Bon Accord

Tuesday, March 26: A little cloudy at first, becoming sunny with a bit of a cool breeze

GPS Tour

Akaroa from the Skyline Track

Went down to the i-SITE to get a brochure on a walk for today and stopped by at the library to download the podcasts as the 50 MB limit in the hostel would have been quickly used up. Bought some sandwiches (ham & mustard; corned beef & piccalilly) from the supermarket for lunch and then set off up the hill.

View of the Pacific from the Akaroa Skyline Track

Wanted to do the Skyline Walk, as it was advertised at 5-7 hours. Once off the street that leads up the mountain the going was very steep indeed. Met a group coming down and was soon at the shelter where I briefly stopped for water before pushing on to the summit. Quite nice views in both directions (harbour to the west & Pacific Ocean to the east) while I had my sandwiches & drank the rest of the water. The walk along the top was quite pleasant and then the sometimes rather steep descent began. Was back at the hostel after just over four hours.

Tara Track Signpost

Shaved, trimmed the beard and had a shower before going out to look for an ice cream. The closest place didn’t seem to have any more hokey-pokey so had to go down to the wharf where the other brand did. Then it was back here to organise the ipod, get a mail out to arrange to drop off the safety equipment, and chat briefly with Henry.

Have started throwing away the old clothes & giving away what is left of the food. Gas can hasn’t moved very much in the last few hours, but everything else disappears almost immediately.

Went out to the Akaroa Fish’n’Chip Shop for a bacon & egg hamburger – giant thing, was almost impossible to get into my mouth and about halfway through the beetroot & tomato slipped out. Nothing else than fingers to eat with so it was a bit of a mess in the end. Then there was a serving of chips to be dealt with, about half of which I actually ate.

Finished choosing the 50 pictures, but will have to see about the order.