You know that feeling of pure joy when you look out at the beauty around you and properly take in the moment by just being? That was how we felt when we went up the Harties Cable Way last weekend. How often do you do things in nature that really take your breathe away? My answer was not often. But lately, I’ve been experiencing this strong desire to enjoy my surroundings, to really take advantage of the beauty in my grasp, and to do things I wouldn’t usually do. That’s why the cable way idea was such a promising one for me, and a particularly good surprise for Pedro’s birthday – seeing as he loves adventure and being outdoors. So, was it everything I thought it would be? Take a read…
My first piece of advice to anyone thinking of going on this adventure is to prepare for the reality that is: these mountains that you go up are DAAAAMMMNN HIGH! I’ve been in cable cars before, but I hadn’t been in one for so long. Pair this with my abnormally large fear of heights and you’ve got yourself a great combination! But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from experiencing something so wonderful, and so Pedro and I (not very gracefully) made our way up the mountain. It’s not that the cable car travels fast or anything, but once you start getting closer to the top, the incline becomes very, very steep. Don’t be fooled by my fright though, the views from the journey up are magical! You are surrounded by greenery in all directions, and the dam in the distance too. The one unfortunate thing was the hyacinth that has been taking over the dam – it looked as if many areas of the water had completely dried up, but once we drove past later we saw that it was the hyacinth covering the surface of the dam.
Apart from that though, the experience to the top of the mountain was unforgettable. Partly due to our joined panic of height, but mainly from the different Saturday-morning activity than what we’re used to. Once we reached the top we were pleasantly surprised at how modern everything is. There’s a beautiful deck where you can sit and have some food and drinks. It would be perfect for a sunset glass of wine! Further up there is another place to eat. We had the most delicious pizza from here a bit later. Spread out around the pizza place are slightly closed off areas where you can eat your food, while looking out across the gorgeous landscape. And it obviously wouldn’t be like us to not end off a meal with dessert. We bought some ice creams before we carried on exploring. Though surprisingly for the first day of Spring, it was extremely hot, so ice creams were melting all over the place!
There is a path that takes you around the top of the mountain, with various pieces of information that explain what you can see in the distance. At one point, there’s a bench that’s been placed in a slightly secluded area, which looks over the whole of Harties. We sat there for a while in complete silence, and it was one of the most peaceful feelings. My favourite part was a sign in front of the bench that said something like, no phones, no talking, just sit and enjoy the view. I really liked that. It’s so rare for us to sit down without checking our phones every few minutes, or trying to capture the beauty on Instagram. No doubt I love doing that too! But it’s SO good for the soul to switch off sometimes. As you’re sitting on this bench, all you can do is breath and purely focus on that one moment. It’s an amazing feeling.
We had such a lovely time on this little Saturday adventure! The 1st of September didn’t disappoint in delivering the most beautiful Spring day weather, and the Harties Cable Way didn’t disappoint either! So to answer the question at the beginning, it certainly exceeded my expectations and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a little something different!
