So it's been a while since we posted these and no explanation which is a shame cause it was an awesome day and I learnt much about pete's tramping abilities.
Ben took us out to the Waitak's (Waitakere Ranges, big National Park) an hours drive from Beachhaven to do his 'special' off track new years walk. He said wear good shoes cause there's some climbing involved and you will get wet. Bearing in mind the biggest 'tramp' pete and I have done in the last 3 years was over to Ruislip Lido and back, sometimes we'd get a bit muddled for direction and on the odd occasion stung by poison ivy, to say we weren't prepared was an understatement. Big bloody understatement.
Pete had on his addidas shells and I my chucks, in all fairness our walking shoes were still stuck in shipping, but I had no excuse to be wearing a summer skirt, that was just dense.
It started out simple enough, an uphill walk to look out over Kare Kare Beach on the West Coast.
pete, lou, me...
hiking down to the swamp
looks pretty easy right? Still is...
This is the point we should have realised we were inadequately prepared. That sign says '...for experienced trampers only' It's not joking, but doesn't everyone think they're an experienced tramper when we spend all our lives walking?
So at this point we've moved onto the river, walking straight up the middle of the baby rapids. Not so bad but pete didn't grow up on beaches and rivers, leaping from rock to rock ben had soon left us for dust, lou was scrambling up close behind him turning back only to explain that she called him 'ben the billy goat' like that was to ease our inadequacies. I turned back to watch pete enter the river and his leg trembled from hip to foot as he tentatively struck out for the first rock. I felt panicked for him but he was game and we ploughed on. By the time we got to the first water fall, pete was starting to look pretty nimble. Ben stripped off and jumped off the falls, we weren't going to let him be the only brave, billy goat or not.
I was the next over the edge, I think you can see my fear in the poker straightness of my body.
Pete was next, whether those arms are thrown up in gay abandon or he's just reverting to the way you jumped as a kid I'm not sure.
+ finally lou...actually, that's more the jump you do when you're a kid. A bit further up Ben and pete went in under the falls, I was too scared of the possibility of eels, I think pete wasn't scared of eels cause he didn't believe there really were any, he's really cautious of my warnings after I pretended the waves in the sand in Gisbourne were made by snakes that come up out of the ocean to slumber under the sand on the beach.
This is looking back on the pool we had to swim across with our bags held above our heads, not easy swimming in trainers and the water was fresh from the hills, icy as.
This photo doesn't do this moment justice, there was bugger all to put your feet on and we're wearing fashion trainers with no underside grip. The pool beneath us is deep and full of god knows what but in those moments it felt like it was full of eels the size of your leg that wanted to eat half your face.
