The Hill...

... get over it, as the T shirt says!

A glorious day - crisp and cold first thing then warm and sunny later, layers were shed. We'd been waiting for a really good day to do this walk - the Takaka Hill Walkway and today was the day. You will recall that the Hill is in fact blooming enormous and involves hundreds of hairpin bends to get to the top. Well this walk starts from the very top and is a geological wonder full of varied and breathtaking scenery with karst (weird sandstone and marble rock formations), beech woodlands and bush. It's only short in miles but long in adventure and you have to take it easy as there's a lot of up and a lot of down and the karst is ankle twisting.
There were marvels to be had:
* a mummified cow, lying rather forlornly in a ramshackle shed, now minus its head
* a young man and his guitar ( a Pink Floyd fan)
* a carnivorous snail sadly looking a bit more dead than alive
* tomo -  the Maori name for sinkholes, these lead right down  into the hill which has a colossal underground cave system, fortunately there were warning signs
* incredible sweeping views
* boar rootlings - a lot of them and some very extensive signs of earth moving - we've been quite shocked to find pig hunting is a big thing here
* a family of quails snuffling in the undergrowth
* pitch black lichen
Joe had brought his bike and decided to cycle down the Hill. We couldn't look and he arrived at the bottom 4 minutes after we did.
It was still so beautiful in the late afternoon that I left Himself googling face masks and went down to the sea - another good 5kms but easy ones. It was gorgeous. What a country.
A large glass of pinot gris is now being enjoyed.