Discovering the Heart of Taranaki and its people

Errol Clince tells first-time skiers how to ski, and they believe him.
But Errol said he can't ski, and the last time he was on the snow, was years ago.
Errol was sweltering in 'stinking hot' Los Angeles weather at Disneyland on Sunday, and on Monday, he was on terra firma at the Mountain House on Mt Taranaki, where he has been the handyman for over 20 years.
Girl-Friday, Rei Robinson, was making paninis in the kitchen for the Lambert family from Browns Bay in Auckland, who were en route north from Wellington.
The Lamberts hoped to find snow, but according to Rei, the last dusting was two weeks ago when a nice spread lay around the Mountain House.
This year the ski season opened on July 1, and last year, skiers got six weeks skiing.
There was little snow for this time of year, and it would be a good hour's trek to reach the white coating on the mountain, Rei and Errol informed me.
So, what if I ventured further up the mountain road without chains? They told me there had not been any mishaps on ice that day.
Despite their assurances, I was cautious.
Trekking in dress boots was probably not the smartest thing to be doing on my first day on the job.
So I decided to spend a little time and get to know the locals, and the only tourists having lunch, rather than be adventurous and go in search of the white powder.
As I left the mountain, I saw in front of me&another; mountain, Ruapehu.
Its geographic position surprised me.
I had many times seen Mt Taranaki from the Waimarino basin and from Whanganui, and here was a completely new vista I was discovering in the Heart of Taranaki.