When Colin suggested that we went on a tramp, (the New Zealand version of hiking) I thought it was the perfect opportunity for us to bond over our shared love of walking. Little did I know what I was getting into…

Five years ago I did a trek across Iceland 50 miles in 5 days and it was a fantastic experience. I did spend eight months training before taking the challenge on, and didn’t drink alcohol in that time. I was at my peak fitness level.

Fast forward to 2021.. It has been about a year since I was at the gym or been able to swim because of the COVID 19 pandemic that hit the UK. With many lockdowns and different rules about what you could and couldn’t do. Exercising in the way I wanted to became difficult.

We were both physically and mentally unprepared for what we were about to endure for the next 48 hours. We prepared for the tramp as best we could the day before. Packing everything that we thought we needed for the adventure ahead of us. Including getting a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) so that in the event of an emergency we would be rescued.

We started later in the day than we had hoped, the first obstacle was a very long swing bridge. I did not like it, not only can you see down but any sort of wind going across it makes me feel like I am in imminent danger.

The first few hours were relaxed. Colin pointed out different New Zealand wildlife that I hadn’t seen before. Then the heat started to set in and our pace became faster. For the majority of the day we were under the cover of forest and not in direct heat and sunlight. We did have to stop many times for water at least, the trouble started when our water ran out.

We had two bottles of water and a Thermos Flask. Now, I had the bright idea first thing in the morning that I was going to need some tea at some point during the day. So I filled up the Thermos with boiling water. Doing this was not helpful once our two other water bottles had run out of water.

We then had to walk faster to find a stream where we could fill up the water bottles and take a drink. We did eventually come to a place and we were able to drink lovely cool water. By this time it was about 2.5 hours into the tramp, and we thought that we were nearly there. Or at least I did, but we were not even close. Little did we know we had another four hours ahead of us yet.

Colin didn’t tell me that we would be forced to rock climb through multiple parts of this tramp. When I say rock climbing, I don’t mean in a safe way either, some bits were easier to navigate than others. There were bits that were on an angle so steep that we had to go at a much slower rate in order to make it safer.

There were some bits that were quite dangerous. At the time, I had so much adrenaline pumping through me that I didn’t know what I was doing, I was just doing it. Using every muscle in my body to get myself into the positions to get down. I think that had I been more aware of my actions I might not have done it, I would have had more of a sense of danger. All I was thinking was that I had to keep going and push through, not to stop. I knew if I stopped then I wouldn’t want to move, or to keep moving.

There were several trees that had fallen down on the track. We had to creatively navigate our way around those, and we delt with rocks falling beneath our feet as we tried to get up to high ground. I fell over about ten times and the scratches that adorn my legs are stil there 2.5 weeks later. Luckily when I fell down it wasn’t at very dangerous points.

We then had to deal with the sun setting, so we had to walk at an even faster pace than we were already going at, which attributed to me starting to fall over. I was tired, getting wobbly on my legs and feet. Then we came across large rocks that we had to navigate ourselves over.

We had been walking for about 5 hours at this point and there was no end in sight. We continued to walk for another hour, battling with the sun. I began having hallucinations, thinking that I saw shelter several times but it turned out it wasn’t at all.

When we finally found the hut that we rested at for the night I was so happy and tired and relieved that I cried tears of joy. Better yet, there was a lady at the hut who had a dog and the dog and I became best friends.

I sat down with my Thermos and finally had my cup of tea. It was like drinking what I imagine to be liquid gold. At that point I knew it had been worth it to bring the Thermos with the boiling water in it, and did not regret bringing it in the slightest.

Colin cooked us a wonderful dinner that night using a camp stove. Sleeping in the hut was not that easy, being in new surroundings. The next morning we set off bright and ealy, I had to take painkillers as my whole body felt like it was going to fall apart. I am glad that I did now, because I am not sure that I would have been able to go back.

I was able to appreciate the natural beauty that surrounded me (and I am not just talking about Colin). I found the morning part of the second day to be very pleasant. I was able to take some photographs that were better than the day before and I was generally more relaxed. I think this was because I knew what we would be doing, rather than going in without knowing what to expect.

It took the same amount of time to get back to where we began on our trek, but this time we used the Thermos as a water bottle as well. However, we still at points were very thirsty and had forgotten where the streams were. When we finally did arrive back at the beginning it was relieving to see Colin’s parents waiting there for us. Even better, they had with them drinks and food.

It was a fantastic trip, I just wish that I had been more physically prepared. I feel like I am ready to do it again (although, I will wait until my feet have fully recovered first!).

All photographs are originals by me

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