Sunset is my favourite moment of the day. It's wonderful to see silky, smooth collusions of sky burst yellow in the night's calm. That moment reminds me of a sigh of late summer days and dawns of restful winter evenings. It is also the time for me to live in the present and appreciate things around me. Interestingly, the moment is short but it is always enough for my soul to feel peaceful and calm for so long.
It's autumn here which makes it easier for us to go and see the sunset as it is not too late at night any more. The place where I live is not great for seeing sunset so we chose a walking track not far away, it is called Mt Kaukau which is the most visible high point in the Wellington region.
Last Sunday was not a perfect day to hike up to that mountain. In town, we felt it was perfect, almost no wind so we dressed very light. I only wore a T-shirt and carry a wind jacket.
I did a search online and found out that it would take around 3 hours to complete the walk. The sunset on that day was at around 6pm so we decided to start our walk at around 2pm. Surprisingly, it only took us 1 hour from our starting point to the peak of Mt Kaukau.
Our starting point at Simla Crescent, Khandalah
We then followed along the Northern Walkway up to the top of Mount Kaukau
Surprising it only took 1 hour for us to reach the peak where we can see the beautiful view of Wellington habour
There are picnic tables and chairs which are great for those who want to have an afternoon snack or a late lunch
a beautiful photo of us looking over the windmill
The sun was shining but the cold wind from the South made it impossible to stay in the top for long. We walked around the peak as it was too early for sunset. If we didn't find a shelter from the wind, we might have to leave early as my partner and I started feeling the cold in our feet.
Thankfully, we found an area with pine trees and low bushes. It was perfect at that time. We sat down on green grasses and decided to wait 2 hours for the sunset.
I notice since pine trees are growing up there, there must be some mushrooms around. I love mushrooms, admiring the important work they are doing for our planets so it would be awesome to see them here. Yes I am right, just a few minutes of looking, I found this beauty.
I notice a beauty here - It's Amanita muscaria
There are many of them there together with slippery Jack as well. They grow in cluster and showing full of life. I even found some edible field mushrooms which is amazing. It was because of the cold we had to find a shelter but then it turned out to be a memorable experience. My friend and I shared lots of things in our lives while enjoying the beautiful afternoon in nature.
Finally sunset, it was freezing
Chasing the sunset, here I come
Capturing the sun
Getting dark on the way down
I am so thankful for having a place that is in a close distance to enjoy sunset from now on. This is going to be my place-to-be whenever I need a boost for my sunset mood. Thank you everyone for reading my post today. Have a lovely week.
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