Triumphant: Final Walk Update

Dear Friends,

The journey is over and reached a perfect ending in the snowshine in the happiest valley I have ever known with seven friends in a warm comfortable yert, enjoying a hot meal and cups of tea and a bottle of wine, well appreciated with the knowledge it was carried in on someone's back, just like everything else that made us warm and comfortable in such a wet, muddy place.

Since then myself and Matt hitched back to Motueka, watching the distance I had covered over the last couple of weeks flash past in merely a couple of hours. I currently sit in a comfy internet cafe in Motueka. Sorry it's taken a few days for me to get myself onto the internet but here I am.

Since we left the laughing horse, we pushed through what seemed like the longest 9 days of the entire journey. It's always the last 2 k in the day that takes the longest, the last 5 minutes in the working day last an eternity...you know how it is. The first day past the laughing horse we camped up at Kawatere junction in a rest area only about 10 k on, having waited till lunch time to see if Micky might just turn up before we left. He didn't, so we set off with the prams again, which were somewhat dangerous to be pushing once we got back on the main road. We had a few angry, shocked beeps and honks. Those prams were a real eyecatcher!

I put up the banner I made out of the tarp I had been using to cover my stuff in the pram, drawn on with a permanent black marker "Climate Camp" decorated with foliage and other hippy stuff, a bit of an artpeace that looked interesting enough from afar to take a closer look at. Micky ended up showing up after we had both gone to bed and were nearly asleep. As soon as he arrived I recognised the chip wagon noise strait away and we both leapt up and stuffed our faces, enjoying the creature comforts provided by our indespensable support vehicle.

The next night we camped in a tiny little round patch of grass next to a stream called "Coal Creek" and were met in the morning by Happy Valley supporters Brian and Lynley, who donated a bag of food and some cash. Much appreciated guys, and great to finally meet you too!

From there it was a days walk to Murchison, where we camped at the war memorial. The next day was somewhat frustrating with me spending hours writing a press release that got deleted when I was just about finished because I was running out of internet time and went to get some more coins from the cafe but they were all out of gold so it cut me off before I could feed the slot and I lost all my work. It had already been extremely difficult to condense the entire journey into such a short peice of writing and decide what stories to tell.

Meanwhile Micky had been back at camp being accosted by an angry man with a big white bird on his shoulder about disrespecting the war memorial. Micky told him that he had much respect for the memorial and prayed for the dead before he went to sleep that night.

Still, it had to be done, so we walked on about another 11 K to the turnoff (Westport/Christchurch) and camped beside the bridge, not far into the beginning of the Upper Buller Gorge. I spent hours and hours the next day writing it all out again by hand, then gave it to Mick to take back to town and type up.

While we were at that campsite we had two very interesting meetings. The first was just between me and a Morepork (Ruru). I had never actually seen one before, only heard the familiar call. I just saw the sillhouette of it standing right above the W on the Westport sign, right out in the open by the road. I was pretty sure from about 100 metres away of what I was looking at, so I slowly walked over until I was only about half a metre away and started talking to it: "Hello little one, you've got big beautiful eyes" I stood there for quite some time, I can't say how long looking into those big round eyes until Em came along and he swooped off into the trees beside the river. Just one of my many close personal encounters with bird life in the South Island. They are surprisingly friendly.

The next was with a guy called Steven from the Newton Livery about 9k up the road, who Harvey from the Laughing horse had mentioned we should visit on the way through. When he pulled over we weren't sure what to expect, as there had been a mixture of angry and supportive beeps and shouts from passing cars on the busy intersection, but we were pleased to find a friend. He said we could pop in and help ourselves to his orchard, but we said we probably wouldn't come to stay because it was a bit too close, we had wanted to get further the next day.

Of course we didn't get further that day because that was the day I spent all morning writing out the same thing I had written the day before by hand, but we ended up being very comfortably lodged for a night in a cozy little house on a hill overlooking the river all to ourselves, with a wood burning range to cook dinner and heat the water for a shower in the morning. Steven is another travelling horseman and owns several horse carriages, which he takes out for long journeys around the country, coming back to the Livery, which has provided a base and stop off point for him and other travelling horse people "and others" for many years.

After a good nights sleep we were able to cover a good distance the next day, about 26 to 27 k. We walked on past the Lyell campground and over another bridge across the Buller River, walking until just before dark trying to find a decent place to camp, but never coming across anything but small, rocky and rough patches of ground with big pylons that felt rather precarious between the road and the river. So when micky arrived in the chip wagon after leaving us waiting in the dark until about 7.30 because he'd gone back to town again to do more interwobbling, we drove back to the Lyell campground for the night, me sitting on Emilie's knee because the car was so full of stuff and things.

It rained all night and most of the next day and intermittently for the next few days until we reached Westport.

From Lyell we drove back to the spot we had stopped at the night before, which we had marked. We stopped for a long lunch in Inangahua as a respite from the rain before ploughing out into the unknown wetness for another 12 or so K's to another inhospitable place, again having to jump back into the chip wagon as dark closed in and head back to a barn we had stopped in for a short break earlier. Mick and Em went down to the farmhouse and asked the farmer if we could stay in the barn, a large, open ended, empty building next to the road where we could park the chip wagon and put up our tents out of the rain. The farmer was only to happy and we appreciated the dry night, being able to cook a hot meal out of the rain with the hobo stove and even dry our wet socks! The next day we went past the Berlin's Cafe and on to a small rest area only about 2 K from the end of the gorgey bit of the road. Only a short, 15 K walk to Westport.

Despite the constant wetness, which should be expected on the West Coast, the Buller Gorge road was definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the country we have had the pleasure to appreciate at walking pace. Every single corner we turned, we found ourselves gazing at yet another towering, bush clad mountain, ragged cliff, rushing waterfall, turmultuous turn in the river, dissapearing into the mist. Emily gave up putting her camera back in her pocket and just kept it out. If you ever want to photograph the Buller Gorge yourself, make sure you bring a water proof camera like hers!

On the morning of the last day of walking to Westport, we left at about 8.30 and got in at about 12. As soon as we arrived we waltzed up to the Solid Energy office, erecting a tent on their lawn and holding up banners for the Westport News. Within a couple of hours the photo showed up on the front page of the evening paper, holding two short sweet Messages: "Communities Not Corporations" and "People and Planet B4 Profit".

We had no hassles from Solid Energy but we didn't see the need to camp there when we could have a nice hot shower and a comfy bed at Jonah's barn in Waimangaroa so we went there for the evening before walking on (officially) to Waimangaroa again the next night.

Matt from Mot met us here aswell and Emily and I left at 9.30 the next morning, up the bridal path to the top of the incline and along the four wheel drive track to a little old miners hut at the beginning of the track in to the valley. There we waited for Jonah, Micky and Matt in the chip wagon from 1.15 until about 3.15. We were on the way into the valley from about 3.45 and had to hurry ourselves to get through the roughest and most dangerous bits of the walk before dark.

Luckily the walk in was dry and sunny, then it snowed the next day and melted before we had to walk out, by which time the sun had come out again to melt away the snow from the day before.

All in all Walking the Walk has been an amazingly positive experience for everybody involved and has spread positivity, hope, inspiration and awareness throughout the country. We had a surprisingly welcoming reception in Westport, which we had had dire warnings about, as we all know the general population there support the mine. We had a quiet stall and a few very reasonable conversations with miners. We listened to them and they listened to us and we didn't necessarily agree but we all understood each other a bit better. At the end of the day, we have no more say in these matters than they do. We just want to make sure there is a future for the next generation, from Westport to Auckland and all around the world.

There is so much more to write that you would never read in an email, but my next job in Auckland is to write the Novel, so you can all look forward to a true story entitled "Just around the Corner," with much more details, stories, descriptions, revelations, conversations, trials and tribulations, fart jokes and songs.

Ah, yes, what would the journey have been without the fart jokes and the songs.

So much love goes out to all our friends who have been following this journey and walked beside us in spirit all the way, and all the people who fed us, sheltered us and helped us along the way. Without you, we would have been nothing but broke, stranded tourists.

Keep on walking the walk everybody, you know what you have to do.

Peace out,

Heather, Micky and all the Walkers.

They Made It! Walkers Arrive in Happy Valley

We have only heard by the briefest of text messages from Heather so far that she has reached her destination, having walked into Happy Valley on the 2nd May. As there may not be computers there, more news may take a few days to filter through but we will display it here when we receive it. Phone coverage does not seem too reliable either or perhaps there are battery problems. However, we can tell you that the weather was fine on the day they walked in but two days later it snowed.

Now in Westport

The walkers have arrived in Westport, having negotiated some pretty bad weather and they are finding it much colder now too. They have a real roof over their heads for a day or two (courtesy of a kind supporter) to ride out the rest of the storm in comfort. This is the first proper shelter they have had for some weeks now. Westport is still two more days walking away from their final destination which is of course Happy Valley. They plan to reach Waimangaroa on Wednesday and Happy Valley Thursday.

From the Buller Gorge...

The South Island leg presented different challenges and adventures. There is is a much greater awareness of the "Save Happy Valley" campaign in the South Island. Unlike the North Island where most people had never heard about it and were shocked and dismayed that it is being allowed to happen, South Islanders are aware of the issue and have already formed opinions for or against. The challenge is to inspire the ones who already oppose the mine into taking action to prevent it and taking action to make their own lives and communities more sustainable and self sufficient.

The main reason some people support the mine is because coal mining is one of the main industries providing jobs to the West Coast towns like Westport. It's very difficult to convince these people the detriment to their community of environmental degradation and climate change. I say, “ We dont have any ill feelings towards coal miners or workers in other environmentally damaging industries like commercial fishing or steel production. Its their CEOs and profiteers that we disapprove of. The workers are doing what they feel they have to, to pay the rent and feed their families. “

If a corporation can find a way to save money by laying off a hundred workers they won't bother to think about the well being of families and communities. Even though these people see “greenies” as a threat to their jobs, in reality we care a lot more about their survival than the companies who pay their wages. I am concerned for any community that relies too heavily on one major source of employment. The coal industry has had its day. I would ask these people if for any reason solid energy stopped providing these jobs and wages what will you fall back on? At present all the eggs are in one basket. That basket is lined with poisonous coal dust and its contents will turn to ash in their mouths.

As an environmental activist I devote my life to campaigning to ensure we will have healthy fertile land, clean water, fresh air and means for sustainable food production to pass on to future generations. If we continue to destroy our environment and pump CO2 into the air, our very survival is at stake. Humanity will literally sink or swim in the next hundred years depending on what action we take now.

We believe the best way to ensure a future for our children is to work towards small scale sustainable self sufficient communities. We have the intelligence and technology as well as the imagination and ingenuity to achieve this. All we have to change is the course of our efforts from accumulating wealth and profit to simple survival.

The physicality of the journey was different in the South Island too. It was April so the weather was getting colder and that added even more dificulty in getting a good night's sleep. In Havelock the local policeman targeted the walkers doing everything he could to sabotage their efforts. He approached a walker Joshua asking to move the car because it had been in a 60min parking zone far too long. Then as soon as he moved the car he pulled him over to check his license. Although Josh had had a learners license it turns out his learners license had been disqualified in 2003 and he had never renewed it. This allowed the officer to impound the vehicle for 28 days regardless of the fact that it didn't belong to Josh and contained all the walkers possessions and campaign equipment for the trip. We had 5 minutes to get whatever we needed before it was towed.

The officer took great pleasure in asserting his authority and openly denounced the cause, saying “Nobody in my town cares about climate change”. Mick hitched to Blenheim 40km away, to where the car was towed and by explaining the situation and paying the $260 towage fee, retrieved the vehicle. At Pelorous Bridge the walkers were told to “get their walking shoes back on and hit the road” by the management of the camp ground at one of NZ's most beautiful nature reserves. We had approached them thinking they would be supportive nature lovers but discovered they were climate sceptics who believed in every South Isander's right to destroy land for profit and took great offence to Heather's use of Te Reo Maori slipped into conversation. “We don't talk like that around here, we're New Zealanders. We speak English”.

Not feeling any great need to go to any trouble to hang around with small minded racists the walkers continued another 8 km down the road to Rai Valley where the campsite was by koha , a much easier and more beautiful way to say donation.

Nelson was sunny as usual and the walkers came across a great deal of support and very little negativity. While they were there they also showed support for a Free Tibet demonstration taking place on the day the controversial new free trade deal was signed.

Chip-wagon Problems Require Ingenuity of all of us
When we got to Motueka the chip wagon broke down, a problem which ended up keeping us there for a whole week, while Mick exercised all his ingenuity to fix it. It was a good place for it to happen though because there are a lot of supporters there.

The walkers were made very welcome and supported local activists by setting up our climate camp on the proposed site of the new Macdonald's franchise in town. Walk the walk oppose this because of the unsustainable large scale, cruel factory farming methods of production used by the massive corporation and the difficulty it places on small local businesses to compete. Motueka and the surrounding areas have everything they need to be self supporting, they simply don't need huge fast food franchises that come at such a cost to our health and the environment.

Saved by a re-cycled Pram!
After a week when the car was still being fixed, the walkers went on ahead pushing everything we needed and nothing we didn't in a couple of prams scoured from a reycling/refuse centre down the road. We walked without the support car for 6 days pushing the prams along. Two of those days were on gravel roads. It was empowering to realise we could do it without the car but we were glad when Mick finally showed up because we were missing some things.

Beware The Power of Prayer
In Tapawera we had been complaining about having nothing to read. We were going to bed at 7 oclock because it was too cold to stay up but there was nothing else to do in the evenings in the wilds. The very next day some Jehovah's Witnesses stopped and gave us some literature. Not exactly what we had in mind but we had been asking the universe for something to read !!

LOTR Parallels Continue as More Hunger Looms
We had been without cellphones for days unable to charge them and with very weak reception anyway, we had no way of knowing when and if Mick would show up. When we ran out of Tahini and couldn't buy more we really started to worry how long it would take because the meals were getting very plain and would soon run out completely. On the second to last day with the prams we went through the Sherrywine Valley and were given accomodation in a teepee at a place called ”the Laughing Horse” which was a farm set up as a trust for travelling horse people and others, I guess we were the “others.

We had planned to meet Mick here and when he didn't show up it reminded me very much of the Lord of the Rings when they cross the Brandywine Bridge and stay at an inn called “the Prancing Pony” where they were supposed to meet Gandalf but he doesn't show up. The next day Mick finally arrived and I was very pleased to have my pillow back and plenty of fresh food.

A few days later while packing camp outside the Murchison War Memorial, one very irate local with a white beard and white bird on his shoulder, who thought he owned the place told us we were very dispespectful and to “f-off” several times. But like all abusers never stayed. This shows when you have fixed ideas about people you aren't interested in their point of view or open to learning from them. In fact at every War Memeorial we stayed at we paid respects and Mick who follows a Japanese Buddhism always includes a prayer for the dead in his chanting.

Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Merry Motueka

Walk the Walk is Currently in Merry Motueka.

We will now be here for a few extra days because we now have as yet undefined technical problems with our chip wagon. We will certainly keep ourselves busy while we are here and our arrival seems timely.... Malcolm, (AKA Gandalf) is currently elbow deep in grease trying to figure out the problem and solve it, but it is quite possible we may need to spend some money on the car. After the ferry and the impoundment in Havelock and now having to take walk funds for food because we're all pretty cash strapped ourselves at this point of the journey, funds are looking really lean again.

So, if you were just about to give us a donation before I let you all know you could hold off for a while because I thought we had enough then, now would be a really good time! I am doing my best busking too, but anything you can afford would be greatly appreciated. Please spread the word widely!

This will be our last appeal as we only have another 2 weeks to go once we get back on the road, but at this point we can't leave Mot without a bit more cash.

Arohanui, Keep sending those messages of support too! --

Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Chip Wagon Issues in Havelock

We got this email from Heather today, saying -

Our chip wagon has been impounded, Joshua told us he had a restricted license but it turns out he is a disqualified driver. He was kicked off the walk today anyway. We had put conditions on him staying, all of which he broke in one day and got our car taken off us to boot.... Malc let him move the car closer to the camp and that was it. Cop seemed racist and unhelpful.

They were in Havelock, the car had been taken to Blenheim. A lot of their gear was still in the car, including cell phone chargers and all their food.

Then we heard that Gandalf (Mick) was charging to the rescue. While the hobbit (Heather) was stuck up the burning tree, with wolves and goblins all around her, and her pony had run off and left her, Gandalf was far away concocting spells to send the Eagles to her rescue, which means Mick managed to hitch to Blenheim and retrieve the Chipwagon. Only one day lost and a few sanity points.

Update from The Capital

Dear Friends,

Walk the Walk is currently chilling in Wellington, enjoying the hospitality of the community centre at 128 Abel Smith St. We arrived on Thursday evening and had a delicious dinner prepared for us there and a meeting with Happy Valley supporters in Welly. We had a discussion about the best areas to put efforts into at this stage of the campaign and for our part, encouraged people to try to get to Westport when we arrive in late April, as we will need as much support as we can muster there. So please tell anybody you know who might be able to get there, that the last week of April is an excellent time to visit the West Coast and Happy Valley!

Yesterday (Friday) we arrived at Parliament at 12pm with a small group of supporters (quality, not quantity!) and presented our "Dear Helen Clark" book to a representative from Trevor Mallard's office to pass on to the woman her self, along with our banner signed by Massey Uni students from Palmy and our letter to Trevor Mallard, signed by people in Petone when we visited his office on Wednesday. We spoke to whomever was listening about our journey and our campaign, stressing the hypocrisy of the government, talking about carbon neutrality while destroying pristine native habitat for coal to export over seas. Our climate camp was not received well by Parliament security, who were on top of us before we even managed to get one tent erected. There is apparently a rule to say no "structures" shall be erected on the grounds. We argued that we were staging a legitimate, peaceful protest and were simply doing what we have done in every town we have visited along our 8 1/2 week journey, but they called in the police, who trespassed one of our supporters from parliament grounds for two years. He left the grounds peacefully to avoid arrest and we set up our camp just outside the gates on council property beside two giant Pou Whenua, or Maori tribal boundary marking posts.

We remained at the camp until 12pm this afternoon when we packed up to go and sort out some issues with our passage across cook strait and have a bit of chill time for ourselves, busking time and such things.

Unfortunately the skipper of the sailing ship which we were to travel across cook st. on has had work commitments come up at the last minute and has had to cancel. He could not manage to do the passage for another two weeks. As we have certain time constraints and it seems Solid Energy has began making movements and marking out areas in the valley for work to begin in preparation for the mine, we have decided to catch the ferry across with the chip wagon tomorrow. The walk must go on! The skipper Jimmy clearly felt terrible to have to cancel at the last minute but it was out of his hands, and he very kindly donated us enough money for the two of us who would have been sailing to cross on the ferry. Thanks Jimmy! We may be able to organise to sail back with him on the return journey, Micky and I are both really keen to experience the sounds in a yacht.

Jimmy also dropped us off the "climate relay" baton to bring over Cook St with us. We are really happy to be a part of this climate journey too, and will drop it off in Picton for the next person to bring it to the next town using a mode of transport as carbon friendly as possible. It is a shame we couldn't sail it over using the power of the wind, but public transport is the next best thing.

For more information about the climate relay, check out http://www.climaterelay.co.nz/

Keep sending those messages of support,

Catch you all in the South Island leg!

Peace out,


--
Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Rimutaka Valley Road

Dear Friends!

The Walkers have crossed the perilous Rimutaka Valley Road, the last great barrier before our arrival at Parliament. We are currently waiting in the wings, in upper Hutt, for our descent into the capital on Friday.

Since I last updated you in Pahiatua, we have been travelling through the wide, wonderful Wairarapa! We spent a night in Kiwi Country (Eketahuna) where we met some very supportive locals, outraged at the governments hypocracy when it comes to endangered species protection. The town of Eketahuna thrives on the tourism it enjoys because of the Mt Bruce Kiwi sanctuary down the road and is adorned with images, sculptures, neon lights and souvenirs depicting Kiwi birds.

The next night, of course, we spent at the Mt Bruce sanctuary. It was one of the most peaceful nights sleep we have had for weeks, apart from the raucus kiwi calls. We were awoken by a dawn chorus of epic proportions. In the sanctuary we were lucky enough to see a kokako in the wild. We are told this is the only place in the world you can. We also saw Kakariki, Kaka, Stitchbird and more Kereru (native wood pigeons) than we had ever seen in one place, as well as two chilled out tuatara. When we visited the kiwi house they were in their burrow, but we were able to see them through the burrow cam preening each other, oblivious to our presence. I felt like a peeping tom!

The next night we hit Masterton, which was nowhere near as peaceful during the evening. To be fair, I had an excellent couple of busking sessions at the local supermarket. The people were very welcoming, encouraging and generous. When the lights went out the streets were the realm of the boy racers and the hoodlems. We were camped on the approach to town beside a big grass roundabout which seemed to be a favorite place for hoons to skid around and around in circles yahooing and showing off their loud, carbon intensive cars while yelling things like "peace to the world" and "save the planet" in sarcastic tones. Ignorance is bliss.

Carterton was our next stop and is a transition town, so we enjoyed hospitality from a lady called Sonia who promotes sustainable living in her community. We also visited another couple who have an extensive garden where they provide most of their own food and save organic seeds, use rainwater and are also involved in the transition towns movement. We had a delicious home grown lunch and had a tour of her property, while Josh and Dan got stuck in and helped with some gardening work.

Greytown was surprisingly busy, and I was amazed to see how many of their heritage buildings are lovingly preserved for public display! We were a hit with the locals and even had one woman sing us some of her political rap music which was really entertaining to say the least. We were given donations without having to ask, always a good sign, and the council didn't even move us on!

Featherston was a completely different kettle of fish. This was one of the worst nights sleep we ever had, mainly because of a group of very young boys hanging around at our camp, making themselves at home by helping themselves to our firewood, building a blazing inferno uncomfortably close to our tents and feeding it with an aerosole can! They went home but came back at about 5 am saying they had "left home forever" to join our walk. They made themselves a charming little bivvy using some roadcones and a tarpauline and finally went to sleep when they had finished freaking us out. During the day we had great support from the community of course, busking went well and Malcolm visited a supporter of ours by the name of Clare who lives nearby, who is an anti GE activist and gave us some organic food for the journey!

From there it was up over the Rimutaka hills, after having been told you CAN'T walk over them, which was a little nerve racking to say the least. We stayed alert and focussed on nothing but survival and made it over despite the dangers, with passers by looking at us like we were dead men walking, aghast to see somebody on foot on THAT road. Malcolm drove ahead and waited with the "Caution, Walkers" sign to alert drivers to our presence. Now we have conquered the Rimutaka's they had better take us seriously in Wellington because we didn't risk life and limb for nothing!

So here we are in Upper Hutt. We stayed outside the courthouse last night and were moved on at 8.00 this morning by a very angry lady, who we thought might have worked for the courts but would not confirm or deny, with a posse of three police, telling us if we didn't hurry up they were going to help us pack up and we probably wouldn't like the way they did it. We asked where the sign was that said we couldn't camp here, but there wasn't one. The unnamed dragon told us we were on private property. Malcolm argued that the ministry of justice is a public organisation paid for by taxpayers money and that the land should be publicly, not privately owned. She couldn't really argue apart from asking us whether we paid taxes ourselves, to which we replied "yes, we have spent many years paying taxes to pay for things we disagree with and are now taking a stand about what that money is being used for". She wasn't interested in the cause, but after she left the police were. So apparently you can't camp on the courthouse lawn in upper hutt, but we did anyway. It wasn't a very nice place to camp, we had streetkids hasselling us, throwing rocks (we need rocks to hold down flyers at our stall) and other useful things like pens (which they obviously don't have use for) and an apple (which tasted home grown and delicious) at our tents and banners and sneaking around as if they thought we couldn't see them.

We will be visiting Trevor Mallard's office in Lower Hutt tomorrow and Parliament on Friday, so an update will follow in the next few days to fill you all in on all the no doubt maniacal details of those meetings.

Keep in touch,

Arohanui

--
Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

The Life of a Walker

Dear Friends,

This is not so much an update as a portrayal of the realities of the lifestyle we are living as Walkers of the Walk.

This journey is like no other I have ever been on. It's not just the walking that sets it apart, nor is walking the most challenging aspect. As I have said in previous updates, when we arrive in each town, (usually between 5 and 7pm) we set up our camp in the most central, grassy location we can find. First we set up our banners, as this legitimises and explains our camp site. Then, up go the tents. As soon as our tents are pitched, people become immediately curious. Some of them walk past and ask us what we are doing, and others will just mumble under their breath, speculating and questioning, without speaking out. We barely ever have to approach people, the combination of the tents, the banners, and our colourful chip car is enough to bring a steady stream of bewildered locals for us to talk to. Invariably these people are positive and supportive of the cause, sign our "Dear Helen Clarke" book, and often bring up their own local environmental concerns for discussion too. The people who don't support us don't stop. They usually drive past very quickly and shout at us from moving vehicles, things like "Get a job!" and "I love Coal". They are never brave enough to enter a discussion.

So after we set up our tents, we spark up our hobo stove and begin to cook, all the while engaging whomever happens to be around at the time. After dinner the people usually keep us talking until at least midnight, usually more like 1 or 2AM, before we can finally stretch out and try to get some sleep. As we are in the centre of town, on state highway one, and more often than not next to the railway line as well, our camp is not a very restful place. In some places we will be on a corner, where trucks will come closer and closer until they sound like they are just about to plough straight into our tents and we are saying our last goodbyes before they zoom around the corner and we breathe a sigh of relief, until the next truck comes. With each one we wonder whether it might just be the one that misses the corner. Then the train will roar past a few metres away and the whole ground will shake like an earthquake, waking us all up again.

In the larger towns, the central parks often have sprinklers. The sprinklers are usually quite high powered, rotating hoses. It can be hard to spot where they are if we are setting up after dark, so we just accept that we are likely to be woken up at three in the morning by a jet of water tearing across all our tents, threatening the very foundations of our skinny pegs, quite often with more pressure than our flies can handle, so we end up with a thin mist making it's way through every time the jet passes by on it's rotation. We have discovered we can put our heavy, collapsable camp table on it's side, directly in front of a jet to protect our tents from the closest threat, but the noise it makes at close range is too loud to sleep with and lasts for at least an hour.

Then there are the street hoons in their souped up boy racer cars, doing burnouts and yahooing at all ours of the night, sometimes driving up into the park we are in and doing wheelspins and doughnuts around the trees.

At about 8.30 or 9 in the morning on week days, when the council worker is on his or her way to work, he or she will approach us and tell us that we can't camp there, and they don't want anybody else getting the idea that it might be acceptable. They also tell us our car and our banners are affecting the visual amenity of their town. We reply that we just did camp there, but it's a terrible place to camp and we don't think anybody else would even consider it! As far as the banners, saving our environment from large scale attacks like the one planned in Happy Valley and the subsiquent carbon emissions is far more important than bylaws to protect the visual amenity of your town! But regardless, don't worry, we will be out of here as soon as we can get the local newspaper down here to take a photograph, we have to walk all the way to ......... today.

The walking is quite a welcome relief after the hectic camp life, and most of the time we just get into a groove and keep plodding along in a sleep deprived, delerious stupor. That's not to say that we aren't wide awake and constantly aware of the dangers involved in walking New Zealand's highways. The proper side of the road to walk on is the right side, so that you can see the traffic on your side of the road and they can see you. This is not, however, always the safest option. On some blind corners, they couldn't see you and you couldn't see them until they were literally on top of you, and if they cut the corner (which they usually do) and the car coming the other way cuts the corner over the center line (which they also usually do) the vehicle has nowhere to swerve to. So we cross over on the blind corners and back again when visibility improves. We are also constantly looking with our ears for traffic coming behind and in front, judging whether it's a car, or a truck or a motorbike and how far away it might be.

When we cross bridges we sometimes just wait until we can hear nothing coming for miles before we make a mad dash for safety, and in some cases have been known to scoot down the bank and cross the river or stream instead. A great many variables come into account when deciding the best way to negotiate tricky roads, including space, terrain, vegetation, steepness, traffic speed and size, visibility, road conditions and weather.

We are not always speaking to each other in rosy, philosophical and peaceful tones as we continue on our journey. We have had many enthralling political debates, found ourselves in stitches of laughter or deep in a meaningful discussion about the nature of the universe, or ripping each other to threads trying to ascertain who ate all our lunch the night before, but no matter what our mood or current conversation we always manage to slap on a beaming smile for the traffic and try to wave heartily at every car that goes past, especially the trucks because they pass us time and time again on their back and forth trips, picking up and dropping off loads of what can only be termed as "stuff and things".

We speak to the police almost on a daily basis. They pull us over when we are walking, just to see what we're up to (although surely they must know that by now) and I say "Sorry officer, was I speeding?" they are generally very friendly to us and warn us to stay safe. "Of course" we reply "we've walked all the way from Auckland and we wouldn't have got this far if we weren't careful!". Then they approach us at the camp, with various excuses or reasons for their enquiries asking us all our names, dates of birth and where we have been and are going, and why. We tell them over and over again, and either they just don't communicate with each other, or they just want to make their presence known and keep tabs on us, because they all act like they have no idea what we're doing. As long as the relations are as reasonable as they have been though, we have no reason to complain and we must admit that there have been points where we have been glad to see police around in the middle of the night, keeping an eye on the midnight marauders.

I will never be able to tell all the stories of this epic journey on our website or through these updates and will probably have enough to keep my friends and family entertained for a lifetime and still keep some special experiences secret just for me, but for the rest of our supporters, this might give you a glimpse into the maniachal life of a Walk the Walker, and the trials we go through to bring awareness to the pillaging of the most important legacy we have to give to our future generations-- Planet Earth.

Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Manawatu Standard: Nothing will Stop them Now!

"It was literally a drive-by. I'm not sure whether it was our cause, or whether it's just because I'm a hippy chick with natty dreadlocks."

Ms Simpson has dealt with blisters, hypothermia, emotional and physical exhaustion during the past seven weeks - but this was the first threat of a gunshot wound.

Check out the full article online!

Walk-the-Walk in Pahiatua - Heather Gets Shot at.

Dear Friends,

Walk the Walk is currently in Pahiatua. We have had a mad few days in this part of the world! We have had another walker join us, by the name of Dan, who is right behind the cause and loves walking too, so it seemed like just his cup of tea. So now we are four. On Friday we visited Massey University in Palmerston North to expose government greenwash and stir up some action among the student population, who we have heard haven't been up to much activism lately.

I let rip for about an hour on the megaphone about the hypocracy of our government regarding Climate Change and our environment, and persuaded students to take off their shoes, dip their feet in green paint and put a footprint on a banner saying "Stop Greenwash, No Coal, Massey University Students, Palmerston North". Each footprint is signed, and we will be bringing this to Parliament when we hit Wellington on the 27th-30th March.
We also had the chip wagon parked nearby pumping some chilled out, revolutionary music with it's eco-friendly chip powered spare battery.

That night there were some hostilities, and although I'm not sure they were directed at our cause, they were definitely directed at me. I was busking across the road from where we had been camping in the square, playing Bob Marley's Redemption Song, when a black car drove past containing 4 young men with shaved heads, dressed in camouflage. I saw one of them lean out the rear passenger side window and point a gun at me, while looking me straight in the eye. I didn't know if he was just trying to freak me out but when he pulled the trigger I moved my head to the side and a slug gun pellet brushed past my ear and made a dent in the wall behind me. So, it wasn't a real gun but it could have done some real damage where he was aiming it, at my eyes! Lucky I dodged it because he was a crack shot. I must remember that not everybody loves peaceful hippy chicks with natty dreadlocks.

The following night, we made it about 12 k out of Palmy to a beautiful lookout point atop a hill beset with a forest of wind turbines. From our camp we could see both Mt Ruapehu and Mt Taranaki, and Palmerston North spread out in front of us looked like a fairy city by night.

Apart from the idyllic location however, all was not peachy. We saw a white ute drive into the turn around we were camping near about three times in the evening, checking us out, but not stopping to talk. They were young guys, looking drunk as skunks. It wasn't until 5am when we were all in bed that they had the guts to approach, and when they did it was to sneakily steal our "climate camp, Haere Mai" banner and hoon off cackling like hyena's when Mick heard a disturbance and leapt up, telling them "You leave that there!"

So if anybody sees this banner being hung up anywhere, please return it to us, care of state highway one. Or if you can help us with replacing it - we need a huge piece of fabric which we can't afford and some way to paint it again.

Catch up again soon,

Heather

Palmerston North

Dear Friends,

"Walk-the-Walk" has hit Palmerston North! We are currently camped out in the Square here and all the local greenies and fighters for the cause seem to be coming out of the woodwork to give us a warm welcome. The camp has become a bit of a homeless shelter here, we put up four guys and a very young girl (too young to be sleeping outside) who were just planning on crashing under trees, in our spare tent and they were very friendly but snored like beasts! I let the 15 year old Julia who worked at McD's across the road sleep in my tent because she was too scared to sleep in a tent by herself and she didn't want to go home to her Mother...(I remember when I was 15, but we needn't go into that) so we kept her safe.

Always happy to accomodate people who want to join the camp for whatever reason so it was great to have some more friendly company.

Since I last spoke to you all from Taihape, we have passed through the small town of Mangaweka, on to Hunterville, where we camped up next to the town's icon, a statue of the Huntaway farm dog.
We met a French tourist called Christian who walked with me for one day from Mangaweka to Hunterville. We were really appreciative of him for taking a day out of his last two weeks in New Zealand to do something to protect our environment here.

Some friends who we met in Arapuni (one of our personal favorite towns) bumped into us again in Hunterville on their way home from Welly. They were amazed at how far we had come and happy to see our banners up in another town. Another lady there stayed with us for the night to avoid falling asleep at the wheel and after Mick left in the morning he went with Josh (our new walker from Taihape) to his parents' house and had a korero and a good feed before meeting little old me in Marton.

I was without a cellphone for about four days because I dropped it in our friend Malcolm's compost heap when he was enthusiastically showing us the ins and outs of his pride and joy. I had thought it was gone for good until he went to put another load of compost on and saw it sitting there on top! It was very lucky he found it when he did because I don't think the garden would have liked it very much.

When I got to Marton we set up in their little town square, but there was no flat space and we were camped on little curvy hills reminiscent of the Tellytubbies set, not a very comfortable night! We were approached by a surprisingly consistent stream of locals in full support of the cause.

The Police approached us in the morning with a completely made up story about a theft that was connected with our car, and used it as an excuse to ask all our details, while telling us we weren't allowed to camp there. (the first time this message has come from the Police) They went on to say this apparent theft happened in July last year when the car wasn't even going! So Mick told them straight up that we thought they were making it all up and they needn't because we were happy to talk to them and tell them all they needed to know.

They ended up being quite friendly and seemed rather amused by our way of going about things. Then it was on to Feilding where we had a pretty quiet response, but you get that on the big jobs.

So we will hit Massey University tomorrow with a hairbrained stunt to expose government greenwash and stir up those students into some environmental activism with our enthusiasm, creativity and shocking extremist behaviour. A bit of well chosen music won't go amiss either!

The next big destination will be Lower Hutt, which we plan to hit on the 25th or 26th and will be passing by the office of Trevor Mallard, where we plan to do a bit of vigorous stirring too. The next day of course will be Wellington and that's the big one folks!

Watch this space....

Love, Peace and Joy from Positive Palmy

H Diggity dawg (Heather)
J Jiggity Jawsh (Josh) and. . .
Mick the Chip Man, Gnatty Dread Brother (Mick)

Message from Heather in Taihape

"I enjoy all of your company when I am walking physically alone, and I feel you all beside me every step of the way."

Dear Friends!

Since I last updated you, I have been walking the most dangerous road in New Zealand, THE DESERT ROAD! It is brutal, it is treacherous and it is deserted. Deserted like a desert. I guess that's why they call it that, because when we were there, it certainly wasn't dry!

The Rangipo desert is another of New Zealand's wild places. Just like Happy Valley, it is unfit for human habitation. That doesn't make it any less worth saving. Fortunately, it is a National Park. Happy Valley, unfortunately, is on a state coal reserve.

It took us three days to walk the desert and the first two days were fine and sunny, we went through a lot of drinking water and were getting a bit worried about our water supplies. Luckily (or unluckily, whichever way you look at things) on the last day it rained. It poured. The wind was behind us, which helped because we had another 30K to walk, one of our longest days yet, so I let the wind carry me. I found out my raincoat wasn't waterproof but that was okay, I had my thermals on and a fire in my belly so I just kept walking. I didn't stop until I reached the desert oasis of Waiouru, where I was too exhausted to pitch a tent and slept in the train station, which also was not very waterproof. You get that on the big jobs.

Since then we have pressed on to Taihape and met plenty of supportive and friendly locals here, I have had a gumboot throwing lesson and plan to come back for the contest on Gumboot day, watch out, I'm ready!

I must move on and continue my korero with my new friend Josh who is taking me to meet some local Muso's because I'm hankering for a jam, so I will speak to you all again from Palmy.

Thanks for your support, I enjoy all of your company when I am walking physically alone, and I feel you all beside me every step of the way.

Peace out,
Heather and the Walk the Walk crew From the Gumboot capital, Taihape, represent!

Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Message from Heather in Taupo

Kia Ora my Friends!

Walk the Walk is currently in Taupo, getting ready to head off around the lake towards Turangi, which should be about a two day hike. Since the last time I sent an update from Tokoroa, we spent one night only two kilometres out of town beside a private logging overbridge, abundant in lush long grass, blackberries and shady trees. Tui, webdesigner and camp mum, came to visit us there and brought me a new cellphone, much more reliable than the previous hunk of junk I had, so text away, 0211750665 with those messages of support, we will need them as we approach the harsh environment of the Desert Road leg! She also brought me a new pair of shoes from Teva, after having sent them a photograph of the state of the ones I started the walk in, they were happy to replace them with a newer model, free of charge. Thanks Teva!

The following day we pressed on to a town called Atiamuri. Only about 9 people actually live there, although it grows substantially in the holiday season because of the hydro dam which provides a beautiful lake for holiday makers to zoom around in their little yuppy crafts or yahoo about on jetskis. I think we met most of the actual permanent residents. This is another town similar to Arapuni, originally built to house the engineers on the Dam, now shrunken, with large parts of public land being sold to developers to make way for housing developments to be occupied by holiday makers and lifestyle commuters. We camped up in the disproportionately large central park there, and didn't have any real hassles from any authorities. The locals were very friendly and supportive on the whole.

The next day was a long and arduous one which took us within a hop skip and a jump of Taupo to the small village of Wairakei. I have to admit that this was the first day when I really felt tired by the time we were about 7 k out and I had to voice my lack of enthusiasm for walking even one step further. So we sat down and had a rest in what I thought was going to be a town, marked on the map as Te Pouwhakatutu, merely an intersection with a furtiliser factory, a bus stop, and a very noisy dog kennel. I had a power nap in the bus shelter and woke up refreshed enough to get my trudge on for the last stretch.

The small town of Wairakei was built to accomodate workers from the nearby thermal power plant. There was a pub, a dairy, a school and a hall, and quite a few more residents than Atiamuri, because the settlement is only about 12 Km from Taupo. The first people we met were a group of school children, who thought we were completely mad for walking so far, but when they found out our support vehicle was run on fish and chip oil they warmed to us a bit (but still thought we were completely mad) One of the boys said he had an uncle who had a car running on water, but it didn't have a WOF so he couldn't drive it on the road. His uncle wasn't a local though so we didn't get to meet him unfortunately.

Next we were approached by some roofers drinking beers (as is the custom for roofers, every time they finish a job they receive a customary roof shout) who we had a game of pool with, Mick cleaned them all up and we were quite impressed by his straight shooting pool prowess, he's not just a pretty face our Mick! The roofer boys then came back to our camp and had a discussion about the government, the environment and long, long walks. As usual we had to reiterate the fact that we were, in fact, walking, all the way, several times before it sunk in.

The next day felt like a stroll in the park and before we knew it we were on the banks of the mighty lake, sipping coffee and having a much needed shower in the SuperLoo! We originally set up camp right down by the lake, but were approached by a big angry barman who owned three of the bars on the waterfront, telling us he and his patrons didn't want to look at our UGLY CAR (we had been eating in his pub with our roofer friends from Wairakei for the last couple of hours and the other patrons didn't seem too fussed and were in fact quite interested in our journey). We decided that he wasn't the king of Taupo, and didn't own the lakefront and considering the council were at home, being a Saturday night, we didn't think there was much he could do.

We had another thing coming when by 11.30 that evening we were quite keen to hit the hay and we still had a big angry barman shouting at us, and three of his heavies staunching us out threateningly with glowering eyes. On his signal they went for our banners and tore them down, almost letting the wind blow them straight into the lake.

We decided it was more trouble than it was worth and found what we thought was a much better, more central, visible and rather cheeky location, directly beneath the icon of Taupo, a big shiny rainbow trout sculpture, in the "Garden of Regional Significance" on the main drag, near the SuperLoo. We remained there all night, only being disturbed by a few hoons shaking the tents "Hoo hoo hoo" and freaking out a little when they heard my "Oi!" and realising there was actually someone sleeping there.

Sunday went just as smoothly, as suspected because the council were still off work. We set up a stall with some nice visuals at camp, but found that we got more of a response in places like Putaruru and Te Awamutu. We think this is because most of the foot traffic in Taupo are tourists, and there is so much more going on in a tourist centre like this. We did manage to find a few locals though who were all very supportive and were surprised to find that quite a few of them were already familiar with the Save Happy Valley Campaign.

So this morning we head off towards Turangi and must pack up before the council come back (they arrived just before nine this sunny Monday morning as expected). The funny thing is they always approach us just as we are leaving and tell us we can't camp there, and we say, well we just did, but we're leaving now! They were really quite friendly and reasonable though and the guy, who was actually the environmental planner, was supportive of the cause. They look after their tourists in Taupo.

So With that, I bid you adieu, and please think of us slogging it out on the desert road by Wednesday.

Heather Simpson
Walk the Walk Organiser

Latest photos from the walk

Left: Wearing camouflage gear with a rose in a camouflage tree. If it wan't for that rose you wouldn't even notice her there.

Other photos:

• Did someone wake Heather up too early on this day? It might be a pretty hat but the baleful glare from under it ain't so sweet and innocent.
• The sign at Tokoroa
• The walkers notice a lot of rubbish along our highways. Sometimes they pick it up but they'd need a truck to carry all of it. The most zealous rubbish collector on the walk is Henry who gets quite weighed down with it at times.
• No sign of the obesity epidemic on Walk-the-Walk. Heather was slim before she started but all this walking is not making her any fatter.
• And the muscle tone is improving too if you look at Heather's limbs as she expresses her sorrow for a murdered tree.
• A couple of very thin horses with all their ribs showing - is the drought contributing to this? It's a problem caused by humans one way or another - these are not wild horses.

Chip Wagon Re-Unites

The Walkers left Motueka a few days ago, having run out of time to wait while "Gandalf" (Mick) worked his magic over the chip-wagon which was not behaving well. The two girls walked on unsupported by any vehicle but used a push-chair to transport their tent and gear until they were several ks past the junction of the Buller and Owen rivers where they settled for the night of the 22nd. On the way they spent a night in a teepee at "Laughing Horse". Not far to go now. The nights are much colder now but the girls are holding up well.

The chip-wagon finally succumbed to Gandalf's powerful enchantments, allowing Mick to catch up with the girls by the 21st. He is finding the nights very chilly now and not being as active as the walkers it is harder for him to deal with the colder weather. Neither he nor the walkers have any spare flesh on their bones to keep them warm by this stage of the walk, not that they had much to begin with.

Cellphone crisis over

A secret admirer (presumably not the one who sprinkled the rose petals) has donated a brand new phone for the walking team. Now our updates from the wilds might become more regular. We are attempting to get the phone in Heather's hands today.

Shoe Crisis Over

The Teva footwear company has donated Heather some shoes - she likes their shoes because they are fantastic for outdoor activities of all kinds. She also chose this shoe because it is does not have leather (Heather is a vegetarian). We are trying to get the shoes to Heather today along with the cellphone.

Message from the Winding Road

Dear Friends,

We set off from Hamilton on the 7th of February for Te Pahu, which was a long day's walk and the first time we ended up walking into the darkness, because of the lateness of our departure from Garden Place at around 1pm. By the time we arrived in Te Pahu at about 10pm, the walkers were starting to become rather cynical about my knowledge of the land and my reassurances about the closeness of our destination. I said, we're going to come to a winding bit, followed by a bendy bit, followed by a long straight. Then there will be shorter wiggly bit and a slight incline, and it's just around the corner! By the time we finally got there, it was becoming a bit of a joke, so even when I could see the driveway of my mothers house only 50 metres ahead, my companions would no longer believe me when I said "we're nearly there!"

"Just around the Corner" has become a catch phrase of the walk, because we realised that no matter how many corners, winding bits, straight bits, wiggly bits and hills come before the final corner on the road to Happy Valley, or anywhere for that matter, it really is still "just around the corner".

Happy Valley is one example of a beautiful area in Aotearoa that is falling victim to greed and disrespect by the ones who hold the power, big business and government. Happy Valley is just around the corner to everybody in New Zealand, and by walking there, we are proving that fact. It is important to remember that there are many "Happy Valleys". Wherever you are in New Zealand, there is another place, just around the corner, that could be at risk of falling victim to the same destruction.

By standing up to save Happy Valley, in the Upper Waimangaroa, near Westport, we are standing up in support of all the beautiful places on these islands, and all the innocent and unique creatures and plants that call them home. We are standing up for the rights of our children to be surrounded by the beauty we see on our long path, every day.

After a nice recharge, rest and cleansing at Tui's house in Te Pahu, a swim in the cold, clear waters of the Kaniwhaniwha stream and a visit to some friends in what we believe is one of the spiritual centres of the Waikato, Te Pahu, beneath Mount Pirongia, we headed off towards Te Awamutu.

Te Awamutu is my homeland in a way. My Great Grandfather was Mayor of the town for 15 years, and Teasdale park, where we set up our climate camp, was one of his legacies. It was originally going to be the site of a lemonade factory, but he gave it back to the people in the form of a war memorial park in the centre town, filled with green grass, tall, strong trees and rose beds. (Photos below) We spent a lively evening there and the interesting thing was that most of the people who approached us that evening were young people around my age. Apparently the park is not the usual place to go on a Saturday night for a good time and a few beers, but we drew quite a crowd.

In the morning we met with my Grandmother and my Mother, and three generations from our family joined the walk in between Te Awamutu and Kihikihi.

The next leg of the journey took us along the Arapuni road, which we had planned to spend two days on...

We had such a great time on this road that we ended up spending four days there and stopped at each small village we came to. We met so many wonderful, supportive and down to Earth people, we just didn't want to leave. In the town of Pukeatua, we stopped at the local primary school. Pukeatua is in the foothills of Mt Maungatautari, which has recently been turned into a vast bird sanctuary, with a predator proof fence circumnavigating the entire reserve. Pukeatua school is an enviroschool, and had a certificate on the wall thanking them for all their volunteer hours at the sanctuary. They also had a picture of Helen Clark, visiting the school and handing over a big cheque to support the initiative, smiling and showing her love for endangered bird life and the environment. The people of Pukeatua were shocked at the hypocracy of, with one hand showing such strong support for Maungatautari and with the other, destroying pristine native habitat in the South Island, and avoiding responsibility for 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted from Happy Valley coal because it will be exported. WE ALL SHARE THE ATMOSPHERE

Arapuni was another wonderful experience. We spoke to residents there about local issues, like government plans to build a massive line of pylons from the hydro dam they live near to pump electricity out to Auckland. My thoughts were that we should not be wasting so much energy in transportation. Every metre that you transport energy along a wire, is energy lost. As with all resources, we need to scale down, diversify and provide for our local needs, locally. Local communities should discuss the best way to produce their own requirements within their own local area. Aucklanders (like me) have no right to decide to put a line of ugly pylons through someone else's back yard to cater for our ever increasing addiction to power, while the people of Arapuni live next to the single largest hydro station in the Waikato, and deal with two to three power cuts a week! THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY

Putaruru was our next stop, and there we were given fresh water from the Waihou river, which means "new water" and is the cleanest, clearest water I have seen since I visited Pupu springs in Takaka last year. From there we took a tiki tour over to Rotorua to meet with our friends from the local CLIMACTION group, and made a short visit to Ruatoki, where we met with local Tuhoe people and learned about how climate change has been affecting the Uruwera ranges. They told us that there have been subtle changes to the colour of the forest in certain areas, which they believe to be due to a change in the atmosphere. They also have noted that where they always could predict when rain was coming if there was mist in a particular part of the river, now they often see mist, but there is no rain. They said that their calendars, which they always used to know when to plant crops at the right time of year, are now no longer accurate. They are having trouble growing their vegetables.

We recieved a very warm welcome at the marae and we each had our turn to speak and listen. We were told that as long as the campaign to Save Happy Valley is representative of the fight for all of New Zealand and for a greater respect for Papatuanuku, Mother Earth and Ranginui, Sky father, the Tuhoe people will walk shoulder to shoulder with us on our Hikoi, even if not physically, but in spirit.

We are now on our way back to Putaruru to begin the journey where we left off, and will head off towards Tokoroa and Taupo, before the real test of all our physical, spiritual and emotional fortitude... THE DESERT ROAD

Update soon,

One Love
Heather Simpson
Walk the Walker

Te Awamutu - Roses and Lemonade

Te-Awamutu is not called "Rosetown" for nothing. Roses are everywhere. When Heather awoke in the morning a rose had been placed outside her tent by a mystery well-wisher and rose petals had been strewn about the campsite. In the photo below, the rose she is holding, is the one she found placed beside her tent.

This is the town where many of Heather's ancestors hail from, her great-grandfather, L.G Armstrong, was mayor here for two terms back in the first half of last century. She camped in a beautiful park that would have been used for a lemonade factory if not for her grandfather's early conservation efforts during his term as mayor back then. When Heather mentioned this to a young child she spoke to there, the child looked disappointed and responded, "But we like lemonade!" As quick-thinking Davian pointed out, the lemonade would not have been free but the park was free for all to enjoy. The walkers did much canvassing in the town and went on their way towards Kihikihi and Rotorua on Sunday. Heather was joined on the walk to Kihkihi by her mother and grandmother, see the photos below --

Some Te-Awamutu pictures

Heather with her mother and grandmother in the park created by her great-grandfather

Heather sings to Henry in the park

Three generations of strong women walking out of Te-Awamutu on the way to Kihikihi

The walkers arrived at Te Pahu at 10.15pm last night, very tired and dusty after a long walk from Hamilton where they got away with literally camping in their little tents in Garden Place in the centre of town for two nights. To their total surprise nobody booted them off the soft green lawn of well tended grass and the worst they had to put up with was when Heather, who was sleeping with her head outside the tent facing the stars, got a face full of high pressure water when the "sprinkler" system came on in the morning. (She said it was more like a fire hose than a sprinkler.) Woke her up with a dash! "There is neither drought nor sprinkler ban in Garden Place it seems", she thought. The weather has been helping them carry the "Climate Change" message in a frightening way by delivering a terrible drought with brown hillsides and even a grass fire raging as they passed along. People everywhere along the way have consequently been most supportive of the task they are doing.

They stay here in Te Pahu until tomorrow morning when they head off to Te Awamutu. They have set up "Climate Camp" and have invited the Te Pahu community to come and talk to them this evening about their environmental causes. Today has been spent canvassing in the area.

Climate change camp in Huntly
With the tamariki at Rangiriri School. From left, Heather and Henry. Mick and Catherine to the right of the car.
Heather sings environmental songs she has written (see songs page)
Heather with Mick en route
Climate Camp in Te Pahu -She was wearing such a beautific expression our photo-processor couldn't resist revealing her aura
With young supporters along the way.
The skin missing from Heather's heel on the way into Hamilton, was growing back quite well by the time she reached Te Pahu
A long way to go
"Help me! Help me! They've tied me to the railroad tracks and there's a traaaaaaaaaaaaain coming."

Message from the Walkers

Kia ora! There is much to write about our journey so far, I last wrote upon arrival in Huntly, where we had a rest over the weekend, engaged the public with a very visible stall in Garden Place on Saturday and received a lot of positive feedback from the community, definitely getting some people thinking and hopefully the word will go further.

On Sunday we all got dressed up in scary black toxic waste - space suits with massive perspex domes on the top to suggest the toxicity, danger and extremely unnatural and foreign coal fired power station across the river from where we set up our climate camp on the banks of the Waikato River, at Boaties Reserve on State Highway One. We attracted quite a bit of attention from passers by, and got some friendly travellers to paint on our chip wagon. In the evening we held a candlelit vigil for the future generations who will be the worst effected by the impacts of Climate Change. It was beautiful.

So on Monday we said goodbye to our friend Carolyn from the Changing Course Action Group in Huntly who had hosted us for the weekend, and set off for Ngaruawahia, stopping in at Taupiri to visit our other friend Dawn, also from Changing Course. Thank-you to these awesome people and all the others we have met along the way who have helped us with food, accomodation and facilities we don't see much of, like showers, washing machines, kettles etc.

Ngaruawahia was huge! We had more people approaching us there than in any other town we have been to, from the moment we started putting our banners up. We feel like we made a positive impact and occupied some of the youth doing painting on our car in the evening too, which unfortunately ended up adorned with some not so savoury things which have since been covered up, but also with some really nice comments and memories from our short stay in the heart of Tainui country. Then it was on towards Hamilton yesterday, most of the walk was pretty horrible for poor little vege me because the smell of death from the meat works reached far and wide.

Hamilton is Happening Now. We set up our climate camp in Garden Place right in the middle of the CBD here and had a lovely evening yarning to locals about the Save Happy Valley and Climate campaigns, organic gardening techniques, renewable energy alternatives, the pros and cons of chip powered support vehicles and other random stuff like coffee and the city council.

Being in the Waikato at this time the impacts of Climate Change are pretty clear to most people with sprinkler bans everywhere and fire engines frantically zooming around in all directions. We went past one fire which was still blazing all the way up a brown dry grassy hillside when we arrived with about 5 fire trucks fighting it. It seems strange that Garden Place here seems so green because the council are still allowed to put their sprinklers on ... although they haven't been since we arrived which is fortunate for us!

We will be having a hui and showing a DVD about Happy Valley at the environment centre in Ward Street (central Tron) this evening at 6pm and heading off tomorrow for Te Pahu, the small country community west of Hamilton where Helen Clarke grew up, incidently and our webmaster Tui Allen now resides. Tui will be hosting us and lives in a very central location in the CBD of Te Pahu, so we are looking forward to our stay there.

We are all in top health and revelling in the randomness of the journey. Keep in touch, all messages of support greatly appreciated

From Heather, Mick and Henare, Walk the Walkers

Projectile Blister Pistols

The walkers have arrived in Huntly where they will remain until Sunday. Heather has a blister under her toenail which has proved effective as a high-pressure water pistol, ejecting blister fluid far enough to hit a distant target (like another walker) if aimed carefully. (WARNING: photo is digitally enhanced)

They are experiencing a sad lack of cheese on their journey, but don't worry - they are eating more than just the blackberries and raw onions they find along the way. They have lots of muesli bars, nuts, scroggin, vege chips, choccy etc. for the daytime while walking and have had loads of fresh soymilk, organic veg, brown rice and bread, beans, hummus, and other nourishing goodies. A lot of their food has been donated by Ceres Wholefoods to whom they are eternally grateful. They have just arrived in Huntly and are visiting the public library. A radio announcer was heard to whinge that the walkers were bludgers because they weren't working. The main differences between their work and that radio announcer's is that the walker's work is harder, more important and voluntary.

They invite the radio announcer to join them and find out. It is no holiday.

Blackberries and Oodles of Onions!

The walkers texted today in the early afternoon, to say they have been joined by a Kaumatua from Kerepeehi. He will be with them for 2-3 weeks and has organised for them to stay at the marae at Rangiriri tonight. So thanks to him, mothers of the walkers can breathe again knowing their children will have shelter over their heads for this night at least! The walkers are high enough on the Bombays to see the whole Waikato spreading out like the land of Middle-earth beneath their feet. They can even see mighty Pirongia in the distance. As I write from my spot at the foot of Pirongia, they are looking and walking this way. At 4.30pm they were picking blackberries from the roadside as they walked along. During the day they found themselves following an ever-increasing trail of onions along the roadside. First a few - then more and more in a thicker and thicker onion-jumble. The walkers are pretty lean already but they'll be a lot leaner soon living off this kind of roadside cafe. It's food that suits them as most are vegetarian.

Look out for the walkers in Huntly.

From the Road

Walk the Walk has finally kicked off to a great start from Auckland Sky Tower on Monday at 10am. We are now in Bombay and have had lots of fun getting here. We spent the first night in Allenby Park on Great South Road between Papatoetoe and Manukau and were approached by many local people wondering why we were there, which was just our intention and it gave us the opportunity to tell them about the issues. We also have been getting some great footage of Mick and I having a conversation with the owner of a car yard, which will be on Youtube in the next couple of days.

My feet (Heather's?) are holding up pretty well but I have a tendency to downplay things and I have a couple of smallish blisters. We will be doing some exciting things in Huntly so keep your eye out for us this weekend, but apart from that, all the fun is in meeting people and spreading the word, which we have done a lot of. Please contact us to show your support or offer any assistance by emailing (we will be on line as much as we can) or calling 021 1750665 Keep the peace!

Heather, Mick and Alex, Walk the Walkers

Walk Begins on 2nd Anniversary of Happy Valley's Occupation

Heather and Mick have left on their momentous journey to Happy Valley. It was one of those mornings where Auckland is treated to blue skies, gentle breezes and (being a public holiday) clear roads. There couldn't have been a better day for walking to begin!

The pair set off from the Auckland Skytower with a crowd of supporters taking the first step, or the first few thousand, together. The campaign aims to raise awareness of how crap coal power is and ultimately prevent the new coal mine Solid Energy has planned for Happy Valley on the West Coast of the South Island.

I went along as a supporter and gained some insight in to the issues at hand as well as how hard it is to walk for ages. I also took my camera! Here's the team about to take the first step.


After all that lead-up, the first step sure looked pretty easy. It was just a step. Anyone is capable of doing this. It was followed in rapid succession by the second step, which was also dead-easy. It made me wonder why more people don't walk half the length of the country in service of such worthy causes (actually the reason why was a bit more apparent to me when my city-boy legs failed me in Epsom, but still).

You might be wondering why now why anybody would knowingly choose to walk to Westport when Air New Zealand will fly you to Christchurch for a hundy. Well, the Walk the Walk website has a "why?" page but I thought Save Happy Valley put it pretty well too:

Solid Energy’s open-cast coal mine - a planned 96 metre deep pit - would completely obliterate this pristine valley, and pollute local rivers with heavy metals and acid mine drainage.

The coal produced would create as much carbon dioxide as all of New Zealand’s domestic transport, making it a significant contributor to climate change.

You might have heard of the Save Happy Valley folks, who occupied the valley in early 2006 because they don't like coal mining (either that, or they do like Happy Valley, which is fair enough too). But did you know that they've been there for two years today? It's New Zealand's longest environmental occupation ever, and the anniversary just happens to be Auckland Anniversary Day. Two years in Happy Valley. I hope they're celebrating (or, like, not).

Heather and Mick will be supported on their journey by the "Chip Wagon," named as such because it runs on vegetable oils previously used for cooking delicious hot chips. It's a mean piece of kit, loaded to the brim with helpful stuff from shelter to noisemakers to warm clothing and a much drooled-over box of food from Ceres Organics.

The take-away shops that provided the oil would otherwise have thrown it out - no good for cooking any more fritters or spring rolls anyway. But these things don't just prevent waste, they also have an extremely low carbon footprint. That's hot.

Drivers are still needed for this bright green (in more than just colour) vehicle. If you're up for it, email the walkers and let them know.

Steps update:
Heather is wearing a pedometer (step counter) that will tell us how many steps she takes to get there. This counts dance steps as well as the usual forward kind, but will only be worn while moving with intent to reach Happy Valley. Here it is at zero today.

Day one: 24616 steps!

More updates soon including actual words from the walkers themselves. Subscribe and stay tuned!