We repeated the walk to the Pinnacles Hut, this time taking more people, more wine and more steak. With us were Mark, Nishan, Kate, Stephen and Luke.
Saturday was hot and humid, but the climb up to the hut felt a lot easier than the last time we did it. We arrived at the hut in plenty of time to climb the Pinnacles that afternoon and enjoyed a display of rock-climbing skills by Luke. Later we paddled and admired the reflections in the amazingly calm pools near the hut.
Not far from the Pinnacles Hut
The evening was great fun: there's something very satisfying about having carried wine and steak up a hill, that makes you enjoy it all the more. We timed Stephen (a fell runner by trade) climbing back up to the Pinnacles summit in 8 minutes to get mobile reception to call his girlfriend.
On Sunday we split into two groups. The majority opted for the longer walk back via Moss Creek campsite, while Tim, Sophie and Nishan took the Billygoat track. We had a very relaxed lunch sitting just above the Billygoat Falls (Sophie thinks this may be the best lunch spot ever), while the others bush-whacked their way out. Stephen set off alone on a detour and got properly lost for a while. It's hard to appreciate just how wild this area is as soon as you're off the track: you're many miles from help, and one bit of bush looks exactly like another. Luckily, after some swimming down a stream, he found his way back onto a track and out.
The final swing-bridge over the Kauaeranga river
More photos here.
We'll be sorry if we don't get to visit this area again, but there's so much more to see!
No comments:
Post a Comment