“On a Mish” #345 Stress Free in the ‘Place To Be’ – Part Three. Poulter Valley / Waimakariri Valley. Arthurs Pass National Park. 23.8.2022. The medicinal benefits of a visit to the wilderness can be incredible, sometimes so good you question whether it is really drug free! The sights and sounds of the mountains, forests, rivers and native birds can act like an intoxicating substance, and when stressed it is the best medicine available!
As my tent went up the sun went down, and as time rolled on I was treated to an epic afternoon / evening of colour above my campsite. Some people really struggle to find peace in the chaos of life, especially in recent times. So it is really important to have something that you do that takes you away from the stresses of the ‘real world’. After getting my tent sorted I only had one important job to do and that was shedding the burdens of life and being stress free in the ‘Place to Be’. I was reassured that I was in the wild when I felt the familiar sting of a sandfly bite. Many hate the simple sandfly but I know that Te Namu are only found in our most pristine locations, so basically Te Namu have the same taste in scenery as me! With a view directly up the valley both myself and the sandflies watched the few clouds in the sky turn pink, then the burnt orange glow of the sun gave way to the pre-dark lavender colours we have had in the skies above Aotearoa recently. The free show was exactly what I needed and after checking out the stars above my camp I retreated to the warmth of my sleeping bag for a good night’s sleep. I always sleep better in my tent (for some strange reason), and after a stressful couple of weeks it was exactly what I needed.
Early-ish the next day I peaked my head out of the tent to see low fog covering the Poulter Valley. This didn’t bother me as the views from the day before would be one that will stay with me to the end. While packing my tent up I got small glimpses of the mountains which reminded me of how epic this valley is. It didn’t take long to pack up my gear and then I began the first of my two trips back to my car. The walk into my campsite was two trips downhill with my gear and one trip uphill, so this meant my walk out was two trips uphill with weight on my back and hip. At the base of the climb I readied myself for battle, then with my walking poles working overtime, I slowly shuffled up the small hill to my car. Knowing I had to do the climb again meant no celebrating on round one, and with the sandflies beginning to bite I headed back to my campsite for my second pack. Pack number two was a struggle but it wasn’t going to walk itself back up to the car, so with a face of slight grimace I did all I could to get myself and my gear back to my car. I did. And this left me rather sore, but at least my stress levels had dropped due to my night out in the wild. The drive out back along the Mt White Road gave me some incredible views as I got above the clouds in places, a great distraction from my aching hip and back. Eventually I got to the Mt White Bridge, then up on to the main highway, and from here I was back in the real world with everyone else. So with all of the mayhem going on at the moment at least for a while I was stress free in the ‘Place to Be’…
