Reward Time! The Gorge Walk

On Monday April 25, I kind of fulfilled the reward for completing the Durie Hill step challenge; the ten kilometre walk by the Manawatu Gorge. It was amazing and hard and totally something I can’t wait to do again! I say ‘kind of fufilled’ because we didn’t actually walk the entire track from one end to the other; the weather turned the higher we got so, instead of walking through the more exposed end, we walked to the half way point and made our way back through the well-covered track. Next time, we’ll start at the other end and go the whole way!

What made this day even more awesome was, when we met Alice and Paul’s parents at the Herb Farm for lunch, Alice took us through their little piece of paradise and delighted in the trees herself, along with all their hidden magic. How wonderful for me to see the things I hold dear blossoming in her.

Anywho, its part of the plan to write about what I heard during that walk. It’s been over a year since I wrote a poem (gone are the days when I’d write one a day!), so I’ve given it a go!

The Sound of the Gorge

Our walk began right by the highway,
With the drop of the gorge to the left.
I couldn’t hear much to begin with because
The noise of the road made me deaf!

But soon we were surrounded by greenery,
And the peace settled in like a cloud.
As we walked, the noise of the road died away
And the noise of the forest grew loud.

The first steps were magic and mystical,
As if fairies lived up in the trees.
I heard water running from the side of the hill
And dance over the rocks of a stream.

Overhead was a rooftop of branches,
holding homes of the birds we could hear.
At first I could take all this sweet beauty in
But soon, I was faced with my fear.

The first part of our walk was entirely uphill
Which we walked without one little break.
These hills and steps made my throat catch my breath,
And my legs had started to ache.

Will I make it?

The loudest thing I heard that morning
After an hour or so on the track
Was the voice in my head that was egging me on;
‘Keep going, you must not turn back.’

We trudged through the trees on the trail
To the beat of the softly-sung bird.
But when we’d climbed to the top above tree and cloud
My breathless ‘Oh, wow,’ could be heard.

The noise died away to a whisper,
The birdsong became but a dream.
My mind’s voice went quiet and my legs stopped their screech;
I stopped listening and started to see.

There were hills stretching to the horizon,
with a blanket of soft, chilly mist.
I took it all in and then turned, with a grin,
To Paul, who gave me a kiss.
It was bliss.
Aww.

After five khs we skipped down the trail,
Enjoying the delightful down-slope.
I heard Paul’s plans for the landscape at home,
and my legs telling me that they’ll cope.

In three hours we hit the wall of noise;
The car engines cutting through trees.
I heard trees in the wind and a train and my breath,
I listened to birds, to Paul, and to me.