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.