Hello my Charmings!
Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t. – Bill Nye
From where I’ve been for the past 12 years I’ve established quite a few — let me elaborate that a few for me means around 6 different groups of friends — close people in my life. So when I moved to Auckland I tried to just relax and spend more time with my husband. About a year now and enjoying my not-so-hectic schedule of friends getting together, I have come to miss those crazy hectic times. In short, I miss being with a company of amazing and like minded people (aside from my husband of course).
As to my wanting to explore New Zealand and meeting new people, we have started going out on a Meetup Group (Auckland Tramping: Lake Wainamu). We’ve been in quite a few meetups and met new amazing people. One group in particular is the tramping group that we recently joined. This is our second tramp with them and it didn’t disappoint. Though this tramp is supposed to be a 2 out of 5 difficulty, it ended up being a 4 (loved every minute of it, my husband didn’t). You’ll see why in the next few photos.
The tramp started around 10am and headed to see Vivian Falls (this is the easiest part of the walk).
This walk is like you’re walking in the middle of a rainforest (it’s a bit rainy and you’re in the middle of the forest)…
and our main destination…
Our walk didn’t end there as there’s more to come. On our way to the second part of our walk, we stopped for a quick lunch before proceeding.
The place has ample space to have a quick lunch, a few benches and a mini playground for kids and kids at heart. And has a mini cafe in the parking where you can buy your energy boost (for people who can’t live without coffee).
Now on to our second part of the most awaited walk (little did we know what was coming).
We drove 5 mins (10 mins if you walk) from our lunch stop, parked our car on the side of the road and continued to walk through. Few meters of walking seems like so harmless.
The next few meters after the harmless path went into this…
Aside from the uphill path, it is very slippery and muddy as it rained prior to our tramp and even showered a bit while tramping on this path. And apart from the slippery slopes and muddy tracks we have to encounter this pesky prickly plant.
We took some needed stops so others can catch their breathe and can literally catch up as well. We’re still half way there at this point.
This is not the very top yet, just the view from where we are resting.
This tramp is not for the faint hearted I can say. You really need someone to guide you coming here and know what they are doing. And you need to be fit for you to be able to do this as there is no quitting on this path. You can’t say “I Can’t” here as the only way back is going down which is more dangerous and harder to go through. The only way is Up.
Photos can’t really show the exact path we went through as its really hard taking photos or videos while your other hand is holding on to a rope that supports you.
The most awaited part is reaching the top. Everyone supported each other by encouragement, that’s the highlight of my day (apart from the view of course).
This is not actually the last part. We were huffing and puffing going up, now we have to go down. But with this view that you don’t see everyday, I’ll take it any day what’s there to come. Here’s a video snippet!
We got lost a bit and followed some mud tracks and luckily we ended where we stopped for our lunch break.
It was quite a hike. Haven’t experienced anything like this. If I’ll be asked again to do this, heck yeah, I’ll do it all over again. It’s the sense of adventure I miss. The people that we hiked with were very encouraging and helping each other to finish the track and a pat on the back saying “well done, you’ve made it”. In my opinion, this is by far a heck of an experience and the best way of meeting new people.
CHArmed Life 