Let's take a run, shall we?

Whakarewarewa Forest is in my temporary backyard, and for this I am grateful. I can enter the forest less than 1/2 a mile from my current residence. Enter it, and you are taken to another world. Much of the time, I half expect fairies to pop out and sprinkle fairy dust on my head. Maybe I will fly one day - one of my childhood desires. I wouldn't be surprised if this forest had healing qualities, too - especially since my achilles has been sore for the past several months and now it is no longer. Though, to be fair, I have avoided super steep, long inclines for a while (the cause of the bum achilles) and have been wearing a brace everytime I ride and run to allow blood circulation, which supposedly helps. I also think the ride from Auckland to here helped strangthen the tissue surrounding it...this is all speculation, of course...but it feels loads better and I don't have a shooting pain if I step the slightest bit off.

Onto the forest. The land is part of the forest service here and is actually used for logging. They only log a section at a time, though and large areas not being logged are used for recreation: mountain biking, horseback riding, running, walking, hiking, etc. According to http://www.redwoods.co.nz/history.php, the California Redwoods in the park were planted in 1901 due to much of the land being cleared beforehand for timber. Though the trees are young in comparison to their California relatives, they are still magnificent and awe-inspiring. If you haven't already, and you have a chance, definitely check out the Redwoods in California. One of my fave places ever.

All the pics are from one of my runs - I ended up being out for nearly two hours - though much of the time I was snapping away.




Yes, this plant is no longer living, but the leaves of the ferns create a beautiful pattern that I find quite inspiring. If you don't know already, I LOVE super-macro camera settings!












I still can't get over the massiveness and quantity of trees and plants and all the various shades of green.
















































Look who I ran into early on during my run. I'll have to name him because I'm sure we'll meet again...though he looks pretty aged and probably has a name already.





I have a cool panarama feature on my camera. I love how this photo illustrates that one side of the trail is more ferny type trees while the other side of the trail is mostly dominated by Redwoods.

Note for the future: for more efficient running, don't take the camera, Steph. Again, I am so grateful to have such a beautiful place to play. And I love how a walk in these woods is pure entertainment and costs nothing, like so many of the Earth's natural wonders.

Looking forward to the next run...thanks for joining me on this one!