By Neve Hopman, 29 July 2023
Midwinter Christmas
It was a stellar weekend, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the bells were ringing out for christmas day (even though it was July).
We thought we were off to a great start when, not five minutes into the walk, a goon accident occurred and Sav was drenched in the cheapest largest bag of wine dix lix had to offer. We thought hope was lost for communal mulled wine but then Tommy appeared out of the blue (as he is known for doing) carrying two unpunctured goon bags. Our hero <3
The trouble ended there though, and the rest of the walk was a breeze, apart from a slight detour because of an alleged slip. I had volunteered to deal with the christmas tree transportation, but I managed to offload this to Sean, who carried it 95% of the way (I did offer to take it back I swear). We got to the river and replenished ourselves with our lunch and yoga and began mentally preparing for the river crossing, which was considerably higher than expected.
This crossing was a blessing in disguise though perhaps, as we were quite muddy, and got to learn a few points about river safety from Kate. We banded together in fours and made it across, christmas tree, mandolin, amp (more on that later) and all.
We got to the hut and costumes came out, we became a swarm of red and green, definitely confusing a good amount of regular bush goers. Most memorably, Lewis, Luke, and Nathan turned into the Elf, Santa, and Mrs Claus of the dreams that we didn’t know we’d had.
If you’ve been to Waerenga Hut before, you’ll probably know that despite the river being right there, there is a disappointing lack of decent swimming holes, but we did not let that deter us! A good handful of us enjoyed a quick lie down in the rapids.
Back in the hut, the instruments had come out, and everyone had begun to rattle through every song they knew that other people possibly might too. Kanoa had lugged a whole ass amp along, which transformed the singalong sesh into a concert that went on for a good few hours. It was pretty cool, and fuelled my musical tramp fantasy (see Jam and Jam for more about that).
When night fell, Santa came, and we had presents and an absolute feast (some scrumptious vegan brownies, I can’t remember who made them but if you read this plz send me the recipe). The mulled wine went down faster than it took to heat, and people, a little bit warmed, headed outside to the bonfire. When we were tired of the festivities, most of us squeezed our way into the hut, with two people per mattress and bodies all over the floor. You might think it’d be uncomfortable, but honestly, I slept great, thanks to some snuggles from Sav (who only faintly still smelt like exploded goon).
Morning came and we began to make moves to head home. Sav and I left pretty speedily, as she had something to be at back in the city, but as far as I know, everyone made it home. The hut was a bit of a state, so thanks to everyone who pitched in with the cleaning, and really, just thanks to everyone who came along and brought the festive spirit without even questioning why we were celebrating Christmas five months early.