Tuesday 4 August 2015

Of Pigeons...

Wikipedia tells us that pigeons are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and short, slender bills with fleshy ceres (which I initially thought was their thighs, but turns out is the bumpy bit at the top of their beaks). Among birds pigeons are fairly common place. You see them about town doing their biz, earning the odd crumb, and flying home at the end of each day to roost. Nothing extraordinary about them really - pretty average.

That's me. Short and stout bodied (although last time I looked I didn't have a lump at the top of my nose or fleshy nostrils for that matter).

Doing my biz.

Pretty average really.

There is nothing exceptional about me that makes me more likely than the next pigeon to walk New Zealand, all 3000km of it, mostly solo, end to end.

So why do it?

The short and the most unsatisfactory answer is I'm not exactly sure.

There's a big part of me that just wants to see if I can.  There's also that bit that wants to stick it to the nay sayers with their 'can'ts' and their 'shouldn'ts' and show them 'I bloody well can' and 'I bloody well will!'

Am I doing it to get rid of my demons and clean out the skeletons in my closet? No, I don't think so. I quite like my demons and my skeletons. They make me who I am. Besides I think they'll be excellent company.

Do I think The Trail will change me? Likely. In fact I predict, given the quantity I'll be consuming, that  after I finish, I will never want to eat a Carmen's muesli bar ever again.

I will also probably be shorter.

I remember once in College I was flipping through a magazine and I came across an article about people walking in New Zealand (the Milford Track I think). I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. Full of storybook gardens carpeted in moss and ferns, dappled paths in every shade of green imaginable. So different to the dusty, dry brown, tussocky paddocks I was used to. I remember thinking how much I wanted to go there and walk down that path. Except I didn't, not then.

I've been to New Zealand a few times now. I've even done the Milford and it is truly beautiful, but I'm not sure that I've walked down that path.  Not yet.

Pigeon xx






PS For my Trail buddies and others that like that sort of logistical stuff, I promise to talk a bit about my prep and planning next post


Sunday 2 August 2015



It rained last night - 40mm in about 6 hours - so things are a little damp. The creek out the back is raging and the crossing is flooded. The planned Sunday 18km hike along the Googong foreshore didn't happen and, when there was a break in the weather, we settled for a 5km stroll, with the dog, on the range behind the house.

Today is the 2nd of August and that means only 3 months (92 days) until I start with my first steps at Cape Reinga in New Zealand's North. The beginning of my 3000km journey south to the Bluff at the bottom of New Zealand.  The Te Araroa trail - New Zealand's long trail, The Trail, the trail that, in a moment of madness, I said, "Yep, I'm gonna do that". Like you do. It makes me feel a little sick just thinking about it.

The hike along the foreshore was part of my preparation for The Trail, but today walking in the pouring rain didn't seem all that inviting. I've hiked in the rain before, I don't melt, I may get a little wrinkly, but I seem to be basically water resistant. Don't get me wrong, I quite like walking in the rain. I like how the bush smells, how the colours are more vibrant, how paths become creeks.

I just don't want days of it in New Zealand. So if you've decided to come on this journey with me (and I sincerely hope you do!), can we please cross our fingers for the weather that we need. Some blue skies and sunshine, a little rain to cool us off and to make the waterfalls tumble and maybe just a smidgen of snow on the ranges. Thanks for your assistance!

This is my first blog post of my first ever blog. I'm not sure how this story will pan out - whether it will even have the staying power to get to the end, but thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon.

Tinder, Leslie, Pigeon, L.
xxoo

PS If you are a details kind of being you can find out more about The Trail on this site: www.teararoa.org.nz