Hike Day 1 - Taylor's Mistake & Kura Tawhiti

Day 1 was a great warmup and the beginning of a coast to coast trek. We all met at The George Hotel in Christchurch. The group, pictured above, is a very compatible group of Yanks all but three from east of the Mississippi and 5 from Boston, 4 from NYC, and 1 from CT. Our 'outlanders are a couple from Tulsa and a single woman from Boulder, CO. Our leaders, Cindy (London, Ontario) and Kevin (Cleveland), are surprised at the geographical concentration of Northeasterners...say it's highly unusual. After quick introductions and a briefing by the leaders we headed for 'Taylor's Mistake.' Captain Taylor mistook the spot we visited for safe harbor and found himself in a pickle with his ship. Hence the name.

The walk on this stark and windy headland gave all of us greenies a taste of two elements of NZ. It also marked our last look at the Pacific. Our journey will take us west, then north to the Tasman Sea and then south along the coast ending in Queenstown 9 days from now.

Our next stop, about an hour and a half inland was at Kura Tawhiti (pronounce taw-fi'-ti), a Moari sacred ground. Legend has it that the boulders are giants who lived in an age of darkness. When the moon appeared, they exposed themselves and were turned into stone. This place is in a wide valley among stark foothills and appears out of nothing. Walking among the fallen giants is calming and spiritual. The wind adds its voice.

As we were leaving, a wedding party arrived. I've seen worse places for two people to start their lives together.

We arrived at The Wilderness Lodge about 5pm and immediately went to watch a couple of sheep dogs, a border collie and a 'huntaway,' work a herd of about 40 sheep under the command of the ranch's manager. It was a great demonstration all done by whistling. The huntaway is a mixed breed of unknown origins but is now being bred as a stand alone breed. Border collies are silent workers, but cattle and sheep farmers needed a louder and more aggressive dog to get stock out of the bush. The huntaway was the answer.