Arthurs Ps to Tekapo

This section marked our 3rd and last, long significant stretch, the plan was to get from Arthurs Pass to Lake Tekapo in 12 days but we were striving for 10 days . On the last section, we ended up in Greymouth to resupply, we bought food to last approx 12 days so we have enough food for any safety days.

This section i think was one of the most visually interesting sections, with each pass we went over the landscape and flora changed. We were now getting into quite high country, less beech forest and more open tussocked flats with fantastic views over large basins and stunning blue lakes. New Zealand really can be anywhere in the world, we walked through landscapes that in one place strongly reminded us of parts of Tuscony, Italy; crossing another pass and the landscape remined us of parts of Austria. It keeps you entertained all the time along this section, nothing is the same for too long. Not even the huts! They all have their own character and brilliant settings, especially the huts on the Two Thumb Range. People can ride horses up the Two Thumb Range and the huts are used often by hunters so each hut has a pantry with a reasonal amount of tinned goods left behind. We even found butter! So try not to worry if your running out of rations.
Introducing the Spaniard and the Matagouri (meaning 'Face spiker' in Maori as they used to use the dried thorns for tattooing), both brothers in crime, they're all over the high country and they can hurt a lot. Expect scratches from the Matagouri and painful stabs from the Spaniard. The Matagouri is not as sharp so if you have to bash through, it is possible without bleeding. The Spaniard on the other hand, well just avoid it at all cost.

This 10 day section, quite a few people managed to cross the Rangitata this year and given the right conditions I think is quite managable. Before you reach the Rangitata, watch for any tributary rivers running milky, if they are you can bet the larger Rangitata will be unsuitable to cross. I would be A LOT more cautious of crossing the Rakaia, although not as wide as the Rangitata about 3 times as much water flows through it. If approaching from the North the Rakaia may look safe to cross, note that the final braid is the largest, deepest and fastest; we heard stories of people spending ages crossing only to find the last braid impassable and having to turn back. They are considered natural breaks in the trail as they can be too dangerous to cross when they are in flood so don't feel too bad if you do end up hitching.  If you do want to walk around the Rakaia its an extra 2 days walk down to the Rakaia gorge bridge and up the road to Glenrock station and an extra 4 days for the Rangitata.

Tip: If you find you have to hitch around The Rakaia to Glenrock Station. Nothing goes up the road to Glenrock except farmers and a school bus, which is not regular. The school bus driver however will pick people up on his morning trip at 6:00am up the road. If he has children in the bus then there is a good chance he won't.

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Day 111 -  Arthurs Pass to Hamilton hut.

The sun had decided to rock out and get rid of the clouds so we were feeling good and cruized along. We covered the 9 miles on road no problem; but we were actually pretty tired and we werent looking forward to going straight up a mountain in the Craigieburn Forest. But as it transpired the walk was pretty easy going even though our packs were stuffed full of food. We climbed up through tussock with great views of the valley.  It wasnt difficult walking through to Hamilton, the lack of rain meant the river was low and we could walk safely down the river's braids. Crossing an emergency 3 wire bridge brought us to the hut. Seeing Hamilton Hut blew us away with its huge veranda and warm enormous stone fireplace. We broke out the flour and started baking. Anders made some taste bread and then after some dissapointing couscous we broke out the almond flavour icing (marzipan) that we carried as a little treat. Wrap up some dough with marzipan, and you have your very own camping cinnabon!

Day 112 - Hamilton hut to Lake Georgina.
 Woken up by the heavy patter of rain on the roof,  we still had the sofa set up from last night so we stoked the fire and warmed our frozen feet. Whilst chowing down on our daily dose of oats and coffee we spotted a rabbit chilling outside the hut! Dinner! hopefully. Can we catch him? Obviously not! We walked  down onto the Harper River plain. As fun as walking along the river beds are, its very hard on the feet. On top of the foot pain and the anger from the slow pace, time drags on as you are stuck concentrating on every step. Once we were out though it was all road down to Lake Coleridge, 20 miles of metal road. We had decided that we would walk most of the way, camp at Lake Georgina, and walk the remainder of the miles in the morning before crossing the deadly Rakaia. Well everything went to plan. We walked along the road with some truely incredible views.

Day 113 - Lake Georgina to Glenrock Station.
A cold, cold morning with frost on the grass, we all had to sleep fully clothed as there was a cool draft blowing up through our tent. Even the meths took longer to boil the water needed for the morning porridge.  The view from the otherside of Lake Georgina was spectacular as the mountain range in the distance was reflecting off the still lake. We walked down the metal road until we got to Lake Coleridge where we met Micheal and Elna who had come from Lake Tekapo. They too were walking the along the Te Araroa.  We then walked  up to a flat plain above that offered super views of lake Coleridge and surounding landscape.  It wasn't long before we were walking into Lake Coleridge Village, picking black berries from the first bramble bush we could see. There is really nothing in the village except for an information board and a couple of locals.  The Rakaia was a milky baby blue and looked fine to cross.  Just as we were about to wade and then pack float our bags across the first braid we heard a voice from behind call out to us. A local guy called Patt O'Kieth, who had good knowledge of the river told us it was too dangerous to cross the river at this time. Pat generously gave us a lift all the way to Rakaia Gorge, Blackford Rd which was really helpful as its a 2 day de-tore around the river.  2 hours of waiting and holding our thumbs out we finally got a lift with a farmer called Willy (the only person going up the rd), he dropped us off and it was an hours walk to Glenrock!  The weather was coming in and so we wanted to get to the A-frame shelter. De-hydrated and tired we walked down through Glenrock station to the begining of the track, when a young man drove up and asked if we wanted a beer and a warm place to stay? How could we resist! We stayed at a home stay owned by a couple called Kate and Andy Chapman who owned the farm, Glenrock.

Day 114 - Glenrock Station to Comyns Hut.
We went to say thank you and bye to Kate and Andy. Kate wished us good luck and invited us to help ourselves to the apple and pear tree in her garden! The freshest, sweetest, most crisp apples put us in a fantastic mood as we began a long loooong climb up Turtons Saddle.  It was a tough climb. Sodden we stumbled into the A-frame hut for elevensies. It is a straightforward walk to Comyns hut. Comyns Hut is pretty awesome and we decided that we would stay, pretty much because of the 100 year storm outside and because Double Hut was MILES away. We became preoccupied getting dry and writing/drawing etc passing time when we realized the sun was shining through the windows. We walked outside. Not a cloud in the sky! crazy weather!<p>So we spent the rest of the day eating food, drinking tea, chopping up what little wood there was into little pieces for the next people and generally wasting time. There is also a mouse in the hut.

Day 115 - Comyns hut to Castleridge Station.
The plan for today was to get as far as possible. We were setting our sites on Castleridge Station and the Maori Lakes, past Double Hut AND Manuka Hut. As I just said, it was cold. We were all layered up and prepared for a standard morning walk up a mountain stream. Well it turns out that you cross Hakatere River over and over and over again. We were crossing the river every 5 minutes for at least 1 and a half hours. Our feet were numb.  We climbed up through tussock, our new favourite enemy, to the top of Clent Hills Saddle which in circumspeculation wasnt all that difficult and it offered pretty amazing views of the yellow valley. More sidling, which puts a massive strain on the uphill knee, across more tussock and scree slopes. Another great thing about reaching the saddle was the rest of the day was downhill. The going became easier once passing Double Hut as its flat to Manuka Hut; but then! We have to climb over a mountain. It wasnt really that bad though. Getting down was through more tussock and spaniard plants though (the spikiest, sharpest prickly plants) down to the second 4x4 for the day and the lake. We decided to fill up with lake water incase we couldnt find any more and we walked on to the main road. Incidentally we found another stream by Castleridge Station and we camped out by the road.

Harpers to Arthurs Ps

Having previously resupplied in Murchison we managed to hitch a ride to the beginning of the Harpers Pass Track at Windy Point. This track took us through the Lake Sumner Forest Park and took 4 days dropping us out at Aickens. Upon arriving at Aickens, you will find yourself in the middle of nowhere. From here you can continue onto Arthurs Pass via the Mingha-Deception track or not. If, like us, you again are short on supplies it is a full days walk into Arthurs Pass, where food is quite expensive as there is only a small alpine store. A cheaper option is either Hokitika or Greymouth (where we hitched to) that both have large supermarkets and are not too difficult to hitch to. It's a little more difficult getting back to Arthurs Pass, so leave early.

The track was very well formed and relatively easy, taking us through valley flats, beech forest and through many rivers. Lots and lots of sandflies, especially around Lake Sumner, so be sure to have insect repellent.

Tip: Between Hope-Kiwi Lodge and Hurunui No.3, the track takes you to the true right of the river, here it bobs up and down through the forest and takes its time. A better option is to remain on the true left and walk on the valley flats, there are remnants of a 4WD track and will save you a couple of hours.

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Day 106 - Murchison to Windy Point to Hope Kiwi Lodge
We picked our spot carefully, right after a turn off to a cafe on a long stretch of road with plenty of space to turn off on and we held up our crudely drawn sign on the back of our cereal box. SH7 Hanmer Springs. We arent actually going there but its a major town a little further on from Windy Point and the start of the Harpers Pass Trail. We waited, until we were lucky enough to get a lift with a cool guy called Simon travelling back to Christchurch. He took us all the way to Windy Point. Upon starting, it was really really hot! Pretty quickly though we were out of the heat and into the beech forests again, filled with wasps keeping us on our toes. Silver lining is that it makes us walk quicker. After the beech we came out onto a little bit of pasture with a creepy little hut - Halfway Hope Hut. Creepy. Cracked, faded windows and a creaky door. Cool though. Signed the book to say hi and carried on in a hurry to get to Hope Kiwi Lodge. Incidentally after leaving the hut we soon came to the flats by the river which was just heaven walking along. When you've been forced to walk mountain after mountain, up and down all day long this cushty flat grass is a blessing. Hope Kiwi Hut is enormous, it's got a large stove and a fenced off area surrounding it, it was different to the huts we are used to, but we quickly made it home and started cooking food and baking etc. A lot of fun again. We struggle to get bored it seems. Anders burnt his hand though trying to rearrange the fire since the hut is lacking a poker, bringing down the mood with his justified anger. Looked around for some possums and then went to bed. Another Good Day, Go TastyTrek.


Day 107 - Hope Kiwi Lodge to No.3 Hurunui Hut
A beautiful morning! The view was soon forgotten as our feet became wet and cold trudging through a hidden bog, just before a wooden board walk. There is no way around it so don't even bother trying if you happen to come to this section. The track soon walked back into the beech forest and along a much more managable track. After coming out of the beech forest  at the bottom end of Lake Sumner, we all tried to appreciate it, except the damn sand flies were almost unbearable so we had to move on quickly. We walked down the West side of the river because it looked nice and flat, plus it was such as nice day we didn't want to ruin the view with the same old beech. We got some amazing views of the whole valley from North to South, i recommend people to walk down this side. Hurunui Hut No.3 was a nice hut with small windows, but 3 storey bunks! Pretty cool! We got settled in quick. Its our next home for one night. We tend to kinda explode all our things everywhere when we arrive, to give it that home feeling. You arrive, live in your new home for a night, treat it with respect, clean it in the morning and move on to your next home. Its exciting to be on the move all the time!

Day 108 - No.3 Hurunui Hut to Kiwi Hut

Day 109 - Kiwi Hut to Greymouth
We continued West along the Taramakau River at a pretty good pace. It was, as valleys are, quite flat but the invloved LOTS of crossings of the river. We knew there was a track somewhere on the true right of the river, but we have found through experience that walking down the river would be quicker. The weather was beautiful and the river was very crossable so we thought we would just continue on our set path and amble along with the river. Unlike further upstream, this part of the river was mainly lots and lots of lose rocks and boulders and pebbles, meaning that we had to concentrate on our foot placement to avoid slips and injury. After a couple hours of walking, we breaked in what looked like the old remains of some farming structure, we were sure we had about another hour of walking to the road but upon checking our GPS position we found we were already there! Awesome! We love it when that happens. We forded the gentle Otira River and joined a short track that took us onto the road (SH73) to a small 'settlement' (for lack of a better word) called Aickens.

The plan from here was to walk into Arthurs Pass along the road and skip the Mingha-Deception track (due to lack of supplies and will). So we started walking. It felt great being back on a road actually, you are able to completely open up and achive those massive stride that track walking doesn't allow. To make the time pass, we each plugged into our MP3 players and blazed along the road. Shortly we arrived in Otira. There is next to nothing in Otira, but there is a BBH hostel. Unfortunately we had no cash and now no food. It would be better to contiunue onto Arthurs Pass. Just as we got back onto the road again we realised something. When we arrive in Arthurs Pass it would probably be 7pm ish, nothing would be open. Perhaps it would be better to hitch to Greymouth now? This was our plan for our rest day anyway. We crossed the road and stuck our thumbs out. In Greymouth we had heard of a cool backpackers that gave out FREE PASTRIES and had FREE INTERNET...obviously this was the place to go. We rolled upto Neptunes International Backpackers and threw our tents out on the lawn. This place was nice, it had a great feel and was buzzing with people. And it definatly did have free pasteries! We organised ourselves and then went off to the nearby Countdown Supermarket to buy dinner, breakfast and food for the next 10-12 day section (we figured) to last us to Lake Tekapo.

St.Arn to Harpers Pass

Our original intent for this section was to go all hardcore and try get from St. Arnaud to Arthurs Pass in 10 days without diverting to resupply. We had met a fellow TA tramper who had done it, we too though we could. We planned for 10 days but decided to take food that would last us for approximatly 14 days to be on the safe side. This is a lot of food, buying this much food in St. Arnaud would cost a complete fortune. Hitching somewhere else is definately a worthwhile venture. However St. Arnaud doesn't get much traffic either. St. Arnaud you have failed me again! There are a few options for resupply we found: Nelson or Blenheim, have large supermarkets and are quite far but not totally out of the question for hitching to. A more convenient town is Murchison, only ~30 mins hitch away, it has nice cafes, takeaways and a well priced 4 Square. We did all our shopping here for a good price. It also has a fair bit of traffic so hitching back to St. Arnaud was not that difficult. Tip: To get from St. Arnaud to Murchison and back again in one day, leave early and/or make friends with fellow campers in the DOC campsite.

This section took us through the Nelson Lakes National Park, which was a mixture of pleasant walks through beech forest and around perfect crystal blue lakes coupled with bits of rocky climbs giving us some stunning views down river valleys. Things to watch out for: At the time of year we were here the beech trees had a black sort of fungus on some of them that secretes a sweet nectar that wasps love! So beware, we had quite a few run ins with wasps here. Between all of us we managed to collect 10 wasp stings. If you're sensitive to that kind of stuff, carry an epipen!

The huts in this park are massive and very popular and hence (appart from the Queen Charlotte Track) probably the most busy section we found. Not that that is a bad thing, it was actually a very nice change having lots of people to talk to and share stories.

As i said our original plan to complete this section in 10 days did not actually come to pass. Weather in this region is very changeable and even in summer time we had snow up on the Waiau Pass. We waited 2 days in Blue Lake Hut for the rain to pass and then it snowed! Not being prepared for winter conditions we were forced to change our plans (as were now low on food) and turn back north and head toward Murchison. Although we were very disappointed to miss the Waiau Pass, which apparently has some of the best views on the whole Te Araroa trail, we did get to see parts of the park that other TA trampers didnt, like the Tiraumea Valley, which not as spectacular as the Waiau Pass, was still very very awesome.
So after 7 days we were back where we started. Murchison. But that's ok, we really liked this place. Everything you need and more. So now that we had restocked, we were quite aways from Windy Point, the start of the Harper Pass track. We hitched a ride there and continued on for another 4 days to Aikens.

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Day 99 - St. Arnaud to John Tait Hut
We awoke at 06.30 to the sound of heavy heavy rain on the tents. Just wonderful. We packed our bags inside the tents, moaning and grumbling about the rain the whole time, then ran to the shelter to make tea and porridge, then back to pack up the tents. We weren't exactly eager to get going, so we waited until the rain subsided a little before finally doning ponchos and heading off on our 10 days tramp to Arthurs Pass at about 10ish. We were following the easy and well marked Lakehead Track that would take us to the Lakehead Hut where we were planning on having lunch. Although in fine weather the track is very very easy, flat too. In heavy rain streams had washed over the track in a few places. Before too long we got to Lakehead Hut and dove headfirst into peanut butter and plum jam on crackers.  Our original plan for the day was to reach the Upper Travers Hut (just before the Travers Saddle) but because of our late start to the day we changed our plans and set aim on only reaching John Tait Hut. It took 4 hours of pleasant but wet walking through beech forest along the Travers River to reach it. There were loads of people in the hut when we got there, which was abnormal for us, every hut we had stayed in so far along Te Araroa we had only shared with 1-2 people. But it was a nice change actually having lots of different people to talk to. Each with their own stories and experiences and plans. As the evening progressed, everyone started making dinner and sitting round the table and chatted. When it came to us and our story, everyone gathered round as we told our tale and showed on the maps where we had been and where we were going. That was really nice.

  

Day 100! - John Tait Hut  to West Sabine Hut
There were plenty of people in the hut so we made ourselves ready as quietly as possible and got a fire going to warm everyone up. We were amazed to walk outside and find that the decking was covered with ice, giving you a feel of how cold it was! But we didnt let that bug us and we walked on up to Upper Travers Hut. It WAS beautiful here and we took off our boots and basked in the sun for a good 30mins before starting out again. From Upper Travers the trail was quite mellow with a nice shallow climb up an alpine valley but then to punish us for thinking this was too easy the trail turned sharply to the right, straight up the boulders, all the way to the top. This was quite a hard climb with 10 days worth of food still in our packs. But we recovered quickly at the top, helped by outstanding views of the surrounding mountains. Not a cloud in sight for lunch on day 100! We decided right then and there that beer was a lunch thing and not to be saved for the hut. The cans of Speights Gold Medal ale came out of our packs and straight into the tarn. 15 minutes later we were enjoying a nice cold beer at the top of a mountain with a well deserved lunch. This day is awesome. Fueled by beer we were ready for the decent and made easy work of the downhill although it is ridiculously steep. More amazing views though before they were swallowed by the beech forest below. Walking along the Sabine River was pretty casual and a plesant walk through suprisingly wasp free forest to a bridge. The short bridge spanned a chasm over the Sabine River and the drop was huge. So awesome, we stood in awe of it for a short time before carrying on the fairly mundane track to West Sabine Hut. After shifting gears to leisure time we relaxed and talked to the other trampers. We had cooked up a storm and had made bread and spagetti and all sorts of deliciousness before even starting on the Day 100 Cake . By candle light we shared the cake and celebrated the end of Day 100 for TastyTrek, after checking for possums around the hut of course.

Day 101 - West Sabine Hut to Blue Lake Hut
We had heard that the weather was not going to be good today so again we had to change our plans. We had intended to go over the Waiau Pass today, supposably a Te Araroa highlight and only recommened in fine weather, but due to the weather we set our goals on only reaching Blue Lake Hut only 3 hours away at the bottom of the pass. We left the hut at midday, the track to Blue Lake Hut was (again) pretty wet in places and although a short journey we found it actually quite exhausting. Possibly due to the very late start or possibly due to the ENORMOUS breakfast. Along the way we stopped to see some awesome waterfalls and caves (complete with a stone circle cooking area! Clearly the cave had been used as a makeshift shelter). Blue Lake Hut was nice with 16 bunks and plenty of room. At the hut were several familiar faces we knew from the days before. We co-inhadited the hut and milled around, each of us doing our own thing. We had heard that the Blue Lake was amazing, and that apparently it is the purest lake in the world...according to the kiwis. The lake was indeed very blue! It became apparent there were no fish in it just by looking at it, it was SO clear. The rest of the evening we all sat around telling stories and chatting with cups of soups and teas and coffees and nibbling biscuits. It was a nice, warm, friendly atmosphere. Just a bunch of guys hanging out at 1200m in a hut. We were all really looking forward to crossing the Waiau Pass tomorrow, that night we went to sleep praying for clear skies.  

Day 102 - Blue Lake Hut weather break day
We got up early and it was pouring with rain, so we waited for a short time to see if the weather would get better and hopefully clear. Unfortunately the rain didn't clear for a long time so we made a group decision to wait in the hut and go over the pass the next day as we really want to have great views when we go over. The Waiau Pass is a Te Araroa high light and we really wanted good weather. So in the mean time we opted for a day walk. We set off with Hendrik (a friendly german tramper) when the sun had slightly come out. We tramped back down the track towards West Sabine Hut. We then turned West and headed up a steep climb towards the waterfall that was pouring out of the Mahanga Range. The views of the West Sabine river valley as we got higher and higher were amazing. Our initial plan was to be slightly recklace and climb into a cave above the waterfall; however it was obviously too dangerous, so we didn't do it. Although once at the top we found we could actually walk up next to the waterfall as a manageable gradient. The pass followed the river up to the long grass and shrub flat plains above. We got some BEAUTIFUL views of the river valley below. The long grass made it difficult to see the smaller hidden rivers, so we slipped, tripped and stubbled South to see if we could get a view of Blue Lake from above, unsuprisingly the view was again stunning. After chilling and taking in the awesomeness we slidled South again and actually found some orange markers! Turns out we had stumbled on to the Moss Pass track which went West over to different huts. We followed the track down a stream which took us all the way back to the hut. A great day walk!

Day 103 - Blue Lake to the bottom of the Waiau Pass then back to West Sabine Hut
Up really early as it was going to be a big day getting to Carroline Bivy over the Pass. It was 7 degrees, our coldest morning so far! Infact it was snowing! It was freezing in the hut which made it really difficult to get out of our cozy warm sleeping bags. Anders forced himself up and got the fire going to boil some water for morning tea and porridge. We set off towards the Pass in good spirits as it was still early and we thought the sun would burn off the snow when it came over the East mountain range. We had to sidle along the West side of Lake Constance, up scree first. Everything had a thin layer of snow on it so it was slow going as everything was slippery. We continued with carefull placement of our boots; but after about 45 minutes all our feet were cold and wet from the long snow tipped grass and ice cold streams we had to climb down. The sun did come over the East mountain range, before being englufed by a thick snow cloud that came from the South. From the beach next to Lake Constance we could see the Southerly winds had brought the snow and it was all being deposited on the Waiau Pass and onwards further south. Towards the North it was clear skies and sunshine, so it seemed like all the snow was being dropped right where we were trying to get to. After a group decision we decided it wouldn't be clever to climb up the Pass and down the really steep windward side in snowfall. We had heard the other side of the Pass was tricky even in good weather.

We didn't want to go back the same way we came so we thought it would be a good idea to walk along the Eastern side of Lake Constance along the Slate beach. It was easy going along the slate, hopping from one boulder to the other, until the last 100 meters, which turned from nice beech wlking to vertical rock climbing!  With heavy packs we climbed along the rock face above the ice cold Lake Constance. Falling in wasn't an option. It took us an hour to climb 100m's with numb fingers and toes. It wasn't so bad at first but closer to the end it got really tricky. DM being the weakest climber was finding it very tricky as his front pack was obscuring his climb as it was really full. So at 1300 meters on a cliff face, he managed to take off his bag, balance it with one foot, take off his clothes and re-pack his bag again. He dropped his bag into the lake and dived into the cold, cold lake with his boots still on and swam back to the slate shore with his pack floating infront of him. After that it was uncontrolable shivering while he dried himself and put his clothes back on. We quickly set off back to the hut where we had some lunch and got dry and warm. Instead of waiting another day we wanted to get moving, so we decided to go back to West Sabine Hut, then back to Murchison to re supply and then hitch to Harpers Pass, from there go to Arthers Pass.

Day 104 - West Sabine Hut to Tiraumea Hut
Today we blazed along the river track as we had a long way to go. We were suprisingly energised and almost ran a lot of the way, only stopping for short breaks of water and 'bit o' gorp' (scroggin). The landscape was completely different to that up at Blue Lake. We had gin clear water running to our left and silver beach trees above our heads, while the forest floor was covered in lime green moss. So cool! We walked up to Lake Rotoroa and then across a braided river up to D'Urgville Hut. There we had lunch, before pushing on to the next hut, Tiraumea hut which was 5 hours away. It was a 30 minute walk to the bottom of the saddle we had to tramp over, it was only 300 meters up and then flat until the hut. Easy! ... We still feel our hearts pumping in our heads after a steep climb. For the rest of the 3 hours it was relativily flat with a few more stream crossings. Tiraumea hut was a nice small 6 bunk but with a savage fire place that got the hut hot quick. We had to open the door to let cool air in. When the sun went down and we had eaten dinner we set some traps for possum and then went looking for some with large sticks. Unfortunately the only possum we saw was small and too high to bash. DM threw a his stick only scaring it further out of view. We went back to the hut and Anders made some oat cookies that we dipped in spare jam and chocolate. Delicious!

Day 105 - Tiraumea Hut  to Murchison
We had a large porridge in the morning and got going. In the first 5 minutes our feet were wet, we had to cross 2 rivers and there were not many rocks to hop on. We had to follow the river the whole way today, criss crossing the river constantly. It was alot of fun, walking over fallen trees and rock hopping to the other side of the river. Eventually we got fed up of slipping on rocks and getting our boots wet and taking 5 minutes to cross, so we just waded and walked through the river. The track disappeared every now and then, due to landslides that blocked our path due to heavy rain fall in December which caused severe river flooding. On the other hand the flood took all of the green didymo off the rocks so they were less slippery when hopping on them. We followed the river for several hours though the lush valley until eventually the valley opened up and the track turned onto the cow fields. After about 30 more minutes we were on tar-mac road which meant it was time to stop for lunch. Just as we finished lunch we managed to get a short lift into Murchison. (We had to get there early to get food and sort out all the other objectives we needed to do, like blogs!) Lucky we got that lift because the road was very empty. In Murchison we went to Kiwi farm which was a camp site and petting zoo! Alright, but the pigs better not disturb our night sleep.

Havelock to St Arnaud

From Havelock we had planned to combine the Pelorus River track and the Richond Alpine Range track into one MEGA track and attempt to do it in 8 days, although just to be on the safe side we took food for 10-11 days, in case of any rain that meant we would have to sit and wait out for any rivers to drop. Needless to say it weighed quite a bit. We did all our shopping for this section in the local 4 Square, which we were expecting to cost an arm and a leg, but surprisingly didnt.

Okay, im not going to lie. This section was pretty tough. Obviously it is doable, but by the end we felt relieved to be finishing the track, more so than any other track we had previously done. The things that made it tough were the daily, steep ups and downs, also there was a lot of rock hopping along the Richmond track which meant that to avoid injury you had to concentrate on your foot placement all day long. Mentally this became quite draining, especially after the 8 days.

From the beginning of the Pelorus River track we were into the Mt Richmond Forest Park, from here on we began to see a marked change in the local flora. We saw a departure of the ferns, pungas, supplejacks and other bushy plants we were used to from the North Island and a welcome arrival of beech forests, which is a lot easier to walk though and has a really nice feel. We spent the first 3 days of this trip on this track following the beautiful, turquoise Pelorus River which we whole heartily recommed swimming in! It's so cold and fresh and pure and delicious. The remaining 4 days were spent on the Richmond Range Alpine track which was predominantly above the bush line, hopping from stone to stone. The best bit of this whole section: summiting Mount Rintoul as every cloud in the sky disappeared. What views! Some of the best in the whole of New Zealand arguably.

Another thing that was new and exciting about this section was this marked the beginning our time staying mainly in huts, not including the occaisional hut in North Island we stayed in, from now on we were in many many of them. With this came a new style of trail life, many huts have fireplaces meaning that instead of cous cous we could now start bringing pasta and rice etc on the trails because we could now cook it easily, without burning tonnes of meths. However the most exciting thing this meant is we could now bake! Flour, although heavy and only really recommended carrying on shorter sections, is so versitile. Not only does it give you something to do in the evenings but can significantly supplement any meal. We've since made flat breads, apple crumbles, dumplings, pain au chocolate all with reasonable ease and little fancy ingredients.

As i said finishing this section was very relieving, however arriving into St. Arnaud was such a downer. There is next to nothing in St. Arnaud. When ALL you want to do is finally eat a ton of food on arrival, there is only a one store (also the gas station) and it's very very expensive. It actually hurt parting with that much money for that little food. There is a though a cheap DOC campsite that has awesome aweomse views over Lake Rotoiti. Very nice. Apparently the hardest bit of Te Araroa is now behind us. That feels good.

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Day 89 - Bluemoon BBH Havelock  to Pelorus Bridge DoC Campsite
After an enormous breakfast curtosy of our new friend Johanna we started walking with heavy packs, full of food for 8 days, along the road. It was a pretty boring walk along the road, listening to music. The two Kiwi sisters we met along the Queen Charlotte track, just happen to drive past and they offered us a lift, but we had to decline. It was nice to have someone stop and say hello though! The Pelorus Bridge was an ok camp site but it was cool to see how much the scenery had changed from the coast. The trees are now Beech and the forest is more temperate.

Day 90 - Pelorus Bridge to Captains Hut
Up early and walked along the road, with some EPIC views of the valley behind. The road followed the Pelorus river and it was beautifully clear. The clearest water we have ever seen. The begining of the track was a nice tramp to Emerald Pools where we had lunch. The water was beautiful and cool. We took the opportunity to make a few videos for Knotty boy, but DM broke the no.1 rule and dropped his soap. Luckily he has a spare! There was a deep part to the river so we jumped off the cliffs and did a few flips as well. The walk to the first of our huts was pretty cool, following the river the whole way. Captains Hut was really nice and had a lot of character. It even had some flour, so Anders and DM took the liberty to bake flat bread. One spicy and one with mixed herbs. Before the sun went down we had swam in the Pelorus River and again jumped off the cliff into the clearest water ever! GREAT DAY!


Day 91 - Captains Hut to Browning Hut
The day started out much the same as every other day, except now we were in huts again! we love huts! The track was steep - it doesnt become known as the hardest section of the Te Araroa without it being difficult, having said that though the morning walk up to Middy Hut (which we were supposed to do yesterday) was fairly mild for what we had in store for us. Elevensies at Middy Hut just to sign the hut book and check out where other Te Araroa trampers were going. The walk from Middy Hut to Roebuck was less than easy. The trail information suggested a 5 hour time, but we are coming to realise that these are somewhat subjective - normally we are about 1/3 quicker but recently we've been bang on (so longer than we expected). This track was another section that was timed appropriately for us with lots of challenging, steep sidling along thin paths with steep falls. Needless to say we didnt like it. It exhausted us and caused considerable anger. Slipping again on a rock, stretching out our knees, occassional expletives echoed through the beech forests and up the river valley. Lunch at Roebuck Hut allowed us some recovery time. The next track didnt offer any sympathy,again it took longer than expected battling our way through steep, slippery forest which, for now, was blocking out the sun. Finally Totara Sadle (only 30mins from the hut - we had reevaluated our target destination to Browning from Hackett) but it was still a steep downhill. Upon reaching the door to the hut we were well and truely exhausted, can it really get harder than this? Is it only this bad due to the weather? Well apparently from other trampers its pretty hard all the time. But man this was probably the worst day on the trail so far. And to top it off, one of the worst huts of the trail. Everything was wet, there was no wood for the fire, there were rats in the ceiling, there were mosquitos (sandflies we are used to now, not mozzies). What a dump. Still, its a roof.

Day 92 - Browning Hut  to Slaty Hut

This was the day. The hard day. 900m in one straight climb. Apparently this is one of the hardest days of the Te Araroa, so, understandably, it took us a while to get moving. Lucky we didnt make it to Hackett yesterday so we had a little warm up section by way of a 1 hour walk to Hackett Hut. Everything still wet from yesterdays rain, gators can only do so much when your boots are falling apart, our feet got soaked, again. Hackett Hut was awesome though, and as a bonus we met two cool dudes there. 900m up. Started with river hopping with a wet track and slippery roots and rocks. Then up through the beech forest for a grueling couple of hours. We didnt take many breaks since it had started to rain a little, although 2 flat, no... flat-ter sections gave our thighs and arses a little respite. For some reason the wasps were angered and they took a liking to Anders' legs and stung him a couple times making the climb even worse, luckily though we were approaching the bushline and therefore Starveall Hut and LUNCHTIME!  After glimpsing a couple views of the sea when the clouds infrequently cleared a hole we took off towards Slaty hut. Guess what? it was up. Up and covered by clouds. Alpine climbing is much more exciting and therefore fun, and when its fun and exciting it makes for easy walking. It barely felt like we had left Starevall Hut when we arrived at Slaty Hut. Another cool Hut with ample wood and lots of forest to get more should you need any.

Day 93 - Slaty Hut to Rintoul Hut
It was cloudy and cold. We were aprehensive that we spent all this time and effort getting all the way up this mountain and then we wouldnt even see anything. All the way to Old Man Hut we were in cloud not seeing any views except for track by our feet. Old Man Hut had two turn offs and upon reaching the first we made a decision to not eat lunch and not to stop at the hut but to carry on going and eat a little extra scroggin and some energy bars. This was mostly due to the 30min walk just to get to it, we didnt want to add an hour walk to our day. Lucky things got better and not worse! We climbed up Little Rintoul and the clouds started to clear off. We could see quite a ways. We were happy and walking better now. Then, the clouds vanished! SHWEET!! we now faced the climb to the top with amazing views, warm weather and perfect visibility!  It was a long climb and quite technically challenging but it wasnt overly hard. There is also a huge reward summiting such an exposed mountain and thats demonstrated by the photos. We spent an hour and a half at the top. Eating lunch, taking photos and videos, we even wrote a note for other hikers - hopefully it will brighten their day. The climb down was pretty cool actually. Felt like we were on a beach at first, really mellow descent but then, of course, it got steep. Really steep. But it was cool, kinda like scree-surfing, just hard on the knees. Then a short section through trees and we came to the hut which we spotted from the summit. What fun.

Day 94 - Rintoul Hut  to Mid Wairoa Hut
Up the ridge through the trees for the first of three climbs today (and the only peak - Purple Top) brought us to the bushline where we climbed a little bit more and sidled across to a pass just to the East of Purple Top. Then we climbed down again. Back into the trees and made our way to a lake and Tarn Hut for lunch. Really nothing incredibly exciting happened, and the alpine scenery is starting to get a bit same-y but thats only when you cant see anything cause of the beech trees. Tarn Hut wasnt spectacular either, the lake was alright, the weather was nice. Ate lunch and then realised that we had run out of toilet paper. Hmmm. Newspaper will have to do. The afternoon was pretty similar to the morning. Pretty standard walk until the last climb down to Mid Wairoa Hut. Now things got interesting. It was steep. Probably the steepest - longest descent we've had to do. It hurts the knees and it doesnt stop. Still its downhill so its not aerobically challenging its just harder on the joints, Still not sure whether I prefer up or down. Another day done we dropped our stuff and went straight for the river. Rocks to jump off again! YES! We LOVE doing this. But the water is FREEZING! not sure how I can understate how cold the water is here but it didnt stop us going for it. Got the blood pumping. Plus Mid Wairoa Hut has an open fireplace!!! oh yeah! nice big fire to warm the hut.

Day 95 - Mid Wairoa Hut to Hunters Hut
Although it bucketed down during the night, it wasnt as wet as we had thought. The river had only risen a couple centimeters as well. We were concerned at first - there are lots of river crossings in the next section up to Top Wairoa Hut. In fact we follow the river all the way up! The track itself though is difficult. Its steep and slow going. The river crossings are fun but take a lot of time if you dont want to get soaking wet boots. There are amazing waterfalls and swimming pools up the track. Considering how difficult it was I think that we managed it without too much trouble. We generally agree that it was difficult and given the right circumstances dangerous but we think that it was still a fun and enjoyable track - if only for the waterfalls. Top Wairoa Hut was awesome as well, another open fireplace. Over lunch it started raining again and we werent too keen on the idea of climbing the next mountain in poor visibility and rain since the information states that the markers are difficult to see in clear weather. So we decided to wait till 2pm to see what happens. 2pm came along and we went for it. The rain had, for the most part, stopped and it was bright still so we figured we would be ok. It was wet though, warm, but wet. Once on alpine terrain we were at home again on the shale and scree and we started getting back into our stride. Cruising over the ridge we could just make out the next pole in time to prevent walking off the side of the mountain and getting lost somewhere. Down into more beech forest we climbed down and down until we could see from under the clouds! There was Hunters Hut. Miles away. Damn. It looks alot further away when you can see mountains in the way! still knowing that we were in sight made things so much more bearable and we continued on without any hiccups. The last 15 minutes up to the hut however were steep and we were exhausted. Hunters Hut is a fantastic hut with great views and a very very good stove. Make sure you stay here!

Day 96 - Hunters Hut to Red Hills Hut

Eventually the dreaded time came when we have to leave the comfort of this great hut. Luckily though it was only a 4 hour walk to Porters Hut and the weather had lightened up a little. On top of better weather the landscapes were awesome! Loads of martian-esc terrain although it reminded us more of Australia than Mars. Walking across yet another boulder field we came to another river crossing, well not so much a river as a stream, but still eventful. Anders went first. As with all crossings, we try and scope a way we can get across without getting our feet wet (walking is much more pleasant with dry feet and our boots have lost all the waterproofness they never had), Anders found a path and threw himself at it. His right foot (the forward foot) slipped to the left throwing his 80-some kilos backwards over the foot high waterfall and into the pool below, his fall broken neatly by his Truist 65ltr Eagle Creek backpack. Absolutely devastating for Anders, HILARIOUS for Landey and Dm! ok well we were just glad that he didnt smash his face in, and it did suck that he got soaked in freezing water but the sun had come up a little so it wasnt the end of the world. At Porters we stooped through the midget doorway and checked out the tiny hut. Another open fireplace, a hut book dating back to 1986, old axes and a weird little rain gauge. I have to say that this hut has the most character of all the huts we've been to. We pigged out a little on lunch (tomorrow we would be in St. Arnaud!) and headed out for Red Hills Hut. This section was said to be longer than Hunters to Porters and it was. Although it was beautiful it was dull and hot and tiring. Time dragged on until we eventually made it over the last saddle and could see the hut in the distance. Only thing is a marsh stood in our way. Well its not mapped as a marsh but you walk through knee high grass which obscures the ground which little swampy streams haphazardly wind their way through. Red Hills Hut has a brand new feel to it and an amazing porch but it lacks a fireplace and a sink. Tomorrow, St. Arnaud!!

Day 97 - Red Hills Hut to St. Arnaud DoC Campsite
Today had few thrills. We treated ourselves to the remaining chocolate in our porridge and walked down the 4x4 track to the carpark and then took a right and walked along the road shoulder into St. Arnaud. The road was a welcome change with a long, well graded section with even ground. We didnt have to concentrate hard about where the next foot was going and could zone out and even listen to a little music. No rain again, always nice. Made it into town easily for lunch and b-lined it straight for the chippy. It was shut. WHAT! only open on the weekends! ok then, looks like we arent going to be treating ourselves, head to the store. Which one? Theres only one. Ok found it. WHAT ON EARTH! everything is priced triple its value. Monopolys are horrible. As I said all in all an uneventful day. The views from the DoC campsite though are amazing and there are some pretty big eels in the lake, they are protected though, cant go around eating these ones - they take 90 years to mature in these frigid waters!

Wellington to Havelock

Reaching Wellington, our just-over-half-way mark was a great feeling, but nothing compared to actually arriving on the South Island and actually starting the trail again. We had heard so much about the South Island, about the incredible scenery and the super friendly locals and about the ever present and overly large sandflies!  Either way, we were more than excited to find out and experience it for ourselves.

TastyTrek were lucky enough to obtain sponsorshp from InterIslander, one of the main ferry companies, who supported us with free ferry tickets, usually costing $70ish. TastyTrek were even more blessed because those free tickets were for 1st class! Travelling anywhere 1st class is always more fun, but after our experience there really is NO other way to cross the Cook Strait. Usually only an additional $45 ontop of the $70 ticket, we travelled in UTTER LUXURY. We were treated to comfy sofas, free internet (when available) and lots and lots of food. First course is a buffet selection of eggs, bacon, beans and hash browns with unlimited toast, cereal, juice and tea and coffee. Next, they bring out platter upon platter of sandwiches, cakes, tarts and sushi! All in the meantime there is a bar that freely gives out a range of wines and beers should you feel you want that early morning buzz. As you can imagine, we spent the whole 3 hours ride just eating and eating and eating (i think Landey actually ate 14 hash browns just to himself!). We could hardly walk when getting off, however, in hindsight we still wished we had taken the opportunity to eat more. For $45 extra we most happily recommend taking the 1st class option.

Our first port of call on South Island was the main ferry port and small seaside town of Picton where we only spent a brief amount of time buying food and arranging transport and passes for the first trail and first taste of the South Island, The Queen Charlotte Track, starting at Ship Cove (a historic and favourite spot of Captain Cook's, being visisted 4 times by him in the 1700's) and finishing at Anikiwa. The QCT being a great walk requires great walk passes that cost about $12 each then we had to arrange transport to the beginning of the trail by watertaxi, that whilst being a lot of fun and a great experience travelling through the Marlborough Sounds, it was also quite dear. So be prepared to fork out some cash when arriving!

 

Altogether the trip from Ship Cove to Havelock took 4 days and included walking the Queen Charlotte Track and the Linkwater Track (a road section from Anikiwa to Havelock), there's no shop in Anikiwa so we carried food for 4 days, the only shop between Anikiwa and Havelock is a small gas station that significantly uped it's prices. Havelock has a 4 Square supermarket and met all of out resupply needs although hitching back to Picton or Nelson wouldn't be hard if needed.

One of the very best aspects of this section of the trail is the abundance of really really really good seafood. Daily on the QCT we picked mussels (4-5inches long!)  and cockles to supplement our dinners. You can find them stuck to rocky outcrops or just walk down the beach along the shoreline and you should see them dotted around stuck to rocks on the ground. On the track we boiled them in fresh water but not until we reached Havelock (the Green Lipped Mussel capital of the world) did we find the secret. Steamed mussels take about a 5th of the time and fuel to prepare. Add mussels and only a little water to the pot and leave the lid on, they should take baout 10 mins and are just divine! Another thing to watch out for are the cheeky Wekas (kind of like a bush chicken) they are very inquisitive and love to steal shiny things! Oh and another thing that was striking about the track is the number of people, there are loads of them!

We had read ahead on the Te Araroa information that the section after this, through North Canterbury and the Richmond Range is the most challenging section of the trail. We found that the easy grade walking tracks of the QCT were a perfect way to ease into the hardships that were about to follow.

Day 84 - Wellington (7:00) to School House Bay (18:30)
6:30am. Oh too early. Luckily though we had enough forethought to pack our bags the previous night. Even so it took us 30 minutes to pack up our stuff and get it up to Dan's van. Dan had offered us a lift to the ferry since he worked in the vicinity so we jumped at the opportunity! Groggy eyed we queued for check in and got on the Interislander ferry. Interislander, one of our sponsors, had even managed to arrange us to cross in first class! so we had breakfast on board!!! Needless to say it was an awesome crossing. We did however check out the ship and look at the views of Wellington. Imagine our excitment though when we saw the South Island for the first time. The 3 hour crossing passed in no time and the Interislander staff were more than helpful. After just a short time on the boat there was even an announcement for the first of two films showing in their on board cinemas!!! We didn't watch them but man these ferries are cool, so happy that Interislander could help us out.
With full stomachs we disembarked and b-lined it to the information center. Standing in line we planned what to do. Anders stood waiting to buy ferry tickets and trail passes and Landey and Dm went to find the supermarket. Once there Dm ran back to show Anders the way and Landey did all the shopping in around 5 minutes. Anders and Dm arrived just in time to carry the stuff down to the wharf to catch the beachcomber ferry up to Ship Cove. In fact we even managed it in enough time to chillout and repack the food waiting to board.
The ferry ride itself was actually super awesome although the cost ($58 each) weighed on our minds a little. The ferry doubled as a mail boat taking and recieving mail for the 500 some permanent Marlborough Sound residents, obviously though we didnt stop at 500 jettys. We stopped a couple of times and for the majority of the cruise the driver gave an entertaining commentary. We saw fur seals, muscle and fish farms and just amazing views of the sound from the water. About an hour later we were in Ship Cove walking down the jetty to the Cook monument and the start of the Second Island!
Needless to say we were in high spirits and blazed through to Schoolhouse Bay (only a 2hr walk or so) and instantly went in search of muscles... and FOUND SOME! and ate well. Its good to be on the South Island.

   

Day 85 - School House Bay (10:15) to Camp Bay (15:30)

We have decided that officially this is our first day of walking in the South Island. A beautiful morning, with the sun creeping in over the bush behind us on to the ocean view at our tent step. It's definitely alot chillier in the South than the North, as we had to layer up in our minus 33 clothing. We will just have to re-adjust. By the time we started walking it was about 10:00am as Landey was busy making an amazing start-stop motion clip of our routine in the mornings. (it will be up loaded soon). The walk was at low altitude with the sea always just in view through the bush. The water here is very blue and clear so we were looking forward to a swim later in the day to relax and chill.

On coming up to our first saddle over looking the many bays and headlands of the Marlbourgh Sounds, we stopped for elevensies on a bentch to absorb the awesomeness. (believe me when i say that this view was nothing in comparison to what came later). Anders thought it would be a great idea to film a Weka up close for all at home to see; however when placing a small amount of energy bar infront of the camera, the cheeky little Weka gobbled the bait and then imediately tried to run off with Anders camera! Luckily in Anders panic the Weka dropped the camera and we got some very funny footage for you all to see. (also to be uploaded soon with the JAWS theme music by John Williams.

We met an Austrian guy who was also doing the walk and he was very interested in the bush knowledge we have learnt over the past 85 days. Anders explained everything and we walked with him until the Camp Bay camp site. We planned to move on but the next camp site was at altitude so we couldn't eat any mussels! Therefore it we justified staying for an epic meal. The camp site was not great but once the tents were up it was all good, as two Kiwi sisters came over and gave us spagetti and bacon! Amazing! thank you! FREE DINNER! DELICIOUS TASTE!

Day 86 - Camp Bay (09:00) to Cowshed Bay (16:00)

We seemed to be the last people to leave the camp site, (loads more people arrived later on in the day). It was cool though because we eventually ended up walking past everyone and being the first to arrive in the next camp site! It was interesting seeing how much our fitness has improved. The track had some amazing views along the ridge line where you can see mussel farms. It difficult in some parts but again we were quick to recover and started again just as quickly as we stopped. It was a good walk and we really enjoyd our selves, especially at 'Eatwell Lookout' which had views of 100 km in each direction! The massive mountain to the South were quite daunting as it was the mountains we were going over next.

We got to Cowshed bay very sweaty and needed a swim. The camp site was split by a road, one side by the sea and the other in the bush. We had to camp in the bush side as the ocean view was taken. A nice spot in the sun next to the toilets and water. From above along the ridge the bay looks really nice; however it was infact not that great as it was muddy and smelly. To be honest though the cold water was very refreshing and we managed to pick some large green lipped mussels off the beach that blew some of the other campers minds! DM even picked up a dead mussel that had a fish inside! Using the Titri we had a constant controlled fire going cooking our mussels, cous cous and coffee and manuka tea. We love the Tea Tree!

In the camp site we met a really cool German woman called Johannah, who was travelling around NZ. She was on her own so we told her to come and chill with us. The night was spent chatting and relaxing around the Ti-Tri cooker and Johannah generously gave us some egg, english mustard, bread, and salami to dig into. Johannah was really impressed with what we were doing and thought we were really cool! She especially liked the solar light caps that Landey and DM were using. Before ending the night DM explained how the Maoris used flax and he made her a bracelet out of flax and tape.

 

Day 87 - Cowshed Bay (09:00) to Davis Bay (2:00)

Today was a nice easy day with a steep climb in the morning that had some beautiful views of the Sounds. The track then descended to the waters edge and kept at this altitude until the camp. We got there early at 1:30pm, just in time for peanut butter and jam on bacon flavoured corn crackers. Unfortunately the camp was swarming with wasps and they tried to eat our delicious salami.

Other than the wasps, which eventually leave when the food is gone, it was a really nice camp next to the sea with a river running through it. The water was so calm we kept forgeting it was the sea as it looked like a lake. In the river there were some big, plump, delicious looking ducks and they were all sleeping .... we could have .... but didn't, as some of the other campers would have frowned upon it.

Met another two German women who were 'free spirits', they were just going, Never having a plan. We chilled with them by the bench all night and swapt a small amount of meths for bisquits. A good deal! Later in the night we saw some possums and really, really wanted to do our part for NZ, but the German girls were quite against the idea. Next time possum!

Day 88 - Davis Bay (10:00) to Bluemoon BBH Havelock (15:30)

The track was an easy strole to the end of the Queen Charlotte track. We met an 'Outward bound guide' who was looking over a 22km run that morning, and he was stoked by what we were doing. Cool guy. As we were coming to the end of the track, we were walking with a girl who was part of outward bound. Being the last person of the race, everyone was cheering her on and clapping, which made us smile as it felt like it was for us.

The rest of the day was walking on road to Havelock, there was a track called the Linkwater Track which was useless as it followed the road anyway. It also went up a massive hill just before Havelock and Landey's knee was hurting him so we decided not to walk it. It was quicker to go on the road anyway, plus we got to see an antique Jaguar race with lots of old people at the wheel!

Johannah wanted to meet us, so we organised to meet her in Havelock and have dinner. As we were walking into the 'Green Lipped Mussel Capital of the World', Johannah pulled up and offered to take our gear to the BBH which was 5 mins walk away. After we agreed and Johannah drove off, we realised that we had just given our lives to a person who we really didn't know! Funnily enough she was thinking the same thing, except she thought we were very trusting.

The BBH was amazing as everyone was really acommodating and as it was the weekend they were having a BBQ for everyone. Pretty much everyone was German there, except for one American guy who said we were the first non-German guys in 3 weeks! It turned out to be a bit of a party as everyone got to know each other and we drank Steinlager. Later in the night we then walked along a small track to see some glow worms. Johannah cooked us some pasta, which went great with the steak and ice-cream!

 

Hamilton to Welly!!!

Ok. It takes longer to write these things than we thought, so, you know we didn't write them. And now we are in Wellington. Crap. Oh well. I will write a blog of the highlights of our trip from Hamilton onwards...

Right well, we left off from our rest day at McLaren Falls which was epic so I will start from the next day, which, incidentally was a great significance. The idea of staying in a DoC hut had invaded our heads and we consequently decided that it would just be a swell idea to walk from Hamilton to the top of Mt Pirongia. Undaunted by the maps we cruised down the roads without so much as a hint of fatigue... that is until 16:00. We had just walked 19.5 miles and up Couchran road (steep and unrelenting) in the midday heat of the clearest day yet. Blown away by the views we had our late lunch and recuperated in the shade of some pine and kawakawa trees. With our lunch finished we started another days walk - the DoC signs suggested a 7 hour walk to the top (a typical length for one of our days!). It started steep and by the time we had lugged our full packs to the Trig point our lungs were burning and we were almost sick due to shear exhaustion. Collapsing onto the bench and breathing allowed us the time to think about where we are! Near half way to the top of our first real mountain in the middle of New Zealand in summer. Man our lives aren't all that bad! Its getting hard now to even think about how hard we worked to get to here. We must be getting fit now, we cut DoC's timing in half! a long ways yet though. We climbed and scrambled up steep volcanic faces with bolted chains to steady ourselves with our fully packed Eagle Creek 65ltr Truist Backpacks and up and down ridges over and over again, always going up. The final sign - 30 mins to summit, I was pumped, so much adrenaline, started sprint walking... 6 minutes! But what a view! I feel for anyone who does this in the cloud... we could even see Ruhapehu! and Hamilton in the far distance!

After leaving Pahautea Doc Hut, it was a very muddy and slippery descent of Pirongia and we had a few falls here and there; but nothing serious. It was a hot and sticky day, so we all became irritable while walking along metal road. On the other hand the views of the Kawhia coast were still as amazing as the previous night. We took shelter underneath a bridge and had some lunch. This lunch session then became an eal man hunt, as we spotted our first eal and were determined to catch one. Unofrtunately our fishing methods were unsuccussful. A navagational mistake and a swift solution brought us back on track in the bush; but things didn't get any better, DM bashed his nose with his trekking pole and Landey fell face first into the wet marsh.

The next day we saw a rare sight of two boxing hares. Our fortune was about to change for the worse as the lovely Te Araroa markers disapeared into head height gorse. After a good hour of battling the menace brought over form England, we headed back to the top of the Valley. Taking a bearing with the compus we head along our own path. The Tasty Trek trail. We ended up on Queens land and then a friendly farmer told us how to get out to the road. DM's bag had broken so there was work to be done once in Waitomo, Juno Hall BBH.

From Waitomo we walked along the road to Mangaokewa reserve, which was a really nice camp site and this was the location of the first of tasty trek's favourite dinner. While walking Anders and Landey got sprayed witha smelly liquid as a truck full of cows drove by. I can honestly say no one i know of has ever been pissed on by a cow moving at 80km/h! The next day we walked along the Mangaokewa track which is described to be very pleasant with a wide path. Well its definitely not wide and in fact it was very challenging becasue the track was over-grown with gorse on the up hil and bramble on the down hill. It was a scratchy experiance. We then got a bit confused and ended up 3 miles of the track; however if this didn't happen a poor sheep would have died. It was fate for tasty trek and sir sheep to meet. Also it was hilarious watching Anders and Landey struggle pulling this sheep out of a bog! Back on track we pitch tent in a field next to a river. Eager to catch an eel for dinner we went about again fishing. Success! Just as we were all about to pack our gear away, the fishing line started to violently move, and tasty trek got their first very tasty eel.

The next day was suprisingly quick for the huge distance we walked (24 miles). It helps listening to music when doing long raod sections. We got to Pureora DOC Campsite in good time for us the nap and start a nice fire and chill. The day after to the summit of Pureoa was amazing as the views were incredible and gave us a 360 view of Pirongia to the North and Lake Taupo to the South. The walk through this forest was one of our favourite as it wasn't savage up and down but a constant horizontal all the way to Bogg Inn hut. This hut rocked with character and we had a competition to see who could chop the smallest piece of wood. Walking in the bush is very different to walking on roads. As obvious as this remark seems, we were suprised to see how slow going it was in the bush per mile. While pondering the exact amount we walk an hour in the bush a dog jumped out with is hunter owner and scared the crap out of us! He told us that the Pureoa forest was the most heavily poisoned forest in NZ. At Waihaha hut we met some biologists who were collecting ferns to measure the impact of deer on the forest. They gave us loads of their food the next day as we left to the next hut. Well turned out there was no hut so we ended up camping on the side of the road. The walk to Taumaranui Holiday Park Campsite was along road the whole way, so instead of listening to music like we normally do we tried to tell stories of movies we had seen or books we had read in the past. It is a good way to keep the mind occupied. Once in Taumaranui the information ladies helped us out for a place to stay even organised a ride to pick us up! Getting to Taumaranui was a big step in our journey so we had a rest day, insidently it wasn't in Taumaranui but in Ohakune because it had shuttle buses to the Tongariro Crossing.

The Tongariro Crossing is expensive to get to by shuttle but the walk is definitely worth it! We didn't find it that challenging to walk, in fact we even ended up running at the lowere sections of the trail. Lots of fun as we had to skip around people and jump down stairs. Although i have to admit i thought i was going to chunda when we got to the bottom. Before finishing the crossing though we had to climb Mt Ngauruhoe AKA Mt Doom! This was a difficult but worth while climb up scree and loose rock. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of a view at the top as the clouds had come in; but we were made famous on Mt Doom. An Austian couple said they had heard of us from the French woman we met earlier on 90 mile beach! Awesome! When everyone had gone we took the liberty to strip off under cloud cover and pose for a photo.... Common, how many people can say they have stood naked ontop of Mt Doom? When we got back to we were running about trying to organise the next epic part of our trip down the Whanganui river.

Lots happened on this river, so i'm going to summarise all the best parts ... theres ALOT! We set off from Taumaranui down the river with Anders and Landey in the canoe and DM in the kayak. It was a beautiful day and the river level was apparently low so the rapids were more rapid. It was cool being on the river, because we had talked about it so much when walking and now we were finally on it. We stopped at Poukaria Campsite. It was great to stuff our selves on the river because the barrels in th canoe allowed us to take way more food! It started to rain the next day and we didn't want to leave the campsite because we were all nice and warm. After putting on our wet gear again we paddled to warm the muscles. It was great on the river now as it was moving really fast and we didn't have to paddle that hard. After manouvering through some rapids we heard this roar and to our dis-belief, there was a waterfall gushing out of the wall so massive it almost came across the river, which was narrow at this point. Landey and DM were in the canoe and tried to power there way through the side current the waterfall had created in the river. Well it didn't work well and we ended up being slammed against the side of the gorge and nearly cap-sized. After this adrenaline pumping ordeal we thought that we might need to get off the river soon. Once at Whakahoro the river was raging and we made a tactical stop at Lacy's landing which is were we met a man called Dan Steele who was rescuing his speed boat before it too disapeared. We hauled our gear out of the river and pulled it up to the tree line and tied the canoe and kayak up. Dan gave us a lift to the DOC hut next to his. Dan is a farmer but conservationist at heart, taking special care of the Blue Duck. He let us shower at the Blue Duck Lodge and we settled down dry talking to the people in the lodge. We decided it would be best if we had a rest day in at the lodge and wait for the river to go down. Two siblings, Andy and Cathy also had the same idea and had a safety day (we were staying with them in the DOC hut). We loved the Blue Duck lodge and all the people there, especially a man called Gary who took us hunting with the John the chef. They got three goats and kindly gave us one. Hell yeah! Back on the river after the rest day was pleasant enough when suddenly Andy from the DOC hut waved us down from the side of the river bank. As it happened Andy got sucked in by a very large Whirlpool which turned out to the bain of the river. We spent the night on the river bank with Andy and Cathy. The next day we beat the whirlpool and headed down river to the next hut. Unfortunately there was no warden so we left a message on the board with Andy's and Cathy's 10 digit gps location on it. After this it was a very pleasant rest of the day, as we pulled up to our next stop 'The Bridge to Knowhere'. What a place! It has an eery feel to it as this large cncrete structure connects two sub-tropical rain forests. The next stop along the river was, Tieke Kainga Marae. A Maori woman called Lesleigh took care of the place and she taught us loads of craft using a local plant called Flax. Lesleigh also let us help our selves to all the food the Marae had. Apparently 80 people were stranded there when the river was in 10 meter flood. The next day we canoed and kayaked to Pipiriki. It was more or less uneventlyful, except the strong wind made it really difficult to paddle. In Pipiriki we met a really interesting old man who told us about Maori culture. The following sections of the river were easy going except for the wind as it gradually increased the further down river we got. Infact Anders Fell in the river due to the wind!. The rest of the journey from Downes hut (Awsome hut) to Whanganui was less impressive as we came out of the national park and the lanscape turned into farmland. FINALLY WHANGANUI!

We took a rest day in Whanganui with the woman Cathy who we met on the river. Tasty Trek on Classic Hits with Phil Lemon was our next new experience. Just trying to spread the work to raise the donations. Cathy picked us up and drove us down the to begining of our next walk. We walked to Fusilier Wreck along the coast line which is really cool, covered in large dead peices of wood and even whole trees. oh! and afew dead cows along the way as well. With the mass amount of dead wood we decided to build a shelter and sleep under the stars. A decision we came to regret as we woke up with sand everywhere! Walking along the west coast meant we couldn't go swimming as it was too rough, not to mention there would probably be loads of drift wood about. However we did get wet when we had to cross two major rivers. Re-organising our gear to ensure it is water tight, we pack floated our gear across while we swam next to them. The second river crossing was savage and longer than we thought. The next couple of walking sections was pretty boring from Himatangi Beach to Levin to Otaki, to Otaki forks, all along the roads. From Otaki forks however we tramped into the Tararua Ranges along Judd Ridge to Field hut. The weather was rainy, and cold but we had to go on. The whole two days was pretty much all up in bush at first but as we got to 1400 meters the bush disapeared and we were just walking through low lying bush. The weather took a turn for the worse when we were on top of Mt Hector (1520m) and Anders gor blown off the ridge. We all hit exhaustion and decided to head back down to Otaki Forks the next day. I have to say though, it was a really fun experience. From Otaki Forks we walked half way and then hitched to Otaki and then hitched the next day to Tawa. The hitching is justified as we walked the miles on the ranges. From Tawa we walked to Wellington. Trelisick Park that took us to Wadestown, the park was awesome, although we are litteraly a stones throw from central Wellington the park was reminisient of some bush walks we had done right out in the countryside. It was nice. On emerging from the park we were now following the Northern Walkway as well as the Te Araroa trail, for the next bit we had to climb an insanely steep road hat took us upto Tinakori Hill, from up here we had some really great views of central Wellington. The walk down the hill toward the city took us though some nice forest bits, we met many cyclist along the way. The trail then took us through the botanical gardens and it was only a cable cart away to the city! HALF WAY!


I wouldn't change a single thing about the the trip up until this point. Its been AWESOME! .... peanut butter butter