Easter Weekend 2

We had planned to tramp up to Lake Marian on Saturday and we were all set to go, but alas, Friday night the heavens opened up and the rains poured down, so much so that the top part of the trail to Lake Marian was impassable and the DOC staff advised us not to go there. It was still raining lightly and very misty, but since this was our day for tramping we decided to drive up to the Divide and walk up to Key Summit at the start of the Routeburn track.

On the way up - trees looming through the mist:

Going very slowly in the rain, up the rather steep track, nearly 2 hours later we reached the summit:

We enjoyed this misty scene of ghostly lichen-encrusted trees reflected in the pond:

We found a spot slightly sheltered from the cold wind at the top of the mountain and perched on a rock just long enough to eat a sandwich for lunch. We soon started getting chilled, so decided to cut short the rest and start the long descent along the winding path:

By this time the rain had stopped and we could admire the lush lichen and mosses next to the path:

There was even a spot of sunshine for a moment, just to make our day!

Because of all the rain there were numerous streams cascading down the side of the mountain - the most delicious water to quench a thirst!