March 20, 2026
We awoke at the mountain house hostel we stayed in last nigh. Usually, we each have a single room with a roommate last night. There were six of us in a bunkbed dorm, but we were thankful to have lodging as almost everything in the town was unavailable when we booked a few months ago. We actually all slept great. The mountains around us are filled with the sounds of the birds.
Started off at breakfast this morning, listening to some of the birds in the area before heading out on our first hike of the day the Devil’s Punchbowl
we get an early picture of the devil’s punchball waterfall in the distance
Our first Bridge has another one of those silly weight limits of a max 10 people for this super long bridge I still can’t get over the clarity of the water
Short time later, we come to another bridge crossing a different stream this one also with super clear . Through the fog, you can just make out the waterfall up ahead.
The trail has a fair amount of up and down wooden stairs. A lot of infrastructure has gone into this track
We have reached the viewing deck for the falls, which are spectacular.
Eric, always wants to push limits on hikes.After posing for this picture he went up a little higher to the punch bowl where the water actually lands at the base.
We walked into an attractive tasting room, where we sampled wines and ate meat pie, after which we went to the Gardens even better than the ones we saw on our arrival
Attractive ponds were filled with giant heels which we were able to feed
We left the winery for another hour and 20 minute drive to our lodging location tonight. We arrived to find a beachfront row of apartment units. Each one has a phenomenal balcony of the ocean.
I spoke earlier of Sherri’s desire to have her feet in all of the oceans she comes to. This is the south Pacific Ocean and she checked off another box.
