54New Zealand is a Mecca for outdoor lovers and, while I would never classify myself as a Nature gal, even I couldn’t help but be transported by the lushness and variety of the Great Outdoors quite literally outside my door. Russ, Giles, and I left the lodge at 11:00 am with the stated intention of walking to Bridal Falls, a forty-minute easy walk away.  We returned more than three hours later.  There was simply so much to see, we couldn’t quite contain ourselves to the single trail. The hike to the Falls brought us through a canopied rainforest of primordial-looking ferns which may have inspired the creators of Jurassic Park.  Some of the fronds stretched five feet long and three feet across; instead of the low-growing ferns we see at home these towered above us like gigantic palm trees.

We heard the Falls shortly before we reached them but still weren’t prepared for how beautiful they were.  Watching the spray of droplets hang in the air seemingly suspended in the dappled sunlight, I decided they were aptly named.  The pools below were crystal clear and cool.  This was the same water they bottled for drinking at the lodge.  Next we made our way up the valley wall to the ridge above where we could see for miles.  The climb was classified as “adventurous” and lived up to its billing.  However, the vista we were rewarded with was worth every grunt expended along the way. 

As we reached the crest we entered into a mountaintop meadowland filled with knee-high grasses swaying in the breeze.  We ambled along with nary a care, sun and smiles on our faces, secure in the knowledge that New Zealand had no ticks, biting snakes, or nasty bugs or any sort.  Bliss for a city girl.  I decided that there might be something to this hiking thing after all.