Karekare (part 3 of 4)

Whilst walking around the dunes I came across a path that lets people climb up to the summit. 
I looked up and my initial thoughts were:
a) What a great opportunity to get some elevated/panoramic shots of Karekare
b) About time I conquered my fear of heights

The wooden signage read 40 minutes return, a relatively easy climb in my books, yup big tick!! Boy was I wrong. This trail is riddled with dark sections with little visibility, some of the steeper sections were on bare dry soil which cam be slippery. I recall a couple of parts where the branches were so thick and low, that one needed to get down on all fours to pass through. 

Some of the ledges are pretty darn close to the path. Paranoid as I am, I kept thinking what if a strong gust of wind came, or I tripped, there were no trees to hold onto! For someone who has a fear of heights, this felt like climbing Everest!

By the time I got to the top, my shirt was fully drenched. Mostly from fear of falling. There was no platform to walk around, rather a slanted, bare rocky surface greeted you. No way was I going to stand up on that. 

I sat on the lonely rock with my legs and hands trembling. Too scared move, let alone setting up the tripod. Couldn't leave without any evidence so I did a few quick Hail-Mary shots, the posture which resembled a toddler picking up the camera for the first time.

The images turned out pretty good. No visible camera shake (lol). 

Final thoughts: 
I'm glad I got to the top to witness Karekare, and the magic it offers viewers. The sea, the waterfalls, the mountains all came together with the sunset. As for conquering my fear of heights, lets just say my palms are getting sweaty just by looking at these images now. Baby steps as they say.