Tuesday 29 March 2016

Two intrepid walkers - day two

A long post so you might want to make a hot drink,
 or a cool one, and settle in for a while.


setting out 
On day two of our walk we had a plan!
We would begin at the other end 
and come back to where we were going to start.
Clear as mud?
We had talked over where we would be going and decided 
that we would begin where we would have finished if 
we started from where we finished the day before.
Oh dear, I think I'll stop there before it gets too confused :)
(I think it's the Irish coming out in me).

Hyde railway station
We headed up the road to Hyde and duly set out
walking back towards Middlemarch - after a comfort stop.
 We figured that doing it this way we would be walking downhill. In reality the walk from Middlemarch to Hyde
 only rises 100 metres, so not a huge climb over 28 k's.

derelict wagon filled with old wood, this was the worst one.
We weren't sure where the first passport stamping station was
 so we called in to the local cafe where there just happened to be a full complement of the various stamps. Once we were stamped the walk proper was on. The first corner we went around brought us to the Hyde railway station, no longer in use of course and now privately owned, with a few derelict wagons on sidings. 
And a hundred yards further down the trail was the stamping booth!


We hadn't gone too far when we decided that perhaps we were walking too fast and should go at a slightly more leisurely
 pace than yesterday so that we didn't get so tired. So we slowed down a little. We looked at more stuff. And stopped more often.
There were a lot more cyclists about today so we had to give way to them as well. And as most of them were travelling in the same direction as us it was quite interesting and reminded me of when we were in Japan and cyclists are just considered to be pedestrians on wheels. They used the footpaths and you were always checking behind for them, they did have bells. It's surprising how quickly you adapt though. And so we adapted on the trail.


We came across these cows relaxing before the heat
 of the day set in. These ones were chewing their cuds...


...but this lady was on a mission.
Can you see her in amongst the bushes?
When we first saw her she had her front legs up in the tree
 but had settled for this by the time we got the camera out.
She had climbed up on a rock to get at the delicacy she was after.
Well, what was it, you may ask?

gathering apples
She was after apples. All along this section of the trail was lined with apple and pear trees. There were bushes covered in clusters of red berries as well but we couldn't identify them and they were too far away to see them properly. Not handy like the trees. 

gathering pears
The trees have grown from the cores of the fruit thrown 
out of the train windows by passengers as it was travelling from Cromwell to Dunedin. So some of them must be getting on 
for one hundred years old. We gathered some fruit and put it
 in our bags to bring home, this did not lighten our load 
as we were walking :) But they were really sweet when 
I cooked them up once we got home. Compensation.
There were also a lot of different flowers growing and
 we wondered whether they had been part of some ladies
 gardens as they weren't wild flowers.


We only had one other stamp to get on this part
 of the trip and that was at the Rock and Pillars hut.
We took photos of each other here as well but they are so 
inelegant they are only for private viewing, haha.
We were pooped for some reason. We had some
 refreshments and got on the trail again. Didn't let our
 feet dangle this time either, we learnt that lesson.

looking towards the Taieri Range
The countryside is very dry and we came across 
this reservoir which feeds down to one of the 
farms and is probably part of an irrigation system. After we
 had been walking a few hours we looked up and 
Sis said 'that looks like your car over there'.
And I replied 'and that looks like my bloke over there as well'.

my GKB taking a video of us
He had brought the car back and was waiting for us with a 
full thermos and the tea and coffee. He was very good to us.
We had arrived at the Hyde Railway disaster memorial and we stopped to have a look and a bite of lunch.


There is a picnic table over the stile and behind the trees. 
The cairn is the memorial to the 21 people who died in 
the train crash in June 1943. The train would have been packed as it was on it's way to the Dunedin Show. We had walked through the
 cutting where it had happened about 100 metres or so further back.
stone plaque

The problem with stopping for half an hour, sitting with your feet up and just generally relaxing is that you don't want to start again. Oh dear. So we didn't. We had walked for three hours, only covered half the distance we intended but as the sun was getting very high in the sky decided to call it a day. We have a 6 km section to finish off and will do that next time. Maybe.

Then again we might just start here, which is the bridge over the river from Hyde and takes us  in the opposite direction to what we had been going, towards Clyde, which is the final destination. 
We didn't think we had done too badly, we walked 21 kms altogether and that is a half marathon!
We didn't have ice creams today, we all went back to the
 camp and fell asleep on our beds instead :)

Sis is coming back in May to do some more walking, 
I'm not sure about that as it will be winter, we'll see.
***************
joining Amy at:

Have a good week,
I'll see you again soon.
Diana

17 comments:

  1. Diana, at our ages, we should take the time to enjoy the journey! I think you were very wise to take your time. The trail will be there waiting for you next time!! Interesting story about the fruit trees growing from apples and pears tossed from the window of the train!!

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  2. What a wonderful adventure you had! I saw your comment on my blog, and I wanted to tell you to please not worry. I figured out how to read your posts in my google followers feed. Oh, my, it has been there all along! I just was so spoiled to the email subscriptions and seldom even looked at this page, but now I will! So, I am good to go and can enjoy all of the blogs again. The issues are still not resolved on the email subscriptions, nor does it appear that they will be. But, God made another way, so I am content. Have a wonderfully blesse day, and thank you for caring and being willing to do what you offered. You are a gem!

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  3. Sounds like you had a really enjoyable time. What a nice way to spend time with your sister.

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  4. What an adventure you and your sis have been having! I love long walks but haven't been able to take any for quite awhile. I enjoy reading about yours!

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  5. Thanks for taking me along on your walk today! :) This was nice and I didn't even have to put shoes on.

    That bridge is beautiful, a little burst of metallic shine in the midst of the grasslands.

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  6. So nice walking along with you. What a great place for a walk. Interesting things along the way and how nice to get some fresh fruit along the way. : )

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  7. This sounds so wonderful. But I an happy to just read along with you.
    Getting out to walk for me is impossible.
    I like the part about getting the stamps.
    When ever I am in Japan I always try to get as many train station stamps as I can.

    cheers, parsnip

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  8. Thank you, Diana for visiting. I love the walk with you through the pictures. I like the part where you picked apples and pears but they will sure add to the load.

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  9. Thank you, Diana for visiting. I love the walk with you through the pictures. I like the part where you picked apples and pears but they will sure add to the load.

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  10. What an accomplishment! Well done! We all enjoyed watching from our computers but I would have loved to tag along. hugs, Diane

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  11. What a fascinating walk. Isn't it amazing how those apple trees got there...I just love the thought of those people throwing apples out of the carriage! B x

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  12. What wonderful memories you have made, memories to treasure and quality time spent with your sister. Loved the story about the apple/pear trees made me smile.

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  13. Wow, that day took more than five minutes!! A wonderful days walking for you though and great companionship too I am sure. Hope you enjoyed the fruit that you picked. Thank you for taking part in Five On Friday, I hope you have a great weekend! xx

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  14. What a lovely day walking, its always so nice to discover the heritage of an area as you explorer.
    #FiveonFriday

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  15. What a great place to walk. And fun to see the cows along the way.

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  16. How energetic you two are! I can't walk around 3 grocery stores let alone for 3 hours! I think you were smart to stop when you did.

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  17. What a walk/hike that must have been. Looks like you saw some wonderful territory.

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