Here it is! The entry you’ve all been waiting for! Da Pictures Da Pictures!!!
First up, a quick shot of the potluck night :
Left to Right: Ryan, Griet, Sashe, Nicholas (front), Anthony, Jade, Stephan, Lou
By Country, Left to Right: Portland, Oregon; Belgium, Brazil, Netherlands, England, England, Germany, Canada
It was definitely a delicious encounter with friends from around the world. It really felt very Wellington-esque.
Also, in follow-up with one of the previous entries…. Pictures of the Rimutaka Incline trail!!
This is Ryan on one of the old bridges… he likes bridges. What a foamer:
We made it to the top after a lovely ascent. When we got there, the rest of the group was enjoying a luxurious lunch by some old rusted out train bits. There was still coal in the old coal carrier:
That's Alex (back left), and Amy (front). They're Ryan's roommates (and I guess, mine too). The other guy is Amy's Dad. I'm not sure if I've ever been introduced to him by his name.
This is Ben and Ryan. Ben, Alex and Ryan all work at OnTrack together. That's the New Zealand Railroad Company. They're all foamers, but Ryan is in denial.
Now, an old railway route isn't complete without ….
TUNNELS!!!
This tunnel was almost a kilometre in length and we didn't have any lights. As you travelled through the tunnel it gets darker and darker, and your senses would start to get really confused. It was hard to stay balanced on the bike, especially while not knowing the whereabouts of the tunnel walls! It was very spooky to journey through, but very invigorating at the same time. Though, I wasn't helping myself much by wearing my sunglasses by accident during my first run through the tunnel! I'm the smartest woman ALIVE!!!
Half way through the tunnel, the slant in the trail switches to a downhill as opposed to up. You emerge at the edge of an overgrown slope of native and non-native flora. Ben and Alex had come up so they could go down to the bottom of the bank to find an old train wreck. The rest of us waited aloft on the trail for them to get back, except for Ryan who took off down the hill to experience the rest of the trail.
The rest of us didn't want to go because where there is a nice run DOWN the hill, there is a nice long hike to get back UP. Instead we went for a walk to the gorge. It reminded me a bit of Kananaskis in the Rocky Mountains:
Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada:
It looks a bit doom-like too.
Rimutaka Gorge, Greater Wellington, New Zealand:
When Ryan got back we were still waiting for Alex and Ben to find the train. We blew grass and owl hooted to try and get their attention.
When they actually found the train, Ryan and I braved the decent down the bushy bank to check out the Train skeleton.
Cow Catcher
Oooooh the mystery, how did this train get here?
What we ended up finding was large mass of twisted rusty metal sticking out of the bank. It was really cool. It had just been stripped and pushed down the bank when the rail company had no more use for it. Maybe it's helping to hold up the bank? Hehe.
It was a brilliant day to be up in the mountains. My boss told me after I got back that I was really lucky with the weather. Apparently the area can get pretty high winds and frequent rain. But not for us on that day! It was absolutely beautiful!
In the next two weeks to follow, we went:
- To a Waka Ama Barbeque:
A 'waka' is a boat, in Maori, and 'ama' means 'outrigger.'
- To say goodbye to a friend.
This is Sophia from Germany. This is how we want to remember her!
- On a hike along the Skyline Walkway, just outside of Wellington:
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
The view from the top was absolutely spectacular. This is looking south at the northern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. The sun combined with the water and the crackled clouds was breath taking. This photo hardly grasps the full beauty of the moment.
We also went Geocaching while we were up there. It's actually how we decided to go on this hike in the first place! We found this guy inside the cache box and decided to let him out to check out the view for a while. He seemed to enjoy it. Just check out that smile on his face!
This catches me up to the end of last week! Aikes. I hope you enjoyed it and that loading all of these pictures didn't make your PC explode.
Ta
