Peak #16

Mauri ora,

16 is the number of this Peak,

It was Mt Bradley on Banks Peninsula, of which the summit I did seek.

A MTB/walk combo for transportation,

Scott’s date loaf, homemade froozeballs and bananas for a snack,

A beautiful view and friendly Giles from Bath, England

I did meet at the hut of the Horse-pack (read Pack-horse).

I started out hanging on the wheel of some roadies with my fat tyres,

It was all very well until the bottom of Gebbies Pass where my ability to hold their wheel expired!

Mt Bradley was a long awaited exploration;

I’d been turned away last month by the lambing sheep,

A red-roofed, stone hut overlooking Lyttelton Harbour and Quail Island,

This hut was sure worth a peep!

My MTB rested, leaning on the gorgeous hut,

Whilst my new found friend Giles and I continued 400 more meters straight up.

Several bodies of water were outstanding from the summit,

Lyttelton harbour, Lake Ellesmere and the Pacific Ocean,

A swim would have been quite nice I must admit.

The challenge of the Peak of the week took me to another undiscovered, local gem

It encouraged me not just to ride but to move on my feet-

Peak of the week strikes again!

Til next week,

Reta

P.S. I momentarily forgot how truly awesome was the mountain bike back,

It had more ‘no pedaling time’ than expected

And farmland, forest and pine needles provided a varied, interesting and challenging     track!