This morning I woke up and knew that I had to get outdoors and do something new. You know when sometimes you just get that feeling, and that’s it – that’s what you have to do today? I had it.
Wanting to go on a hike neither of us had been on before, Duncs and I (my kiwi friend who works in an awesome, local, health supplements store) ventured only a short way out of Queenstown to the beautifully charming Arrowtown, to hike Sawpit Gully. Having heard only good things from her housemate, we embarked on our very own mini adventure. The sun was shining, but the air was cool, and for the first time in a while we managed to leave behind the tourist hustle and bustle of Queenstown. Commonly rife with fresh, new gap year students from the Kiwi Experience, their predecessors now waiting for their bus to arrive and take them away again, looking fragile from the nights before. Or tourists with selfie-sticks attached to their arms taking photos of mundane street signs, or the begging seagulls, feeding them to create a seagull frenzy above oblivious passer by's heads – obviously they haven’t grown up in England where activity such as this is highly frowned upon. Yes, it truly felt like we had escaped and were in the mountains.
An awesome walk, and just over two hours return. But don’t believe the internet when it tells you it’s an easy hike. You need some stamina to get up what seemed like a never ending, very steep hill at the start. Grippy footwear wouldn’t go a miss either! Passing two girls coming back down after deciding they couldn’t hack it, we started to wander what we had got ourselves into. Nevertheless we made it to the top, and it was well worth it. With epic views over Lake Hayes, we were surrounded by mountains in all directions. So we took the time to sit, chat, and have a mini picnic whilst we absorbed the beauty of this place we call home.
It’s easy to forget where you live sometimes, when it becomes so familiar to us. So taking the time to sit back, be present and just enjoy your surroundings, is something I feel is important. Appreciating whatever it is that makes that place special; whether it’s the mountains, the sunsets, the smell of rain when it falls on the lake. Or living in a city with the sounds of the traffic, the buzzing lights that stay on all night long, or the angry taxi drivers that you hate to love. No matter where you live, there will always be something you’ll miss when you leave it behind.
So why is it that when in these amazing places, we’re constantly living in the future – planning the next trip or wandering where we’ll call home in a years time. I’ll admit I’m guilty of it, I love to look forward and focus all my energy into planning, moving, worrying what the future will hold; but as I become more aware of this I’m trying to make sure that I am consciously living in the present. Not just taking a photo, a snapshot, but taking the time to truly engage in my surroundings.
And so we sat for 40 minutes in the beautiful, tranquillity of the sunny mountains; an unplanned, spontaneous decision to enjoy the moment as it was with no need to worry about the future.
And so I put it to you - take it in. Absorb it. And relish in the beauty of the place you call home.
Wanting to go on a hike neither of us had been on before, Duncs and I (my kiwi friend who works in an awesome, local, health supplements store) ventured only a short way out of Queenstown to the beautifully charming Arrowtown, to hike Sawpit Gully. Having heard only good things from her housemate, we embarked on our very own mini adventure. The sun was shining, but the air was cool, and for the first time in a while we managed to leave behind the tourist hustle and bustle of Queenstown. Commonly rife with fresh, new gap year students from the Kiwi Experience, their predecessors now waiting for their bus to arrive and take them away again, looking fragile from the nights before. Or tourists with selfie-sticks attached to their arms taking photos of mundane street signs, or the begging seagulls, feeding them to create a seagull frenzy above oblivious passer by's heads – obviously they haven’t grown up in England where activity such as this is highly frowned upon. Yes, it truly felt like we had escaped and were in the mountains.
An awesome walk, and just over two hours return. But don’t believe the internet when it tells you it’s an easy hike. You need some stamina to get up what seemed like a never ending, very steep hill at the start. Grippy footwear wouldn’t go a miss either! Passing two girls coming back down after deciding they couldn’t hack it, we started to wander what we had got ourselves into. Nevertheless we made it to the top, and it was well worth it. With epic views over Lake Hayes, we were surrounded by mountains in all directions. So we took the time to sit, chat, and have a mini picnic whilst we absorbed the beauty of this place we call home.
It’s easy to forget where you live sometimes, when it becomes so familiar to us. So taking the time to sit back, be present and just enjoy your surroundings, is something I feel is important. Appreciating whatever it is that makes that place special; whether it’s the mountains, the sunsets, the smell of rain when it falls on the lake. Or living in a city with the sounds of the traffic, the buzzing lights that stay on all night long, or the angry taxi drivers that you hate to love. No matter where you live, there will always be something you’ll miss when you leave it behind.
So why is it that when in these amazing places, we’re constantly living in the future – planning the next trip or wandering where we’ll call home in a years time. I’ll admit I’m guilty of it, I love to look forward and focus all my energy into planning, moving, worrying what the future will hold; but as I become more aware of this I’m trying to make sure that I am consciously living in the present. Not just taking a photo, a snapshot, but taking the time to truly engage in my surroundings.
And so we sat for 40 minutes in the beautiful, tranquillity of the sunny mountains; an unplanned, spontaneous decision to enjoy the moment as it was with no need to worry about the future.
And so I put it to you - take it in. Absorb it. And relish in the beauty of the place you call home.