Though it is nice to take the kids out bush walking, it is also fantastic to have a kid-free girls weekend tramp and every year since my 30th birthday I make that happen, here’s how it started ….

When thinking about what I wanted to do for the big 3-0, my thoughts went to my bucket list… what were the things I really wanted to do and what hadn’t I done yet? Having a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old at home 🤱 didn’t leave me much time to think about me.

I had always wanted to do an overnight hike, and I was feeling frustrated that at 30 I hadn’t yet made that happen 🤦‍♀️. Well that was about to change, even though I was feeling nervous leaving the kids for the first time overnight and hadn’t done many decent day hikes since having them, I had to get out there and lucky for me I had an awesome crew ready to celebrate on top of a mountain ⛰ with me.

We started early in the morning and went slowly, took our time, had plenty of stops to take in the constant views along the Mahaukura Track. We took the whole day and reached the summit after about 5 and a half hours, It was a glorious summers day ☀️, you could not have asked for clearer conditions, the 360 degree views of the Waikato were magnificent.

From the summit tower, the track to Puhautea Hut was approximately another 20-30 minutes, and once there we claimed our beds, had a feed and a rest on the deck. Since it was gonna be such a clear night we decided to take the 20-30 minute walk out along the Hihikiwi track to the lookout. WOW, we were stunned by the sunset 🌄 in the west and the moonrise 🌛 in the east – perfect!

In the morning we decided to get an early start and stop at the lookout tower for breakfast, (apologies to the others in the hut, we tried to be quiet)! Breakfast and a cuppa whilst watching the spectacular sunrise, there really was no better way to see in the first day of my 30’s.

We walked back along the Tahuanui Track and came out at the Kaniwhaniwha. We had dropped a car off there at the beginning so we could take a different track out, the stream at the end didn’t disappoint.

I now enjoy my birthday tradition every year 🥂 and can’t wait for the next adventure!