Two Days, Two Hikes, Two Seasons

This past weekend was Labour Day Weekend in New Zealand, which is kind of the unofficial start of the summer tramping season. We had been planning to go tramping, but a few things made us change our minds.

First, the weather forecast was a bit foreboding. Second, South Africa was playing in the Rugby World Cup Final so G was kind of keen to watch. And third, I've been so busy organising my trip to North America I didn't want to organise a tramp too!

So instead we went on two day hikes. Saturday, the foreboding forecast was pretty accurate. The weather was windy and cold, and for the last hour of our hike the rain slowly got heavier. We did a loop track in Kaitoke Regional Park, which gave our lazy, winter legs a good workout for almost six hours. Here are a few pics. The dead trees in the first one are probably due to possum damage.

Then on Sunday, we planned a shorter hike after the rugby ended. (South Africa won.) About half an hour north of Wellington, near the city of Porirua, is a scenic reserve called Colonial Knob. (I know, bad name!) That day the sun was shining, the winds were calm, and we could see clear across to the South Island! Here are some pics from that hike. In the first picture you can just see the snow-capped Kaikoura Range in the distance, and in the second there's a view of the Marlborough Sounds across Cook Strait.Monday we sat around nursing our stiff legs. And now that I'm off for the next few weeks, I'll be in no better shape a month from now! Gottta get my fitness level up before we head down to the South Island in February. Otherwise, those tramps are going to hurt!