One of the must-dos for New Zealand is to do a tramp (i.e. hike) across their fine land. As they tend to take more than a day, we opted for the Nydia Track with a convenient hostel halfway along, saving us from staying at the DoC hut (think four walls and a bench to sleep on).
With a fried breakfast in our bellies we set off with a spring in our step, rounded the headland and started the climb up to the saddle between the mountains. The climb continued up and up, and our blood sugar and resolve started to drop, not forgetting we were getting to the lowest point between the mountains. But we made it, and as you can see had some difficulty getting somewhere to rest the camera for a group photo.
The rest of the walk was downhill, and as our tired little legs rounded the final corner we were greeted by the ramshackle sign of our “eco lodge”. Expecting the worst, our hippy host showed us to our little wooden cabins that were actually new and as nice as can be. Home brewed lager and freshly caught green lipped mussels and flounders followed for dinner, all cooked on an open fire barbeque. I guess tramping has it’s upsides.