Holdsworth Lookout Track

Mt Holdsworth

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We have a brief period of grace before the climb proper begins.

Pigeonwood? Or karapapa?

Here's a bit of a scramble. Looks a bit fierce to start with but people have passed by here before us and there are clear spots where logically you place your boots, and others where roots have been smoothed by people grabbing hold.

More of the same sort of thing

We level out for a bit. I grab a snack and a swallow of water.

Another small mission... Sticks are good. Beside the extra stability they offer, a shunt from behind helps with the steeper bits.

And another short breather as we level out again.

The direction is still indisputably up, though

Just another roadside attraction...

Look at that sky and the green of that beech forest. Bliss.

The bush is showing signs that winters up here can be fierce, that yellowing of the landscape as it merges into goblin forest.

Asplenium flaccidum. Miranda wants to know what that means. I explain the most common use of the word "flaccid" in English and she understands immediately.

Definitely a tougher environment up here. The carpet shrubs are distinctly shorter and scrubbier.

"Are you OK there?" Miranda checks to make sure I am managing this bit. I still have sufficient spare capacity to take a picture. Again, it looks a touch daunting to begin with, but if you slow down, the steps are there and the handholds are there, and you don't need to be a mountain goat or a teenager to make progress.

If I had to cope with this sort of terrain for hours and hours, it might be a different story.

A small orchid that will probably be flowering in November some time.

Levelling out again , but still needing your full attention as you walk.

That looks all right. A suitably deformed branch or two frame a distant top with snow remnants still visible from a week or two earlier.

Not there yet though.

I still have enough puff left to enjoy patterns of light and shade on the path in front of me.

That cloud's coming over quite fast, and the wind has got up some, and it's got a bite in it. Or is it just us emerging from the forest into the open.

I think we're having what DoC refers to as a mountain weather change.

Over to the east is still looking good

At the top is a comfortable seat and a map on a pole (left) that allows you to identify the various peaks on the horizon. Coffee from the thermos, and a snack, and we're on our way down again, this time with gravity on our side.

A satisfying walk. By the time we get to the bottom, the wind is picking up and we grab some lunch, then head out to Castlepoint for the night.