I am sitting in front of mother of all rata trees-800-1000years old.

what do you know, as a hunch from appearance, its a Metrosiderous, a relative of "Ohia", Hawaiian for Metrosiderous polymorpha.

Guess what else, he or to follow previously say she was once an epiphyte.
cahoots!

I hear the unmistakeable sounds of a woodpidgeon.

Perhaps, I can check to see how far I can go up Ngamoko track (closed because of the snowdamage.)

Moments later.

Crazy blue, he almost left me to start a close track at nightfall when I first arrived in this part of the country. It would have been 5 hours to the first shelter, and that's during daylight hours on a clear trail.

After experiencing the gruelling section of the Ngamoko, gruelling for the maze of treefall,...I realize to have follow Blue's suggestion would have been a test of orienteering (without proper maps) and even survival. At one point, he had me convinced it was a shame that I had not agree to do it.