A few months into the Walk1200km challenge, walkers tell us about special moments on their walks; something magic – a jolt of unexpected wonder.

I can’t go past a sunrise or sunset (featured)

“It will always stop me in my tracks. I think for me it’s also either a fresh start to a new day or the curtain call of the day.”

– Andre Cragnolini

Seeing a rifleman on the track

“They just make my heart want to burst. I had never seen one until a tramp a couple of years ago and when I realised what I was seeing I burst into a whole-body grin. I have the same reaction every time I see them.”

– Katherine Baynton

The way the sun shines through the trees

“I walked Busby Head and Smuggler’s Cove at Whangarei Heads and when I got to the ridge line, the sun was shining through the treetops and something about it just took my breath away. I stopped and just took it all in with my eyes, my nose, my skin. It was moving. And I was on my own sharing the moment with the trees and sun and the gentle breeze.”

– Jenna Heller

The things I daydream about later

“There have always been things and experiences on my walks that stop me in my tracks, from deer, pigs, ruru to a stingray swimming under me while I was sitting in a tree… sometimes it’s a ‘breath’ moment for the chaos in your life.”

– Simon White

Being surprised by made objects

“It’s not only things in the natural world – it could be the statue that I came across while wandering around Birdwoods Sculpture Garden in Havelock North. Not only did it remind me of my own hair that was sticking up all over the place because of the humidity, but it surprised me to see it there as it was carved by a Zimbab- wean artist. As I am originally from South Africa and had seen similar carvings there, it was like seeing a familiar face in a new place.”

   – Cheron Verster

Encountering karearea

“If I hear or see a karearea it will always halt me in my tracks. Amongst the encounters I have had, I have found feathers from one of their kills in Pureora Forest; I have been dive-bombed by one in the bush on Taranaki; I have had one hover over me while mountain biking on Mt Peel and I watched a pair as they roosted, soared and preyed. Every encounter gives me a sense of privilege.”

– Stuart Hill

Finding new things

“I found these perfect wee plants a few weeks ago; so delicate and perfect. I just loved them, they belong in a fairy tale.”

– Stacey Brew