a hailstorm on the ridgeline






date : 29.5.2012
time : 12.15pm
location : top of the ridgeline, between stoat tracks 20 and 40, Kapiti Island

notes : hiking upwards from the east toward the western cliffs, we reach the top of the ridgeline slightly north of the Tuteremoana summit, where the steepness of the upslope levels out to meet the breathtakingly sharp drop of the cliffs falling vertically toward the sea. here we find a small, rolling grassy flat where, according to my laconic perveyor of local knowledge, takahe ("tarks") are often found grazing. without warning, a sudden hailstorm and icy southerly blast hits, crisping the knives of the grassblades and freshening the land, then just as suddenly leaves again.