Nga Tapuwae o Toi track

 On Sunday we had a little frost. That’s the first for the winter.

After all the rain last week it is nice to get some sunshine. The Matahina dam (on the Rangitaiki River) was full on Saturday and they were warning farmers to move stock from the river banks as they were having to let water go. The river is still very brown and full. There are several rivers across the Rangitaiki Plains, so flooding could be a real issue without all the stop banks around the area. There are a lot of canals too, to take the extra water. Back in the day most of the plain was a swampy area. Flax was harvested for rope making.

On Saturday I went for a walk with the Matamata Tramping club who were over here for the weekend. We went on the Nga Tapuwae o Toi track. ( the footprints of Toi). There was a lot of up, which I don’t get a lot of when I go for walks around here, so I found it quite hard going at times. It was a good day though and nice to catch up with friends from Matamata. Part of the walk goes through the area where Toi and his people settled when they arrived in the first Waka. Some of it goes along Otarawairere Bay (bottom left photo) .The island in the photo is Whale Island.

This part of the walk can only be done at low tide

The beginning. up up up.

The last picture is a vertigraph. It starts with pictures of the ocean and goes up through the land with trees and birds. Then the sky with the birds. It's quite cool, but I was a bit puffed to appreciate it properly. Perhaps I need to go back.

On Sunday my legs didn’t feel too bad, but my calves were quite stiff on Monday. I went on a bike ride on Monday afternoon and they felt a lot better after that, so that was a good result, if a bit unexpected. I shall do it again if I have stiff muscles.