My first night-time run was not planned. I had just finished a twelve day work stint and was driving north to spend a weekend at Lake Taupo. As I reached Waiouru I felt a stab of regret that I would be driving past Ruapehu in the darkness, robbing me of the sight of that mountain I was becoming rather fond of. I was feeling grouchy and grumbly, trying to decide where I would park up for the night, when I felt a sudden strong desire for a night-time adventure. On my previous days off I had gone for a moonlit hike up Mt Taranaki, and it had sparked a curiosity, a plethora of new possibilities...
I grabbed a coffee and a feed and took the turn off to National Park. A couple of hours later I was jogging by headlamp up the start of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, enjoying the stillness and calm on a walking track that is notorious for its bedlam. The night air was cold and fresh, and a sense of adventure coursed through my veins like adrenaline. I turned my light off for awhile when I reached the boardwalk section, and lay on my back soaking in the starry sky. After a winter overseas, I found New Zealand's nightsky to be incomparable. The dark silhouettes of Ngauruhoe and Tongariro gave me a sense of being enveloped in their fold, nestled and safe. I made my way up to Mangatepopo Saddle, grateful for the cool night air, the only sound coming from my heaving lungs, and the far off tinkle of the an ice axe on rock. I could see the light of a solitary headlamp coming down from the summit of Ngauruhoe. I ran as far as South crater, and spent some time indulging the sense of awe I always feel in an alpine environment at night. Eventually the frigid air temperature coaxed me into returning to my van. This was the fun part - I plugged in my head phones and put on a happy playlist, and took off down the track. The gradient was perfect, I felt like I was flying, dancing over rocks from old pyroclastic flows, smiling into the darkness. I fell into the rhythm of my body, as waves of exercise-induced ecstasy rolled over me, and floated back to the van. By the time I drove to a nearby campsite and snuggled in for the night, I was brimming with gratitude - for a new favourite activity, a new love of an area of New Zealand I had not yet explored a lot, and for the capacity for physical activity to transform my state of mind. Yeahhhh!!!
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I am a conservation field worker in New Zealand. I love mountains, sunrises, river swims, barefeet, cold beer, campfires, live music and whiskey.
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