tramping new zealand

Tramping takes you to less familiar territory.

You are pulled from a life with some routines, much mundanity, easy comfort, into a more challenging zone.

There are hills to climb, streams/rivers to cross, loads to haul.

In winter the stakes are raised: more clothes and equipment to carry, cold huts, a lack of serendipitous companionship, unless you take your own.

But whatever the time of year there is an opportunity to step back from your life, notice time passing slowly for once, discover your own being.

Experience exhilaration on the top of the hill with an extensive vista laid out below, or feel pain when meeting the ground suddenly and unexpectedly, or pleasure when finally sliding horizontally at night.

Life is amplified, free of distractions.

Your world is mostly confined to what is immediately in front of you, and you have control of how it will unfold to some degree.

You watch the sun rise, the shadows become distinct then shorten, concentrate on where your feet are, what you can see and hear, then the daylight fades, dinner is prepared, a long night awakes awaits.

All is well in this small, self-contained world.