New Zealand – Found Missing Volcano

Its huge it dominates the skyline and then it can completely disappear in a puff of cloud!
Mount Taranaki, a sleeping volcano surrounded by deep fertile loam. Its last a eruption was in the 1700s. It has its own climate which affects the surround area.
The weather cleared and today I walked in the volcano foothills, to climb to the summit is strenuous and probably a bit beyond me. I drove to Dawson Falls and looked at the wide range of tracks I could walk. I selected two, and hour to Dawson falls and then a more challenging one up to a plateau. Im always a bit wary of what they class as moderate difficulty. Anyway apart from some fast moving water (all that rain yesterday) and one or two step ups higher than my waist, I managed it easily. There were only a few people on the walk.
In the lower region there were stunted moss
covered trees and I mean literally hanging with moss. Do Ents live here!

I encountered a bird with a thrumming wing beat it was quite a ghostly sound. I didn’t actually see them till much later, a pair of New Zealand pigeon or kereru. They are big with a long tail for a pigeon and a white front.
As you climb higher it becomes more alpine and at one point I was walking along a ridge. It’s hard to describe, there was a steep slope either side of a narrow track. There was so much vegetation it was not easy to see the drop and god forbid if I stumbled.

I was exhausted when I got back and probably dehydrated as I had a lingering headache.

My Landlady Toni asked if I’d like to come in and sample Fejoa. No this is not some suspicious substance, it is a fruit and although it can be grown in Britain I didn’t realise you can eat the fruit till I got here. She cut up several for me to try and they were lovely, not too sweet.

Moving towards Taupo tomorrow….