Beware of KIWIS Asking “Would you like to go for a Daddle?”

According to the Free Online Dictionary the definition of “daddle” is: To toddle; to walk unsteadily, like a child or an old man; hence, to do anything slowly or feebly. So when fellow cruisers Lindy and David Scrivin asked if we would like to go for a daddle Sunday morning and see some ancient ruins near Marmaris Yacht Marin we enthusiastically accepted. Lindy and David are a great Kiwi couple who left Auckland, New Zealand several years ago aboard their 42 foot sailing yacht Raconteur. Their journey has taken them deep into the South Pacific, thru the Red Sea and eventually to Marmaris, Turkey where they have wintered their boat for the past few seasons. We first met David when he “rescued” us outside Tansas, the major supermarket in Marmaris. Being newbie’s to town, we thought we were waiting for the Dolmus at the correct location but David recognized the error of our ways and took us to the correct bus stop. A delightful chat ensued on the ride back to the marina and a new cruising friendship was formed. We learned that his boat Raconteur had just gone back into the water and his wife Lindy who was in Wales visiting family would soon be joining him for cruising.

A few evenings later we ran into David and Lindy in the marina bar and the Sunday morning daddle was proposed. David explained the last hour would include a bit of steep but we had no worries; after all we trusted David completely – he had steered us correctly in Marmaris. Sunday morning with water and sandwiches in our pack and the sun shining overhead our band of hikers took off. Joining the four of us was Launa from Cat Callou who, with her husband, had recently completed a circumnavigation. As we were starting out Lindy informed us that in addition to the hike we would also be “geocaching”. Unknown to us, GeoCaching is a worldwide phenomenon, a treasure hunt that has been going on for the past 10 years. Treasures, or caches, are hidden all over the world in various containers. Inside the containers are a log book for recording your find and various small items such as magnets, band aids, small toys, etc. These items you trade for something you leave in the container. There is a website www.geocaching.com which lists all the known geocaches in the world and their GPS coordinates. You can input your location and find out if there are any geocaches near you. We have since found that there five hidden in different parts of Kingwood. As it turns out there was a geocache hidden in the ruins of the Ancient City which was one of the sites we were hiking to. Lindy had brought along her granddaughter’s “Travel Bug”, a small stuffed dragon who would visit the geocache if we found it but not stay. We soon found out that in addition to being expert trekkers Lindy and David are also avid geocachers. So armed with water, a travel bug and David’s new hand held GPS off we went on our little daddle.

So remember the definition of daddle at the beginning? Well we guess in the Kiwi Dictionary daddle must have a very different meaning. Almost immediately we were hiking uphill and not at a slow rate. At first, other than being uphill, the going was not rough – we were on a dirt road. However, soon we left the road and were hiking on trails and climbing over rocks. After about an hour we came upon the ancient village and after some searching voila!

The geocache was found. Pictures were taken, names were recorded in the log book and then the geocache was returned to its hiding place. After a brief rest we were on our way again with David informing us that the next bit would be the hardest. We looked at each other thinking, “Hey we’re from Houston – we’re flatlanders. What we just did wasn’t steep?” Apparently not. Soon we were climbing –not hiking virtually straight up the mountain over giant boulders and across fallen trees. Trail – what trail? The only way we knew which way to go was by following red painted markings. Markings we found out David had painted the year before. Turns out our trusted leader is not only an avid trekker, he also sets trails and leads hikes for others.

Though it was obvious we were out of our element, David and Lindy were encouraging us the whole way even announcing at one point we had broken the back of the trail. Well, I don’t know about breaking the trail’s back but at that point I was just praying some body part didn’t break! Finally, after what seemed like days but in reality were only 2 ½ hours we made it to the top of the mountain and the castle/fort ruins. Was it worth it? You bet. The ruins were intriguing and views stunning. We spent about 45 minutes on top enjoying our break and pondering the history of the ruins then we were off on our descent. We took a different route which was much easier; after all it was down and soon turned into a dirt road.

About ¾ of the way down we encountered an ancient cave that was used as far back as 4th century BC for religious ceremonies. Finally, thinking we would never see her again, we were back on Lone Star – totally exhausted and barely able to move. We also decided that if we ever recovered us two flatlanders were definitely going to work on this incline stuff. That evening we all regrouped in the bar for frosty coldies and to toast the day’s successful Daddle. However the next time a Kiwi invites us for a daddle……