It took us a half an hour to reach the trail head for this hike from our Airbnb situated in the middle of nowhere. Scenic Reserves here in New Zealand are akin to our state and national forests and wildlife refuges back home. We had no idea what beauty laid ahead of us on this 5 mile hike.
This hike reminded us at times of walking the trails back in the Northeast of the States. Looks almost like a black and white photo but I promise, it is in color.
Found this picturesque spot about half way to the summit. Gorgeous valley and clouds in the blue sky!
The going got a bit rough after a while but nothing we could not handle. Nice to walk up this natural rocky staircase rather than the usual manmade stairs that New Zealand has become famous for (in our minds anyway).
Made it to the faux summit and had to step out onto a ledge for a closer look at the scenery. Laurie is flashing the peace sign for some reason. Peace and out brother.
Cannot believe the diversity of scenery around here too. The Pacific Ocean is pictured behind many layers of farmed hills and rows of hedges which, for this life of us, have no purpose. Realizing we were not yet at the top we were excited to keep going.
Back downhill on those famous NZ stairs. Always seems like after one false summit you must go back down a ways before regaining the altitude, and more, later.
Notice the pressure treated step installed long enough ago that this tree has engulfed it with its root system. The orange triangle on the thinner tree is the equivalent to a colored blaze marking the trails back home.
What a surreal hiking experience this was. Great scenery inside the bush and outside too.
After hiking downhill for a while we reached a stream with a sign that read “waterfall 5 minutes –>” Of course we wandered in that direction in search of some beauty.
This spot and waterfall were definitely worth capturing a video. Enjoy.
We don’t recall ever hiking away from a waterfall to get a view of the same falls through the canopy of trees. Somehow, all felt right in the world at this point.
The sign said the trail headed straight up to the summit. Guess we will give it a try. Most trails are easier to walk than they appear once you get started. I wonder sometimes when Laurie is asking me to pose for a picture whether she is procrastinating or not?
Definitely not as strenuous as it looks but they did install some handrails here and there as one wrong move and you were kaput. This is the first time we have found a trail with a safety feature here in New Zealand.
We finally figured we were at the summit when Laurie spotted an even higher point.
I sent her to scout it out. Boy were the views from there out of this world!
We felt for this poor hairy tree as it had been a good three months since our last haircut. We have seen rocks in the Catskill Mountains that seem to need a haircut but not a tree like this.
This little guy got about as close to us as a bird has ever when we are not eating or near a place where folks had eaten before. Very cool that it almost jumped onto my outstretched hands. Nice way to end a fabulous day of hiking.