And CHECKPOINT SIX : The Gliding Club - 7.2km
"Hopefully the night is clear and you can follow this section of the trail in the moonlight! You return down to the Waikato River to follow more of the riverside trail. After a short stretch, you will then climb out of the river gorge and across some grasslands to Checkpoint 6. Most teams will be arriving here in the wee small hours of Sunday morning."
Leaving the last checkpoint around 11:30pm full of pancakes we knew it was just another short stretch to the next stop. We headed off along a trail in the bush and back across the Huka Falls... sounding immensely powerful in the darkness. It wasnt until we broke through to the open fields and grasslands that we got to fully appreciate the extent of the night sky with not a cloud in sight the stars were visible in all their glory... and appeared so much clearer in the absence of the moon! Half an hour into this stretch of darkness the team sang Happy Birthday to Avril... who at the time wasnt feeling very happy at all with sore feet... you did well to cheer her up guys and succeeded in getting her to forget about her feet for a while... whilst she remembered just how old she was starting to get?!! Good one!
This stretch seemed to take a little longer than the last... and when a taxi drove past more than one of us briefly contemplated trying to flag it down... certain it was somebodys idea of a cruel joke! But again we were greeted by our support crew before too long... only to find that a little party table had been set up... a VERY BIG THANK YOU from Avril to all of you for the effort you went to... She is sorry she wasnt as enthusiastic about the candles as she should have been!! The muffins, chocolate and fresh fruit were delicious!
(Note to the Oxfam Crew: It was an amazingly clear night- did you know it would be a New moon and not a Full moon?!... The stars were absolutely gorgeous, but the night light wasnt that bright!!)
Leaving the last checkpoint around 11:30pm full of pancakes we knew it was just another short stretch to the next stop. We headed off along a trail in the bush and back across the Huka Falls... sounding immensely powerful in the darkness. It wasnt until we broke through to the open fields and grasslands that we got to fully appreciate the extent of the night sky with not a cloud in sight the stars were visible in all their glory... and appeared so much clearer in the absence of the moon! Half an hour into this stretch of darkness the team sang Happy Birthday to Avril... who at the time wasnt feeling very happy at all with sore feet... you did well to cheer her up guys and succeeded in getting her to forget about her feet for a while... whilst she remembered just how old she was starting to get?!! Good one!
This stretch seemed to take a little longer than the last... and when a taxi drove past more than one of us briefly contemplated trying to flag it down... certain it was somebodys idea of a cruel joke! But again we were greeted by our support crew before too long... only to find that a little party table had been set up... a VERY BIG THANK YOU from Avril to all of you for the effort you went to... She is sorry she wasnt as enthusiastic about the candles as she should have been!! The muffins, chocolate and fresh fruit were delicious!(Note to the Oxfam Crew: It was an amazingly clear night- did you know it would be a New moon and not a Full moon?!... The stars were absolutely gorgeous, but the night light wasnt that bright!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment