I should start by apologizing for leaving y'all in the dark for so long. I was on break for the past 16 days, so that is why I had not posted in so long. I trust that the photos form Kahurangi NP will make up for it. Hopefully this entry will satisfy as well.
About a week after Kahurangi (the time in between I was in Blenheim for a Viticulture multi-day field trip - more on that later), I headed up to Mt. Richmond Forest Park with my friend Nick for a two day, two night excursion. The goal was to summit Mt. Fishtail. On Friday 9 April we camped out at the Mt. Fishtail trailhead. It got really cold down in the valley and we woke up to find frost on the ground. It warmed up quite a bit as the day went on however, and made for great hiking. After about an hour of gentle sloping trails through lush forest (which had giant fern trees - see photos), the track turned steeply uphill, and was unmercifully steep for the next 2.5 hours. We then reached a ridge, and had an easy half hour hike to Fishtail Hut. The hut was a tiny little building with four bunks and a small counter space. It was tied down on all four sides by metal cables, because it was situated right on the edge of a steep and unstable scree slope, which is probably exposed to high winds throughout the year. For us, however, the wind was low and the sun was high. After a short lunch break at the hut, Nick and I continued the last hour to the summit. It offered some really great views. We spent the night at the hut, and then hiked down at a quick pace, heading back to Christchurch later that day (Sunday). It was a very successful trip. See the pictures here:
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| Mt. Fishtail |
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