Above is a brief TRM style slide-show is to illustrate the North Island stages of the Great New Zealand trek.
It is that time of the year again when I escape from TRM to go on the Great NZ Trek – leaving next week…
This is for my one week’s annual leave – that is all SWMBO allows on my laundry contract.
This all started at Cape Reinga in 2006. Image on right was the starting day in 2006.
I never imagined I would last this long.
As you can see in the camp photo it is very well organised.
We really have to rough it. By the time we finish each day the hot showers are running and the bar is open. Even a massage tent provided.
Each year this same bunch of crazies go bush with the general idea of heading south towards Bluff.
It took eight years to ride/walk/bike the North Island, all off-road across farms and bush tracks and climbing everything resembling a hill within range.
Now after twelve years over 50 trekkers have completed every stage. After so many years camping together we have all go to know each other very well and now have some very good friends who regularly stay at TRM for training.
The trek is not too serious. Equal attention is given to the social side of things – image above left is an anon hotel bar at the end of a trek, below left is added to get SWMBO’s attention…. What happens on tour stays on tour… (It’s payback after She just returned from her shopping trip claimed as sick leave in Thailand.)
I have biked most of it but occasionally have tried horse riding or walking as well. As this is a fishing report I should explain why (?) as I am not a competent horse rider – more of a complete novice. But the trek route was from Taharoa to Taumaranui in 2010 and on to Taihape in 2011. This region was within easy day trips for a keen angler from TRM.
The trek was crossing through many private farms and crossing about 40 rivers each year. For a trout angler that spells out “private water”…
The reason the bike was exchanged for a horse was so that I could wade up the rivers spotting for trout in places where no other fishos had ever been. I got so excited in anticipation.
The trek certainly took us across many large farm stations and through many streams and rivers. I thought this was a really sneaky strategy. Right? Wrong!
Every single farm stream and all the smaller rivers were polluted. I never spotted a single trout.
That is when the TRM Daily Report started commenting seriously on the need to be aware of deteriorating water quality.
The water quality in these rivers had deteriorated far more than I could ever have imagined. Now it is far worse…
This year the trek is in the deep south from Burkes Pass to Becks. This is an interesting area as it winds past these big canals that are full of giant trout and salmon.
So you will understand if I do not manage to bike much this year. It is nothing to do with age or training or fitness levels.
Just for a change, I intend to go fly fishing instead…
Huge Rainbow trout are on the agenda.
As indicated on right I did some research last year during the trek.
So it should be interesting…
