A Visit to Collingwood
We stayed a couple of nights in the old police station that has been converted to a motel at Collingwood. Our room might have been the “reception” area in days of old. I do know that the sloping floor took a bit of getting used to though.

The colourful peacock.

We drove out to the Farewell Spit cafe for a bite to eat and then drove along the road to Wharariki Beach, passing Old Man Range on the way. At the end of the road carpark, a male peacock strutted about showing off his brilliant plumage. It’s about a twenty minute walk over the Farm Park and down over the sand dunes to the beach, passing a creek tidal inlet where usually one can see seals resting but not one was there this day. The Archway Islands still withstood the pounding seas of the Tasman. The tide was just starting to go out but not fast enough that we could walk along the beach to inspect the caverns and arches further south. Another time. We went as far as we could and had our lunch on the dunes and I was surprised to see many fresh deer footprints in the sand. Possibly hare and rabbit footprints too and unfortunately for the birdlife, the usual wild cat footprints.

Reflecting old wharf piles.

All along the new high mark were many small spiral sea shells. These were the Spirula spirula species and grow to about 25mm long, white shells and quite fragile. All most likely washed up after the recent storm.

On the way back to the farm paddocks we passed several patches of native spinach growing where they should be. Wondering if the sea area affected the plants taste a leaf was picked and eaten. It was a nice salty taste for sure but I prefer the leaves from the plants that we have at home. I wonder if a little bit of salt thrown over the home plants would make them grow better?

We stopped and followed a track that went to the old remains of the Puponga coal mine. Just a short walk through some regenerating native bush and past some rusting remnants of the old machinery. A bit of local history but very much neglected. I wondered at this and thought it surprising at this neglect especially being such a tourist spot. Some of our heritage just rusting away.

Remains Puponga Coal Mine.

Back down at the beach in Golden Bay again and a little wander out between the piles of the old coal wharf which are gradually showing less and less at every visit. A shame really but still worth a photo or two. Further along the beach we watched a number of Royal Spoonbills resting with their beaks (or bills?) tucked under their feathers.

Passing through Takaka is always worth a stop and a wander around the different craft shops and that’s what we did too.

Upper Jimmy Lee Creek Walk

Bark of the Matai.

We wanted to check out this walk before guiding a group over it so off we went. A walk up Will’s Gully first, then up onto Grassy Saddle, which divided the two valleys, down to the Jimmy Lee creek to meet up with the track that headed back uphill again. It is a normal bush track and certainly not a footpath and quite steep in places too. But, hey, this is a bush track remember. After climbing a little while one passes a large matai tree right beside the track. Then heading down to the creek and up the other side a little one comes to another large matai. This ones trunk looks to be fluted or like small columns running up its trunk. Back on the track and upwards again we soon came to a young matai covered ridge. Image in fifty to one hundred years time a walk up along this ridge will be something really special. The matai tree’s trunks shed sections of their bark, something like shingles, and as they fall they leave behind bright red spots on the trunks.

Anogramma leptophylla.

In the Jimmy Lee Valley a rare fern has been found called Anogramma leptophylla. They sprout up during the winter months to mature in the spring only to die off over the summer. The fronds are quite small being only 4 to 5cm high so they are easily overlooked.

Ben Nevis Walk
I wanted to check the forestry road entry for access to Ben Nevis so Karla and I went for a look. New Zealand’s Ben Nevis is 1642m above sea level, the highest point but we were just interested in going so far. This was to the clearing about an hour and a half or so along the way. There was snow on the South side of the mountain but it was an almost cloudless day so the walk was pleasant but a very chilly breeze made us seek out a still, sunny spot for lunch. Scotland’s Ben Nevis is 1344 metres high so I guess we would have climbed to about this height.

Ben Nevis, displaced track sign.

It’s a little over an hour’s drive from home to the carpark but we had to wait a few minutes due to some logging operations. The steep drive up the forestry road was okay until I took a wrong turn when crossing an old skid site. It was quite a muddy, deep hole and thankfully my Hyundai Tucson toy four wheel drive got through okay. Those thoughts became redundant when I realised that we had to get back again! No more problems once back on the right road and to the car park. The steep walk through forestry to the start of the Richmond Forest Park and into the start of the native bush took another half an hour. The track climbed up through the native trees, passing some areas where many large trees had been blown over but thankfully, the track had been cleared of their trunks and branches. It must have been quite a storm to do so much damage. After about forty minutes, we came out into the clearing. Originally it would have been covered in bush and going by the evidence, a bush fire long ago had burnt along the ridge line for several hundred metres. This has made an open area to climb up through and along the rocky ridge with accompanying widespread views. At the end of the clearing we stopped for lunch.

Signposting of the Ben Nevis bike track.

During January 2000, I worked for DOC checking this track and replacing the old track markers with the new orange triangle ones and clearing the track at the same time. The only difference being the amount of windfall and the growth of the pine trees on the private land which we had to cross to reach the Mt Richmond Forest Park. Coming down at the start of the pines were some mountain bike tracks. Going by the track signs, the down hill bike tracks looked to be pretty scary. I’ll stick to track walking I think.

A Hospital Visit
I don’t really think that I’m old, regardless that some body parts are wearing out. Getting past their use by date – now that’s scary! An enlarged prostate – it happens to old men they say, so maybe I’d better get used to being old. Come to think of it, this part was growing, not wearing out but not much comfort by any means.

It didn’t seem much comfort either when they told me women have put up with childbirth while men have to put up with an enlarged prostate, before shoving a catheter up vital parts several times over the last months. I’m sure one can still find some of my finger nails stuck into the side of several hospital beds. After the surgery and a short rest in the recovery area of which I don’t remember much, I was wheeled up to one of the wards to rest.

Fluted Matai.

It seems that a hospital is quite a noisy place, especially during night time. Through the night, while I was still trying to get my feelings back and wondering if everything was still down there, I had the opportunity to listen to the various sounds coming from my roommates. Snoring varies a lot you might have noticed. I heard all sorts but one type intrigued me. It sounded just like someone trying to start a chainsaw; rrrrr pause rrrrr pause rrrrr and after a couple of hours I felt I could even identify the make. This particular one sounded like a Stihl. Another variation sounded like a zip being done up. There is a different sound between a zip being done up and one opening you might have noticed. This was definitely a zip being done up.

I survived the nights and even though I am thankful for the care and consideration that I received from all the nurses, doctors and staff, I’m not at all that keen to go back if I can help it.

May rainfall was 44 1/2mm at our place (May average 126mm) while the rainfall for June was 133 1/2mm (average for this month is 172mm).  July rainfall was 82mm with the average being 80mm.