THE LONG & NARROW PATH TO ENGAGEMENT PEAK
Ryan
For a while now, I’ve been contemplating how to propose to my adventure buddy and partner, Martine. Or, as she puts it, “Martini with an e”. (I just call her Teen—much less confusing.) But let me tell you, this proposal business is hard work. If you’ve ever Googled “Ideas for romantic proposals,” you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Being an #AdventureCouple (I’m being ironic, BTW) basically means that all the standard modes of proposal will most definitely not cut it. Enter Google suggestion Number One: “Propose at a famous location”. What? Surrounded by hundreds or thousands of other tourists?! No thanks!
Suggestion Number Two: “Stroll down the beach at sunset”. C’mon now, ‘strolling’ isn’t normally in our nature. Beside, I couldn’t tell you the last time we went to a beach; Teen would know something was up the second we set foot on sand.
Number Three: “Take an art class together”. Yeah, right. The only reason I would propose in an art class would be to disguise how shit I am at painting.
Nope, mainstream proposals definitely aren’t for us.
But that’s where the real difficulty begins. Our weekends and holidays are spent exploring. That’s what we tell people anyway, because the term ‘exploring’ has unspoken appeal and glamour. In truth, though, our outings lack both those qualities. We trudge—typically in the dark—with torturously heavy packs up gruelling mountains, leaving us physically exhausted and psychologically battered. Alright, I confess, returning in the dark is usually my fault for taking too many photos, and the heavy packs are normally on account of all my camera gear. Minor details. Anyway, if I popped The Question to Teen after one of our ‘explorations’, “Yes!” would emphatically not be the first word out of her mouth. What would come out of her mouth instead are words not fit to print.
The point is, I need something so” So when we book flights for a summer of travelling in New Zealand, beginning with the Arthur Range in Kahurangi National Park where there’s no shortage of mountains to choose from, it seems like the perfect opportunity for The Proposal.
