Another adventure and section completed – the Two Thumb Range which is a range of mountains in South Canterbury, lying east of Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.  We walked approximately 47 kms involving three nights, two days with short walks and two full day walks.

Thank you for your comments and feedback.  It’s a pleasure to be able to share our adventures and some of the scenes we see.  We all feel very privileged to be walking these remote parts of New Zealand.

Days 30 – 33

Three days spent in Tekapo waiting for a weather system to pass so we could safely climb the highest pass on the Te Araroa Trail – Stag Saddle 1925 meters was another excellent decision.

Day 34

Round Hill Ski Area to Camp Stream Hut – 8 kms

20 February 2022

An early start today as we had a lift to Round Hill Ski Area about 26 kms up the eastern side of Lake Tekapo to the start of our walk.  Annie and Chris from Bespoke Bike Tours were delivering us.  They have been most helpful in the information and services they have provided.  Highly recommend their services.

Waiting for our lift I quickly ordered my last flat white (for 4 days) from The Greedy Cow.  This was an excellent café offering the best coffee I’ve had on this trip (when sitting within the café) and delicious food reasonably priced.  The staff are a mixture of Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese and Malaysian.

Worth the wait

Our decision to wait until the weather system passed was justified this morning.  As we made our way up and around Round Hill Ski Field the cloud slowly lifted.  We were being treated to a slow exposure of the surrounding landscape – to the east the Richmond Ranges which leads into Two Thumb Range and to the west across Lake Tekapo to Hail Ranges  This slow cloud lifting enabled us to see more and more of the majestic landscape.  It was very special.

Today’s walk to Camp Stream Hut was short, only eight kilometers.  It sleeps six people and made of corrugated iron with a large pot- belly type of fireplace.  There is plenty of firewood stacked outside for those cold evenings.  This hut was initially built for musterer’s in 1898.  It is now maintained by the Mackenzie Alpine Trust and walkers are asked to donate $10 per night.  It was sad to read that less than 30% of hut fees are paid by hut attendants.  We are slowly learning that there are all types of Te Araroa walkers, some who dodge every opportunity not to pay their way.  Apparently, many of the overseas walkers are even worse.  Guess “there is always the few that spoil it for everyone?”

It’s been a relaxing afternoon lying around in the sun – just chilling out, chatting and/or reading.  In a sense these relaxing afternoons are treasured because we don’t often get to them.  Tomorrow will be a big day for us.

Young Emma (the young 17 yr old from Cambridge) turned up later this afternoon bright and breezy after her 34 km walk.  She is a machine!!  She will be staying at the same camp sites as us along this section as we are carpooling together at the end out to Geraldine.

Camp Stream Hut – Royal Hut – 14 kms

Day 34

20 February 2022

Having a dreadful night’s sleep and waking up with an upset stomach is not the ideal way to start the highest climb of the Te Araroa.  I just knew it was going to be “one of those days!!”  Thankfully the sky was perfectly clear and little to no wind could be felt.

Two options for today

There are two options for the climb to Stag Saddle: one is to follow the Te Araroa route, the other is along a ridge line that offers great views and is a longer gentler climb of approximately 10 kms.  We choose the second option.

This track followed a tussocky covered ridge line, onto scree sidles, and then hopping over large craggy, weathered rocks to the summit of Stag Saddle.  This route promised the best views and it sure didn’t disappoint.

Today we had plenty of rest stops for me and photo snaps for everyone else.  ‘Sherpa Jane’ took some of the heavier items out of my pack which enabled me to keep a better pace and not suffer quite so badly with my breathing!!  Not sure what is happening there – bit of a worry!

As we neared the final ridge, we could see four tiny figures at the top of the saddle, and sure enough one of them was Emma.  She had waited for us.  Everyone enjoyed a well-deserved lunch together along with plenty of posing for photographs.  It was truly a stunning place to be on such a perfect day weather wise – how lucky are we?

As we walked in yesterday, we met one guy who had walked over the top and couldn’t see a thing, he said “it was freezing cold and wet.”  We later pondered why so many young people seem to not care about the views and/or environment they’re currently in, just interested in knocking off the kilometers.  They miss out on so much, but, guess that is an “age” thing.  What do you think?

Then it was five kilometers down to Royal Hut.  The hut is so named because both Prince Charles and Princess Anne visited this hut (by helicopter) as young adults in 1971.  Apparently they had a cup of tea and flew out again.

On the descent to Royal Hut we had to do many stream crossings and finally Jodi and Jane found a suitable spot for a skinny dip!  Yvonne and I continued walking onto the hut. I just wanted to take my pack and wet shoes off and have a lie down.

It was a large hut which slept eight people.  It contained a large wooden dining table and one long wooden seat.  A stainless-steel section for cooking on, and an open fireplace. It was a full hut tonight with Jane and Jodi choosing to sleep outside in their tent.  Interestingly most people in the hut were doing the same walk as us, but in an opposite direction, hence going SOBO (southbound) but all doing sections, as opposed to either full NOBO or full SOBO.

Thank you girls for your patience and support today – you were great!!

Day 35

Royal Hut – Somewhere along Forest Creek – 22 kms

The route today is an alternative route to the one suggested in the Te Araroa notes.  From Royal Hut, over Bullock Bow Saddle (1682 m) and then down to Forest Creek, a walk along the Forest Creek river bed to Rangitata Gorge Road to be picked up by shuttle and taken to Geraldine.

After a great night’s sleep, I did feel much better, but not good enough to eat any breakfast- my usual cask iron stomach not feeling right!

Yvonne and I headed out first, keen to get some distance on the girls before they caught up to us on the only major climb today.  It was another stunning day in paradise, walking through tussock until we started to climb along the “four-wheel drive track” if you could call it that.

Views today magnificent again.  It’s been a highlight for us to just stop and take in the views, inhale the environment, and acknowledge how lucky and fortunate we are to be able to experience these special places.  It makes all the hard work “worth-while”.

Forest Creek Riverbed

We had a couple of steep slow descents, which none of us love but gotta do.  After our final descent who should we find waiting for us on the exposed river bed rocks but Emma.  She was going to walk /guide us down the Forest Creek riverbed this afternoon.

Today the stream itself was narrow, you could see the bottom, but it flowed swiftly.  The actual riverbed must have been 100m or wider with rocks and gravel of various shapes and size.  To see the riverbed in flood would be quite terrifying, and we were very relieved that today wasn’t one of those days.

Emma led the way down the riverbed with us following in a spread-out fashion – me being tail end Charlie.  We learnt more about river crossings as we had many to make.

Our destination for the night was a about 3kms from road end – where we camped on the rocky ground amongst the matagouri – see image below.

We could see the clouds coming in over the ranges and it wasn’t long before it was raining.  Thank goodness we had our tents erected and had eaten.  Everyone was in bed early.

Walk to meet shuttle on Rangitata Gorge Road

As we only had a couple of kilometers to walk this morning it was a leisurely start to the day.  As usual we were at the shuttle pick-up long before it was and due.  Everyone has different ways of ‘playing the waiting game’.  One thing we all have in common was how cold it was – just sitting around waiting.

The shuttle duly arrived after dropping other walkers off further up the road.  Being driven back into ‘civilisation’ so to speak is always a different experience.  Saw many herds of young deer grazing in deer-fenced enclosures, farmers moving stock along the road, farm cottages and homesteads that must hold interesting histories and get to appreciate the size of the Rangitata River and volumes of water that must flow down there.

Geraldine is a delightful little country town with many beautiful shops.  Jodi highly recommended Verde Café for brunch.  The setting was beautiful.  The older style cottage had a veranda on three sides, partly surrounded by cottage gardens, Buxus hedging, white flowering Japanese anemone, and many other cottage garden plants – my type of venue.  I watched with envy as all the girls enjoyed bacon and eggs on toast!!

Geraldine to Christchurch

Jodie’s son picked us up in Geraldine and drove us all to Christchurch, where we were going our different ways. ☹  Jodi and Jane’s husbands were due to arrive any day (to have adventures with their wives) and they had children at Canterbury & Otago uni to visit and re-connect with.

It was sad to say goodbye Jodi and Jane.  We had the best adventures and made memories to last us forever. We will meet again for adventures in the North Island.

Two days in Christchurch

We spent a couple of days in Christchurch. I visited the A & E clinic (Christchurch DHB) to try and sort our my breathing issues.  Haven’t solved that problem yet but at least I know my heart is not the issue.  The assistance and support I received while at the hospital was first-class.  I had time to reflect on how lucky I was to have access to such a good health system and the professionals that work there.  My stomach issue has settled down – thank goodness.

Yvonne and I enjoyed exploring the city and were impressed with the progress that has been made in the re-development.  The gardens and parks are exceptional and a really cool place to explore.  Cyclists seem to be everywhere riding along the planned cycle-paths.

Spending time with families

Over the last couple of days both Yvonne and I have been spending time with our respective families, Yvonne in Motueka and me in Blenheim.  These few days have been very special, so thank you families – always great catching-up.

We only have one more adventure planned, time is running out. So, that is it until next time.  Take care out there GoldCard Gal 🙂

Additional scenes

Thank you for your feedback and comments, which are appreciated.  They have enabled me to ponder your responses over the past few days and get things into perspective.  I’m not always able to respond as we seem to disappear for a few days on our next section which usually has no cell phone coverage.

Well, the last few days have been full of adventures, laughs, challenges and good company.  We’ve been fortunate that Jodie and Jane (good and long-term friend of Jodi’s from Auckland) have joined us, or we have joined them.  We meet Jodi and her daughter Ruby on the Greenstone Valley hike and had decided we’d do some walking together. Having Jodi and Jane has been a moral boost, ensured plenty of laughter and good decision making.

We’ve meet more wonderful people along the trail and, in the huts, all doing their own adventure.  Some of them have been on the trail for 90 days, others 60 days and some a couple of weeks like us.

As I write this post we’re currently in Tekapo, waiting for the this next weather system to pass through so we can walk the Two Thumb Range which has the highest altitude crossing on the TA – just under 2,000 meters.  We’re planning on leaving Sunday am.

Mt Cook visit

In the meantime, we are going to explore local Tekapo walks.  Yesterday we took a trip up to Mt Cook as neither Yvonne or I have ever been there before.  It was perfect weather to visit this awe-inspiring location.  Both Mt Cook and Mt Sefton were looking majestic.  We walked up and visited both Hooker and Tasman glaciers.

As per normal, before you read our diary, make yourself a cup-of-tea or pour a wine!

Albert Town – Birchwood Carpark – 76 kms

Day 24

Albert Town to Lake Hawea (The Camp Holiday Park) 12 kms

10 February 2022

We enjoyed another couple of relaxing days in Cromwell with my brother Les and his wife Carol.  We were fortunate, their daughter-in-law Anna was able to include us in her car for a ride to Wanaka.  Anna dropped us off at a very nice French pâtissier café called Pembroke Pâtissier.  The coffee and Pain au Chocolate was delicious – highly recommend it. Just what we needed before we walked to Lake Hawea.

Our packs felt heavy today as we walked along the cycle way between Albert Town and Lake Hawea.  Guess with six days’ worth of food, what did we expect.

The cycle trail was quite busy with cyclists.  Sari and I cycled this route (but in reverse) four years ago but in much different conditions – today it was hot with a northwest wind blowing, then it was cold, wet and south-westerly blowing.

Tonight, we are staying at The Camp Holiday Park on the shores of Lake Hawea.  Large camping ground with plenty of space for glampers, campers and even a little trailer that sells food to the campers.

Day 25

Lake Hawea – Pakituhi Hut 13 kms

11 February 2022

Our body alarm saw us out of bed around 6 am.  We were soon packed up, breakfast eaten, water bottles filled and on our way along the Lake Hawea waterfront trail to Gladstone where The Breast Hill Track started off Timaru Creek Road.

The notes say “things change dramatically” here where the track starts.  And they sure do.  Beginning with a steep switchback climb then continuing along a rocky ridgeline that required plenty of scrambling over many steep rocky sections.  Today’s climb was over 700 meters and to us our toughest and most physically demanding day yet, little did we know what we were in for.

Yvonne climbing Breast Hill. Lake Hawea township in distance

We arrived at Pakituhi hut tired and in need of water and a rest! So after many cups of water and a good ‘power-nap’ we felt also human again and able to have a coherent conversation.

Yvonne’s recollections of today

Lake Hawea – oh how beautiful! A 2.5 hr walk from The Campground to the start of the climb.  Then blood, sweat, tears, fears and some colourful language.  What a beast – no wonder they call it “the big hill”.  I had 2 litres of water on board and still got dehydrated.  Looking back at the cool blue lake my thoughts dwelt and fantasised about “drinking to the max of my capacity, and then diving into the lake to get my body back to a comfortable temperature.”

But no, it was one step at a time to an ever-distant horizon under the sweltering heat.

A lot of scree, and too scared to look down in case the old brain convinced you of all the terrible things that could happen if one missed their footing.   I could Heather’s voice in my ears saying “one step at a time.”  I did notice her mantra change from “one-step-at-a-time” to “whoever wanted adventures such as these!!”

We were proud of our effort today but has got us thinking about what we do next?

Fly-in visitor

While chilling out in the hut we could hear voices and immediately started looking for hut visitors, but no it was a “paraglider” floating down towards our hut.  He landed just below and is staying here for the night.  There is a paragliding competition on for the next three days, we were told to expect to see many more paragliders up here.

Met a delightful young couple Inka and Fabian from Wellington.  They both had finished university a couple of years back.  Since then, they’ve converted their truck to a house truck, been working to fund their adventures and now walking TA.  They also spent six months cycling in Europe which I found most  interesting.  But why I remember them is Inka made me a AeroPress coffee, which was the best.

Day 26

Pakituhi Hut – Stodys Huts – 13 kms

12 February 2022

We woke to thick fog.  It was nice to have a slow start this morning.  We only had 11 kms to the next hut, which was following a four-wheel drive track, so not much thinking or watching of foot placement.

We walked mostly in fog today, first so far.  Consequently we didn’t get to marvel at the surrounding hills and valleys.

We arrived at this old styled DOC hut called ‘Stodys Hut’ about mid-day just in time for lunch and we spent the rest of the day chilling out, reading and resting.

The hut has a dirt floor, but someone has laid an old tarp over the dirt.  It has a raised fireplace which incidentally someone has set ready to light. The hut sleeps six.

In the afternoon wanting something constructive to do I managed to mend a hole in my shoe – it will be interesting to see how long my mend lasts – used dental floss as the thread.  Found the much-needed needle in my first aid kit, which I’ve had since 2016 and have never opened.  Finding that needle was a godsend.  My mend is still holding well – dental floss a strong thread for mending.

Our friends Jodi and Jane from Auckland have just arrived at the hut.  We’ll be walking with them for the next few days and then we have another adventure planned together up near Tekapo.  Looking forward to sharing this walk with them.

Day 27

Stodys Hut to Top Timaru Hut – 14 kms

13 February 2022

Having company for today was great and it gave us additional confidence.  When the notes suggest “8 hrs for 14 kms”, that’s got to mean something!!  For us we always add another couple of hours.   This walk ended up taking us 11 hrs.

First off, we had 2 hrs of steep downhill, and it was STEEP. Every step was calculated.  Poor Jodi had a fall and Jane’s walking pole collapsed.  When we arrived at the bottom of the hill, we thought we’d done the worst of it is over, but oh no.  We spent the rest of the day climbing or scrambling up, (often on all fours) steep ridges, and then down again and crossing the Timaru River 10 times.  This went on all day – up and down and then up again, and walking around and across steep sidles – the track was relentless for us.

New river crossing skill

Jane was the river crossing coach, she had us all crossing together with linked arms and just shuffling our feet together.  Yvonne and I were both amazed at how safe we felt crossing some of the swifter sections of the river.  If it had just been us, we doubt whether we would have attempted some of the crossings.  Thank you Jane and Jodi for your support and guidance.

We finally arrived at Top Timaru Hut about 7 pm with the hopes of a quiet night in the hut.  But that wasn’t to be.  The hut was full, so we ended up setting our tents up in the frigid evening air.  We weren’t long out of bed tonight.  Sleep didn’t come easy tonight but at least the body was resting.

Day 28

Top Timaru Hut – Tin Hut 11 kms (one of our favourite days)

14 February 2022

After our big day yesterday, we had a slow start this morning.  The day dawned clear; the sun could be seen coming over the surrounding hills – it was going to be a good day.  But it was still cold down in our valley.  One of the guys in a tent near us said he had ice on his tent!

Our walk today was over Martha Saddle at 1680 meters along a what could be called a four-wheel drive track.

Each day we are advised to record our ‘intentions’ for the day in an “Intentions Book”.  This book is always placed in a special slot on the wall in every hut.  After recording our intentions, we flicked to the back of the book and read a horrendous story of a person’s experience/recollections of crossing the Timaru River after it had been raining for 36 hrs.   Their experience happened because they didn’t want to climb back up the steep hill to Stodys Hut (which we totally understood) and wait for the river levels to fall.  They acknowledged they were lucky to be alive.  They were sweep away and had difficulty turning over on their back to breath and then getting their pack unhooked.  Here is a link to Mountain Safety Council guidelines for river crossings.

Often you know all this and people still make the decision to cross.  We’ve been told that river crossings claim the most lives in NZ wilderness.

Today was our favourite day because the views and surroundings were magnificent.  There wasn’t a sound, the silent was golden so to speak, clear blue skies, and the hills were covered with low growing golden tussock.  The mountain peaks looked rugged with many schists like rock falls.

We arrived at Tin Hut (which is privately owned by Michele and Bryan Patterson, Longslip Station) an old musterer’s hut that sleeps six people.  What a delightful place to chill out.  There were three lovely old chairs you could take outside and just sit and absorb the environment.  There was a beautiful stream below the hut to get water from and wash.  Jane and Jodi even found a little pool to swim in.

We spent the early evening drying out tents and sleeping gear and chilling out in this special place.

We had a full hut tonight with Jane and Jodi sleeping in their tent.  We meet this amazing young 17 year old from Cambridge called Emma who is walking the trail on her own.  She has just left high school.  She had walked in one day what took us two days.  She was strong physically and mentally and very healthy looking.  We are in awe of the people that walk this trail on their own.

Day 29

Old Tin Hut – Birchwood Station Car Park – 13 kms

15 February 2022

Another slow start today.  Only 13 kms to the car park where we’re being picked up and taken to Omarama for the night.

After enjoying a few cups of black coffee and a leisurely breakfast we left this delightful location.  It was more or less a gentle downhill walk on an existing four-wheel drive track which meandered between high tussock hills.  The day was very enjoyable and not demanding physically, but hot.

Jodi had organised a ‘pick-up’ for 5 pm, but we were at the car park 2.30 pm ish.  Thank goodness for technology in the way of an In-Reach Garmin.  Jodi was able to text her husband in Auckland who contacted Bruce (the driver) who then picked us up about 3.30 ish  While we waited we were able to shelter from the blazing sun in the shadow of a dust covered SUV.

Arriving at Ahuriri Motels (Omarama) dusty, hot and in need of a drink was welcomed.  It was sooo good to have that long-overdue shower, wash hair, and get our washing done and hang out to dry in the hot sun.  We went for out for dinner at the local pub.  My goodness that food tasted great, ate more than we should have but we all were feeling as though we needed some good healthy protein!

As we climbed into bed, the crisp white sheets felt like heaven. It wasn’t long before we were in the land of wink, blink and nod.

Weather Systems

The recent and up incoming weather systems are having a major impact on our next sections and what we do.  The TA trail updates are advising us of washouts, bridges been sweep away and higher than normal river flows.  Having experienced some scary river crossings we are re-evaluating our options.  This uncertainty creates hesitation, dilly-dallying, indecisiveness and mental fatigue.  Also not having any  form of transport is challenging, especially when we’ve all been so used to doing what we like, when we like. Decisions, decisions!!

We are looking forward to the Two Thumb Range on Sunday.  Till next time, take care out there – GoldCard Gal 🙂

Additional Scenes

Firstly, thank you for your feedback and comments.  They are always appreciated.

On Sunday, 6 February we completed the Southland section of the Te Araroa trail.  It is rewarding to know we have walked from Bluff to Greenstone Carpark on the upper western shores of Lake Wakatipu.  On one of our day’s towards the end we faced challenges of raging streams and river crossings.  All Yvonne and I can say is a special thank you to Dean, Allan and Robert (guys we have met on the trail and in the photo below), for their guidance, support and companionship.  They are leaving the trail now for various reasons.  It feels kind of weird to have them depart – we will miss them.  BUT will keep in touch!

We have enjoyed a couple of days in Queenstown, relaxing, buying some additional merino clothing, and sending home unused gear.

This morning we climbed the big hill (Tiki Trail, also known as Queenstown Gondola trail) behind Queenstown and then caught the gondola down. Absolutely amazing to see the infrastructure set-up at the top and the new construction that is now happening at both the top and bottom of the gondola facilities.

We are off to Cromwell for two nights visiting and catching up with my brother Les and sister-in-law Carol.  We have some food to collect there and a good opportunity to catch up with family.  Then onto Wanaka to start the next stage of our walk, hopefully meeting up with Jodi and her friend from Auckland.

You will hear from Yvonne in the next post.

This is my diary from Te Anau to Queenstown.  Again, suggest you make a coffee or pour a wine before you begin reading it.

Days 13, 14 and 15

1 February 2022 – Zero day in Te Anau

Our rest days in Te Anau have been relaxing, we even went to the movies and saw Deer Wars and Ata Whenua – Shadowland.  NZ documentary type movies.  Deer Wars was about the men and machines involved in the 20-year deer industry: culling, recovery, and exportation of venison, very interesting.

Ata Whenua – Shadowland was a ‘fly’ through Milford Sound showing its awe-inspiring landscapes that you would never otherwise see.

I succumbed and went to a hair salon today and brought a small amount of purple hair shampoo.  Soap just hasn’t been doing it for my hair – it looks dull and has no bounce or life to it. I realised I am vain after all – surprise, surprise – yeh right!  🙂

We have enjoyed catching up with our walking buddies: Dean, Allan and Robert again, they are in the room next door to us.

I’ve enjoyed cooking our meals while staying here in Te Anau, eating plenty of vegetables and other healthy food options.  Yvonne always happy to clean-up afterwards which makes cooking so much more pleasurable.

And our feet have improved greatly, it’s been a chance for them to be dry and get plenty of fresh air.

Te Anau – Kiwi Burn Hut 6 kms

Day 15 – 2 February 2022

As heavy rains have been predicted for the West Coast, we have been closely monitoring the weather forecasts.  Will we get the predicted rainfall going up through the Mavora Lakes?  Guess that’s a question we all are asking?

We were ready to get back on the trail again, come rain or not.  Walking the trail seems to be bring a purpose to our day and being.

We, along with the ‘boys’ have organised a lift from Te Anau to The Quarry, which provides access to Kiwi Burn Hut via a swing bridge.  This saved us a long section of road walking.

The trail into Kiwi Burn hut was easy. Meaning it was well defined, no climbing and easy underfoot, but we still got wet feet.  The bush was beautiful beech forest.  We met a beautiful little black robin on the track, who hopped up close to us and checked us out – completely unafraid. It was quite special.

The Kiwi Burn hut sleeps 16 people in two separate rooms.  So far there are seven people here, two SOBO’s and us five.  We’ve had a wonderful afternoon/evening chatting, and planning/organising the next few days journey up to top of Lake Wakatipu via Mavora Lakes.

Day 16

Kiwi Burn Hut – Careys Hut 26 kms

3 February, 2022

It poured down with rain during the night but when we woke this morning it was fine and misty.  The fine weather only lasted a couple of hours then it was rain coats all day with no let-up of the rain.

Today’s track was through mainly beech forest travelling up on western side of the Mavora River, through to South and North Mavora Lakes.  On a fine day this area is beautiful – but not so today.  Sari and I camped here at Mavora Lakes 4 years ago, and as I remember it was extremely windy – you never forget those days on a bike!!

Today was the first day with no photographs – because of the rain, low cloud, and unexciting scenery.

We were very glad to get to our hut – Carey’s Hut, a lovely six bunk hut with an old cold range oven and open fireplace.  But unfortunately, no dry firewood.  We could have done with a fire to dry out all our wet clothes for tomorrow.

When we arrived at the hut, cold and wet Allan kindly boiled the billy for us.  After a short rest it was dinner and then into bed.  Both Yvonne and I are feeling pretty tired tonight – it was quite a big day.  Good night.

Day 17

Carey’s Hut to Taipo Hut – 18 kms (well that was the plan)

4 February 2022

It continued to rain during the night. As Dean mentioned this morning “all events today have been cancelled.” That was the sort of day, wet, cold, and overcast.

After putting on our wet socks and shoes again, never a pleasant experience, we left the hut.  Five minutes down the track we had a small river crossing re-enforcing why we put on wet socks again.  Little did we know we would have a day of challenges – crossing raging streams and rivers, which ultimately led to a hard decision being made but the right decision.

Due the couple of days of continuous rain, we were surprised at how high and fast the rivers and streams were flowing.  Thank goodness our guys Robert, Allan and Dean soon caught up to us and were vital in enabling us to safely cross numerous streams and rivers.  A couple of times we spent ages trying to find a suitable crossing, walking up and down the banks looking for safe spots to cross.  Without the guys there was no way Yvonne, and I would have attempted any of the crossings.  They guided and supported us to ensure we didn’t fall, slip, or float away.

Finally, our hut for the night (Taipo) was in sight approx. 300m the other side of our last river crossing.  We walked up and down the river looking for a suitable crossing point.  The river was raging, Allan tried to cross a couple of spots, could get so far then had to turn back.  While waiting around we were getting colder and colder and you realised how easy hyperthermia can set in.  What were we going to do?

The decision was made to leave the crossing until the morning and go and find a spot to camp for the night.  It was the last thing we felt like doing as there weren’t many suitable tent sites, and it was still raining, and that hut across the river looked very inviting.

We ended up camping under a group of trees beside an upper part of the raging river.  First, we had to clear away the cattle pooh and broken dead twigs then set up our tents in a very confined space, but we were safe.

Yvonne and I were soon inside our tents wrapped up in our sleeping bags trying to get warm – it had been a long tough day.  We were so appreciative that Dean, Robert and Allan were there to help and guide us, otherwise the day would have had quite a different outcome.  Thank you guys we owe you beers when we hit Queenstown.

We didn’t bother about cooking dinner tonight; we ate our lunch snacks instead and settled in for a long night in bed.

Day 18

Camp site – Greenstone Valley Hut – 11 kms

5 February, 2022

Fortunately, during the night, the rain stopped, and the river level had dropped considerably.  It’s never much fun packing up damp and dirty gear, but we do what we must do.  We were able to cross at the designated crossing point with the help of Dean, Robert and Allan.  After that we never saw the guys until Greenstone hut.

We did have another river crossing closer to Greenstone hut, and this time Yvonne and I successfully applied all our learning from yesterday and made it safely across.  We had heard from another SOBO walker that he could not cross this river yesterday.  What a difference 14 hrs make to water levels.

The trail today was through high tussock, more beech forest, and many muddy patches of various depths.

It was so good to have the sun shining again and starting to see the tops of the surrounding mountains (Livingstone and Thompson Mountains) – quite magnificent.

We knew we had arrived at the Greenstone hut because the guys had their tents, sleeping bags and clothing out drying in the sunshine on the golden coloured grass.  We also soon had our gear out drying.

The hut was beautiful, sleeps 20 people in two separate rooms.  The dining area was generous with two large wooden dining tables surrounded by long wooden seats.  Plenty of stainless-steel bench space for people to cook along with two separate sinks with running cold water, detergent and pot scrubber.

Again, we meet many interesting people this afternoon/evening.  A mum (Jodi) and daughter (Ruby) from Auckland whom we just seemed to connect with.  So hopefully next week we will be walking with Jodi and a friend of hers while Ruby returns to Christchurch for university.  We have met quite a few dad’s and daughter’s walking together – what an opportunity for ‘bonding’.

It doesn’t seem to matter how long the daily distance is, we always find the last couple of hours a bit of a struggle. We were glad to get to Greenstone hut, it is beautiful, does have a hut warden and even flush toilets but only in the summer.  And it is full of trampers!!

Struggling mentally

I’m really tired tonight and today is the first day I’ve struggled mentally.  Guess it had to happen sooner or later.  On reflection I realised it was because I was dehydrated.  I hadn’t been to the toilet all day which is most unusual – that in itself should be sent signals to me.  Also I realised I had hardly drunk any fluid all day because we didn’t do our usual hourly stops where we always drink water and eat something small and nutritional.  This experience has made me aware of the importance of drinking plenty of water, having regular stops, and monitoring my toilet stops – that sounds fun eh?

Queenstown tomorrow night – yippy!

Day 18

Greenstone Hut – Greenstone Carpark Pickup – 11 kms

5 February 2022

We were the first to leave the hut this morning, 6.50 am.  This is the earliest we’ve ever started.  Yvonne is an early bird and that ensures we’re usually on the trail in good time.

It was a beautiful clear, fresh feeling morning as we headed down to the bridge that crossed the Greenstone River.  This wooden bridge was many many meters above the water that was rushing through the narrow gorge below.  I was expecting another swing bridge – so it was a nice surprise to have a wooden bridge instead!

Yvonne was on a mission this morning, walking briskly with me lagging along behind enjoying the ‘peaceful moments’ and often glancing down to view the large rushing river below.  I think Yvonne could smell civilisation!!  She said ‘it’s because I don’t have to concentrate and the track was smooth and easy to follow.‘

The track was very well maintained and easy to follow again mainly through beech forest.  Saw a couple of friendly black robins, they’re so curious and unafraid of humans and even saw deer grazing in an open grassy area before they quickly disappeared upon hearing our voices.

Transport from Greenstone car park to Glenorchy and Queenstown

If you haven’t organised transport from here it can be a mission and because we hadn’t had cell phone coverage for many days, we hadn’t organised any transport.  But, as we’re learning, things often work out.

We arrived at the carpark about 10.30 am only to find another couple had ordered a shuttle ride and had spare seats to Glenorchy.  So, Yvonne, Dean and I got a ride in a 4-wheel drive vehicle (with a trailer for packs) which was driven very fast along a narrow windy metal road, breaking suddenly when meeting an on-coming vehicle.  Thank goodness I wasn’t sitting in the front seat.

We were dropped off at Glenorchy as the next shuttle to Queenstown was 3 pm.  We spent a few delightful hours chilly out, reminiscing the last few days, enjoying a flat white coffee and savouring each mouthful of a thickly buttered cheese scone.   Later to be joined by Jodi and Ruby with more laughter and reminiscing taking place.

In Queenstown we booked into the Adventurers Queenstown Hostel.  This is a very friendly, clean and well-equipped hostel.  The showers and toilets were modern and the staff friendly. Our dirty clothes were washed and dried within the hour for a small fee.  Yvonne and I had the room to ourselves which was appreciated.

We enjoyed a Sunday roast dinner with Robert and Allan at The Pig and Whistle which was delicious, just a tad better than the freeze-dry meals we have been eating.  As I hardly ever eat out at home it’s been interesting to experience these ‘Sunday roast’ meals – really good value.  Then home to bed.

Unsettling times and emotional challenges

With the guys leaving the trail it has unsettled me, not sure why?  I think knowing they are somewhere on the trail gives us a sense of security, and now we won’t have that.  Another little voice says to me ‘but you’ll meet other people on the trail.‘

As the weather forecast is not looking great for the next few days, it’s forced us to re-think our next stage.  This part of the trail has 26 river crossings and some high climbs so we have decided for safety reasons we will join the trail again in Wanaka, where hopefully Jodi and her friend may also join us.

When we decide to miss a section out for whatever reason, I feel like I’m dodging the tough stuff, feeling pathetic and cowardly and I’m struggling with these feelings.  I guess this experience/journey is highlighting my weaknesses and forcing me to come to terms with my inadequacies, which I have always known are there but in many everyday situations you can easily sweep them away – so to speak.  The river crossing experiences from the other day have left me feeling extra cautious and exposed additional inadequacies!!

I guess these emotional challenges are all part of a long journey?  My inner voice is saying to me ‘deal with them Heather and get on with the next stage.’  I would love to read/hear about your coping strategies with your inadequacies – what do you do?

As I complete this post I can smell the roast lamb dinner cooking – sure gets the digestive juices going!! We’re having dinner with Les, Carol and their son Blair, Anna (Blair’s wife) and their children.  Their children are delightful and a pleasure to be around and appreciate all the different personalities the children have.

That is until next time – not sure when or where that will be.  In the meantime, take care out there and thank you again for your feedback and comments.  It’s now raining outside which was expected and that partly justifies our decisions.  GoldCard Gal  🙂

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Part of Richmond Ranges – And change of direction

We’ve had a big change of plans, but firstly thank you for your support and encouragement to my last post.  I haven’t answered individual comments as we have been out of cell phone coverage since Havelock on Monday 10 January.

It’s now Friday 14 January and this morning we walked out from Hacket Hut to Aniseed Valley Carpark, approximately 7 kms.  A very fit and good-looking middle-aged man named Nigel (in the logging business) gave us a lift into Richmond in his big white ute.  Yvonne’s son Chris picked us up from there and we will stay with him and his family for three nights before heading south to Invercargill on Monday.

Change of direction

It was a difficult decision to make and accept but we both felt we weren’t fit or strong enough to continue walking over the Richmond Ranges to St Arnaud.  The last three days have been tough, but we handled it, the next 12 days were going to be tougher.  The journey was going to take us a few days longer than predicted, that meant extra food and water which equals extra weight (which we could ill-afford) and this has consequences.  So, with the wisdom of age (some might question that), being at a critical decision-making point on the trail (we could easily exit here) and acknowledging our weaknesses, physical capabilities, and age, we have made the decision to change direction and head to Bluff.  Thank goodness for Grab-a-seat with Air NZ.

So next time you hear from us will be from the deep south somewhere.  We will then be classed as North Bounders (NOBO).

Below is my diary to date:

Day 8

Road End – Captains Creek Hut – 8.5 km

Not sure this is such a good idea, sitting outside at the wooden table recording today’s activities – as I’m being eaten by sand-flies here at Captains Creek Hut. Which is located on the banks of the crystal-clear waters of the Pelorus River.

This morning brother Ben & Fran (his wife) meet us at Havelock for coffee and then drove us to the end of the Maungatapu Road. This very kind offer saved us at least two days road walking.  If you have driven along State Highway 6 between Havelock and Nelson, you’ll understand why we gladly accepted Ben’s offer.

My heart was a flutter of nerves when Ben dropped us off, why I’m not sure, partly because we were venturing into the unknown and possibility the 12 – 14 days of “slog” –  I guess you could say.  But then what did I expect – tracks like the Queen Charlotte?  Ha ha – those are a distant memory now.

It took me a good 30 minutes before I settled and concentrated on putting one foot in the front of the other.  Today was a day of full concentration with every foot placement checked because of all the exposed gnarly tree roots to negotiate through and over, along with rocky outcrops to sidle around.  Making sure to stay focused on the track and not look down! This makes for a slow journey for us – but better slow and be safe! At least the track was dry, would hate to hike it when it was wet!  The track more or less followed the Pelorus River which is clear and beautiful.

And thankfully we were mostly under the shade of Beech trees, as it was a hot day out there.

The time guide for this track was 4 hrs, we took 5 hours.  We felt mainly because our packs were heavier, which is taking the body time to adjust to and Yvonne and I have dodgy knees. This sure slows things down, but that is OK as long as we get where we intend to go.

Arriving at Captain Creek Hut, we downed our packs and Yvonne went straight down to the river for her daily swim.    I enjoyed soaking my legs and having a much need wash – as we sweated plenty today.

We all know NZ is such a small place, well this afternoon I had a very bizarre experience.  Two young men, high school age arrived here at the hut with big packs on and full of enthusiasm.  They too immediately went for a swim.  Afterwards we got chatting to them and one of the young men is Gae & Craig’s neighbour from North West Bay in the Marlborough Sounds.  What is interesting about this is that I’ve only just got back in contact with Gae (we were in Laos together back in 2006-8, and I had lost contact with her and Craig).  That is until I meet my house-sitter Kathy couple of weeks back who knew Gae really well back in Gisborne many years ago. So Gae, your neighbour’s name is Piripi.

A bit later a French guy also arrived at our hut, he is NOBO – heading North and also has a huge pack and was quite difficult to understand speech wise.  After cooking up some food the two young men carried onto Middy Hut, another couple of hours away.  Neither of these young men were at high school, one was doing correspondence and the other home schooled in Havelock.  Great to see young people out enjoying the wild

The sand-flies are really bugging me, time I went inside and probably thought about bed.  We will have an early start tomorrow – hopefully getting to our destination in early afternoon.  It is nice to have the chance to have a chill out/power nap at the next hut after that much anticipated cup-of-tea and something to eat.

So night night from me, looking forward to getting stronger thighs and knees!!

Day 9

Captain Creek Hut – Rocks Hut – 10 kms

The stars were shining brightly last night when I got up to go to the toilet – most notability in The Southern Cross – very special.

Yvonne and I were on the track by 7.15 am with 5½ hrs of hiking ahead.  It’s been a day of ‘out of comfort zone experiences”, swing bridges (my favourite activity – yeh right), long steep climbs over exposed tree roots – virtually all day, rocks and scree sections.  We both have learnt you don’t look down!  As we walked it is so peaceful.  All we could hear was the cicadas’, click clack of our walking poles and my pack’s squeaking with each movement.

As we were slowly climbing our way up another hill and sweat dripping down may face, I heard my phone alarm go off, and remembered, it’s my Tuesday cycling group day.  I thought of all my cycling boyfriends and girlfriends and wondered where you’d be riding today and what the weather was like?  I realised while I missed you all, I was very happy doing exactly what I’m doing.

NZTopo50

Before our adventure Maureen (cycling & hiking friend) showed us how to use NZTopo50.  This app enables us to get our exact location via satellite without cell phone coverage along with landscape contours etc.  This is proving invaluable and very reassuring – so thank you Maureen.

Arriving at Rocks Hut was a welcome sight. We were the first so we get to choose where to sleep. I always like to choose a location close to any windows – at least then you can get some fresh air.  It’s a very nice hut containing 16 bunks and believe it or not “flushed toilets x 2”.  That is a first, never have I seen flushed toilets in any DOC huts, but they are appreciated.

After our regular “power-nap” it was a quick walk up to the Lockout where we were could see the Richmond Range mountains, quite stunning and beautiful.  We were able to get cell phone coverage – so had a quick check of my emails and must say thank you for your post comments.  I don’t have much battery life to respond but be rest assured your comments are appreciated.

Tonight, we are sitting around a large steel top table chatting with three other hikers.  Sharing stories, experiences, and general chit chat. All very interesting people – one male and two females.  What I did notice that they also went and had a ‘power nap’ soon after arriving at the hut after their day’s hike.

It’s off to bed, the body needs the rest.  Tomorrow we are meeting up with Sari, as she is bringing in extra food for the coming days.

Day 10

Rocks Hut – Hacket Hut – 16 kms

Today was a hard day 9 hrs, much longer than predicted 7 hrs.  More of the same – gnarly tree roots to navigate over, some pretty steep downs, which both Yvonne and I are very slow at. And much brushing aside of over-grown bracken to just see the track let along where to put your feet.

While we had a little break at Browning Hut, Yvonne had a swim.  For me, I soaked my feet and just as I was pulling my shorts up (from soaking them), we heard this loud American voice say “hello girls.”  We both got quite a fright as we hadn’t expected to hear or see anyone this afternoon.  Anyway after a short conversation he asked if could walk with us.  Well, that only lasted about 20 seconds before he disappeared down the track and out of sight – never to be seen again.

Just when we thought we had it made coming along the last couple of kms on what we’d define as a “normal” track surface (no tree roots or rocks) we were confronted with two major washouts!!  These had us thinking for several minutes before we managed to successfully negotiate both slips – very carefully.  This certainly got our hearts pumping and we had to have a little sit down afterwards to gather ourselves togetheragain.

When we arrived at Hacket Hut Sari had been and gone.  She left our food bag well-hidden, but hadn’t wait around for us and I can’t blame her as it took us much longer than anticipated.

This evening we managed to give ourselves a good wash down at the river and even rinsed my smelly clothes.  The heat of the sun soon dried our clothes which we draped over the wooden outdoor table.  We have the hut to ourselves tonight, which is nice, it is small and cozy with 6 bunks.

We spent much of the evening sorting what food we still had, what food we needed for the coming days and what distances we needed to cover.   After completing this activity I could feel a little apprehension building up in my mind!

We are being eating again by sand-flies, so will finish this and go to bed.

Day 11

Hacket Hut – Rest day

I didn’t have a good sleep last night as I was visited by Mr Self-doubt, Mr Fearful, and thank goodness Miss Common Sense joined the mental chatter.  I feel this was all brought on after revising our travel plans over the Richmond Range.  With our walking times taking longer than predicted, packs heavier again after sorting out our food (which Sari dropped off) my confidence and ability in us completing this section was in doubt.  I guess it’s mainly the steep descents that bother me most with our doggy knees and balancing heavy packs.

So at about 6 am this morning Yvonne and I discussed our options.  We decided to have a rest day today and then walk out to Nelson tomorrow and re-assess the next stage.  Yvonne has a son and soon to be daughter-in-law living in Motueka.  This is not what we had planned but feel for our safely and health it is for the better for the time being.  We will be back to complete the Richmond Range but not just yet.

I couldn’t believe how mentally tired I was this morning; the past three days of concentration have certainly taken its toll. Yvonne and I spent all morning lying in our sleeping bags reading and dozing – just what the Doctor ordered.

In the late afternoon two other older hikers, Robert and Allan arrived.  Allan was completely shattered, Robert in a better state.  They like us are re-evaluating their options. Perhaps start at Bluff and walk north, like so many other hikers are doing.

We had a fun evening chatting together and discussing lots of different topics. All in bed by 8.30.

Feeling at peace with our decision to head south and re-start from Bluff.

Day 12

Hacket Hut – Aniseed Valley car park 7 kms

Today we enjoyed a leisurely walk out to the car park.  This track is very popular with mountain bikers, trail runners and people taking their dogs for a morning walk.

Enjoying time in Motueka

It has been years since I visited this part of NZ.  The countryside is looking very dry, it’s hot and very busy traffic wise.  We enjoyed catching up and having a coffee with long time friend Sue (always referred to as “paddling Sue”) at T.O.A.D Hall.  What an interesting business and they serve great coffee.

As mentioned earlier we are currently staying with Yvonne’s eldest son and family, enjoying time together.  Thank you Chris and Louisa for your wonderful and generous hospitality at such short notice.

Neville and Diane of Wanaka, Les and Carol you can expect to see us much earlier than originally planned, but will give you plenty of warning.  Look forward to catching up with you all.

In the mean time, take care out there and stay safe.  GoldCard Gal 🙂

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