BEALEY SPUR HUT/CHRISTCHURCH: TESTING MY NEW HIKING BOOTS AND CELEBRATING CHILDREN´S DAY
- coupkovasvatava
- Mar 3, 2019
- 3 min read
Last week the fanciest (and most expensive) item ever was added to my wardrobe and it needed to be tested in real conditions as soon as possible. On the 1st of March autumn officially started in New Zealand so whenever a nicely-forecasted weekend comes up now it needs to be fully utilized. This one was exactly one of those and the high temperature and no winds chose the destination - mountains.
An hour and a half west of Christchurch there lies Craigieburn Forest Park - some people say it belongs to Arthur's Pass National Park, some say it doesn't. It doesn't worry me much as long as it is full rocks and sticks - and newly seeds and moss - to play with. The track to Bealey Spur Hut is one of the easiest in the area since most of the other ones are pretty steep and generally tough. Now back to my new item - I am a proud owner of real proper brand-name hiking boots! They are size 8 and my feet are 7 but they just don´t make smaller ones and I loved them so much that we decided to take them and try the several-pairs-of-socks strategy until I grow into them. I was very keen on testing them asap so I walked in them right from the shop and would have slept in them if mum didn't take them off secretly once I fell asleep. Anyway the time to test my new hiking boots properly came yesterday. It didn't happen on the way to the hut though. I really wanted to smash those 6 uphill kilometres and I took a few steps but it was already past 11 and I realized how tired I was. I needed to take a nap and when I woke up we were already in front of the hut. Damn!
Little green Bealey Spur Hut was built in the 1920s and it is an old musterers´ hut. I started choosing my bed but then mum told me that this time we were not going to stay overnight just to have lunch and head back down. We chilled in the sun for an hour and talked to Czech people who came there for a walk as well. Then I packed my bag, started walking... and realized my super boots didn't walk on their own at all! I still had to move my feet, negotiate roots and avoid rocks, all by myself! Was it a manufacturing defect? Eventually my new boots and I made it and 3 hours later we reached our car and drove to Pearson Lake where I was going to camp. I spent the afternoon chasing ducks and throwing rocks and once the sun set I put on all the layers I could find and dived into my sleeping bag.
It was a cold night and when I woke up it was still near freezing and there was amazing fog hanging above the lake. It didn't last long though: once the sun got up the temperature went up by 10 degrees instantly and the fog was gone. If you think it was the end of the weekend you are baring up the wrong tree. Today (always the first Sunday in March) was Children's Day in New Zealand and if I remember well I am a kid and it was my day! There was a big event back in Christchurch all set up for me (and other kids). I had a yummy sausage for lunch, jumped, jumped and jumped a bit more on a bouncy castle and also got a spider and his web painted on my face by the time I fell unconscious on the way home.
Happy Children´s Day to you all!
Your Annie
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