Yes I know, I ended my last entry with "Fisher's Track tomorrow!", well now I have to append "...or not".
I woke up early this morning, rolled over and went back to sleep and dreamt I'd decided to stay another night and gone to pay at reception before returning to my room and climbing back into bed. I woke up again at 9am and thought this sounded like a great idea. Whakahoro is only a two day walk away and I have three days to get there--what's the rush? Plus I'd rather spend the extra night in a nice warm room with a comfy bed and a shop selling fresh food nearby than camping in a random spot along some back-country road (even though my bank account might not!). So I got up and put my camp-clothes on and went to see if the room was available for another night. Unfortunately it wasn't and I was unwilling to pay either for a cheaper dorm room bed or a more expensive ensuite room, so I went back to my room to change into walking clothes and pack up ready to leave by 10am. I was nearly done when the lady from reception that morning popped her head in and offered me an ensuite room at the same price as what I had paid for the bed-only room I'd had the previous night. You might be surprised to hear I didn't take the offer immediately but asked if I could think about it for a minute. This is because it's surprisingly difficult to make the mental adjustment from "walking mode" to "rest-day" mode. I'd been in "rest-day" mode when I woke up, but as I packed I had nearly managed to make the necessary transition into "walking mode" and was also keen to save the money. But then I reasoned that fifteen minutes earlier I'd been willing to spend the money for the same room and now it I would be spending the money for a better one. That, and the weather was shaping up to be pretty shite. Certain that "rest-day" mode would be easy enough to re-boot I grabbed my eftpos card and wandered round to reception to say "yes please!". The room they shifted me to hadn't been used the night before so within a few minutes I had finished packing and moved my stuff upstairs to a hall-end room with a small but servicible closet-sized toilet and shower and corner windows looking out over both the carpark and the mountains. It wasn't the Ritz, but it felt idyllic. I made myself at home and changed back into my camp clothes before grabbing my puffer jacket and setting off in search of a late breakfast.
At the far end of town, suitably adjacent to the railway line is the Station Cafe. It's a nice little cafe with decent food for a tourist town; I munched a toasted sandwich and salad and slurped a hot chocolate while reading through a clearfile containing newspaper cuttings covering the 1995-96 eruptions of Mt Ruapehu. Not quite finished with the clearfile and having a bit of a sweet tooth I also bought a lemonade scone for which the cafe is apparently famous. Personally I wasn't that impressed and would much rather have had a plain or date one, I had higher hopes for the slice of carrot cake I took home in a bag for later (unfortunately it turns out these were unfounded as it was a bit dry). Back in my own little private piece of paradise for the day I chillaxed on the bed and rang a friend and my Mum for a chat before sitting at the desk and blogging for a bit whilst picking at the carrot cake and taking in the intermittent view of the mountains between clouds, the odd shower, and even a short burst of hailstones.
Around dinner time I claimed a spot at the burnt out elements and cooked up a pasta snack. While eating I got chatting to a late middle aged lady and retired athlete who was excited about doing the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. I was pleased to hear she swears by hiking poles and asserts that they reduce the stress on your joints by up to 40%, which is apparently necessary after you've worn your self out running track and field for years. I hope that by using them to begin with I might preserve my joints for ongoing pain-free and fully-functional use for as long as possible. After dinner and dishes I wished the woman "good walk" and went back to my room and to bed.
Ok, this time...Fisher's Track tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment