Will and Cheri had gone to bed, but Mr. Moose
was burning the midnight oil. I don't sleep that much and I'm usually
the last one to go to bed in the huts. I often stay up late reading or
writing in my journal, which allows me to write stories such as this
one. I usually carry candles on a track. I know that an LED flashlight
is lighter and smaller, but I find it more pleasant to read to the
gentle light of a candle. I'm usually the first one to be wake up in
the morning, but I often don't get out of bed if there are other people
in the hut. The huts are usually pretty cool in the morning and I don't
want to wake everyone up by eating breakfast at 6 a.m.. So I often stay
in my sleeping bag, daydreaming and waiting for the rest of the world
to start stirring.
I have a Swiss friend,
Nicolas, that I
met on my first NZ trip. He is quite an avid
tramper and has also hiked the Dusky. He took a picture by
candlelight when he was on the
track and this picture is an attempt to imitate his picture. You
can see the
original here, if you like.