(Barely) Working Title: How to retire in your twenties
The next few days were spent enjoying the local area around Hastings, and we started by climbing Te Mata peak. The name translates as “the giant” because the mountains apparently represents a big guy laying down. The legend goes that Te Mata o Rongokako (the giant chief of a waring iwi) fell in love with the daughter of a local chief and was charged with a variety of tasks to prove his worthiness. One of the tasks was to bite a path through the
Lewis George
81 chapters
16 Apr 2020
The Giant Among Us & Bell Rock
May 03, 2019
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Hastings, Havelock North, Clifton
The next few days were spent enjoying the local area around Hastings, and we started by climbing Te Mata peak. The name translates as “the giant” because the mountains apparently represents a big guy laying down. The legend goes that Te Mata o Rongokako (the giant chief of a waring iwi) fell in love with the daughter of a local chief and was charged with a variety of tasks to prove his worthiness. One of the tasks was to bite a path through the
mountain to the sea, but he choked on a boulder and died, forever lying across the peak. I don’t know about eating a mountain of dirt, but they do say a way to man’s heart is through his stomach. The peak itself is only 399m but affords 360 views of Hastings and the towns along Hawkes Bay which is immensely scenic.
We then stopped in nearby Havelock North to sample some wine. Hawkes Bay is true wine country and has more vineyards than you can count. Overwhelmed, we decided to stick to what we know and sampled the local craft beer from Giant brewery instead.
Conversing with the locals, one American expat suggested that we climb “Bell Rock” whilst in the area. You know the rules by now, so we set off the next day for the hike.
Bell Rock is a limestone formation in the Te Haroto area, about 90 minutes north of Hastings. This area boasts an awesome landscape, with views of the Ruahine Ranges and Mount Ruapehu far in the distance. We noticed on the way up the 50km gravel road that we were very low on fuel. After some debate about travelling back to pick up fuel, we decided to persevere, agreeing to roll down the 971m hill to the petrol station after the trek. With shaken nerves (on my part), we made it without the aid of our good friends at the AA.
1.
The first trip: Miranda to Thames
2.
Land of the Long, White Cloud
3.
Backyard Exploring
4.
Hit the Road, Jack
5.
Under the Weather
6.
The Road of Death?
7.
An Eel called "Eel"
8.
Descent into the Black Abyss...
9.
Everybody's Going Surfing...
10.
Living in a van: is this the real life?
11.
Out with the Old and in with the New (Plymouth)
12.
Walk this Way
13.
The Great Taranaki
14.
The "Forgotten" Highway
15.
Chronicle + Art = Article
16.
Derby Day
17.
Mission Accomplished: Come on you Nix!
18.
The post-Phoenix hangover
19.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
20.
Whanganui 2 - This Time it’s Personal
21.
Tui-many puns and Hastings
22.
The Giant Among Us & Bell Rock
23.
Acoustics, Art & A Bloody Cold Sea
24.
Napier Calling
25.
Bridget Jones' Diary - Cheese, Chocolate, Wine
26.
Land and Sea
27.
Mahia-hee, Mahia-hu...
28.
The Gisborne Identity
29.
East Cape Escape
30.
The Long and Winding Road
31.
More or Less Pork.
32.
The Land of the Rising Sun
33.
Hikurangi: Reaching New Heights
34.
Stingray, Stingray!
35.
Bay of Plenty (of Surprises)
36.
Future Reflections
37.
Birthday Part 1 - Going Off Pissed
38.
Birthday Part 2 - Going En Piste
39.
Mid-Winter Christmas
40.
I Get Knocked Down (But I Get Up Again)
41.
Job Hunting: I Need a Dollar, Dollar
42.
Busy Earnin'
43.
Hoppy Daze
44.
Making a House a Home
45.
What to expect when you’re expecting
46.
Bright Lights, Big City
47.
Feeling Each and Every Mile
48.
What to export when you're exporting
49.
Waipapa Marae: An Unexpected Welcome
50.
Tane of the Sky Father
51.
The Boy Most Likely To
52.
Go Rooster!
53.
Friday 13th
54.
Mild Orange, Heavy Chest
55.
Champions of the World
56.
Wild, Wild West (Auckland)
57.
Team Zlatan Heineken
58.
Great Expectations
59.
Un petit rendezvous
60.
Duck Island (sans canards)
61.
It’s Coming Home?
62.
Culture, init?
63.
Sue’s Turtle Garden
64.
New Caledonia - It’s a Rollercoaster (metaphorically)
65.
It’s gone abroad...
66.
Future Me Hates Me
67.
“You can’t beat Wellington on a sunny day”
68.
Te Papa Tongarewa: New Zealand’s Treasure Chest
69.
Island in the Sun
70.
Wine on Waiheke
71.
I'm Dreaming of a Really Sunny and Warm as Hell Christmas
72.
A Visitor!
73.
New Year, New Zealand
74.
Worm-tomo
75.
A Vicious Cycle
76.
Tongario 2.0: This time it's actually visible
77.
Wow Nature, you furry
78.
Whakarewarewa: Living Māori Vilage
79.
Ain't No Mountain...
80.
Hot Rodders & Hotter Weather
81.
North Shore, Not Sure
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