A rather windy Washpen Falls

The weather today was looking a little gloomy but we decided we shouldn't allow it to stop us from doing the things we want to do. We'd been recommended by the owners of the last hostel we stayed at to visit a place called Washpen Falls. It's a private walking track that the guy recommend is the best they have done in the whole of New Zealand and even Australia as well. We wrapped up warm, maybe a little bit too warm, and set off on the journey to the falls. When we arrived at the area we headed down a gravel road through a farm before you get to the start of the track. We were met by many curious cows staring at the car as we drove past. When we pulled up in the parking area and an inquisitive looking chicken ran over to me as soon as I got out the car, almost as if it expected we would have food for it. We poured ourselves a cup of tea which seemed to make the chicken even more confident it was getting food. I think Nick captured a pretty good picture of me trying to explain to the bird why tea is not a good drink for chickens. She wasn't having any of it and still hung around up until we walked off. We popped our $20 in the honesty box for entry and began the walk. We quickly entered a dense pine forest where many of the paths had almost naturally built steps from the surrounding trees roots. Walking through a thick forest is very different to our other walks so far and we definitely enjoyed the change. As you reach the top of an ascent you come out of the trees to a beautiful view of the valley below. The hills are made from rocks covered in plants and trees trying to grow on every possible ledge and shelf they can find. We continued on and soon we reached a huge cave cut out of the hill above. We climbed up again along the track past a moss covered waterfall until we reached the very top of the hill. This was the highest point of the walk and provides you with beautiful views of Canterbury below. The wind was so strong that you did feel unsteady on your feet. I didn't have my hair tied up so it was just going crazy and I was continually being whipped by either my hair or straps on my backpack and it all became rather comical. We descended down the other side of the hill and at the bottom is Washpen waterfall. It was pretty spectacular as far as waterfalls go and we did stand and admire it for quite a while. On the rest of the track we walked alongside the river and through the forest. We even saw some red and white mushrooms, the kind you associated with fairy tale stories. By the end of the walk we were so thrilled by how a 2 hour track could include so much variety in terms of things to see and appreciate. Plus it had beautifully kept toilets, something we've noticed is very very rare! After the falls we drove inland to Lake Coleridge. The wind was still very strong to the point where it was swirling our cup of tea around in a spiral. A river had decided to burst through it's banks and find new paths to the lake so we had fun messing around jumping over these streams. We finished our day with the trip to the shop and a huge scoop of ice cream to share from the dairy (convenience store). It turns a good day into a great day if you can finish the day with ice cream.Read more