Having a baby in the house does give you less time for the activities you used to do. I have been lucky and had a few half days on the river, but with the close of the season I developed a hankering for the hills. A weekend worked meant a long weekend was on the cards and I was given permission to spend a night away from home to go camping. I had the intention of driving to the Ashburton Lakes, walking not too far, and making camp with the idea of getting some nice photos at dusk and dawn.
The temptation was too great though and with few stand-out photo spots close to the car (apart from maybe at the car itself!) I made the decision to tramp the 10km to Lake Mystery. There has been lots of work done to mark new routes in the area since the Te Araroa track has opened and so the going was pretty easy. That is apart from my super heavy bag (which I had not intended to carry far) and the risk of having to finish in the pitch black. I went a fair pace but still enjoyed the fantastic views over Lake Clearwater as the sun was getting low and arrived just at dusk managing to pitch the tent without need for a torch.
It was only the 3rd outing for the tent, a tarptent double rainbow we ordered from the US, and I had forgotten how easy it is to pitch and how much room there is for something that weights less than half its predecessor. Tent pitched, it was time for dinner and I was testing my home-made meths stove (I had my MSR as backup so there was no chance of going hungry). I had used it at home but this was the first use in anger and it proved great for boiling water which was all I needed. No elaborate meals this time!
I tried to take some star trail photos for the first time after dinner. They did not turn out that great but I did learn a few lessons for next time. I was a good opportunity to spend some time enjoying the starts though which were fantastic so far from any source of light pollution. It's amazing how many there are when you are not battling street lights to see them! The clear night made for a cold morning though not as cold as I had feared with only a touch of frost on the ground. My alarm went at 6am with it still pitch black outside so I could get my camera set up for those dawn pics I wanted.
I have not mentioned my surroundings yet and you can see for yourself that it was beautifully still, isolated and somewhere I will be sure to return. I was very pleased to have made the decision to head to the lake and was lucky to have such a still morning for the reflection. Time was getting on and my leave pass was running out but I made it home for 11:30am to enjoy Amy's first Mothers Day with Tom (he gave her some nice framed photos of himself!).
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