2010-07-07 -37 175

Location

Easy location, on the side of the road opposite a driveway on Gelling Rd in the Franklin district

Participants

Plans

Though it's the middle of the week, JimmyNZ actually has the day off and since only has plans in the morning decided to take a little road trip in the afternoon and do this easy hash. Okay, it's 75km away, but it's on the side of the road which does not happen very often around here.

So plan to finish up my business in the morning. Greenslime, pending she can get the afternoon off, will rendezvous with me and we'll travel down. Aim to do this as a no batteries hash as it's so simple. So will take photos and post here later.

Expedition

So, hash landed on land, and within reasonable range, we had to take advantage of this once in a blue moon opportunity. Basically it was an exercise in driving, a 150 km round trip. Seeings neither of us own a GPS (yet), JimmyNZ wrote directions on the back of an envelope (quite literally, on the back of an election envelope - Auckland is having an election soon to amalgamate eight regional councils into one honking large Super City!!).

Anyway, digression. With directions, Greenslime drives while listening to the navigator prattle on. Uneventful trip, the occasional roadworks that one cannot escape in NZ. Arrive at hash which JimmyNZ had foreseen, jumped the camouflaged two-strand, hanging-in-mid-air-electric-fence which I nearly collided into with the car first. It was just after we took the photos that we noticed that there was an appropriate quantity of wind, blowing around, in the air, to fly a KITE. And being surrounded by large paddocks (with large power lines mind you) we thought this would be a good opportunity to give a display of the manner in which the potential 'Fly a Kite achievement' can be attained.

With a large herd of spectators waiting in anticipation for the display (see photo) we umm'ed and aaah'ed as to who owned the paddock, where they lived, and whether we should bother, whether the wind was good enough, whether that was indeed a bull in the paddock. Both of us tried to talk each other both into and out of it. Finally, Green bit the bullet, approached the nearest house to, not surprisingly, find the farmer not home. Oh well, we tried.

Continuing on the previous conversation, and sticking out like sore thumbs on the side of the road, a farmer on a quad bike approached, Green apprehended him, and started up a conversation using the words "Well, I know this sounds random..." and asked permission to use the paddock.

First he said no, but with further questioning, he asked how large the kite was: it seems he was under the impression I was intending to launch a hang-glider or something. After putting his worries to rest, he relented and permission was received.

Kite briefly flow, as the wind wasn't quite strong enough.
Kite put away, covered in cow poo.
And we were on our way.

Photos

Step one, draw a decent map
Step two, find the right road
Step three, avoid the sheep
Not far away now
Hash is on the right up ahead
Hash reached under JimmyNZ's feet
Driveway opposite the hash
Prepping the kite and avoiding the poo
Greenslime living her dream of flying a kite at a hash. Conditions were right for once!
Curious herd of spectators watching the display