Look at that naive fool in the photo above. That’s me, about the climb the 100 metre high Te Paki sand dunes at the northern tip of the North Island in New Zealand.

See how I playfully paddle through the shallow water at the foot of the dunes, shoes and socks off. Little do I realise the tortuous anguish that’s about to befall my inexperienced & asthmatic self.

Perhaps I should have judged the size of the dune before deciding to run up it. This second photo shows two tiny specks in the sand. Those are humans. Perhaps I could have taken note of the extremely humid conditions or listened to the voice in my head suggesting I ought to stop running, else I might damage myself.

Ahh, well. Not too much trouble was caused. It only took 10 minutes of dizziness and panting whilst flat on my back to muster the power to stand-up and descend. Plus, I only threw-up once.

Lesson learnt. Next time, I’ll get someone to carry me up.

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• dunes
• newzealand
• tepaki
• me