10/12/2011

I had my new (secondhand) Mountain Bike in my hands for less than 24 hours before it was ready for a thrashing! Cris was over in NZ for various reasons including his birthday, so it was a good excuse for a Mountain Bike/Hot Pools birthday party expedition.

After some extremely complicated co-ordination we all 15 or so of us got to the start of the track to Lake Sumner and the Hurinui Hut some 2-3 hours later than anticipated….no big surprises there…

It was a cool ride into the hut, mainly an easy going track until the last little bit to the hut where some skills were required. After not Mountain Biking for several years the skill were lacking a little bit. None the less I wasnt the slowest or the last to arrive. Once there Chris, Greig and I were keen for some running, so down the valley across the river, up a riverbed and we were in orienteering heaven…pity its a 24km trip just to the start. Chris and I got pretty excited about it all while Greig was not so excited and there may have been a hint of suffering for him… There was time for a nice cool dip in the river to clean up before heading back to the hut for dinner, which conveniently was all ready to eat by the time we arrived! Then it was time to party! Luckily we had the hut to ourselves!

Next morning there was some debate about the Hot Pools with a small contingent keen while the others wanted to go home and get the ironing done… I was a pretty warm day and the hot pools were really just that: Hot! Some cold dipping was required in the river…however the river stones were just as hot so it was quite pleasant just to hang out with the Sandflies.

Eventually it was time to jump back on the bikes and head home. There was plenty of puddles to ride through on the way home so a swim was required to clean off once back at the car. Then there was ample time for some more flaffing however eventually we did get home at a semi-reasonable hour…