I am currently working towards completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
Having finished Bronze and Silver, I am now over halfway through my Gold award, which is really exciting! The Gold award presents a fairly challenging set of criteria: 52 hours of a community service (I chose volunteering at Trade Aid), 52 hours practicing a skill (I chose journalism and write this monthly column for Ponsonby News) and 52 hours of physical recreation (for me this is attending a weekly run club). As well as these core elements, those chasing the Gold award are required to spend a week completing a residential project (such as living in and assisting at a retirement village or a kids' camp) plus plan and complete a four day, three night tramping journey.
At the beginning of October I completed the Gold tramp, which was an enormous test of physical and mental strength. My Duke of Edinburgh group jointly made the decision to tackle the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk.
Waikaremoana here we come
On Day one we were up at 5.30am all packed and ready for the six hour drive to our destination, so we could start the trail by early afternoon. Almost immediately we were walking through some seriously dense bush. The trails were often covered in thick layers of squelchy mud due to recent storms - feeling dirty and wet became a consistent theme! Fallen trees blocked our path at times but jumping over these really wasn’t too much of an issue. A perk of walking alongside this huge lake meant that (when we didn't have our eyes glued to the track) we got to take in the truly picturesque views - definitely worthy of a desktop screensaver! I honestly felt I might not be fit enough for this expedition, so I had lots of fears about not being able to walk fast enough, or running out of steam, especially with an extra 10kgs on my back. But despite my worries, I kept up with the group easily even through the hardest and most tiring patches. (Our longest day was a 19 kilometre hilly trek, in torrential rain.)
Endurance
At the end of these lengthy days my feet were crying out, my hips and shoulders seemed bruised from my pack and on the final day, after an unfortunate slip, my ankle was extremely swollen (far from ideal!). Add to that 32 itchy bites (yes, I counted) and I was definitely feeling the effects of "walking in the the wild”. If you do this tramp, remember to bring insect repellent! Also be wary of the weather as it’s a key determinant in the difficulty of the trails. We hit Waikaremoana after a major nation-wide storm and frankly the forecast was pretty grim. However, in reality we actually had sun the majority of the time, apart from one horrible day. But we still had to deal with the muddy conditions produced by the downpours earlier in the week. Summertime would certainly offer a more agreeable hike.
Food
Now let’s talk about food ... which, when you are tramping, is never optimal. Knowing that breakfasts were the most important meal, I reached for the trustworthy porridge. I cooked up oats with protein powder which I must admit tasted a bit like playdough but it was filling. And when paired with pureed baby food pears, it seemed to be quite the meal. For dinners I had premixed risotto two nights (that I managed to burn) and then a delectable prepackaged Watties pasta another night, which tasted heavenly in comparison. I also brought along a bag of chopped raw carrots, which I highly recommend!! Just having that bit of freshness was so worth it. Lunch mainly consisted of high protein snacks and, of course, my trustworthy carrots as accompaniments. For water, I swear by ‘Aquatabs’, just pop one into a litre of water and in 30 minutes it's safe to drink! This was so much easier than boiling water, which in my case would have tasted like burnt risotto.
Sleeping
After long days of walking all we really wanted to do was sleep and thankfully along the Waikaremoana track there are huts. This meant we didn't have the extra burden of carrying a tent and sleeping mat or putting damp tents up and down. All the huts were in very good condition with great fireplaces which meant that we could dry our sopping wet boots and socks. These havens provided a perfect cozy, warm space to collapse after a hard day.
Heading home … or not?
When we finally finished this spectacular "Great Walk", I was instantly flooded with relief. But my relaxation came to an abrupt halt when we found we were actually trapped due to a major landslide covering the road in. After some satellite exchanges, we were fortunate to be helped out by Park Rangers who organised temporary shelter at a nearby holiday park. Once further arrangements had been made, we clambered into a small boat that sped us bumpily across the lake - I was gripping on for dear life - to safety. The relief again flushed through me when I finally saw my Dad standing by the car waiting to collect me and I knew it was home time. And boy-oh-boy, a hot shower and my own bed had never seemed so luxurious. Thanks Waikaremoana, you were an adventure I certainly will never forget! (HONOUR MITCHELL)
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