| Well friends while we are sitting here having our much needed lunch break, coz it's rather tiring hiking through the mountain ranges, I will tell you all a little bit about this place. This is my most favourite place on earth. It is the Mountain that I was born under, and lived around, for Eighteen years. Her Name is Mt Taranaki. I have climbed to the summit of 8260 feet, back in march of 1975 when I was only a teenager.I would love to do it again, but of course the weather would not permit us right now. It is much to risky in the cooler seasons. Nevertheless is well worth the climb to the top, in the height of summer. Such a magnificent sight, quite like nothing else I have ever seen. It truly feels like one is on top of the world, and you can see from one end of the country to the other. The Country of course is New Zealand. Mt Taranaki sits between the Capital City of Wellington, and Auckland on the West Coast. A little part that juts out marks the spot. It is situated in the lush fertile pasture lands of the Taranaki Province. My Folks still live here, and many other family members, but I will mention more about them as we go. We havent seen the Kiwi as yet, as they are a rather shy Bird, totally flightless, and very independant. They like to keep to themselves in the undergrowth. The best time to see them is at night. Then there is the Morepork, kinda like an owl, and it literally say's More pork. Sounds rather eeeerie in the dead of night ;). Possums frequent these bush lands in large proportions too. I can remember as a small child toddling through these ranges with Grandfather, watching whilst he was shooting them. I can't say I enjoyed doing that too much, but it was his way of earning a living at that time. Sometimes we would find a baby goat whose mother had been shot by hunters, and we would bring it home and rear it as well. There are many stories I could tell you about this place, but I think you know by now, that it is very dear to my heart and will always be so. I am Thankful for the privilige of being born and bred here, for it is a wonderful place to grow up, though cold in winter, a white playground up in the snow, and an endless source of inspiration for nature lovers, Like Myself :) |
