Godley Head

Today was an adventure, with a best friend, out to a beautiful place, on a stormy day. A 51km bike ride to Godley Head. A place where you can stand and feel like the whole world is both behind you and infront of you and it feels like all the adventures are about to happen but its already been an adventure to get here.

We left at 8am, had breakfast before that, when it was still dark. And we set off. Out to the Port Hills, then up them. It was cold and windy and spitting a bit, but I wouldn't have wanted it another way. We took turns breaking wind for each other. Biking east into an easterly. Packs sat on our backs filled with more warm clothes and coats and biscuits and chocolate ($4 Whittakers! Woah!).

We biked along the ridge-line and just kept going and going. Stopping every now and then to look at the view, and realise we were getting further and further away from the city and houses and busy people. And it was just us and our adventure. People we biked past smiled and we smiled at them.

And at Godley Head we sat and talked and sat and were quiet. Listening to the wind and the grass and our own thoughts. And listening to each other and the crunch of biscuits. Bliss. We've been up the Port Hills when it's sunny. But not when it's windy and cloudy and we can't see that far into the distance. The sea blends to the sky and you can't really tell where one starts and the other ends. It's eerie but nice. The unknown is kind of exciting.

Back up the road we came, climbing again, but the wind is behind us. We drop down some mountain bike tracks down into the valley that feeds into Sumner. And we follow our noses and end up at the sea, we could get to the sea every time with our eyes closed if we needed. Hot chips on lap, seagulls floating above.

Then, clunk, a wing hits a helmet and a beak grabs a chips from a hand. The audacity. And then it flies away. We wave our arms at the seagulls and shout abuse at them in English. I don't know how to say it in seagull. Ugh. We must look like a right sight. Sitting on the beach in the gloomy weather, laughing and grinning as we swing a bike lock above out heads like a whip to keep seagulls away from out hot chips. We get a funny look. And we laugh some more.

I love adventures and I'm ready for more!