We decided to spend the night before at Dawson Falls Lodge, a cozy Swiss themed historic lodge, so we'd be well rested and could get an early start on Saturday.
The lodge...
The inside--- how cozy!
I looked quite funny by the midget-sized doors. I thought the Swiss were tall?
It rained cats and dogs Friday night, but Saturday morning it cleared! But still a few clouds on the mountain. There were some forecasted showers and snow(!) for Saturday, but we started our tramp and played it by ear.
Of course I had to stop for a waterfall photo :)
Another waterfall in the distance...
What a GORGEOUS clear day!
I was able to grab a quick photo of a wood pigeon, hanging out high in the trees. Beautiful color!
Our first stop was this parking lot, which was the car access for the Ski Field. Yes, not only can you tramp on a dormant volcano, you can also ski here, too!
Welcome to Backcountry! Watch out for Avalanches! (eep!)
The ski lodge is on the left. The cable on the right carries a basket called the "Flying Fox", which is how they can transport supplies across the Manganui Gorge to the lodge.
Unfortunately the flying fox wasn't available for our use, so we had to tramp down then up the other side of the gorge. Steep!
When we reached the other side, to where the ski lift and slopes actually are, it started to... yes... the "S" word--- snow!
Let it snow! And sleet! The sleet looked more like chunks of rock salt! It hurt when it pelted you in the face!
But we were still smiling, regardless.
It was about here when we stopped at another hut and talked to another tramper that warned us of the ice ahead. ICE? jeeps. We did NOT have ice gear with us. Luckily, Lincoln knows the mountain well and devised a safer alternate tramp for us.
Plan B!
It's Accumulating!
In the middle of the picture there's a small bump. That's Maketawa Hut, our new destination.
And finally---- Hello, Maketawa Hut!
So, Lincoln headed inside the hut to start up the fire, and I got busy with arts and crafts outside.
My first NZ snowman!
And then a snowbow!
The snow and such settled down overnight, and Sunday was quite a clear day. The tramping was quite a workout, with several climbs up and down gorges 200 meters high! A challenge for the quads, for sure!
Sometimes ladders and stairs were available to make things easier....
So, after almost 5 hrs of tramping each day, never reaching our planned destination due to the temperamental weather on Mt Egmont (but still having quite the scenic workout!), we arrived back at Dawson Falls Lodge. Only one boo-boo this time--- yours truly slipped on a rock and rolled down a hill a few feet--- no broken bones--- just a bruised knuckle and a broken walking pole!
(Sorry about your pole, Lincoln...) :(
Happy Trampers-- all done!
And after a little (rain) shower, the Sunday afternoon rainbow tradition returned! I swear it's a sign....
Another weekend adventure in the books! (or shall I say "blogs"....) :)
Cheers!
The gorges were about 200 feet Linz. And for anyone intrested the drop below the wire swingbridge was about 100 feet.
ReplyDeleteDont worry about the pole Linz im just glad you are ok. It was a bit of a fright to see you lying upside down on the rocks!
ReplyDeleteIncredible - miss ya funfriend! so glad to see you are enjoying yourself. pics were great!
ReplyDeleteEach week the pictures are better than the week before! So happy for you. (I think you are hogging all the rainbows though!)
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