29km Day : 876km Total
10 February 2015
-42.351074, 172.528779

It was a chilly start to the day, and having to put my wet clothes back on made it seem even colder.  But once I got the blood flowing with a little walking it was bearable. 

My legs stayed wet for a long time due to walking through wet, waist high grass for most of the morning.  But the real eye-opener was having to start the day with a knee deep wade through the ice cold Waiau River.  My feet were nearly numb for half hour afterward.

Camping Outside Caroline Bivvy

Leaving Caroline

The Morning Walk

It was quick easy walking all day through grass fields and on 4wd tracks.  With great views of the mountains and following rivers all day.  The afternoon warmed up and dried out the grass and my clothes.

Waiau River

Henry River

As I approached Anne Hut I could see it from almost a kilometer away across a wide grassy field.  My first thought was, wow, Little House on the Prairie.  My second thought was, Why is it here?  The map shows it another mile down the track on the other side of the river.

At the hut I found Graeme and Colin, who I expected to see.  To my surprise Sharon was also there, who I haven’t seen since Ngunguru back in November.  I mentioned the unexpected location of the hut to Graeme and he said that the old one burned down a couple of years ago but the maps haven’t yet caught up with the location of the new one.