Eight lucky trampers started off for the Northern Pureora Forest on a cloudy day, with no concern about weather except for anticipated heavy rain coming in the afternoon.

Along the track, we witnessed countless surprises from natural decorations. White plant roots hovering over the damp ground, colourful watery mushrooms, sparkling insect nets in the looming sun, green leaves waving breeze greetings, the birds jumped on the branches, and the little singers who sang cheerfully. The active parties of all the spirits in the forest make us feel like we are entering the spring that just woke up, instead of autumn.

Excited as we pass through the tall bushes, feeling like we accidentally broke into war-themed movies or a scene of a wild survivor. After successfully passing through a few shallow creeks, we stopped in front of a dilapidated temporary barracks where there were some basic necessities to provide warm shelter for those in need. In the next part of the track, some junior trampers almost exhausted all their energy in conquering the 4*4 off-road vehicle routes on the up and down slopes.

A miracle appeared in the last corner of the track -  a herd of grazing beef cattle followed our steps, tightly lined up on the other side the fence. They curiously looked at us, who are a group of energetic strangers, as if they were enjoying an unexpected fashion show.

Just one second after all of us were sitting in the van ready to go home the heavy rain that had been delayed for a couple hours finally broke out, which shows that the sky tried its best to take good care of us and keep us happy and dry.

Joyce