pinnacles track walk

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these are the things i want to remember: how the early morning ferry off the island, with our traditional travelling made-first-in-the-uk-breakfast of croissants crammed with crispy bacon, avocado, lettuce, cheese and pickle set the day off right + how much i love the drive from auckland to the kauaeranga valley in coromandel + how the 6.5km (~4 mile) walk up the valley to the hut in the hot sun was challenging and memorable + how the stairs, when i first saw them caused me to exclaim with delight + how each new turn of a corner when the stairs turned out to last for 4km made for exclamations of a less-than-complimentary kind towards the top. i want to remember that the photo of us stopping for lunch is one that i really, truly love…

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i want to remember how choosing our beds for the night, dumping our bags and making the final ascent to the top via rungs in the rock face and steep ladders was totally the right thing to do, even though all i wanted was to sit down with a glass of wine + how amazing the view from the top was when we got there + how good the wine and chocolate before dinner tasted, and how dinner from a packet – with some surprise peas thrown in – can make for the best dinner ever when you’ve worked for it…

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i want to remember how it felt to go to bed before the sun went down + how it was to wake, look out the window and see the pinnacles shrouded in mist, making me glad i climbed it yesterday and could stay in bed for a little longer. i want to remember how climbing out of my sleeping bag and going for a walk in the early morning light, witnessing the sky ablaze, filled me with a sense of wonder + how it felt to head back down the hill after breakfast and descend all those stairs as the next wave of visitors were venturing up.

i want to remember how green everything was, and what it felt like to walk in a place that smelled like earth, and sunshine, and water and grace. i wish i could turn these photographs into scratch and sniff experiences, or invite you in to wander the pathways that we just travelled.

i want to remember that whatever you call it, there’s divinity in the wildling places.