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.