Feet in the sand, heads in the clouds

After a hard day at work...

It's a little strange saying "bye, I'm off to the beach" at the end of a working day but I'm getting used to it. Dora and I have twice now taken our togs (translation: swimwear) to Oriental Bay for a late weekday afternoon dip in clear and refreshing Wellington Harbour.

The most exciting new experience of the past week, however, has been our trip up to the Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit for our first proper tramp (translation: hike). This included staying in a hut (translation: hut) on the Sunday night, Monday being yet another bank holiday. 

Roger walking into a cloud

The beginning of the tramp was a little wearing, being mostly uphill. The no-doubt-stunning views were obscured entirely by thick cloud, and even Dora's fetish for strangely shaped trees was wearing a little thin. However, as we neared the second summit of the day (fuelled by honey sandwiches and dark chocolate) flashes of blue sky were replaced with postcardesque scenery.

The Tarauas were on full display in all their glory to the west, with Kapiti Island clearly visible in the distance. To the east, rolling banks of cloud threatened to spill over the ridge line upon which we precariously perched, but kindly held off for us to take some photos. We diverted from our intended route to head up Angle Knob (pronounced ANGLnub to avoid childish jokes) and drank in our surroundings. 

Aside from almost getting very lost on our way back to the hut (cue gollum-like scrambling back up a ridge), the rest of the day went swimmingly. We found our hut, ate our dinner (courtesy of Charles and Lydia) and made some temporary friends, sleeping soundly despite the very loud snoring of a slightly stout fellow tramper. 

Scenic hut at sunset

The next day we plodded almost vertically down the mountain and headed back to Welly. We were greeted by our new flat, into which we've now moved. This post is proof that we've managed to sort out the internet. 

This weekend we're planning to go up Mount Taranaki. Apparently you get a good view from there 1 in 12 days, so fingers crossed that our good cloudless luck continues! We'll also update you on our Dragonboating, which I'm enjoying every Wednesday evening, and into which Dora has now been dragged...

Roger in the flat, writing this blog... META