward watch the moon come up from behind the hills. It was absolutely fabulous.
Everything was so simple, which made it even more fun because we were just able
to appreciate and enjoy the natural beauty around us without all these unnecessary
material things.
Not only has this tramping club given me the opportunity to travel to a beautiful,
new area of the North Island every weekend, but it's also given me the chance
to mingle with some Kiwis, many of who have been tramping for much longer than
I've been alive. Those I've met have made me feel so welcome, and they patiently
answer my endless number of questions. Being part of this tramping club has
been a truly amazing and rewarding experience so far, and I look forward to
many more trips with the group in the short couple of months I have left.
Johanna.