Pouakai Circuit

Despite the 14km hike with Nick I decided to set off on Sunday evening for the Pouakai Hut as the forecast for the next day was so good. It was after six by the time I started on the steps and boardwalks for the 2 hour climb up the Mangorei Track. I needed the head torch from the start and near the end it began to snow. Then I saw the lights of the palatial new Pouakai Hut ('There's a light, over at the Frankenstein Place') ahead and was soon warm and dry by the stove.

Mangorei Track

Pouakai Hut kitchen

A lot of people come here for one night (or just come up in the dark) to see the mountain at dawn reflected in the nearby tarn. I packed for a long hike (27km/17 miles) and made my first stop there.

Taranaki Maunga (or Mount Egmont) 2518m is a dormant stratovolcano. I made it to the top in the summer of 2010. The tarn is properly called Ruahumoko and the waters were used for spiritual cleansing. Today it was frozen. 

From there I followed the well made track to the top of Henry Peak 1224m. The scale of the infrastructure for these walks is amazing: the huts, bridges, ladders, walkways and vegetation management etc.

Staircase and steps up Henry Peak

The track didn't need to go this way but the view was worth the detour and climb:

Pouakai Range with the tarn somewhere in the brown patch to the left of Maude Peak 1220m

Also visible to the bottom left is the Ahukawakawa sphagnum moss swamp I would cross later.

Frost on the leaves

There was a lot of unbroken ice on the path so I reckon I was the first one out that way that morning. 

Steps - often icy high up

Kaiauai Swing Bridge

There was a lot of mud and very slippery sections back under the tree cover. Boardwalks do have their advantages. Once past the Egmont Visitor centre I saw hardly anyone. And up on the Holly Trail (around 1000m)  I was above the tree line with magnificent views:

Looking up. the mountain. with the Holly Trail clearly visible.

And look who turned up!:

Shadowman first made his appearance in NZ in 2010

More steps

And then down to the Ahukawakawa sphagnum moss marsh:

The last climb of the day was ahead of me over to the Pouakai Hut. The sun was just catching the hills before it disappeared behind the Pouakai Range. A long board walk protects this fragile environment:

Soon time to turn the head torch on again.

Silhouettes

Again the lights (powered by solar panels) of the hut were a welcome sight. More dancing lights were trampers who had been out to look at the tarn by light of the big, orange moon. I rejoined the track I started on that morning and 5 minutes later arrived at the hut.

The next morning was glorious again:

Hut dining area window, view to the sea

Early morning light on the Pouakais with the moon rising

My first day time view of the hut as I headed back down the steps of the Mangorei Track. Kitchen/dining to the right and four 9 person dorms to the left. At 15 NZ dollars a night not bad but free for me with my year long back country hut pass (160 dollars).

Now some recovery time for my poor calf muscles...

New Zealand - arrival in Oakura

Had a pretty comfortable (as these things go) 14 hour overnight direct flight from Vancouver to Auckland with Air New Zealand. Couple of hours to transfer for my connection down to New Plymouth.

Landing in New Plymouth with the snowy peak of Taranaki (the Shining Mountain) to greet me

Great to catch up with the family (8 years since I saw my sister Beth).

And with Ben, been over year since I saw him!:

Maddy has been busy with horses (mostly) but seen plenty of Beth, Molly and Nick:

They'll be off on their travels soon and I will be here with Elvis the dog for a month. Not bad with the beach 10 minutes walk away:

and a nice deck out the back:

I've already had a quick jaunt into nearby New Plymouth:

Mural

Len Lye centre with clock tower reflection

On Sunday Nick took me out to check his trap line in the nearby Kaitakes. The Department of Conservation is running a massive programme to eradicate pests like possum, rats, weasels etc that have been introduced but have wreaked havoc on the indigenous flora and fauna. Volunteers like Nick monitor a number of traps each and empty and reset them as necessary. A big job to make New Zealand predator free by 2050.

From the Kaitakes back towards the coast and New Plymouth. Very spring like here. Chilly one minute and warm and sunny the next with some heavy rain showers. But I did get a fantastic window of weather to tramp on the mountain...

Vancouver part 3

And so back to Vancouver for a few more days.

I began with a visit to the wonderful museum of Anthropology at the university of British Columbia. Hard to read about the suppression of the indigenous culture. They cite 4 major forces fighting against them: European disease (Smallpox quickly wiped out 95% of the population of Haida Gwai - aka the Queen Charlotte Islands), then the seizing of their tribal lands, the forced schooling of children far from their homes and finally the banning of traditional gatherings like the potlatch. The latter lasted until the 1950s. Seeing that their culture was dying many agreed to sell carved poles and other artefacts to museums in the hope that at least there something could be preserved for future generations. Indeed many contemporary artists come to learn and take inspiration from their ancestors.

A wise metaphor

Bentwood box

Cedar trees are incredibly useful and versatile. Canoes and house frames were carved from them and also these bentwood boxes. A plank is carefully scored then heated and bent into a box shape.

House poles. Sometimes seen outside the front door but here the crossbeam was used to support a ridge beam of 18 metres.

Raven and the first men by Bill Reid

Vancouver born Bill Reid went home to Haida Gwai and learnt to carve. This sculpture represents raven discovering men inside a clam shell.

Later I went to the Bill Reid gallery and learnt more about him. A real trailblazer and inspiration for First Nations artists. Public organisations acknowledge the indigenous peoples on whose lands they operate: on the whale watching tour, in theVancouver Film Festival Cinema and on museum tours. A small step perhaps.

Chief of the Undersea World by Bill Reid

Poem

Modern raven mask & bentwood chest - techniques had to be relearnt by studying the ones in the museum

And of course had to try some more ice cream! This was honey lavender and chocolate cherry. Another was burnt strawberry with raspberry Earl Grey.

I took a bus up to the mountain resort of Whistler for the day to meet Kiran, another cousin, this time on my mother's side. He took me out for a couple of short hikes. These were a bit easier than my walk up the Grouse Grind - 800m of ascent on steps up Grouse Mountain. Was worth it to see the grizzlies at the top:

One of two bears that were rescued and now kept in an enclosure.

Sorley by the Cheakamus River

One of several rail road cars that left the track in the 1950s when a train took a corner too fast and were left in the woods. The trees must have grown up around them since then.

Sorley at Rainbow Falls

Howe Sound from the bus back from Whistler to Vancouver

Not having seen enough whales I used some more of my voucher from the Sandness parents to take a zodiac trip out into the Georgia Strait. I must say the guide was excellent and I learnt a lot more about humpbacks. Hard to believe they were hunted to extinction here in a couple of years in the 1950s. In about 2015 a single female appeared, then returned with a calf and some other adults. Now there are 100s of them.

Downtown Vancouver with water taxi

I took one of these taxis early on Saturday morning to my boat trip and was the only passenger. The operator was a guy originally from Edinburgh. When I returned in the afternoon the place was mobbed with long queues. Public transport is good here though. Less than £2 anywhere in the city. Lots of buses. The passengers shout a cheery 'thank you' when they get off at the back. 

Not seen these before - somewhere safe to leave your dog when you go shopping!

I've mentioned the nice residential neighbourhoods before. I was surprised to find that a lot of the streets are not lit or only by one light per block. I had been assured Vancouver is a very safe place which it certainly felt like. Despite the occasional stumble it was quite nice walking in the dark past all the lit up homes.

Mural

Another thing I noticed was that at building sites all the trees on the street immediately in front had temporary fencing to protect them. Also a lot of smaller building projects used wooden scaffolding. Poles and planks nailed together.

China Town gateway

Bear video