For our one day in between trips, we were able to check the last major thing off our wish lists of things to do in Auckland: hike the Waitakere Ranges! Angela Olsen (we've had dinner with her family a few times) has been wanting to take us and we finally made it happen. It was an absolutely beautiful hike, very jungle-y. We went on several different paths, and ended up at the Waitakere Dam. From the top we could see miles and miles of green mountains of the Waitakere Ranges--breathtaking!
None of the pictures do it justice. There was such a variety of trees and greenery and it made the view appear so textured. Or something. I think textured is the best way to describe it.
Before the hike even started, we had fun with this HUGE picture frame of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. We were just switching off, but a group came up and offered to take one of all of us...
It was Anna's idea for the Egyptian pose...
...and then the guy taking the pictures for us thought it would funny to do the same pose the other way. I'm sure they all got a good laugh out of us trying to turn around and keep our balance on the tiny ledge of the frame!
The hike was great! Lots of uphills and downhills, and always beautiful scenery.
We were especially excited when we had to cross over the river to continue on the path! We all made it across, although some of our shoes were wetter than others.
It rained a bunch over the weekend, so a lot of the paths were thick with mud. It was kind of exciting to slip and slid, but we were very grateful for the parts of the trail with wooden pathways!
Another exciting part of the hike was that we saw a koru in real life. We have seen TONS of pictures of koru and it is a very symbolic part of New Zealand culture, but today was the first real one we've ever seen. I'm surprised I saw it because it was just a little guy (you can just barely see it up against Anna's shirt).
Here's a close up view of the koru, thanks to the macro camera setting.
We had a lovely time, and were so glad to get to know Angela better. She is such a great friend, and I will truly miss her and her wonderful family.
After the hike, it was so nice to just go back home and relax. I was able to talk to my parents and a few friends. Shout out to Brooke and Natalie for our successful gchat face to face...finally! :) It is truly amazing that I am able to have such great communication with family and friends even though I am on the other side of the world!
I will definitely be ready to be home in 2 weeks, but I am still just loving every moment here. Today, Alexis was showing me her cartwheels and I tried to teach her how to do a head stand. It was so much fun and Alexis, Raewyn, and I ended up laughing much more than we ended up standing on our heads. Sure am going to miss them!
We leave tomorrow for another adventure, this time up North. I probably won't have much internet access, but I'll be back next Tuesday. Until then...
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