I love "my" mountain....

I went up the Mount Cargill track, the long way from Bethunes Gully. I took my camera and share just a four photos that depict why I love this track.

I love the creek in the gully, its banks and boulders. * I love the trees at the beginning, they are simply stunning in autumn. * I love the curly barked old macrocarpa trees as you begin to climb. * The tall pine trees just keep going straight up. * There's a variety of greens all the way up the track, both big and small plants and mosses. * I love the fallen trees that have kept growing and turned and grown upwards still. (A lesson to us all!) * I love the variety of ferns, some old majestic ones with massive fronds shimmering in the light. * Growing on the bark of trees a great range of vegetation making the tree trucks seem like mini forests in themselves. * The little waterfalls add mystery, movement and noise. * There are old forest trees reaching above the bush line overlooking the rest of the bush, like they are lookouts standing guard. * There are glimpses of the top of the mountain, surrounding farm land and even the city in different places on the journey. * The panoramic views from the top give you a tremendous picture of the whole country surrounding Dunedin. * The fog and sometimes the snow when they are there change the scenery, the sense and feel of the journey. * And always the birdsong from mysterious birds you cant quite catch up with enhances the experience.

I enjoy the challenge of keeping going though the track keeps rising. * Your heart beat and puffing breath make you aware of your body and appreciative of your health. * The growing sense of strain, burning and tiredness on your legs and backside tells you that you are working those muscles. * The sense of achievement when you stop at the top is a healthy high. * The opportunity to think life through means that not only is it a physical work out, but a therapeutic "time out" as well..... You get the picture... I LOVE my mountain.