SNOW!

A glimpse of the weekend.

We had a complete blast on the tramp this past weekend!!! Even celebrated June 1st/Queen's Birthday at the hut!! And... it started legit S*n*o*w*i*n*g just after we arrived at the hut!!! :-D Hooray!! And they say it never snows in the Coromandel... ha.

We decided to go (after deciding NOT to go due to flooding of the track and danger...) around 8:30 AM on Sunday, leaving by 10:30 or 11:00 AM, and arriving in Thames/the carpark area by 1:00 PM. We paid our hut fee of $15 NZ, checked out the resulting splendid weather, and drove the pot-hole-filled road to the trail head. Began the hike with wonderful weather!! Swing bridges, uphill, and scenic overlooks (including a waterfall!!). Arrived to our 1-hour-from-hut mark and it began to drizzle.... Danni (my friend from the states) "birthed" Wilhelm, my emergency heat blanket, in order to cover my backpack!! We had great times! :-) Arrived at the hut around 4:30 or so and began to get chilly... Enter snow, icy rain, and wind! Thankfully we were in the largest DOC hut in NZ (80 people, and it was FULL!).

Swing bridge fun!

The just-minutes-old Wilhelm.

Regardless, we ate noodles, took pictures, laughed a ton, met up with two other friends, and then enjoyed a "logging of the Kauri forest" slideshow!! I wore 4 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of socks, 1 hat, and a pair of gloves to sleep... :-) It was beautiful.

The following morning (after attempting to sleep in below freezing temperatures, amongst 40-odd snoring folk...), we awoke at 6:15, bundled up, and headed to the summit: The Pinnacles!! What a wonderful sunrise it was!! :-D Beauty, pure and simple.

The Pinnacles!

Headed back down, enjoyed... black ice everywhere, coating the rock steps. Not the most effective way to descend, but it provided for a few laughs and a few slips. Down after another swing bridge and a journey through the jungle. Arrived back to our cars by 1:15 PM or so! :-D What a great feeling. Then into Thames for a nice hot cocoa and lunch!! I quite enjoyed a mince and potato pie. Mmmm...

Departed Coromandel and arrived home by 5:00 PM. What a nice little get-away from the city!! :-D

Pictures galore, memories made, and one my top "things to do while in NZ" checked off!

Our crew for the sunrise hike!

That's all for this one!

Love you all.