The further we cruised north, the thinner the clouds became and by the time we were near Napier, they were scattered and hardly menacing at all J We drove inland as the sun set to reach the road end not long after dusk.
Our plan was to start out with a dip in the Mangaturutu hotsprings at the Road end, but the number of cars we’d seen both driving and parked on the road gave us the impression it wouldn’t be uncrowded. However, as we arrived at the Mangaturutu carpark, we found it deserted! Great success!!
Once at the springs, I unvieled my box of goodies. Fresh Orange Juice, Camenbert, Crackers, Basil and Pesto hummus, Sundried Tomato, Capsicum and Riccotta dip… Mmmmmm delicious!! After our nibbles feast filled us up, we had a lovely dip in the dark as the moon began to rise.. All the clouds had dissapeared, it was still and crisp and we were the only ones there!!
19 Apr 08
Again the weather looked conducive to a pleasant walk. Though it wasn’t that warm, it wasn’t too cold either. I’d packed my Spin fishing rod, so when we first reached the
On only my 3rd cast, I hooked up in the shallows only a few meters in front of me. A large Brown Trout had scoffed my Black and Gold Toby spinner. “I got one!!” I called out excitedly..
The fight lasted about 5 mins and Kay scrambled around the rocks trying to get good photos of me and the fish.
We had more than enough food for the trip, so we made the decision to release the nice Jack Fish.
He took a little coaxing to recover. I held him gently underwater facing upstream for several minutes as he gasped for oxygen. Eventually, he slithered out of my hand and disappeared into the stream. Kay was most impressed…
For the rest of the morning, we chatted, hiked and occasionally fished our way up the beautiful lower Mohaka. I hooked a couple of tiny rainbow trout, but they all got away. The sun shone over gravel beaches, encouraging plenty of rest and fishing stops.
Once at Te Puia Lodge, a yummy lunch of fresh rolls, ham, cheese and lettuce was eagerly consumed. Not too long after arriving, a group of 5 in their early 20’s rocked up. They were also on their way to the hotsprings, so we just crossed our fingers hoping that there weren’t too many others up there already.
As we readied to leave, a light rain began to fall. As we left however, it rescinded to patchy drizzle before clearing up altogether. Another 40 minutes and we arrived at our destination. Turns out the only other occupants of the campsite was another couple, so there was plenty of campsite to choose from.
We set up our tent then made a bee-line for the hot tub. It still threatened rain and no sooner than we’d hopped in the pool than it began to precipitate. Was magical sitting in the hot spring with cool rain dripping down your face..
As the afternoon and evening wore on, we hot pooled, fished and cooked dinner. Supreme Pizza was on the menu tonight and was well received by the chief food appraiser. We were so full of Pizza that the chocolate Brownie dessert wasn’t even an option. After another dip we called it a night.
20 Apr 08
Having the hot pools just there was fantastic. Any time that we got just a little too cold during the chilly morning, we’d nip over for a quick dip. Was quite invigorating going from Down Jackets and fleece pants to swimsuits and back.
Breakfast was Bacon, Banana and Maple Syrup pancakes… It’s the small things in life..
The hike home was just as pleasant and took a fair bit less time since I was less distracted by fishing.. A wonderful luxurious weekend away.. Great success.
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