Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Distance: 4.3 km
Start: Just at the cattle stop on Summit Road near Gebbies Pass.
Finish: Same place - it's a bit of a loop
Date: Friday 17th June
Driving south on Summit Road: past The Sign of the Kiwi, Marley's Hill, Sign of the Bellbird, Coopers Knob and Gilbraltar Rock, just before you begin your descent to Gebbies Pass, there is a cattle stop and a couple of small carparks. This is the start of of the Crater Rim Walkway - which was not our destination today - instead we were taking the small unmarked track almost exactly opposite through a small forest remant: Ahuriri Bush. An "ahuriri", in Te Reo Māori, is either a trench or a low fence at the entrance of a pā used to keep out pigs.
We parked the car, taking care not to drive over the bluff (a fair drop-off if you care to look) and set off. The disused track, faint in places, runs through the bush alongside the fenceline for about 5-10 minutes before popping out onto farmland. A couple of cows watched us march up the hill towards a summit high point of sorts. We were talking about work and management and what makes a good manager.
After a few minutes we were already at the top, climbing over and through a couple of barbed wire fences. A barb pierced my puffer and I started leaking feathers. The track had peetered out and we were off-piste but still on some sort of cow or sheep trail, heading down the hill past the pines, over the worn gate and up to the next summit mound.
We stopped for paramanawa and admired the views over to Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and Te Roto o Waiwera/ Lake Forsyth and out to Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa. A good manager lets you say your bit and is appreciative if you do a good job. Sounds simple really. So whats the problem? A feather exited my jacket and floated away.
Over the worn gate we took a different route back. We climbed the second gate onto a farm track through the pine trees and then onto a worn trail that slidled back (occasionally off-piste) under the massive rocky outcrops. You wouldn't want to be there in an earthquake. You probably wouldn't want to be a manager either. Although the pay and the prestige is partially desirable.
Once we had sidled around the mountain hill, we were back on the same track returning to the car. The two cows had weirdly multiplied to become a whole herd. They watched us intently go by. We figured out that some of the managers we know are actually managing other managers.
We went to The Tannery for lunch at Michellis Cafe Rinato. Kumara Rostis and Risotto cakes, triple shot flat whites and lattes. If you were a manager you probably wouldn't be able to go walking on a Friday and vent about management. I raced home to bung up the hole. Every feather lost is a tragedy.
