i had one last weekend until harvest begins next week, so this is a quick entry because i had to share my adventure to climb the longest place name in the world, which happens to be near Porangahau on the coast of the southern part of Central Hawke's Bay. you can see the name in the photo...85 letters...or Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. it tells the story of the great maori warrior who has big knees and eats mountains who blew his flute at the top of this hill for his brother.
anyway, if you can ever climb it (not too bad at about 2 hours roundtrip), do it! the path is on private property so you have to go to the Duke of Edinburgh hotel in Porangahau and ask if they can call up Airlie Scott (i think that's how you spell his name) and get permission to go on his land. then you just buy him a couple of beers and drive on over. you'll have to also find his unmarked house (by the bridge). the trail is just on grazing land, so there are no markers per se except for some green arrows spraypainted onto the metal fences keeping the sheep in line. but once you get to the top, the view is spectacular! i guess it's a circuitous route so that you can keep walking and go down through someone else's private property. we tried and found the bench to be used in order to climb over the barbed wire fence (see photo below...that's my new roommate Marine from Toulouse), but there was definitely no trail markers so we just went down the same way since we had a party to make that night.
anyway, if you can ever climb it (not too bad at about 2 hours roundtrip), do it! the path is on private property so you have to go to the Duke of Edinburgh hotel in Porangahau and ask if they can call up Airlie Scott (i think that's how you spell his name) and get permission to go on his land. then you just buy him a couple of beers and drive on over. you'll have to also find his unmarked house (by the bridge). the trail is just on grazing land, so there are no markers per se except for some green arrows spraypainted onto the metal fences keeping the sheep in line. but once you get to the top, the view is spectacular! i guess it's a circuitous route so that you can keep walking and go down through someone else's private property. we tried and found the bench to be used in order to climb over the barbed wire fence (see photo below...that's my new roommate Marine from Toulouse), but there was definitely no trail markers so we just went down the same way since we had a party to make that night.
2 comments:
So can you pronounce the name of the hill or is it strictly a written thing? It is so much fun to watch what you are doing on your blog. Thanks!
Good luck for the harvest, MJ... crazy people those kiwis but so much fun!
Oh, and BTW, you're invited to my New Year's Eve party, heard you'll be in Europe by then... See you there!
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