Five Foot Ronna

07/10/2025

Not my typical Monday morning...

Usually by 9am, I'm already two coffees in for the day, sitting at my desk working on deadlines. Instead, I was spreading Pic's peanut butter on pre-inked Black Trakkas with other Manawahe Eco Trust volunteers. We were putting baits out for rat monitoring, which would be collected the next day. Apparently, the love of peanut butter was something rats and I had in common.

I teamed up with Brian for the morning, a long time volunteer for MET as well as the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust. He was also the head of the art department when I was at Whakatāne High School.

We were laying bait on a monitoring line near a couple of known kōkako pairs. It was pretty much a straight drop for the first 30 mins, but the knees seems to hold out quite well. Brian taught me how to read the yellow markers - one is a directional marker, and two meant a black tunnel for the bait was nearby. My job was to keep up and make sure I gave him the bait cards in numerical order.

Then we heard it. A familiar haunting call I heard for the first time a week ago. A kōkako was nearby. It didn't come any closer, but it knew we were there.

Around 11.30am, we all met back at the picnic table. Thermoses and sandwiches came out, while Jude passed around her homemade shortbread biscuits. A lovely treat after and morning in the bush.

04/10/2025

The perfect cricket weather... 🤦‍♀️😂

02/10/2025

Amazing fog in the hills of Awakeri this morning. We had some downpours in Edgecumbe last night, but didn't last long. Spring is making the paddocks look pretty lush!

23/09/2025

We've signed up for this Open Day with Manawahe Eco Trust this Saturday. Limited numbers, so make sure to register today.

14/09/2025

Tongariro Alpine Crossing 2025 - thanks for the memories! Our group probably had four good knees between us, but what we lacked in joint stability, we made up for in life experience. Check out our windy adventures here 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

Liz and I had first planned to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC) back in March 2024. Unfortunately, a storm blew in that week, and it g...

03/09/2025

Great news! After a few months offline, I think I've finally found a new home for my future tramping blogs. Yay! There's a small backlog of tramping adventures I'm yet to write - it turns out my last one was from an overnighter to Ōtapukawa Hut in Te Urewera earlier in the year. Some of my past adventures will also be available again.

September is a bit chocka with weekend events, so I'm hoping to squeeze in an overnighter in October. Keep an eye on here if you feel like going bush for the night.

19/08/2025

Mt Urchin Track, August 2025

With almost 600m of elevation gain over 3km, there's no easing into this one. It's a walk of two halves - the first 30 mins is a steady climb in a stunning beech forest. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees by the time I reached the ridge, with clumps of snow greeting me where the track was yet to see the sun.

Up until the last kilometre, it was fairly steady underfoot. One of the best mountain tracks I've been on in a long time. As I drew closer to the edge of the bush line, the track became more rutted, eroded sections at waist high and tramping soon became a scramble.

When the bush gave way to the sub-alpine zone - the route up to the summit marked by poles. I was about half-way up when I saw the clouds rolling in from the west, threatening to steal my views. I snapped a photo before the mountains were completely covered, then continued up to the summit.

The wind had picked up at the trig and foiled my plans of lunch with a view. I did walk along the tops for awhile, but it seemed the cold wind was determined to keep me company.

This was definitely one of my favourite tramps this year - hard to believe that you can experience an alpine environment just 2.5 hours from the car park.

17/08/2025

Betty, my adventurous RAV4, hadn’t had a good dust bath in a while. The deeper I drove down Kaimanawa Road, the more I felt like a kid about to sneak lollies before dinner—buzzing with excitement to explore a new forest.

I pulled into Urchin Campsite mid-arvo, and after 3.5 hours in the car I was itching to go for a walk. Although, anyone with an over 40 year old bladder knows, no tramp begins without first going to the loo. That's where I discovered the best backcountry bog...ever. Cleanest, non-smelly long-drop I've been in my life. And I've been in some real stinkers!

After a quick snack (and realising I left the bread at home), I checked out the Tree Trunks Gorge Track. Just 9km return (starts at the campsite), and honestly, it’s a gem. If you're into forest bathing, add this to the list.

I bailed at the river crossing, about a kilometre from the end. I had my eye on the Pillars of Hercules track and figured I should keep some fuel in the tank. The knees thanked me for it.

Spoiler alert: No pillars were spotted on the Pillars of Hercules track, but there is an epic 40 suspension bridge above the gorge.

15/08/2025

Super excited for this weekend's adventures in the Kaimanawa Forest. The weather forecast is mint. 😍

12/08/2025

📣 It's NZ Poetry Day on Friday, 22 August and I'll be sharing a couple of my poems at this FREE open mic at the Whakatāne Library. Come check it out, bring a mate or two.