On Crows Nest On Waitangi Day

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The Crow's Nest is the prominent peak towering over the Wellington suburbs of Crofton Downs and Ngaio.

I have been to this handsome peak twice before. I was meaning to visit the peak again for some time. It's time I rectified the situation. Waitangi Day seems the perfect opportunity to get back into walking and the spirit of kiwi outdoors tradition. …

It took me about 25 minutes from home to the start of the track up to Crow's Nest from the suburb og Crofton Downs. The route goes through the area I'm not familiar with, meaning I had to double back when I realised I was heading for Ngaio, instead of the peak.

Soon I was out in the old & overgrown farm land admiring YAGHV (yet another great harbour view). Another several minutes of head down and legs up/down brought me up to the prominent knoll, where a much better view could be had.

When I walked over the next knoll, I came across a very typical Wellington outdoors scene. Mountain bikers. I was impressed as they would have to negotiate down a relatively steep rocky section. After admiring their downhill skills, I walked up the last section and reached the top of Crow's Nest. :happy:

I had lunch and continued southward for another half an hour before walking down a relatively unknown and undeveloped route to finish my hill walk, landing on the "Horse paddock saddle"

See the rest of the photos from this walk in my new album Walker's Stories

:coffee:

Join the Conversation

  1. Not much in the way of good walking weather lately, nice set of photos and a good blog :yes:

  2. Thanks, DH. :happy: Would've liked a clearer sky, but it was better than most days in the last couple of weeks when I was free.

  3. Walks like these are always worth to do :up: Wonderful pictures :happy:

  5. @DHI would like to do more walks from now on. Oddly that's because of car battery troubles I've been having lately. Apparently I need to drive more to keep it charged up. So I intend to turn those extra driving opportunities into visits to farther walking spots. :D@SamiGlad you liked it. :happy:

  7. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    even car batteries like a good walk

    Or a good run, rather. 😀

  9. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    I would like to do more walks from now on.

    I would like to accompany you, MM. But it is a little bit too far. You are living in a beautiful surrounding. :yes:

  10. So instead of careless, you are carless, or could they be the same thing?

  11. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    could they be the same thing?

    I've just burnt my toast!! 😥

  12. I've just left my car at the garage to have the battery charged properly. I will have to leave it there and go carless or two days. What a tragedy!! :pOriginally posted by darkesthour:

    Hard to imagine a battery in running shoes and tracksuit

    😆 😆

  13. Originally posted by 7Wellis:

    I would like to accompany you, MM. But it is a little bit too far. You are living in a beautiful surrounding.

    Thanks, Angelika. I love Wellington, winds, steep narrow streets and all. The best city in the world. 😀

  14. I wouldn't have been making toast if I hadn't walked back from the garage and been feeling peckish! :irked:

  17. That never crossed my mind. I'm not even sure what bus routes go pass the garage but fairly certain walking to the bus stop for that route would be about the half way to the garage itself.

  18. See how much money and time your car saved you? Much more than a piece of toast I bet :yes:

  21. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    I will have to leave it there and go carless or two days. What a tragedy!!

    I am living in a very small city near Xanten and I need my car for the daily shopping. Naturally I could take my bike or the bus, but I had to carry the whole daily things and that is laborious. A car is a great comfort! :yes:

  23. It doesn't look like there's regular bus service from around here to the garage. I'd be looking forwards to get my car back and my shopping done (groceries and hardware).

  26. Now here's an uncanny coincidence. Wellington Regional Council is proposing a sweeping change to region's bus routes, which would see a regular bus connection between Wadestown/Wilton and Crofton Downs. More hill walking possibilities without having to walk on road too long. :yes:And, yes, I now have my car back, properly charged to "float", whatever that means. 😀

  27. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    An amphibious car

    😆 Did have some algae growth under the wiper blades. :p

  28. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    "float"

    An amphibious car, that must have been expensive :eyes:

  30. There was a whole ecosystem going on there, small insects living on the moss, bigger insects living on the smaller ones, birds.. etc.

  32. I had a car a long time ago with moss growing on the roof.. It was always parked under trees, in shade so the moss loved growing there 😆

  33. Nice post! I would enjoy joining you for such a hike! :yes:No one uses the word "peckish" around here, so it has a charming, British quality to it (I realize it should maybe sound New Zealandish, but the Brits are the only ones I've ever heard use it). Sorry about your toast. :awww: Were you going to put jam on it? And maybe have tea? (More quaintness from an American point of view).Got a kick out of reading about the ecosystem on DH's roof. 😆

  35. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    I hope you warmed the pot first

    😮 Guilty

  36. Thanks, Deb. Glad you enjoyed it. :happy:Originally posted by debplatt:

    No one uses the word "peckish" around here

    😆 I know. The WordWeb dictionary said it was [Brit]. I wonder what an American would say instead. I just had a bit of butter flavoured spread on my toast, with tea, of course. :coffee: I brew my tea in pot, by the way, using loose tea (leaf tea). Is it even more quaint? 😉

  40. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    I wonder what an American would say instead.

    We really don't have a good equivalent. Where I grew up, someone might say, "I feel like having a snack." A somewhat more east coast expression is, "I'm not hungry; I'll just pick" which usually means that the other person is about to lift french fries, hors d'oeuvres, or whatever from your plate and eat them instead of getting their own plate. If you complain about this and suggest they get their own food, they'll repeat the bit about not really being hungry. :rolleyes: Someone might also say something like "I have the munchies" but this is strongly associated with smoking pot, and not usually something someone would just say who wanted to have a snack.Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Is it even more quaint?

    Definitely more quaint. Actually the more ritual that's involved, the better. :up: So, yes, warming the teapot first would have made it even better. :DOne of Christopher Hitchen's parting words of advice to Americans was how to make a proper cup of tea.Seriously, if you ever get over here, you might not want to order hot tea in a restaurant. They do typically serve a cup of not-so-very hot water with a tea bag besides the cup. 🙁 And in the south, there are people who've only had tea over ice and don't comprehend the idea of serving it hot.

  41. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Seems to me you guys just like to complicate things.

    I do wish we had a cute word like "peckish". However if I used it, it's so foreign-sounding that I'd either come off as being pretentious, or people just wouldn't know what I was talking about.Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    small miracle the American creators of Star Trek…

    💡 I think it was probably the British actor's idea.

  42. Hmm. I don't know what they say in other countries. In NZ do people request hot tea? Because in the U.S. you pretty much have to say hot or people will assume you want iced tea.

  43. Probably. I was more referring to the "Hot!" part, though, in contrast to Cpt. Kathryn Janeway always complaining about her replicater serving her lukewarm coffee.

  44. Originally posted by debplatt:

    We really don't have a good equivalent. Where I grew up, someone might say, "I feel like having a snack." A somewhat more east coast expression is, "I'm not hungry; I'll just pick" which usually means that the other person is about to lift french fries, hors d'oeuvres, or whatever from your plate and eat them instead of getting their own plate. If you complain about this and suggest they get their own food, they'll repeat the bit about not really being hungry. Someone might also say something like "I have the munchies" but this is strongly associated with smoking pot, and not usually something someone would just say who wanted to have a snack.

    Seems to me you guys just like to complicate things. :pOriginally posted by debplatt:

    Seriously, if you ever get over here, you might not want to order hot tea in a restaurant. They do typically serve a cup of not-so-very hot water with a tea bag besides the cup. And in the south, there are people who've only had tea over ice and don't comprehend the idea of serving it hot.

    😆 It's a small miracle the American creators of Star Trek: The Next Generation could come up with the character of Cpt. Jean-Luc Picard. 'Tea. Earl Grey. Hot!' :spock: Originally posted by darkesthour:

    Fine really, I use teabags

    What!!? :irked:

  45. Originally posted by debplatt:

    I don't know what they say in other countries. In NZ do people request hot tea?

    Definitely no here. Tea is supposed to be made of tea leaves/bag and hot water. (But yes in Japan :lol:) Originally posted by debplatt:

    Because in the U.S. you pretty much have to say hot or people will assume you want iced tea

    Really? And how is iced tea prepared in the US? (The only way I know is to make strong tea in a teapot or plunger and pour that over a glassfull of ice cubes, which is the method used in Japan.) I remember a scene in Cold Case a while ago, in which Det. Rush was asked what drink she'd want and replied tea, with honey. So that was iced tea Rush was asking?

  46. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    And how is iced tea prepared in the US?

    Ah, this made me laugh. Anyway here is a photo I just took in my kitchen.The iced tea in the left-most container was purchased pre-made, much like you would buy Coke, Pepsi or some other soft drink. The remaining containers are different varieties of "instant iced tea". Much like "instant coffee" except they're tea. You can also purchase small containers of "concentrated ice tea" which you dilute down to a normal level in a pitcher at your home. But yes, there are people who make iced tea "the normal way" as you described.In front of the tea are three spoons. The one closest to the viewer is a regular teaspoon. The other two are "iced tea spoons" that have longer-than-normal stems for stirring iced tea.Two of above teas are "peach-flavored". Adding a fruit flavor to an iced tea is relatively common. I would say the most common way to provide a fruit flavor is to serve the iced tea with slices of lemon in it. But it's also common to have some sort of fruit extract added to the tea. Locally raspberry-flavored iced tea is probably the most common. When I go to the supermarket, not only do I see fruit-flavored teas, but now I also see fruit juice/iced tea blends where the beverage is half juice and half tea. Out of curiosity, I checked to see what Wikipedia had to say about tea drinking in America. Lo and behold it had it's own article: American tea culture. According to the article 85% of the tea consumed in America is consumed cold or iced. That sounds about right to me. So you can see why cold tea seems more normal to an American than hot tea. No wonder Patrick Stewart had to insist that his Earl Grey be "hot".There are "tea houses" – places dedicated to serving hot tea, usually with some sort of light meal or snack, but these aren't very common.Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    … in which Det. Rush was asked what drink she'd want and replied tea, with honey.

    If you asked for tea with honey, most Americans would understand that you wanted to have hot tea. But like I said, I ran into people in Tennessee (in the southern U.S.) that just couldn't understand the concept of hot tea. It was as though they could hear the words coming out of my mouth, but they just didn't make any sense.In general my experience ordering hot tea in restaurants has been pretty abysmal. Besides serving the tea bag separate from the tepid water, it's often the case that my server has brought me nothing on which I can place the tea bag after the tea is done steeping. It's as though leaving your tea bag in a mug for the next hour or so is just fine. But then since the water wasn't that hot to begin with, maybe it needs to steep that long to acquire some flavor. :lol:I've also had occasions where I've ordered tea only to have my server present me a selection of herbal teas from which to choose without any real tea among my choices. :awww:

  47. Originally posted by debplatt:

    this made me laugh

    Originally posted by debplatt:

    The remaining containers are different varieties of "instant iced tea". Much like "instant coffee" except they're tea.

    :eyes: This is truly an eye opener for me. We used to joke about how handy such a product would be on long 7+ day tramping trips rather than taking dozens of tea bags. Never knew they actually existed. The fruit flavoured instant tea varieties and the concentrate products that one makes into a jag of cold drink are also new to me. But these could be quite nice alternatives to the sugar & colouring loaded soft drinks on hot summer days. :cheers: The iced teaspoon may also come in handy when eating parfait :DOriginally posted by debplatt:

    I ran into people in Tennessee (in the southern U.S.) that just couldn't understand the concept of hot tea. It was as though they could hear the words coming out of my mouth, but they just didn't make any sense.

    Must be the carry-over from Boston Tea Party days? :pI could see the tea you guys are drinking over the other side of the Pacific is probably a completely different class of beverage altogether. As long as the drinkers are satisfied with what they are drinking, there's nothing wrong with that. I remember being on a long tramping trip with club elders. At lunch time, they lit an open fire and made this "billy-tea" by boiling more than a litre of water, putting a couple of tea bags in and keeping it on rapid boil for another 5 minutes. That was also quite a culture shock. :lol:Thank you for this very detailed explanation, Deb. (I also read the American tea culture article. :)) Why don't you copy the whole thing over to your blog, add a suitable introduction and publish it? I'm sure a lot of people will find this very interesting. 😉

  49. 💡 Will keep my iced-tea comment in mind for a future blog article.They actually make tiny packets of instant iced tea that are intended for a person's personal water bottle, and you're correct, they're great for hiking/camping. :up:

  50. Originally posted by debplatt:

    tiny packets of instant iced tea

    :yes: All you'd need is an icy cold and crystal clear stream to get water from 😀

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