Once per year I return to my home province of  Taranaki in New Zealand.  Each visit is typically no longer than one week – but it can be a blur of meeting and catch up’s and whilst very nice to see familiar and friendly faces again after a long absence – I often wish the interactions can be more personal, and I had more one-on-one time with people.  In December 2014, Stephanie and I returned to Taranaki and noticed a beautiful day of gloriously settled weather just before Christmas.  We jumped at the opportunity to take a half day walk up Fantham’s Peak – the subsidiary summit of Mt Taranaki – our province’s highest mountain.  We were lucky enough to be joined by old mate Rob ‘the mountaineer’ Mills or more commonly known as ‘Millsy’.  Millsy recently shot to fame as one of the star characters in the book ‘From Peak to Peak’.  This is the inspiring true story of the first human-powered journey from the summit of Mt Ruapehu (2797m) in New Zealand to the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook (3750m).  Millsy appears early on in the book for his bold ascent of the very icy and windy Mt Ruapehu – wearing crampons and an ice-axe for the very first time in his life.  A superb effort made even more amazing by the fact he still talks to me after I told him it would not be that difficult!

For the climb of Fantham’s Peak we met Millsy at 6AM in the small sleepy town of Stratford and 30 minutes later had driven to the road end and started our walk.  3.5 hours of sweat and toil later,  we were on top – enjoying some of Mum’s sandwiches and cup of coffee from the thermos.  I don’ t believe I have had a more delicious cup of coffee – EVER!  If you don’t believe me try it yourself – just remember its BYO.  I struggle to think of a better way to spend a good few hours  of quality time with dear people and create memories to last a lifetime.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves of our humble journey.  If you need more information on the route up Fantham’s Peak – check it out here.

Stephanie with the Tasman Sea and Australia somewhere 2500m behind her.

Myself, Millsy and Stephanie on top.

There were three bumps on the top of Fantham’s Peak – we were not sure which was which so we stood on them all!

I am not sure what she was doing her here but she asked me to take a photo!

Stephanie the Singaporean getting a buzz from some ‘real’ snow!

Millsy enjoying the steps and the views on the early sections.

After 2 hours it turns into a scree plod

Millsy and I standing on a small patch of snow on Fantham’s Peak – the main summit is behind us.

Stephanie working hard on the scree

We invited Mum along but this is far as she came – to see us off at the car shed! She did make the coffee though!

The Syme hut on the summit of Fantham’s peak – I love the sky in this photo.

Mt Taranaki looking beautiful in the morning as we drive up her slopes. Fantham’s Peak is the subsidiary summit on the left of the main summit.

Millsy and Stephanie reach the crater at the top of Fantham’s Peak and the Syme Hut seen in the distance

Millsy Checking out Mt Ruapehu 130km in the distance and the highest point in the North Island which we climbed together exactly 12 months previously

Millsy and Stephanie just starting to sweat as we plod up the easy part.

Stephanie powering up the steps

From Wikipedia:

“Mount Taranaki, or Mount Egmont, is an active but quiescent stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Although the mountain is more commonly referred to as Taranaki, it has two official names under the alternative names policy of the New Zealand Geographic Board. The 2518-metre-high mountain is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in the world. There is a secondary cone, Fanthams Peak (Māori: Panitahi), 1,966 metres (6,450 ft), on the south side.^[7] Because of its resemblance to Mount Fuji, Taranaki provided the backdrop for the movie The Last Samurai