Distance travelled: 23 km plus shuttle around
Total TA distance covered: 2265

New landscapes

Te Araroa essentially stops at the Lake Coleridge Lodge and starts again on the opposite side of the Rakaia River at the Glenrock Station.

I shared a shuttle ride around across to the other side with another south bound tramper Robin. Best decision ever. On getting closer to the river you can see the power of the beast, although where the bridge crosses the channels are narrow and water concentrated, and I was glad not to be attempting to cross on foot. The other bonus is that I save at least a day or two. The alternative to a shuttle from the lodge was to hitch down the road to the Rakaia River Gorge and try and get a  hitch up the road to the start of the TA but its a very quiet country road with little but local farm traffic – very tricky to get a lift. To walk the 35km to the trail head would have been a full day. The only other option was to get the local school bus up the road at 6am in the morning. This would have been difficult to arrange yesterday given it was Sunday.

We were off just before 9am and reached the trail head close to 10 am. From Glenrock Station the walking was really easy following old farm roads through the station and onto crown land all the way to A Frame Hut. There was one steep section up a hill where the old road switched backed about 6 times to reach the top but it is hardly driveable now, maybe on a quad bike, due to large rocks that have fallen and cover much of the track.

Once at the top of that hill it was obvious the TA was now leading us through a completly new landscape. The trail has certainly left the forests and entered into high mountains with big, wide tussocky valleys seperating them. Most of the high hill tops were devoid of tree cover and basically just scree and gravel. Just about every gully or valley floor had water of some description, small streams feeding into the bigger rivers below. Views back down the valley really gave you a feel for just how big a crossing of the Rakaia and Wilberforce Rivers would have been.

Rakaia and Wilberforce Rivers

I got to A Frame hut in good time. Having a quick bite to eat I continued on to Comyns Hut continuing to follow on the old 4wd tracks.

From Comyns Hut Te Araroa follows up the Hakatete River and Round Hill Creek towatds Clents Saddle, a distance of 7km. I love Te Araroa and the nature of much of the walking – no sarcasm intended, I really do.  Why follow a track when you have a perfectly good river bed to follow instead. And when there is no way around an obstacle, hell lets just walk up the river itself for as long as necessary. The trail was really poorly marked along here but it didn’t take too long to work out where you needed to go. Essentially the rivers just needed to be followed crossing from side to side as rquired where you run unto a rock wall that meets the water itself. There isn’t much of a track of even a foot pad for this section. It was a matter of following your nose and keeping track of navigation.

The trail keeps throwing up new challenges each day as well and today it was tussocks and ‘Spiky Spaniard. Once out of the river, the trail lead towards Clents Saddle through thick grassy tussocks. Often head high and at least knee high, they obscure any sign of a food pad, cover hidden small depresssions that are waiting to catch an ankle or leg; and try and trip you themselves as you step on the fronds touching the ground under one foot while the other foot is caught as you move it forward. The other challenge for the day was Spiky Spaniard or speargrass, a small plant that has evolved long needle like leaves with razor sharp points all pointing in a direction that it you step on them they bite your lower legs. I had knee high gaiters for just this thing but my problem was today I had my ankle gaiters on with the long ones buried at the bottom of my pack. Lessopn learned. Long gaiters for sure tomorrow.

I didn’t quite make it to Clents Saddle today and opted to camp on an open gravel high top about a kilometre short.

What an amazing night though. A still, cloudless night. This made for a brethtaking display of stars on a deep black sky with a waxing half moon rising above the horizon of big mountains. I woke in the night around 11pm and was so blown away by the stars that I had to get up and try my hand at some night photography. Not the best with a small camera – its no SLR. A great way to end the day.

Distance travelled today: 12 km

Total TA distance covered: 2242 km

Another easy day.

With only 12km to go to reach the lodge I took my time again today. It was a really quick easy road walk from the lake to Lake Coleridge Station where the trail entered into a farm and followed along the edge of Lake Coleridge itself for a couple of kilometres before leading through paddocks. This short section through the station basically links two roads and cutting off a longer trip around all on roads. The paddocks were easy walking and offered some great views across the lake itself.

Once back onto the road it was another quick road bash towards the small village of Lake Coleridge.

Just before hitting town the trail took me out above the massve hydro pipes feeding from Lake Coleridge down to the Powerhouse down by the Rakaia River. The whole village area was developed during the construction of this major hydroelectric scheme around 1915 and has had several redevelopments. The Lake Coleridge Lodge that I’m staying at was once the singlemans quarters for the scheme, now a nice retreat.

Arriving at the lodge just 12 o’clock I wasvable to check in and collect my food package. I also made the final arrangements for a shuttle around the Rakaia River hazard zone tomorrow and was able to spilt the cost with another TA tramper.

The TA trust deems the Rakaia River a hazard zone and does not actually form part of the TA trail. The river is a wide braided river around 3km from bank to bank and is just too fangerous to cross on foot. It can flood at any time and is constantly changing form, making it impossible to have a safe route marked out.

Along the way I’ve heard mixed reports from north bound trampers and the rivers crossability. Some have been able to do the crossing easily encountering nothing deeper than knee height water. Others have experienced waist deep crossings and a couple have talked about being swept down stream for 10 to 30 metres. Most just skip it as recommended by the TA trust. It’s a bit easier for north bounders to judge the crossing as they encounter the deepest channels early on and it’s easy to turn back. For south bounders it is possible to start a crossing, working from braid to braid and only finding the river uncrossable right over the far side and then requiring one to back track.

This is the one feature on the TA that I promised Jacinta I wouldn’t attempt, given the treacherous nature of it, and so have opted for a shuttle around tomorrow morning.

The rest of the day was spent sorting out my food resupply box and resting. Once again I’ve over judged the time it would take between sections and have sent ahead far too much food.

A couple of other trampers came in throughout the day and its was great to share a beer and catch up on their stories. Some were headed south, others north.

The Lake Coleridge Lodge was a great help and the hosts there are wonderful. Super friendly, they have great knowledge of the TA, the river crossing and know what trampers are all about. Needless to say I was looked after really well and had a relaxing half a day of rest.

Distance travelled: 18 km
Total TA distance covered: 2230 km

Really easy road bash.

No big insights today. The road was much busier than expected.
Apparently there is no camping between the Harper River Camp to over 50 km away at the Rakaia Gorge but that didn’t stop a number of caravans and boaties from camping near the lakes. I think it is all either private property or council land with a general bylaw banning freedom camping.

I passed Lake Selfie on the way and took a selfie.

With no where really else to go I did my best to stealth camp on the far bank of Lake Georgie, hidden in amongst the spiky shrubs. Not the best campsite but out of the wind at least and low key. I wasn’t really looking forward to having someone come along and move me one. If they did, where would I have gone?

I’m certain the TA trust is aware of the camping situation along this stretch and have been diligently working towards a solution but there are many players involved and who wants to cover the cost? The trust can’t. Landholders? Maybe there is an option for a small camp but it requires infrastructure and its a working station so their priorities are elsewhere. Council? Perhaps. Change the bylaw but then how do you discriminate between car based campers and trampers? Hopefully this works out over time. But for now, unless you stealth camp, a trampers only option is to walk to Lake Coleridge if you have a booking or hitch out to the gorge or further to the nearest town Methven.

Distance travelled today: 18 km
Total TA distance covered: 2213 km

Taking it easy.

My last food package to collect for this long leg between real towns where resupply is possible is waiting for me at the Lake Coleridge Lodge. They had emailed several weeks ago to let me it had arrived. I’d made prior arrangements to stay at the Lodge and use their shuttle service to get around the Rakaia River hazard zone and had changed plans on them several times already. They are a patient lot and have been really accommodating to work around me. It’s a remote lodge and they need to know well in advance when people are coming and if guests want catering so the lodge can pre-shop and have things sorted for guests arrival. On my last contact with them I said I would be arriving on Sunday and would use the shuttle service on Monday. They were fine with that.

What I didn’t really factor in was my quick pace. Initially I was expecting four days of walking from Arthurs Pass to the Lake Coleridge Lodge but as it turns out I could easily get there in 2 and half or 3 days, not 4. So not wanting to muck them around any more I’ve decided to take my time, having a nice leisurely stroll spread over four days.

With no need to rush I turned my watch alarm off yesterday evening and had a nice long sleep in. I had Hamilton Hut to myself last night and so didnt have the typical noise of everyone else rustling around packing gear, slamming doors or the roar of propane stoves chuffing away. After a long slow wake up I had a nice slow coffee on the outside deck of the hut, enjoying the morning stillness and nature awakening around me.

I was out of the hut by around 9:30am and had all the time in the world to walk the 18 kilometres to my destination for the day, a small free camp site on power company land on the edge of the Harper River near where it has been diverted into Lake Coleridge.

On walking away from the hut and continuing on my path the perfect track continued where I left it yesterday. It was only a short walk, perhaps a kilometre, before the walking track petered out and an old 4WD track took over. I’m not sure how 4WD’s actually get in here but judging my old tyre prints it seems they do. The track follows along the shingle banks of the Harper River and crosses it a stack of time, I lost count.

Straight into it this morning – wet feet – with the amount of crossings required today it just wasn’t worth trying to keep my shoes dry. The route was easy to follow. On flat ground the pace was quick was the kilometres were coming easy. Around five kilometres in, a more formed 4WD lead the way,away from the river but still quite a few minor creek crossings.

Walking along in my own little world I was thinking I should take some photos. And right then I came upon an arrangement of grey stones contrasting against the dirt marking the 2200 km point. Nice one. Not far from here I passed The Pinnacles, weathered rock formations on the far side of the river, another photo opportunity.

Just past The Pinnacles Te Araroa leaves the Craigieburn Forest Park and enters into the Glenthorne Station, one of the many large farming properties that has allowed access to walkers. I continued on the 4WD track into the station property and had a few more river crossings to contend with, initially back over the Harper River itself and then across the Avoca River before its confluence with the Harper. Crossings the rivers separately hopefully means less water flow than would otherwise be case if crossing the main river below the confluence. All the crossings today were fine, the deepest being just above the knees. The Avoca had quite a braids to cross over its one kilometre wide basin. From this point I was most definitely out the forests now and following through wide grassy valleys with long ridge lines and domes rising a thousand metres above. An entirely new landscape.

Once safely across there were no more crossings to contend with for the day so I found a nice shady tree to have lunch under while my shoes and socks dry in the sun. With no hurry today I stretched lunch out, lazing about reading my book until my gear was dry.

The sun was out and made for a lovely day.

The trail then continued onto a formed farm road which made for fast really fast walking, so fast it had me surprised. I typically navigate from the map, reading the features around me like the hill sides, changes in vegetation, roads etc…. This new landscape was open, not sheltered in trees, and made for easy recognition of the surrounding hills. I was tracking my progress on the map against one particular mountain, Mount Ida, which sits at 1695m, knowing that when I approached the western tip I would be getting close to finishing for the day with only a few kilometres to go. So I was surprised after only an hour walking on the farm road that I was getting close to that western side of the mount. I thought that can’t be right, maybe I’m looking at a different peak, nearly 6 kilometres an hour, when for weeks my speed had been closer to 3-4km/hr. I was confused and pulled my GPS out to confirm my location. Sure enough I was where I placed myself on the map. That was way too early in the day (around 2 pm) to be getting close to finishing for the day. What the heck I’m in no rush today – I found a big willow with plenty of shade and set up myself up to read my boom for over an hour and enjoy a cup of tea. I never do that.

Slowing down was great today. To take my time, have a long lunch, sit in the shade to read and drink tea along the way was awesome. I’m looking forward to repeating this tomorrow on my slow walk to Lake Coleridge Lodge, perhaps even go for a swim, but I can’t make a habit of it or I’ll never to get to Bluff. Well, maybe in a few months. Hmm… sounds tempting.

Distance travelled today: 25 km
Total TA distance covered: 2194 km

The perfect day.

Maybe it was the half a rest day yesterday, good food, proper coffee and great sleep, in a nice bed that had me in such a good mood today. Throughly enjoyed today. I got to Skype home early this morning and have a good chat with Jac (this is your 5am wake up call); had a sleep in and a nice hearty breakfast. After getting packed up I headed to the cafe next door and had a big helping of banana pancakes with loads of maple syrup – the breakfast of champions.

Heading out the door and crossing the road I was immediately able to get a hitch for the 5km out of town back to the trail where I left off yesterday, out towards the Greyney Shelter. There were a heap of road works occurring to align a section of road here and I was happy not to have to walk through a section that is now down to a single lane of traffic and plenty of heavy construction machinery.

Leaving Greyney Shelter the trail initially continue on the highway shoulder but soon had me down along the Bealey River following along more of the stoney gravel encountered over the last couple of days. I knew when I was approaching Klondyke Corner as there a basic campsite there that all the vehicle based campers and RV’s set themselves up. There must have been 20 vehicles all parked up. Continuing one the river flats for another 2.5km I had to cross the Waimakarri River at it’s confluence with the Bealey River. It was shoes off for this – too early in the day for wet feet. Water levels were down and the crossing was straight forward over several braids.

The trail then headed back towards the road, cutting underneath the historic Bealey Hotel but I cut up towards the road to check it out and grab another coffee while I could. It was then back onto the highway shoulder for a quick 3km walk to a turn off for the Craigieburn Forest Park. It looked like a private driveway to a large farming station but there were DOC signs pointing the way.

I soon the start of the track for the next section and headed up, finding a perfect walking track. It was benched, really well formed and nicely switched backed the whole way. It didn’t take long to reach Bealey Hut. Signing the intentions book I continued on, up hill for the 2 km and always climbing but the grade was perfect. Hats off to the people who constructed this track. Nice of use grade reversals and good drainage. I think they mountain bikes in mind when building. The trail lead through beech forest initially, then through a stand of ponderosa pines, back into native bush and then exiting the treeline.

Views above the tree line were perfect. High peaks surrounding with plenty of snow still on shaded faces, a view back up the valley towards to Arthurs Pass and down along the river flats of the Bealey River. After a few quick pics and a last minute email catch up I continued, gradually climbing through alpine grasses and a few swampy sections for another 3 km, before rounding a hill to head into the Harper River Valley and back into beech forest.

I hit Lagoon Saddle, a two person A-frame shelter and stopped for lunch. Fresh out of town I was carrying a block of cheese and smoked ham, such a treat after close to 3 weeks of nutella or peanut butter wraps for lunch.

From Lagoon Saddle the perfect track continued on a perfect summers day. Sure there were a few steeper sections of ups and downs to reach creeks to cross but it always reverted back to the really nice stuff. There were sections along the Harper River itself following gravel beds and short sections through grass. And multiple river crossings to content with as well but on the perfect day that today was, all were able to be crossed on rocks, keeping feet dry. Even the sidles were good standard where they were needed to get around large boulders or steeper ground.

The trail made for fast walking. And dry feet today!

Towards the end of the day both the Harper and Hamilton Rivers needed to be crossed but both had swing bridges over them. The bridge over the Hamilton looked to be very recently installed and had a timber deck instead of the typical chicken wire footing.

5 minutes from the Hamilton Bridge I found the perfect thing to cap of the perfect day – a perfect hut, Hamilton Hut. Immaculately clean, running water, great views and at the moment I have the place to myself.

Distance travelled today: 10 km plus 5 km to town

Total TA distance covered: 2169 km

Easy half day. Out of the mountains and into town.

Really easy day today. Only walking 3 hours or so from Goat Pass Hut, over Goat Pass and down the Minga River Valley to the highway.

Some long strectches of boardwalk from the pass, mainly over alpine peat bogs. But mostly a repeat of the last couple of days, following rocky gravel tracks aling the edge of a river and onto a wide river valley towards the highway.

Nothing much special about today so I wont bore you with a detailed description. I reached town by 10:30am.

I had a food package waitng to be collected from the Mountain House in Arthurs Pass. I’m two days ahead of when they were expecting me but they had accommodation for me which was great. Coming into town on the 12 th with the coast to coast race would have been a nightmare to find a bed for the night.

With only half a days walking in and a bed sorted I now have a whole half a day to rest, relax, eat lots of food, get laundry done and up date my blog. Back into it tomorrow.

Once in town I quickly remembered the infamous Kea mountain parrot. Sneaky birds who love nothing more than trying to steal or tear apart camping gear.

Distance travelled today: 13 km

Total TA distance covered: 2159 km

The Deception of Deception Valley.

Today was supposed to be a really tough day. Everything you read states today is an 8 to 9 hour day up the Deception Valley on poorly defined track, multiple deep river crossings and a full body work out scrambling over boulders and walking up the river itself.

I’d set myself yesterday to be positioned at the start of the valley and allow a full day for this section. I needed to get through this section prior to the weekend as well as the Coast to Coast running race passes through the valley and all accommodation in town is booked solid.

Turns out the the description of this section is a deception, not the valley itself. Conditions were great. A hot sunny day and the river levels were managable which is probably why it only took me 6 hours to get to Goat Pass Hut and not 8 to 9. Turns out I probably could have  reached Arthurs Pass by the end of the day.

Starting up the valley, the trail is on a well defined and marked route along the banks of the Deception River. However on the trail hitting the first steep section of rock it was clear the river needed to be crossed onto the opposite bank. Down low the river is wild having collected all the run off from feeder streams right aling the narrow valley. The water was fast flowing, but crystal clear and it was easy to gauge the depth and see a path through. There were many deeper pools in amongst sections of churning white water but plenty of shallower sections to cross.

I stepped in. The water was cold first thing in the morning. Unstrapping my pack waistbelt and hanging my spot locator beacon around my neck I inched across. Step by slow step. The water reached my knees and I could start to feel the pull of the current. Inching further across the water level reached mid thigh. Planting my walking poles further in front I could start to feel the current wibbling them and trying to take them from my hands. Another few steps and it was waist deep. Lifting one leg at a time the river tried to push me down stream but it wasn’t so bad. It didn’t get any deeper and as long as i kept 3 points of contact on the river bed all was well. Drench my safely across I only needed to repeat this x amount of times today.

On the other side of the river, it was now a game of choose your own adventure. I couldn’t see any indicators pointing the way so it was a matter of following my nose and the odd rock cairn. Perhaps it is a management respinse from DOC not to mark the start of the valley. I don’t think I saw any official directional signs until after about four crossings and an hour into the Valley. Further up the valley there were plenty of directional arrows marking the route and crossing points.

The forth crossing was probably the most challanging for me and the deepest. Give me cliffs, rock scrambles or high mountain passes and I tackle them no worries but I’m not a fan of big river crossings. The current on the forth crossing was strong as the water was channelled down between boulders and concentrated in a few spots. I could feel the water trying to take each leg as it was raised off the ricer bed to find the next placement. But once through this everything was fine.

Gradually climbing up the valley the rivers slowly decreaed in size as it list the strength of the feeder streams passed lower down.

The trail crossed from side to side of the river, following gravel banks, the odd section of bush track (required to climb high around steep rock sections safely) and in the river itself at times as previous floods had washed sections of trail away.

I reached rickety old Deception Hut just before noon and had an early lunch with a NOBO walker heading in the opposite direction. I knew from her description of what lay ahead that I’d reach my destination for the day in around an hour. And so I did, leaving the banks of the now very tame Deception River to climb up the rocky middle of a feeder stream to Goat Pass Hut. Reaching the hut just after 1pm I could have kept going to reach Arthurs Pass late in the day but opted for a short day today and leaving me with a good half rest day in town tomorrow.

Distance travelled today: 32 km
Total TA distance covered: 2146 km

A big entry today.

I think the mental game is starting to play out now. With less than 900km to go the end is in sight yet still so far away. My body is getting tired. Having walked over 2000 km lots of little niggles are starting to surface including an old knee problem and sore feet again, I think from my second pair of shoes starting to go and the inner soles loosing their support. In addition, I don’t think I’m taking in enough calories. I feel like my body is wasting away and summoning energy all day today was a struggle. I’m eating all the time. Lots of snacks every hour or so and drinking lots of water – its on tap here with all the stream crossings. For the first time, today I had real cravings about getting to town and needing a massive pig out. I have a food package to collect in Arthurs Pass but will need to buy more food and possibly olive oil to add to food to get more calories in. But I promised some blog follows that this won’t be a blog about food cravings and I’ll leave it at that.

Still, I wont be beaten and will make it to the end. I had a lucid dream the other night. In my dream I woke up at home realising I had not completed the TA and was horrified, a huge wave of disappointment washing over me. I know that barring injury I will make it but how? Like anything big, my plan has been to chunk it up. Bluff is still a long way off and not even worth thinking about at the moment other than somewhere right at the back of the brain. So I’m focus on the next three sections at the moment, making it to Arthurs Pass, to Lake Coleridge and then to Tekapo. And in focusing on each section I narrow it down to days, reminding myself, ok 2 more days to Arthurs Pass, food, shower and a bed ( in that priority). And I break up each day as well. Try and get on the trail by 7:30am, walk two hours (7 to 8km), snack/rest, walk another 2 hours (another 7 or 8 km), snack/ rest, walk to 12:30 or 13:00, have a half hour lunch break, keep walking for the rest of the day until 16:30 to 18:00, resting every hour for 5 to 15 mins depending on how I’m feeling. Depending on the terrain this is the recipe for walking 25 km each day or more. With a 100 km reached approximately every 4 to 5 days, the end is not so far away. That gives me around 35 days to finish with a few rest days added in, shorter if I keep my current rate of over 30 km a day.

The joy of being out in the outdoors has not worn off yet either and I’m loving this lifestyle but getting to the back end of this journey I need to finsh what I started, stick to my goals and get to the end. Some days just feel like work, especially when there are no views or major features to see for the day. Today was such a day.

The aim for today was walking as far as possible and getting to the start of the Deception Valley to set myself up with a full day to complete this tricky section and in to Arthurs Pass the following day. It  is meant to take 8-9 hours up the Deception Valley.

For the first four kilometres today, the trail lead along the edge of the Hurunui River, passing between open grassed flats and climbing into beech forest as the river would turn with the river edges presenting steep rocky sections too difficult to scramble around. Within an hour I reached the Harper Pass Bivvy but almost missed it given its small size hidden in the scrub. It was only that I heard two German guys talking that I sighted it. Here I met Peace-e and Carl both doing just the south island SOBO who I’ve been following through the hut books for a few weeks.

After a short snack I left Peace-e and Carl at the biv and continued on. Apparently the trail crosses the other side of the river opposite the biv but I missed any indication of this and continued upriver, eventually loosing the trail and scrambling around on the side of steep slopes in thick scrub for 15 minutes. Recognising I was off track I back tracked a little but couldn’t find any trail markers indicating the direction. But there was only one direction I really needed to know, follow the river. So continuing with the wet shoe theme, I plunged into the river and continued to follow it up stream. I knew that at some point there would be some indication of the direction to travel on the banks and so there was. About 5 minutes walking up the river I spied a directional arrow and a food pad on the bank.

This lead up on a rough track that gradually improved on the way up. Soon enough I was on Harper Pass with the guys there to greet me, calling me the magic man as I left the Bivvy before them but now following in their foot steps.

From Harper Pass the track was initially really good and easy to follow but declined as the trail slowly descended towards the valley floor following the Taramakau River. Climbing steeply down through gullies of scree and rough ground the trail eventually lead to the edge of the river and a swing bridge to the true left bank, continuing for several kilometres through the narrow valley through more of the same beech forest to Locke Stream Hut. By this stage I was starting to crave a little bit of variety in the forest as it has been same same for so long now. The forest didn’t dissapoint. 

A short distance from Locke Stream Hut the valley started to open up into wide gravel beds along the main river with multiple braids of fast running, shallow water winding through the masses of rock. Grassy paddocks of either side of the river. The walking was fast on these flat, grassy sections with an obvious foot pad and directional indicators to follow for most of the way. Many map products dont even show a trail through here, simply showing the wide river bed by itself or the official topo maps just showing an indicative route along the gravel beds. There were a multitude of smaller creek crossings to get over. And gravel. Lots of gravel and rock walking toda, hard on the feet but easy to find your way. Basically follow the river down stream.

Through the grassy sections, directional markets were plentiful and the foot pad easy to follow. On the gravel beds though it was find your own way. If you look hard you can see a faint path by looking at the slight colour variation on the ground where stones have been turned and trampled flat by hundreds of feet; and can follow the odd rock cairn left by previous walkers.

There were quite a few crossings of the main river required as well as the trail passed from one grassy area before hitting a rocky feature on river bends and having to cross to easier ground on the opposite bank.

I hit Kiwi Hut in the early afternoon and had some lunch. Continuing on I followed the marked route, passing two private huts and crossing the river again before loosing sight of any indicators for a good couple of hours. It wasn’t a problem though as I’m use to following my nose to find a line through all sorts or terrain and it was easy, although wearing thing, following the gravel bars for the next 4 kms.

Finally towards the end of the valley I hit an old 4wd track and was able to get a quick 3 kilometres in. From here there was meant to be a track junction for a track that sidled along the Otira river, a flood track they call it. It was only 4.5 to the Morrison Footbridge and meant to take just over an hour but I’d hear through the TA grapevine that it was rough as guts, steep up and downs immediately adjacent to the river and lots of wind fall that requires tricky scrambling. Well to start with, I lost the track again and didn’t see any track junction or signage but found my way onto the right track with some careful navigation. Once on it, I thought I’d give it a go. So I did but not for long, maybe a kilometre. It was exactly as I heard it described and in a state of disrepair. At my current walking speed it would have taken 3 hours to complete 4.5 km and it was close to 5:30pm already. An easy decision was made. I bailed on the track, cut across the multiple braids of the Otira River, thigh deep, and headed to the highway to walk the last couple of kilometres parallel to the TA. I found the footbrigde in less than an hour and continued a further kilometre, setting up camp on the first cleared patch of land I found at the start of the Deception Valley. Big day. Few photos sorry. My electronics are starting to fail and hard to keep charged with big stretches between towns.

Distance travelled today: 32 km
Total TA distance covered: 2114 km

Wet feet again.

Immediately from the hut there was a river crossing over the Kiwi River. Hmm…. Shoes on our off? It was early morning, around 6:30am and the grass was wet. From previous experience I knew that shoes would be saturated just from dewy grass alone, so I left my shoes on and crossed. I think by now this was day 4 or 5 with wet feet.

For 3 kilometres from the hut the trail followed the valley floor through grass towards Kiwi Saddle and Lake Summer. From Kiwi Saddle it was back into the beech forests but a much rougher track. Lots of roots, rocks and more scrambling up and down. It was all the same to me having walked through so much similar country to date and basically just head down and chipping away at the distance. A work day if you like, just going through the motions working from hut to hut for the day.

I got to Hurunui Hut just before noon and decided an early lunch was in order. But on entering the hut and meeting one NOBO walker from the US I resolved to keep it a short lunch and move on quickly. I’m not in the habit of dissing other trampers but this guy was an absolute wanker and needs to be called out. He was in the middle of lecturing other trampers in the hut, clearing seeing the world through a single lens and only recognising one correct way for trampers to walk the Te Araroa, his way. Almost to the point of being evangelical, he was telling other people that that if you havent walked every step, you are not a thru hiker and have no right to call yourself one. He then goes onto to say that the TA trust has it all wrong in having hazard zones as well, in that if the walk is stop/start its not a thru hike. So this guy loves telling people how he has walked continuous steps from Bluff heading north, including crossing both river hazard zones – good on you mate but dont bag others for not doing them. Now these are hazard zones for a reason, they are dangerous rivers to cross. His guy then goes on to say that in crossing the Rakaia River he lost 30 metres by being swept down stream and he is a solid hiker having completed the PCT in the states. Great advice buddy, get everyone to cross the hazard zones just to make sure they are ‘thru hiking’ and increase NZ’s river drowning rates you numb skull. Hike your own hike and leave others to hike and enjoy theirs as they see fit.

Enough of this. I digress from my blog. Perhaps this rant is a sign of me being very comfortable on the trail now to the point that my hierarchy of priorities has changed. All aspects of camping, eating, scrambling are all well honed now and perhaps my focus has shifted more towards paying attention to who is on the trail and more personality related things like who I like/dont like coming to the fore. There are certainly a lot more people on the trails at the moment including more NOBO’s daily, weekend warriors and SOBO TAers just doing the South Island.

So after my quick lunch, I left Hurunui Hut and made my way towards a natural hot spring that I knew to be on the trail about 4 km away. On finding it, I had to make use of it. What a treat to have a hot bath on the trail. Who says trampers don’t wash out here.

I had no fixed agenda for the day other than to push the kilometres a little bit. I had enough food for 3 days and needed to get as far up the valley as possible today to leave me two days to get to Arthurs Pass for a resupply.

Pressing on I reached Hurunui Hut #3 in the early afternoon. It didn’t look that inviting, being dark and lots of holes for sandflies to get in so I moved on further up the head of the valley. Within an hour I reached Camerons Hut, a small 4 bunk hut in worse condition than the previous hut, similar to the standard of huts you might get at home in the alps. So I continued on. I came upon the first 3 wire bridge crossing o this trip but on testing it out and with wet feet already, felt it safer to just cross through the water. It was a low level water crossing and easy to do. On the 3 wire I felt like I might tip of the edge. Pressing on for another few kilometres I finally settling to camp at km 2114 after getting late in the day and no longer bothered go any further. It felt like today was just work.

Distance travelled today: 26 km
Total TA distance coveted: 2082 km

Did I sign a must have wet feet clause somewhere?

A good nights sleep and a hot shower at Boyle Village Outdoor Ed Centre was just what the doctor ordered. Plus a chance to get some laundry done. Trampers are not the Outdoor Ed Centres first priority but neither the less even after a busy week and closing down for the weekend they looked after me. It was basically just Roger and myself last night, having the run of the place to ourselves with a weekend caretaker popping in briefly.

A warm shower and fresh fruit with breakfast is always a good start to any day out on trail. Straight from the outdoor ed centre it was onto State Highway 7 for a kilometre before heading down towards the Boyle River and following its rocky banks for another 1 km before having to cross the river itself. I’d just got my socks and shoes dried and was determined to keep them that way, at least for the start of the day, so shoes and socks came off and crossed the river barefooted (never a good idea by the way). It was above my knees but not quite hip depth. Foot placements were fine but it was bloody freezing so early in the morning. Picking a line across I just kept going before my feet became numb. On the other side I sat down to dry my feet and put socks and shoes back on but it was a very rushed job. The sandflies were insane, harassing any piece of exposed skin. Arrh… They are so annoying. Along my tramp I’ve formulated a flying insect analogy with aircraft and reckon sandflies are like stealth bombers: silent, out of sight and you only know they are there when the damage is done. Anyway, one crossing down and I have dry feet, at least for now! Was that going to last? Nope. Not a chance in hell.

I had another 2.5 km to go before having to cross the Doubtful River which feeds into the Boyle River. But even before I got to the Doubtful the trail passed over some swampy ground hidden under grass that was impossible to keep out of. One foot found a soft spot and sank into the dark mirk. Quickly scrambling for a foot placement my other foot soon found out that this swampy section was wide as it also sank and became waterlogged. So less than one hour in and I have wet feet again. Awesome. This got me thinking… did I sign something along the way that committed me to having wet feet day in day out? Maybe its a hidden clause or regulation of the Back Country Hut Pass.

Always look on the bright side hey – at least this made the crossing of the Doubtful easier and I guess I didn’t have to worry about trying to find dry crossings for the rest of the day. On the down side, with wet feet all day, in the heat, particularly when there are muddy crossings, both socks and shoes reek really badly. It’s not too bad with lots of fresh water crossings and a chance to dry socks at the end of the day but constantly wet, equals constantly smelling.

The next 6 kilometres were on a section of trail basically constructed to keep walkers off the highway and link two sections of track. It was well marked and easy to follow but just shitty. Nothing of value to see, patches of gorse and scotch thistle and quite a portion following a deer fence. Anyone following in my path, save yourself the time and walk or hitch the highway to Windy Point. Some portions were brand new, with recent signs of a small machine pushing through head high manuka to form a corridor, easy to follow, nice and wide and easy to walk.

From Windy Point the trail improved massively, entering into the shade of beech forest again. This was great as the sun was out in force and burning the back of my neck. The track through the beech was perfect. Nice and wide, relatively root and rock free and following along a contour for a change rather than straight up and straight down. This continued for around 5 km before exiting the trees and heading down towards the grassy valley flats to Hope Halfway Hut. I had lunch here. Given I hadn’t had a wet foot crossing for quite a while I hung my socks and shoes out in the wind and sun and managed to get them dry again which was great.

From Halfway Hut the trail meandered through small sections of beech forest and mostly stuck to the valley flats. Not sure if these are state or privately owned but they are grazed. Signs of cattle dung was everywhere and numerous small stream crossings were showing the signs of damage as well. Besides grass pasture and native grasses the only plants that seemed to be growing were tall, very prickly wattle type of things, the footpad weaving in and out amongst the them. After four kilometres of this it was onto a swing bridge over the Hope River. Then another 1.5 km across grasslands to my destination for the day Hope Kiwi Lodge.

A good night was had at this hut. It was here I met Vanessa, an Aucklander out for an overnighter over the Waitangi Day public holiday. We got chatting and like so many others was fascinated to hear about Te Araroa and asked heaps of questions. Celine and Jeremy, a French couple who I’ve followed in the hut intention books for a couple of weeks were also there. Later, Rose arrived, a kiwi walking Te Araroa north bound. We spent the evening talking through various sections that each of us would encounter over the coming weeks which was great. I learned that Deception Valley is no problem and watch out for the Two Thumbs track. Rodger also showed up later in the day.