We had wanted to visit this place for a long time, as it’s the first place in the world to see sunlight. With our time in the area running out, we needed to find a day off to climb. When we first started researching, online bookings weren’t available - we could only call during work breaks, but that was also their break time, so calls never went through. Emails went unanswered for weeks. Although we received a PDF saying we could book by phone or in person, the office was too far away. Only the week before departure did online booking suddenly appear on the website, and we could finally make it happen.

This was our first two-day overnight hike in New Zealand. On the way up, we saw a sign pointing toward the hut, which didn’t match our phone’s map. We figured since there was a sign, maybe it was a new route, so we followed it. Turns out there was no path at all - just overgrown grass. By then it was dark, and we had to push through using GPS on our phones to navigate toward the hut. When we finally connected back to the proper trail near the hut, we saw many green eyes staring at us in the darkness - we thought they were wolves, but they were just sheep.

The hut was better equipped than expected - gas stoves, pots and pans. Simple, but we wouldn’t starve. That night when the wind howled, it felt especially lonely - after all, we were probably the only two people within a ten-kilometer radius. No lights in the hut at night, and the toilet was outside - that sense of solitude was truly special. We couldn’t choose the weather and just had to take our chances. The first day was beautiful, but on the second morning when we prepared to summit for sunrise, there was wild wind and rain outside. Because the summit route is extremely dangerous - 75% grade with no markers and easy to get lost - we had to give up for safety, slept until 7am, had breakfast, and headed down.