The Annapurna Circuit

Human beings must be the only animals on earth crazy enough to walk, for extended periods of time and without necessity, just for the sake of it. With a lot of free time on our side Hamish and I decided to tackle one of the most famous walks in both Nepal and the world, the Annapurna Circuit.

Setting off from Besisahar on October 15 we walked clockwise, crossing Thorong La Pass (5500m) and finally took our boots off for good in Neyapaul 17 days later.

Growing up in NZ I thought I knew what a mountain was but I soon understood what the Scots must feel like when they claim to have big mountains - everything here is HUGE, the enormity of the mountains is almost uncomprehendable. Mount Cook, our highest mountain back home is 3700m, some 1800m lower than we were trekking!

We settled easily into the trekking lifestyle, rising with the sun and then chasing her to bed. The tea houses we stayed in along the way far exceeded our expectations with mattresses, pillows and sometimes even a blanket for extra warmth. We had packed roll mats having read that some tea houses just have hard beds but then met people along the way who hadn't even carried sleeping bags and were just borrowing blankets every night. Our military organisation paid off when we were at higher altitude and I don't think there can have ever been a bigger promotion of Ice Breaker clothing on the Annapurna Circuit than Hamish and I.

The road, which is creeping ever closer to Throng La pass from both directions, is changing the face of trekking with many people cutting days off their trek by taking the bus or a jeep. Alternative trekking routes are being built but at times you can not avoid the road and the dust baths from jeeps - not good for a trekkers morale and a real concern for the future of the trek. Where the roads are the tea houses suffer, many have had to close down and it left it bit of a sour taste in our mouth for the first few days of trekking.

As we got higher and left the road behind morale improved while the mars bars got pricey, the showers got colder and Hamish's sleeping bag proved a great option for shiver related weight loss. Personal hygiene was happily compromised in favor of smelly warmth and the night time ritual would involve Hamish putting on every item of clothing he packed, sometimes even waterproof trousers and his bivvy bag to try and keep the heat in. Meanwhile I would climb into his beautiful feather sleeping bag and quickly have to strip down to my pants because it was so hot. Love can be a curse.

Our Guide/ Porter, Surendra, was the sweetest man on earth and looked after us incredibly well. Having walked the circuit a hundred times before he always had us in the best tea house, often in the room with the best views and his knowledge of the mountains and genuine concern for us was outstanding. The flip side of having a porter or guide, as everyone we met along the way related to was that an element of control is taken away from you. Many people ended referring to their guide as 'Mum' or 'Dad' because you literally couldn't escape their attention. Things came to a head the night after we had crossed the pass and we planned with a group of our new trekking buddies to go for a meal together at 5pm to a local restaurant, Yak Donalds (!). Ten adults going out for a beer and a meal together, no problem? Big Problem - pandemonium broke out amount the guides. 35 year old Will was told by his guide to be home by 8pm because 'three hours is long enough' (he never got to the bottom of three hours being long enough for what). Our guide didn't want us to go and once we insisted that we would go popped in to ask us if we were coming back for dinner (my Yak Burger was half eaten) and lastly was waiting up for us when we got home exhausted after sharing two beers, at the late hour of 7.45pm. I thought my Mum was tough when I was growing up but these guys made her look irresponsible.

Our bodies held up well and other than a few small blisters we had nothing to complain about. Highlights were the delicious apple pies available all the way around the circuit ( I hadn't read the guidebook but the Annapurna region is famous for its apple trees) and the portion sizes which were so big that I am sure they would satisfy even my Dad, the biggest eater I know. The low point was the altitude related tooth ache which took me down after the pass and meant we had to fit five trekking days into two so that we could seek dental care but all in all it was an amazing trip.

This keyboard is impossible to type on, hunger levels are getting high and Hamish is waiting for me so I had better fly....more soon.