21 February 2007

The "Excuse Me" Trail

page 3

All the while, there are people passing me every few minutes, sometimes in smiling crocodiles of twenty or thirty at a time. I still have difficulty pointing a camera at strangers at close quarters. They leave a strange mixture of citronella, shampoo, aftershave, and occasionally perfume, wafting in the air behind them.

There's a bit of a drop-off just ahead, and DoC have put a wire fence in to discourage suicide attempts. A year or two back on the Heaphy, a drop-off like this might have caused me some anxiety, and I am pleased to note how much my fear of high places is decreasing.

Here's small white flower pushing it's way through the moss. It's pretty common along the way here. These little fellows really do repay close attention.

To the right, a small gully offers a waterfall. It's been dry, but I imagine this could get quite assertive with a bit of volume behind it.

As we get higher, the path becomes somewhat rougher, surfaced with stones which are increasingly rocks. They need a little more attention than earlier as they can roll an ankle quite easily if you're not watching. Here again, sticks are invaluable in keeping you upright, and taking a load off your stabiliser muscles.

It's quite a bit steeper now and Miranda stops now and again to make sure I'm still coping well. I am, and I heap blessings on the Home Track at Piha in the Waitakere Ranges which has prepared me well for this part of the journey.

In fact, the odd steepish and rough patch aside, it's been pretty easy walking given the prior training is in place.

Much more common in this part of the world is the horopito (Pseudowintera). The leaves of this plant can be used by an adventurous chef to add a different kind of heat to food than is normally provided by chilli or pepper. Use cautiously, as they are very hot indeed if you nibble on one.

Once more the track becomes rocky. What I (mildly for the most part) dislike about a surface like this is the necessity to raise each foot just a few inches further than normal as we make each step, and the need to pay attention to the ground immediately in front. We don't usually need the muscles that do this job, and unless we've practised on tracks like this it very soon becomes work.

A small dracophyllum signals our emergence into a slightly harsher environment as we get higher.

I still haven't identified this one. It looks a bit like a small leaved weeping coprosma, and nowhere do I get a name and description that fits this.

It's possible it's not even a coprosma - I'm not at all sure about the way in which the leaves attach - but that's my best bet at present. Here it is closer to.

Postscript: It has recently been identified for me as a weeping mapau, or Myrsine divaricata. Thanks to Shannel Courtney from DoC.

The dracophyllum a little way back was indeed signalling our emergence into a colder upper air.

To the side of the track is a small plant that looks as if it should belong to the celery family.

Its flower, too, looks like a member of this family.