A Long Walkabout - Night 60

Although our location here in Lower Hutt, a suburb of Wellington, does not offer easy access to the central city, it more than makes up for it with proximity to some truly great natural areas. Not to allow these opportunities to go to waste, I spent the morning and early afternoon hiking through the southern portion of the massive Belmont Regional Park. My trek began along the sinuous Korakora Dam trail leading up to Belmont Trig, the second highest peak in the park. After a brief rest at the top, I avoided the main trail on the way down and took the looping Horokiwi path on my descent back into the valley. Obviously very rarely traveled, the grass was hardly matted down and keeping to the path was at times difficult. The solitude and silence of it all easily offset the navigational difficulties.

At Baked Beans Bend (the etymology of this particular nomenclature remains unclear to me) I met back up with the main trail and with what was to be the first of a large race taking place on the trail. Having no other way to get back to civilization, I had to fight my way back along the narrow track against this running, jogging, and walking mass of humanity. Though I eventually lost count, the

View from Belmont Trig Peak

number was easily over 200 hundred participants. Viewing a race from this perspective turned out to be quite interesting and in the end I was glad I happened upon the event. At first you pass the serious racers, moving at good speed, faces full of grit and determination. Mostly under 40 males, with a few females mixed in. Nary a smile in the group. Next came the older ex-athletes, younger relatively fit couples in which one member convinced the other to do this, and the fathers with teenage sons trying to teach them the joys of physical competition. This group proved a bit more relaxed and friendly, though it was very easy to tell which member of the couple was the driving force behind their entry. Finally at the end came the old, the young and the fat. Their pace was a slow stroll, their faces all smiles. Just a group of out of shape individuals enjoying a beautiful New Zealand day in the woods. It was much like progressing from shopping at REI to Eddie Bauer to Walmart. Or like driving from Seattle to Kansas City to New Orleans.

I exited the trail in Petone, which some

A Meal at BurgerWisconsin

early morning research told me was the home of a BurgerWisconsin franchise. I arrived a bit early (they opened at 12) and killed some time watching a cricket game in the park. The rules of cricket have been explained to me more than a few times since I’ve been here and I think I am beginning to understand, however, I cannot get over the crushing boredom of actually watching the game. I would honestly rather sit down in front of the TV for the Senior Women’s Golf Tour or Professional Bowling than a live Cricket match. Perhaps it is the fact that grown men are dressed in white pants and ridiculous sweater vests while engaged in what appears to be stiff athletic competition. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Tweedledee, Tweedledum and large human playing cards came tramping out from under the grandstand.

Back at the BurgerWisconsin restaurant I order a Bacon and Avocado burger. When my food arrived the bun was massive dwarfing the burger inside. In all honesty it was a damned good burger, but not the world’s best, as advertised on the sign. The waitress/cook was who was wearing a BurgerWisconsin shirt informed me that I could not buy one on the premises. She suggested perhaps emailing someone off of the website. English was not her first language nor was pleased to be working all by herself on a Sunday afternoon.

What I Learned Today: While being 7,000 miles away from home for the holidays will likely be a bit trying, it sure has made Christmas shopping easy. Having already purchased the box to send home selecting gifts was easy: the smallest and lightest things possible. Everything has to fit in this box and the more it weighs the more expensive it is. With this in mind my Christmas shopping commenced at 2:30 and was promptly finished at 3:15. 45 minutes, my new personal best. This is not to say the gifts possesses any less meaning than in years past, rather, they are simply less materially substantial.

written by

exumenius on December 9, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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