A walk in the rain

We woke to rain, and more rain.  Eventually we decided that we had to get out, even if only to do some shopping - we were, after all, completely out of milk and gin.

We decided to take a drive to a recommended walk, a circuit of Lake Rotopounamu.  When we arrived, it had actually brightened up a bit, so we set off to do the walk - advertised as taking 2 hours, though we knew we would need longer.  And with fallen trees, we met obstacles which delayed us even more (see 1st extra).  In fact, we completed the walk in just under 2 and a half hours.  The vast majority done in pouring rain - you can see it on the surface of the lake, and on the camera lens!  I was, literally, soaked to the skin.

It was a lovely, atmospheric walk.  There's a rather nice poem on the board at the beginning, which I take the liberty of repeating.

   a lake like greenstone
   a treasure, a taonga
   a  wilderness of great depth
   an open space contained by active land
   made by magma and pressure from the inner earth
   airborne ash and windfalls of weather
   over time
   over all

   a mantle
   a korowai of mixed shrubs
   a montage of colour
   in the beech trees
   the podocarps
   in the ferns

   and always 
   in water
   in the bird life
   in light going by
   there is change

   the volcano is Pīhanga
   te wahine o Tongariro
   guarding the gift

There is no author attributed on the board.
  
After getting back to the car, we drove into Turangi, where we bought our essential supplies, before returning to our lovely apartment to strip off, put on a load of washing, shower, and enjoy the newly purchased Black Robin gin.