It's an annual tradition: pack up 40+ university students on a Friday night, transport them to Mt. Aspiring National Park (with a pit stop at a small town pub), then party all Saturday long. The Otago University Tramping Club promised to turn an average 2-hour walk to Mt. Aspiring Hut into a day long adventure followed by a 3-course meal and dancing. Lots of dancing.
They came through on their promise.
Here's a little video to show what a bunch of c-c-c-cold trampers looks like the morning after a night under the stars in
frigid temperatures:
After we warmed up with coffee/tea and porridge we set off towards the hut.
Someone from home commented on NZers clothing preference: dressed for winter on top and summer on bottom.
After several games of tug-of-war and a potato sack race we stopped to lunch on the river.
Mt. Aspiring Hut was home for the night.
After our pleasant walk, we started getting dinner ready: corn chowder, chili, BBQ chicken, cheesy mashed potatoes, and apple crumble. Trampers don't mess around when it comes to food!
My favorite part of the evening was the band. They were perfect for the hoe down theme!
Most of the group moved pretty slowly the next morning. (I think the keg had something to do with it.)
We got the group rejuvenated with a kiwi-style fry up: bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, and fried mushrooms. Yum!
Eventually, it was time to walk back to the car park and shuttle everyone to the bus.
It took a while for us all to regroup, but I can't complain because it was a pretty nice spot to relax:
Above all, the highlight of the weekend for me was when I got back to Dunedin and shared a picture I took with family and friends. See, we were given a list of things to photograph on Saturday's walk to the hut and one item on the list was a 'pretty rock'. Here's what I took a picture of:
I don't know what the future holds, but I know who will be by my side. : )
