Round the Beeches

The Mavora Walkway

Day 1 page 4 Greenstone to Taipo

I'm starting to notice new plants, and new small flowers

Another bush is covered in flowers

A little more light bush and we're down on the flats heading to a gate in the fence.

At this point we briefly lose the track. It is mildly comforting to realise Mike and Carol did the same. The track shortly heads back up the other side of the fence and resumes off the flats. Remember this. Look for the orange poles on the slopes above the flats. The track is by no means obvious, as there are a number of 4WD tracks which can be highly tempting.

(There is an alternative school of thought that says if you follow the 4WD tracks up or down the valley you'll get along a lot faster.)

We're out here following what looks like a legitimate track,

photo by miranda woodward

and admiring the view down the valley, when I spot an orange marker pole up the hill. We make our way through the tussocks and across a small ditch and through a fence and up a steepish bank. It's around 2.30 pm and we've still got a couple of hours ahead of us, I reckon. Mike and Carol tussock-crash down the valley and climb up onto the terrace you can see in the middle of the picture two up. We ridge hop along the slope.

It's hard work, and we have no certain knowledge of where the hut is, except a story that the topo map shows it in the wrong place. The topo sheet I have places it in exactly the right place.

There's no path, just a series of ridges. Miranda's head is getting increasingly sore, but her eyes are still quicker than mine to locate marker poles. I'm glad we have a good time cushion before dusk.

We push on.

At times the path is more or less easy to find. At other times you have to make your own decisions.

We can still pause though to take in the bigger picture from time to time

Closer to hand, a small ground-hugging orange coprosma takes my eye.

And just look at these

I think those are gentians.

I'm starting to wonder how many more ridges to Babylon. Just another rolling stone...

I'm getting tired but still feeling good. Very good in fact. A drink of water and a piece of biltong helps considerably. Miranda is doing magnificently.

I have an excellent navigator.