23 February 2007

A Step Up

The Greenstone Track

Day 2, Page 1

The rain has cleared, thank heaven, and it looks good when we wake up in the near dawn. I am aiming to get away as soon as possible, and by 7:45 am we are shouldering packs and leaving a slumbering bunch of youth behind us.

Fatman time for today is 9 hr 30.

We pull out our pack covers this morning. The rain has left every shrub soaked and ready to unload onto the unwary passer by.

I am quite twitchy when we leave. I have messages running through my head about "10 km before lunch" and when I hit the track across the bridge and discover it is full of rocks and tree roots and going up and down like a small roller coaster, I get utterly miserable and filled with self-pity.

Added to all my woes is the fact we are on the other side of the valley, shaded from the sun until near midday and it's gloomy and low light and I can't get good depth of field in my photos.

After about half an hour we emerge into some river flat, and my mood lightens some. I am also getting warmed up and moving more easily, and my breakfast is not arguing with my gut any more.

There's a lovely small hebe here also.

We're back in the bush and it's more open and level, but most of the limited vegetation after a couple of days is "carrier wave" and while it's peaceful enough, I'm still basically putting the distance behind me. Pity, because I'd love to take my time down this valley.

There's one piece of symmetry, however, that I just can't resist.

Up ahead, the valley still wears its veil of cloud.

We cross the first of a number of boulder-strewn dry watercourses.

Reminds me of the St James Walkway...

Now we're into low hebe scrub, on our way back into the bush for a bit.

Tussock and crown fern crowd the track.

and just to keep us concentrating, a few bits of rock to pick our way over. (The bonus from this sort of terrain is that while not much has happened to my waistline, my trousers are now far too baggy - all the leg and butt muscles getting a thorough workout.