
It rained last night and is still raining all morning. I have tea and toast with Robb as Tara hands me a present snuck under the tree by the fat, orange tabby, Fred – tuna packets, nuts and chocolate!
I forget to mention last night in Val and Tony’s neighborhood are huge light displays with everyone out to enjoy. Quite American, actually and it made me miss home.
No one is out today in this grim weather. Christmas is a wash with constant rain, so I ask Robb and Tara if they might allow me to slackpack this portion of the trail rather than move on and camp tonight, then join their family for more holiday cheer. And they say, yes, giving me the best Christmas present ever to do this. I want to pick up k’s, but would like to stay dry if at all possible.




In New Zealand, ‘showers’ means a burst of downpours followed by clearing. ‘Rain’ means non-stop precipitation. The forecast for today is the latter. I walk on a bike path to Massey University which is absolutely deserted and prepare for tramping track that turns out to be just lovely, puddly Bledisloe Park.
I slosh through the Upper Turitea green corridor and decide road walking is fine on such a wet day. The foothills loom above me in the gloom. Up and up I go as the road turns to track. At a junction, a sign tells me I am at the halfway point to Bluff. At that moment the rain stops and the sun comes out, I kid you not.



I speed up as the track turns to country road and follows a fast moving river into the forest. My slackpack ends for the day and Robb picks me up and brings me to Tara’s youngest sister Amy’s house for piles of food and drinks and more “other” family time.
A tent goes up in the sunshine before the thunder rumbles and we get a biblical downpour, all the food passed one hand to the next and into the house through the window.
There’s only one thing to do in a situation like this – make popcorn and watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’



It really is pretty wonderful, rain and all. The best Christmas present ever to get a few k’s under my belt, then get rescued from most certainly an awful night camping in a swamp.
The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow, so off I’ll go and hope the rivers aren’t too swollen. But that’s for tomorrow. Right now Clarence is trying to get his wings.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!






Thank you for your wonderful observations, beautiful writing and perseverance. You have developed an intimate relationship with rain!
ha! indeed. makes the beautiful weather that much more precious!! ☔️☔️☔️
Fabulous feast, fun friends & fine film=Merry Christmas anywhere in the world! Wishing you a week of memorable dry & partly cloudy hiking days to finish off the year in style.
thank you so much, Linda! I am truly blessed. I wish you a splendid Christmas too.
Merry Christmas Alison!! Glad you had a wonderful day. Thinking of you and hoping for clearer weather for you. Susie & family
♥️♥️♥️
Merry Christmas, Alison! Here’s an old Kundalini yoga song that is my wish for you:
May the longtime sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on.
Hugs,
Joan
♥️♥️♥️ Merry Christmas! and congratulations on your anniversary!
First of all a merry X-mas to you! I truely admire the way you deal with the rain. I guess it would make me angry and – in the end – depressed. Respect! It’s great to follow you day by day, to read about the track (and the discussions with the locals), the ‘encounters’, the beautiful nature, about walking alone or not, about walking all the way or not (go for it! i’m on the side of the purists!) and about your thoughts and doubts. The last is intriguing and curious at the same time (and recognizable based on a very limited experience in the Alps). Being so experienced in hiking and still wondering about how, what, where, why. It is open and honest but I can’t help figuring – for example… – Neil Armstrong walking on the moon thinking ‘am I capable of doing this?’ 🙂 . Anyway, I wish you less rain in 2019 (and the rest of 2018). Thx for this beautiful diary!
thank you! needed this!!
Merry Christmas, Alison!
“I’m Dreaming of a Wet Christmas…” (The original having been written in the midst of a sweltering California summer.) Aisde from being December and NZ, it looks like you could have been hiking out here in the damp forests of of the “Wet” Coast of British Columbia in late spring. What a lovely shot of the brilliant Indian Paintbrush amongst the endless green. Probably just what you needed to lift your spirits at that point.
Love the pic of the kid in the puddle! As poet Paul Heyse wrote in his translation of an Italian poem in his Italienische Liederbuch – beautifully set by Hugo Wolf- “Auch kleine Dinge können uns entzücken”- even small things can delight us.
How nice that their cat decided to share your Christmas nostalgia. Cats are very wise.
Onwards and… downwards towards the New Year, then 🙂
Here’s another great idea for you to consider: rain skis. You already have the poles! Think of the speeds you could achieve downhill or across grassy flats.
Keep slogging on! Safe travels!
ha! lots of uphill today 🤣🤣🤣
glad for your Christmas respite….glad the fluffy tabby is still with you.
Your writing observations improve each day. Continued safe journey.
and today I got dog love ♥️♥️♥️
It seems you have message healing with a lot of weather! Merry Christmas!
fantastic finally for the mountains!!!
Merry Christmas Alison!
thank you!
Merry Christmas, DD,
I’m thinking of you watching Jimmy Stewart. Would love to watch it with you. Stay dry today! We look forward to seeing Eric and Alexandria for three days. We’ll give a toast to you – our amazing daughter, sister, aunt – and send encouraging words. Love and Light to you on your journey.
thanks MOM!!
Hi Alison – Sounds like you had a great – if atypical – Christmas!! So glad that you did, and my you have more sunny days than cloudy in the upcoming weeks.
Merry Christmas!
soooo lucky these last days! spectacular. raining now, so short day…almost to Wellington
Just came across this in The Guardian (https://tinyurl.com/ya6tzqhn)
“Two children are on track to become the youngest to walk the national trail running the length of New Zealand, having completed the entire North Island a few days before Christmas.”
“… the greatest conflict so far [was] which flavour muesli bar the family would eat each day.” LOL. 🙂
haha! fabulous.