Ulrike: I’d picked Ulrike, or Uli for short up from Picton some days before, she’s from Germany and traveling around NZ for a year, she was coming out to the Lodge woofing for a couple of weeks, only because I’d foolishly opened the lodge for July and August this winter, well know-one else was open Duh!, it’s been a waste of time tho with not enough guests to warrant me doing it next winter. I’d asked Uli if she wanted to come Pig hunting in the morning and she was keen to experience something new. Up before dawn and soon after a short boat ride we were walking up an old track to where a neighbor had recently seen some fresh pig rooting, we climbed up through some magnificent native bush,  old Rimu’s here and there, Matai berries lay everywhere on the Forrest floor, it was a mast year alright. This walk later came to mind one evening while she was telling me a story about a similar climb she'd done down the west coast, but that's another story. We kept climbing with th...