I’ve been to many lakes in the states. Some big, some small, and let me tell you, they are some of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. The small lakes glitter from the suns rays as they lay cradled within a forests grasp, pure and free from the touch of man. The large lakes show strength as they stretch as far as the I can see and harbor the joy that comes with living on the waters edge, docks, homes, motor boats sailing across the darkness of endless depth. But there’s a type of lake that’s not common in the states, and that lake is a combination of the two lakes I have just described. That lake is as large as a vacation home, with the small subtle characteristics of a mountain escape. This lake, is the type that last weekend, I hiked 46 km around throughout 2 full days. Big, wide, with silky clear water glowing turquoise in the sun that weaves its way into the passes of tall rainforest wood covered mountains, is the type of lake that New Zealand has to offer. Not a house in sight, not a boat in sight, not a car in sight.

I had never done an overnight hike before this one, but I’ve always taken physical activity on with a can-do attitude. I find that the majority of people that say they can’t do something like a multi-day hike, have just never tried it before. That’s what I said about skiing last year, and last week I just bought my first ski pass for the 2015-2016 season! But seriously, the can-do approach with no doubt results in a can-do finish.

The first day was hardest, 17 km of pretty much straight up hill hiking followed by a brief downhill spiral to the hut we were staying at the first night. I probably took 5 or 6 stops up the first mountain climb before reaching the top, as my body was not conditioned for the strength it takes to put yourself at a consistent pace. I lagged up, quite doubting myself by the time I reached halfway. My legs were already sore, heart was bounding, and my head felt a little faint to the point where not even water was making a difference. But when I stepped away from the forest and towards the rock ledge to look out, everything was worth it. Nothing but nature’s touch of lake, mountain, forest, and sky.

It got easier after the first leg. The first couple of hours of a long hike are always the easiest I’ve found, and a multi-day hike was no different for me. I reached the top after beating myself into shape, nearly getting blown over by the heavy wind which separated us from falling off the side of a steep rock ridge cliff down to the expansive body of water below. The lake looked like a big blob: the type you scribble down on a piece of paper when you are told to draw a monster and you don’t know what a monster looks like. Water was going all directions, and I was standing in the center of it, caught somewhere between the sky and water.

The hut we stayed at the first night was at the foot of the mountain. After having a lovely discussion with the rangers wife, who in fact had lived in the states for 2 years in Washington DC, we found ourselves settling in to our home for the evening scratching and hissing at the sand flys that were nibbling at our ankles causing us a constant urge to scratch. What we hadn’t quite realized, that unlike certain huts that are maintained by the department of conservation in New Zealand, these huts did not have any type of gas stoves and therefore we had no way to cook our food. Heating water on the gas burner instead, we befriended a lovely couple who lived just 2 hours away on the east coast in Gisborne, who kindly let us finish our warm, but far from boiling water that was a crucial component of our freeze dried dinner, on an actual portable gas heater. We were able to finish off our bag without difficulty, going to sleep early when the sun peaked below the mountains and our ability to see the cards we were playing games with vanished.

We mistakenly slept in the following morning. Not because we were sleeping well, in fact we both had had quite a horrific night of sleep with the heat of the cabin being extremely high and our sleeping bag temperature not doing anything useful in keeping us cool. We woke up late because it was dark outside and rainy. So 9:15am very much still looked like 6am, and neither of us had bothered to check the clock.

After rushing through breakfast to get our feet on the road, we set off in the rain tramping through the pools of mud that had grown on the trails and sweating through our drenched raincoats which very quickly came off and were tied to our bags. We took a trail off the main path at this point in the morning to see one of the highlights of the national park, Korokoro falls, a great big waterfall that takes an hour detour with a river crossing featuring a metal rope as a hand grip as you cross a busy river thundering over slippery water glazed rocks. Despite the attempt at the river taking us down, we managed to get the must needed selfie with the waterfall, before turning back and reconnecting with the main walking route.

The second day we must have walked between 20 km and 21 km depending how long the waterfall detour actually was. Once the rain cleared up we were able to enjoy our scenery a little more, stopping briefly to eat first at a small summer home on private land owned by a couple who saw us passing by and offered us some tea and a place to rest, and at a hut a little past halfway to where we were aiming to get to, as we were ambitious with our hiking rate and travel time. We stopped a third time near the second hut we stayed at, laying down on a gray sand beach that hugged the waters edge. This beach was absolutely gorgeous, small brush popping up on breaking rock sheets that bordered the sand. The view of the lake on that day from the beach was gorgeous too, shadowy with a forbidden mist floating on the waters surface.

The same couple from the first hut was staying at the second hut with us as well, very kindly offering up a small portion of their precious gas again. We also befriended a German girl who was traveling between jobs back home and was eager to join us for a couple round of cards. We went to bed early with high hopes (which were not met) of sleeping well, and woke up bright and early at 6:15am to start our journey to the end where a water taxi would pick us up at 10:00am to bring us back to the trail start and backpackers accommodation.

There’s something about hiking in the early morning. Watching the sun peak through the tree’s tops and glide its way down their trunks. There’s a mist that rises as well, clashing with the light, creating a sharp contrast and tension with every shot of the camera. We got some great pictures that morning, taking in the forest in a way that neither of us had done before. We arrived with plenty of time to spare at the pickup point, lying on the rockbed by the water and eating some last pieces of salami to fill our stomachs, already ready for lunch. I decided with 45 minutes of spare time that this was an opportunity to go swimming. I had brought a bathing suit, and since I had hiked around with that thing for 2 days, I sure as hell was going to use it! I went in, feeling the water take my breath away with its icy clutch. I was only in for a moment before I was back on land in a towel, fighting to feel my toes. Luckily the sun in New Zealand is hot, and within minutes I had warmed up, ready to grab my stuff and jump aboard the taxi: the official conclusion to an unforgettable weekend.

I consider myself lucky to have seen a part of New Zealand that most people don’t get to see. In many ways, last weekend was one of the longest in my life. But that’s not to say that I wouldn’t do it again, given a car that has 4 properly constructed bolts on each wheel and a paved road to drive on. Life is full of surprises, and beauty, and adventure. Last weekend I discovered a new kind of adventure I love. Long hikes in the middle of no where- there’s nothing quite like them.