Tramping trip to Otaki Forks!

So as I mentioned I'd post about my trampint trip

Mike, our guide

Robyn, my previous host, knows a guy called Mike who has been tramping in New Zealand for more than 40 years, written books on the bush and its huts, held seminars and speeches about tramping and probably a lot lot more. Robyn suggested that I went tramping with him some time ago and I decided that it was probably a good idea, especially considering that he'd do it for free!

Big slid, we had to travel all the way around it!

If he was going to take me anyways, I might as well bring some friends, so I invited all the people from work and quite a few of the interns at companies incubated at Creative HQ decided to come, so Mike, Robyn and I were accompanied by Gunhild, Gigi, Andrew, Gilles and Walker on our tour.

Mike was a great guide, besides being well-equipped with gear and food, he had legs that would make any professional biker jealous. He knew a lot about the bush and was telling us about several different plants and trees, some of them edible, but could cause diarrhea, others good against diarrhea!

Our trip started at 10 in the morning and went from a parking area with a little hut and into the wild where we would go see a boiler, used to drive an engine some 100 years ago, dragging cartloads of wood back and forth. On our way, the parts that hadn't slid away, we would sometimes see iron tracks which were only used for the corners, for the straight pieces they used wooden tracks back then. On our way we would besides steep hills, small rivers flowing down the hills (that we had to wade through) also encounter bridges. The one here is the second longest in the Tararua Forest Park (the area in which Otaki Forks lies).



I can only recommend going on a tramping trip, the most amazing thing was that there are no fences, no must-do tracks or anything. You are on your own and can go anywhere you like. It's not like Denmark or the US where they close everything that's slightly dangerous. The bush is dangerous, not because of it's animals or trees or anything. The big killer is the weather, and not being prepared for rain, snow, sun or anything in between can be lethal if you suddenly get stuck out there. Mike was telling us how these mountains have their own weather and how it can change from one type to another in minutes if the wind starts blowing in a different direction.


I've included only a few of the pictures taken on the trip here, to see them all go to THIS WEBSITE.

But, I think everyone enjoyed it! And I would definitely go again, which I am planning on. Might just take the same group somewhere else if they're all up to it, and Mike doesn't mind leading us :D