RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33032, 27 September 1972, Page 19

RANDOM REMINDER

THE HOCKSORE HIKER

To the young man whose occupation has taken him far from hearth and home the opportunity to spend a vacation with his parents, brothers and sisters is a prospect that pleases. This applies more particularly when the family is a closely knit one and the bond of brotherhood enduringly strong. And there is keen anticipation at the enchanting opportunity of meeting and mingling with long - established friends; of being, if only for a comparatively brief period, in one’s old home town, to savour again its familiar sights and sounds. But sometimes. it seems, castles in the air can crash and crumble. A Christchurch youth of our acquaintance with whom we recently held an enjoyable telephone conversation. knows it from personal experience. Eleven months ago the insurance company by which he is employed transferred him on promotion to Dunedin, where he found the climate invigorating and the people with whom he was in daily contact, fnendly and hospitable. His one regret was that his seasonal sporting activities had to give way

to the more studious pursuit of preparing for his accountancy examinations. He found himself becoming increasingly unfit and pining for the time when he could once again tread the playing fields. The time for his annual vacation arrived. He packed his books, belongings and bag and headed homewards. The reunion with his family fulfilled his pleasant expectations, particularly that with his twin brother, with whom he shared a close affinity. His blood relation is a husky type of young man, an apprentice bricklayer, a promising harrier and a keen hiker. Our young man from Dunedin was looking forward to his first Sunday at home and the relaxation it promised. But his twin aroused him at 6 a.m. and asked if he would like to go for a hike over the Cashmere hills in the company of his friend who lived next door. They set off from their home in Fendalton an hour later. The Dunedin-based member of the trio had no apparent difficulty in matching steps with his two companions. By the time they reached the Sign of the Takahe he

was really warming to his work. From there they pushed on, up hill and down dale, to Cooper’s Knob, and beyond. It was only after they had retraced their steps for a few miles that he began to show signs of fatigue —and muscle soreness. Each step he took was sheer agony and the sight in the gathering gloom of lights twinkling in the distance was he hoped, no mirage. But by the time the trio reached Barrington Street he was a spent force. From there his brother and friend literally dragged him homewards — they could, to all intents and purposes have been supporting a rag doll. Later that evening his bath was a balm — his bed beautiful. He slumbered soundly as would any person who a few hours previously had just completed a 32-mile hike over undulating terrain. But. he tells us, he was somewhat shattered the following morning when his twin brother aroused him by tweaking his ear and announced that he had just returned from a bit of healthy exercise — a jog to the foothills and back.