Maungatua summit, Taieri

The weather was forecast to be terrible on Saturday, okay on Sunday and wonderful on Monday. A Plan was Born.

After texting work and getting approval to come in a "few hours late" on Monday morning, I set out on Sunday arvo to just outside of Outram. I parked my car at Graingers road and cycled over to Woodside Glen, only getting lost once. I set off up the hill, and the track was well formed but steep, passing a large group including someone in crocs.

Eventually I made it to the tops, where the path was overgrown but mostly passable. I dropped down to a stream, grabbed some water, and then hit obstacle 1.

Where the heck do you pitch a tent when everything is pure tussocks? Eventually I found a place to pitch but it had a wide portion into the wind. Not ideal, but passable. I cooked my mac n cheese, watched the stars and read for far too long into the night.

I woke up, refreshed and ready to rumble - or, more accurately, I eventually dragged myself out of bed after a fitful night of the tent flapping (pitching properly is important!) I got ready for a short and sharp climb down to my car to start the work day... and then it all went wrong.

The track seemed well formed, but shortly I realised via looking at the topos that I was completely off track for my plan to get down to Grainger's Road. Foolishly, I thought I could see the track in the distance, so I tussock-based through to where I was confident the track was (backed up by the topo). Bruised and battered, I arrived triumphantly at the track to find it was a creek, no track in sight.

Walking up and down the bushline, I tried futilely to find the track. Eventually I rang DoC (plus side of tramping so close to home!) and a ranger advised that the track from Grainger's Road had not been maintained in years, so he recommended turning around.

At this point the sun was high in the sky - rare for Dunedin - and the water was not as plentiful as first imagined. My dehydrated self eventually figured out filling up water from the creek made sense, so I filled up and staggered out.

Between the tussock bashing, the dehydration and the poor sleep, it felt like a day from hell. The worst of it really was that I was so close I could see town, so I didn't even feel like a hardy adventurer - just an idiot. I staggered out, sunburnt and dehydrated, and slowly cycled my way back to the car and home.