Hiking the Putangirua Pinnacles and the Importance of Resting, Not Quitting

Sigh. The Putangirua Pinnacles. Known in The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King as the Dimolt or the Paths of the Dead. Like many places in New Zealand, it’s an otherworldly landscape that truly takes your breath away, and makes you pause and appreciate all the beauty that this world has to offer. And I almost didn’t make it there! Almost being the key word. And as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself and spoiling the ending for you so let’s rewind and start from the top.

All the time in the world…

I’ve actually been to the Pinnacles before on our last family trip to New Zealand 8 years ago. As a true Lord of the Rings fan, it’s my duty to visit as many filming locations as possible. The last time I did this hike I was with my dad. We started a bit late in the day so we didn’t get to spend a ton of time on the best part of the hike.

Now that I’m here by myself, and can take all the time in the world to do whatever I want, I decided that I wanted to do this hike again and spend some more time admiring the beauty of the Putangirua Pinnacles. I made sure to get an earlier start since it was a little over 2 hours away from where I was staying.

Officially closed, but unofficially open

Before I left I knew that part of the track was officially closed. However, everything I read about it online said that the track can still be hiked. Since there are two different tracks, one with a view above and one that takes you right into the Pinnacles, I decided to go anyway and see for myself what I wanted to do once I got there.

Of course, one of the first things I saw was a sign that the track was closed. However there were cars parked in the parking lot car park and I saw other people gearing up to go do the hike, so I decided to give it a shot. I started with the track that leads to a lookout of the Pinnacles first because I hadn’t done it before and wanted to see the view.

The view from above

The hike itself was really tiring. I made the mistake of wearing leggings instead of bike shorts (which I promptly changed into on the track after making sure that no one was coming from either direction!), because it turned out to be much hotter than I thought it would be! And since the hike lead to a lookout *above* the Pinnacles, yes, it was all uphill.

The view was spectacular! And after seeing it, I was itching to get down into the Pinnacles from the ground level. So after making my way back down, I decided to start the track that took me directly to them.

The gut feeling

Not long into the track, I kept getting the feeling that I should turn around. Nothing was amiss. I was the only person on the track. But something just kept nagging at me to turn around. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that warning bells were going off or anything. Just a feeling and a thought.  So I listened to it.

As I was making my way back, I ran into two girls from Canada. They asked if the track was okay and if I made it to the Pinnacles. I told them I didn’t because of the feeling I was getting, and that I’d already seen them before so I decided to turn around. They decided to keep going.

Tired and hungry

When I got back to the car I realized what that feeling actually was. Not only was it around 1pm when the sun was at its peak; I was getting sunburned, I was hungry, and I was tired. Go figure, it was a gut feeling of a sort, but that actual feeling was hunger, not me being in danger!

I ate my snacks, rehydrated, and applied some more sunscreen. I gave myself time to rest and recover because the hike had already worn me out. And then, I decided that since I had come all this way and the weather was so nice, I needed to give it another try. So I started the trail again.

An uphill battle rewarded

The thing about this trail is that it is also basically entirely uphill, but it’s not steep. You follow a stream with little to no trail markers until you make it to the end. There is also no protection from the sun. So it’s no wonder that I was having trouble interpreting what my body was really trying to tell me!

When I was almost to the end of the trail and the piece de resistance, I once again ran into the girls I talked to when I first turned around. I was almost there, and the effort to get there was worth it. Like many places in New Zealand, I had the pleasure of being the only one there and got to just take my time to soak it all in.

Learn to rest, not to quit

I’ll never get tired of being able to see filming locations like this in person. The fact that it’s a real place and you can experience it yourself makes it that much more magical. And thankfully, I allowed myself time to rest, picked myself back up, turned around, and experienced it for myself (again).

Once I was back in my car, it would have been so easy to just give up and head home. I could have told myself that it wasn’t worth it, and I could just come back another day. But the weather is ever-changing, life happens, and another day might not happen. So as the saying goes, “Learn to rest, not to quit.”

Imagine all the things you might miss out on if you gave up that easily? Going after a dream or a goal is hard work. Nobody said it would be easy. And that’s why resting along the way is so important. You need time to recover and recharge for what challenge you may face next. And when opportunity strikes, you want to be ready to say yes and take action!

What about you?

As a high achiever, you no doubt take on the big, bad, bold things. It’s just part of who you are. But since I know you, I also know there’s a chance that resting isn’t high on your priority list. And I think you know what I’m going to say next; it should be!!

The importance of rest and how much you truly deserve it – that’s a whole article waiting to be written. For now, I’m just going to remind you of this; REST IS PRODUCTIVE. And just remember, it may be the thing that helps you to keep going without burning yourself out!