Steps: 28633
Kms: 16.48
I forgot to add in my last blog that I had a slight problem
with my phone after landing. Seems I needed to turn the data off or else I
would have ran up a big phone bill while away. Usually this turns off when I
leave Oz, but this time it did not. I will leave the internet for when I have
wifi connection, but it is good that I was aware. I had wondered this before I
left, but forgot to look it up.
I had what could have been said to be a restless sleep, but
woke up refreshed. I think the biggest problem was the time difference, but I
was ready to move after i got up. I knew I could not leave my card in my pants
while visiting the loo like I did with the key. Once I left the hostel for a
wander where I would have breakfast before catching the bus to Hamilton. I
wanted to have enough time to get there. I was wanting to wander through
Symonds Street Cemetery and I got to do that after I found K road, which is a
popular street in Auckland for history and these days for edgy entertainment. I
went from the Jewish section to across the road where Captain William Hobson
was buried near the Grafton bridge. Hobson is well known for his part in the
New Zealand story as the author of the Waitangi treaty and governor of NZ. I
explored the new cemetery walks though I did not end up too far from the hostel
and decided to visit a cafe for breaky. I needed coffee and something to eat.
The funny thing about the cafe was I met the shuttle bus people who lost their
luggage. I had forgotten they flew from Atlanta to LA to Honolulu, Sydney and
then Auckland. Their luggage didn’t make the final jump. I had thought they
were first time travellers outside of America, but listening to their
conversation I found they had been to quite a few places.
I had to return to the hostel for my belongings that were
still there before making my way to the bus even though I was there 40 mins
early. I made sure I was there with plenty of time as I did not want to be late.
The drivers manifest was all on his phone. All he had to do was swipe the name
to say he had them. Way better than the paper version. I wanted to keep an eye
on the road as we went along as I wanted to see if there was any points of
interest near the Great Southern Road, which was the route soldiers took during
the Waikato wars, which included Pokeno and Mercer I think. There was something
near the start of the motorway outside of the shopping centre in Manakau, but I
couldn’t read it other that poles. They did have a drive through bank. We
actually did stop in Mercer. It was a blink and you would miss it town. A very
small town, although I think it was part of the New Zealand Wars with a depot
or something that got blown up.
I was dropped off in Hamilton on time and I made my way to
the hostel. I had stayed there before and hoped the manager that I met last
time was not there as she couldn’t understand what I was after when I wanted a
towel. A new manager was there or so he had said and that the other manager was
away. I was listening to conversation later on that the hostel was for sale and
the sale had fallen through as the people who were buying it didn’t have any
idea how to run the hostel. There was something about February, but I was only
half listening to the conversation. The new manager was afraid for his job when
the hostel sold to someone. My plan once I checked in was lunch and then to
look for the second hand bookshop called Browsers. I did find Browsers and
asked about books on Gum digging although not the ones by AH Reed even though I
found his autobiography and it mentioned um digging. The lady couldn’t help me
unless it was for a specific author and I did not know the names. What I did do
was look at books on specific areas like a sheep farm in Northland. Luckily
many books come with indexes and found references to gum. One even had two
pictures that I know of. Once I bought them, I found a post office to send them
off home or else I would have 2 kilos extra in my bag.
The information centre was the next plan, but they did not
have anything that I was after. I needed data for the history tour of Hamilton.
I did wander over to Seddon stadium and wondered what i was doing as there
wasn’t anything at a sports stadium that I wanted to see. I stopped at the
transport station as I knew it had reliable wifi that I could use to research a
map. I found I could visit Hamilton park lake or whatever they call the lake.
The walking path took me right through the centre of the girls grammar school.
No way was I doing that so planned to walk around the school not inside. Part
of the path outside the school was called the Hamilton Path being part of Te
Araroa. I think that is the national track that takes you all the way to Bluff
to the very tip of the North Island. I did at first find the remains of a small
rail line, but that did not fit the steam train at the park entrance. I was
getting annoyed by the strong wind that was whipping up waves on the lake. The
cafe even had the city of Hamilton wifi, which I thought was funny as I thought
about King Arthur being told off that a sword claiming he was king was not a
form of government. A monty Python thing.
By this time I was ready to head back to the hostel after a
busy afternoon and wondering if I should do a boat tour or take it easy and do
the museum. I think some extra sleep would not go astray and then I can look up
some stuff. The boat tour means I have to head to Hamilton Gardens and I don’t
really want to go there. I know of a cemetery with family members on the
Gabolinscy line within, but its 9kms one way and again I am not trying that
walk. I cant really get out that was without some support, but it doesn’t worry
me. I will take a rest day to visit the museum, but tomorrow is another day.
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