We also have heaps of spinach...
It has been a bit rainy all over NZ the past week. It isn't actually feeling that much like summer yet, and since the weather was meant to be a bit chilly still we decided it might be good tramping weather.We headed up to Mt Holdsworth this morning with the intent to tramp out to Totara Flats Hut and have our lunch there and then tramp back out. (What we thought might be about a 6 hour trip)...
Turns out that the tramp was a lot harder than expected (Fancy that?)...This is becoming a common thing for us and NZ tramping...I guess you can never really tell by the maps and definitely never go by the name of the tramp - it certainly wasn't FLAT!!
This was a lovely tramp and we really enjoyed it for the most part - although, as you can see from the photo above there were some pretty scary looking areas where slips were just waiting to happen. (It's hard to really see in this photo, but you have to climb up under this overhanging ledge and the gravel is pretty much all giving out.) I really have no interest in dying that way, and tramping under this was kind of one of those moments where you hold your breath and hope nothing gives way...
We didn't end up making it all the way out to Totara Flats Hut (Or to the flat part, for that matter. We met a couple of guys who were tramping back from the hut and they said it was another half hour at least, so we turned around as we had already come 3.5 hours and knew what was awaiting us for our return...It was really steep coming down so we knew we would have to make our way back up all of that again.)We didn't take many photos this trip as it was mostly all in the trees.
Now, I have a few comments to make about this tramp...Firstly, we made it up to the first viewing area on the Mt. Holdsworth trail in 49 min. which meant that I was huffing and puffing and drenched with sweat, while Travis was claiming to be taking "munchkin steps"...What he calls "cruisy" is actually my cardiovascular limit...Having said that; secondly, it is never wise to reach your cardiovascular limit 49 min. into an 8 hour tramp! haha....
Thirdly, it is incredibly sad to be passed by an old couple - I have to say, that while they both had white hair, they had legs that any teenager would envy...It's a bit of an insult, really, but I stayed postive and kept tramping on...Travis says that I am soon to graduate to kiwi "grandma" level of tramper - which is actually a huge compliment and achievement!
Coming back up the flats incline took us 2.5 hours and to be perfectly honest I was the tiredest I have been in a long time. I usually hit my wall around the 4th hour, so you can imagine how tired I was coming up the long stretch at this time. We stopped at the top and had a nice cuppa tea and a bit of chocolate and it was amazing how much life that gave back to me. I felt great after that and managed to get a second wind...Total distance = 18K....Time: 8 hours (Including three small breaks)
We are now beat and ready to vege on the couch for the remainder of the evening fighting off sleep for a few more hours at least.
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