Kennerdell Tract

Kennerdell Tract View from the campsite We spent a relaxing Memorial Day weekend in the woods along the Allegheny River just north of Kennerdell. The map above shows our hike in on Saturday morning in yellow (about 2 miles), and a red X around where we decided to camp. We were on a little bluff…

RCT Challenge 2009

Well, I did it – I registered for the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge this year. So now I've paid my money, I'm committed to get ready for the Challenge! It's on June 20, the Saturday nearest the solstice, so you have as much daylight as possible to complete the 34 "brutal" miles. Notes from the website:…

Tongariro Crossing

[NOTE: I wrote this post in October 2009 – I realized I had never finished writing my posts about New Zealand, which is a crime because the Tongariro Crossing was one of the most exhilirating experiences of my life. I think I was trying to think of enough eloquent things to say about it, but…

Planning for tomorrow

When I first was researching where to go in New Zealand, I chose the southern end of Lake Taupo for its proximity to national parks that sounded like they had good hikes through terrain we don't have at home (volcanoes and such). I also had seen from Omori LakeHouse's website that they were near the…

Wairere Falls

Okauia escarpment Wednesday morning after our big country breakfast, we drove the few km from the cottage to the Wairere Falls track (the waterfall we could see from our window). The weather was absolutely gorgeous, already t-shirt temperatures by 9:00. When I had first researched this area online, I’d been struck by the unusual topography…

Drizzly day on the Matakana Coast

  McKinney Kauri The weather website didn’t look too promising Monday morning, rain called for all day long. But heavier later, so we decided to do what we could early in the day. Part of our plan involved lunch at a local winery, though, so we did wait a little while before walking through the drizzle…

Dorrigo National Park

After a delicious breakfast of a sausage pie sort of thing, we packed up and headed out. It had been recommended to us by our hostess’ friend that it would be worthwhile to take a detour and see Dorrigo rainforest, up in the mountains not far south of Sawtell, so we decided to do that.…

Grandview Nature Preserve

Grandview Preserve On Saturday morning, we drove out to Grandview Nature Preserve, near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It’s a 500+ acre fairly wild area, apparently well known for its plethora of birds. There’s a single trail that leads to the beach, which you can then walk up – you’re not supposed to walk into…