10.18.2007
Wizards and Hobbits
Today we went on the “Kahoe’s Middle Earth” hike to the enchanted rock pools. Stefano, our host/cook/tour guide, cooked us raspberry pancakes and hot coffee this morning. He then got out the treasured map to the rock pools. He is quite the joker and an absolute fanatic about football (soccer). His map to the rock pools is a play on the Lord of the Rings hype that everyone in New Zealand is still riding. The hike to the rock pools headed north on the large farm property we were staying on. We headed through such familiar landmarks as Mirkwood, Fornost, The Twin Towers and Fanghorn Forest, on our way to the destination. The Twin Towers turned out to be two cell towers and Fanghorn Forest was some dense forest along the creek to the rock pools.
The hike took about two hours one way and was well worth the rest day exercise. It was a series of three pools which cascaded down a little volcanic shelf. The upper most pool is about fifteen feet long and twenty five feet wide. Stefano measured the depth of it at about fourteen feet. The lower pools are about the same size, but not quite as deep. The water was quite cold and the weather was rainy and windy so I couldn’t muster the fortitude to take the plunge. Since the pools are on private farm land, Leslie and I had the place to ourselves and had nice relaxing afternoon lounging poolside.
Stefano, being the football fanatic that he is, also is the proud host of the not quite internationally famous first football game of the year in the world. He has a small football tournament every New Years Eve near the farmhouse and the championship game is played around midnight. He figures that this area is one of the first places on earth to ring in a new year and that anywhere east of him that may be any earlier isn’t interested in football enough to hold a tournament on New Years. Sounds like some good logic to me.
Until next time.
CK
Wizards and Hobbits
Today we went on the “Kahoe’s Middle Earth” hike to the enchanted rock pools. Stefano, our host/cook/tour guide, cooked us raspberry pancakes and hot coffee this morning. He then got out the treasured map to the rock pools. He is quite the joker and an absolute fanatic about football (soccer). His map to the rock pools is a play on the Lord of the Rings hype that everyone in New Zealand is still riding. The hike to the rock pools headed north on the large farm property we were staying on. We headed through such familiar landmarks as Mirkwood, Fornost, The Twin Towers and Fanghorn Forest, on our way to the destination. The Twin Towers turned out to be two cell towers and Fanghorn Forest was some dense forest along the creek to the rock pools.
The hike took about two hours one way and was well worth the rest day exercise. It was a series of three pools which cascaded down a little volcanic shelf. The upper most pool is about fifteen feet long and twenty five feet wide. Stefano measured the depth of it at about fourteen feet. The lower pools are about the same size, but not quite as deep. The water was quite cold and the weather was rainy and windy so I couldn’t muster the fortitude to take the plunge. Since the pools are on private farm land, Leslie and I had the place to ourselves and had nice relaxing afternoon lounging poolside.
Stefano, being the football fanatic that he is, also is the proud host of the not quite internationally famous first football game of the year in the world. He has a small football tournament every New Years Eve near the farmhouse and the championship game is played around midnight. He figures that this area is one of the first places on earth to ring in a new year and that anywhere east of him that may be any earlier isn’t interested in football enough to hold a tournament on New Years. Sounds like some good logic to me.
Until next time.
CK
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