Tramping

A big day - various skypes this morning across the world - it seems everyone has had a rather weird and trying week. Then, the sun shining, we decided to get out and do a serious hike. We walked some of the Rameka Track - one of the original trails cut through the bush by the pioneers way back in the late 1800s, which leads from Takaka up to Takaka Hill - blooming miles away with an awful lot of up and down. The track had more or less disappeared until about 5 years ago when a resourceful group cleared back the bush and planted thousands of trees. The views climbing up are magnificent - that's the East Takaka plain down there. There's also a lot of forest, pine mostly and quite dense and then you emerge on the other side gazing out at part of the mighty Takaka Hill. We ate cheese and biscuits on Martin's Bench - he was hugely instrumental in restoring the track. We also met quite a few mountain bikers as it's a popular track for them. You can start at the top of the hill and zoom perilously down or go up from where we started via a slightly different track (knackering) and then zoom perilously down -  here's a bit of the action. We did all activities at a slightly more sedate pace. Good colours too.