About the Hike

28km Day : 742 Total
27 January 2015

Today’s walk can be broken down into three phases:

Completion of the Red Hills trail.
This part followed the valley to the to Red Hills hut at the southern end of the Red Hills.

The walk down to the highway.
This was mainly along a gravel one-lane road (a.k.a. 4wd track) that started at Red Hills Hut.  The final mile of this phase was a trail through a beech forest.

The third phase was a hot sunny 10km road walk to St Arnaud.
Along the road I saw my first Kiwi pig after 40 days of hiking.  I was beginning to doubt whether there were any pigs in New Zealand.

I am staying in St Arnaud tonight and will travel to Nelson tomorrow with the plan the take a side trip to Abel Tasman National Park.  Will return to Te Araroa after a short hike in Abel Tasman.

Lake Rotoiti, St Arnaud

18km Day : 714 Total
26 January 2015
-41.653553, 172.997285

I got off to a 6:50 start this morning.  I think the early start is because this will be our 8th day of hiking since the last rest day.  Prior to this my longest stretch was 6 days and this longer stretch is starting to wear on me.  I’m ready for a break.  So even though it was still to far away to walk out today, the early start made me feel like I would get to St Arnaud quicker.  The true advantage was that the early start allowed us to walk more before the day turned hot.  Today was more like hiking in the Australian bush than what I’ve come to expect from New Zealand. 

Joerg and Rory caught up with me after about 90min even though they left 20min after me.  They are much better hill climbers than I am which allowed them to catch me so quickly.  My advantage is on the flat trails where I can stretch out my longer legs.  Joerg is the best climber with the strongest legs and Rory is the quickest and most surefooted on downhill sections.

Almost Like a Moonscape

Sidling a Scree Slope

We reached Hunters Hut at noon and stopped for lunch.  The increasing heat and the climb up to the hut wore me out and I took a nap for half an hour before continuing on. 

There was still more climbing to do and my pace reduced even more.  Joerg and Rory pushed on while I took a long break in the last patch of shade before the last climb to the saddle.

Sculpture on the Saddle

After Eight Days

It turned out that I reached Porters hut only minutes after Rory and Joerg.  They stopped for a swim at a stream crossing, where I only took a quick splashing while crossing.  Now I kind of wish I had taken the time for a swim.  I would certainly smell better if I had.

St Arnaud tomorrow. 

13km Day : 696 Total
25 January 2015
-41.610851, 173.075454

This morning Rory and Joerg started out at 7:40.  I had a slow start getting organized and left the hut 20 minutes later with Johannes, a young German hiker who shared the hut with us last night.  We hiked together for an hour but it was clear we had different hiking styles and speeds so we parted amicably when he stopped for a break.

I caught up with Joerg and Rory at 11am at Mid Wairoa Hut where they were visiting with a couple of local Kiwis that were out for a short hike.  They were a very nice couple who shared some of there detailed knowledge of the local trails, wildlife and plant life.

Stream Behind Mid Wairoa

We continued on together and stopped at noon at a beautiful pool for a swim and lunch.  I lingered here for a while longer than Rory and Joerg to relax and enjoy what I considered a prime spot.

Opportunity for a Lunchtime Swim

The trail continued along the Wairoa River for the rest of the day with several wet feet stream crossings.  The views along the river were awesome with several significant waterfalls.

I arrived at Top Wairoa Hut at 5:20 where Joerg and Rory had already settled down and were preparing dinner.  We are now on the edge of the Red Hills where the scenery will change considerably.

14km Day : 683km Total
24 January 2015
-41.551765, 173.167952

Today was amazing! . . . and exhausting.  We got a good start at 7:30am and first had to climb 250m just to get up to the main trail because Old Man Hut is located below the ridge. After that it was more climbing toward Little Rintoul’s peak. 

The track notes warn that the next 4km were difficult alpine track, and it is true that this track is not for novices.  But there was only one 20m section that made me nervous and that was just before Little Rintoul where there is a not quite vertical cliff against your right shoulder and a cliff dropping off just to the left of the trail.  Coming down from L. Rintoul on the other side is also challenging but not quite as scary.  If there had been any wind or rain I would not have walked this trail.  But the weather as perfect.

Then it was toward Mount Rintoul down rocky paths and then across scree fields.  Here we met a family of goats that were much better at walking the scree slopes than we were.

Near the top of Rintoul we met a SOBO TA hiker named Nathan who was just coming from the summit. The views from the top were amazing.

The ridge line track we were following then descended through birch forests toward Tarn Hut. 

I learned from Rory that a tarn is a mountain lake, and there was a fairly large one adjacent to the hut. There was a fishing pole at the hut so I attempted to fish using a little salami for bait donated by Joerg.  No bites but it was still fun to make an attempt.  Now I’m looking forward to fish and chips when we get to St Arnaud.

13km Day : 669km Total
23 January 2015
-41.524578, 173.271085

Today started with a climb to bring us higher into the mountains.  With amazing views the entire day, I will let the photos speak for themselves. 

Joerg Hiking the Ridge

Joerg and Rory in the Scree

Rory on the Edge

19km Day : 656 Total
22 January 2015
-41.457812, 173.241197

Today took us above the treeline for a good portion of the walk.  While we were still in the trees many area had severe wind damage where whole swaths of the forest were flattened.

Rory Appreciating the View

The day ended with a 900m climb that I again struggled with but the reward was amazing views.

10km Day : 637 km Total
21 January 2015
-41.36715, 173.354914

Captains Creek Hut

We laid in our bunks late this morning and officially ended our sloth when Joerg got out of bed to catch the mouse that was scurrying around the hut all night.  He imprisoned it in a cook pot. 

We Didn't Cook Him

We eventually let it free in the forest because none of us had the heart to kill it.  We had a short day of hiking planned and didn’t get started until 9:15.  There were several groups of hikers coming from the other direction who had stayed at Middys last night.  Mostly school kids on a supervised excursion.

We reached Middys Creek Hut at 11am and took a break there and signed the visitors log.  The sand flies at Middy’s was even worse than at Captains.  Then after crossing a couple of swing bridges we started to climb toward Rocks Hut. 

Since I am not yet fully back to hiking fitness after my 6 week break I struggled with this section of track that rose 600m over 4km distance.

Rocks Hut could almost be called a lodge with 18 bunks and a large common area.  It even has the luxury of two flush toilets. The 4 of us have it to ourselves.

23km Day : 627km Total
20 January 2015
-41.374003, 173.435194

After leaving the campsite at 8:20 the first half of the days walk was mostly on gravel roads before reaching the trailhead around 11:30.  The road walk followed the Pelorus river, which is the river where the barrel-riding scene in one of the Hobbit movies was filmed.  The river water is very clear but has a distinctive green tint to it.

The trail then continued into forested lands, still following the Pelorus River for the entire day.  A couple of the  streams were crossed by swing bridges, one of which was very unstable and I had to take care when crossing.

I stopped for lunch at a small picnic area called the Emerald Pool and was soon joined by Rory, who is New Zealander also hiking the Te Araroa trail.  After lunch he prepared to take a swim at the pool, but I continued on the hike with the hope of reaching Middy Hut. 

The next 2.5 hours of hiking brought me to Captains Creek Hut and ready for a break.  The hut is located very close to the river, with an excellent area to take a swim.  So I took a wade in the water, which was chilly so did not submerge myself but i sat on a large rock hanging my legs in the water.  This would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the swarms of sand flies.

Rory caught up with me before long and came down to the river for his second swim of the day.  Now since he went into a full-on swim my pride forced me to take a plunge as well.  It was a shock at first but refreshing once I got used to the water temperature. It also got us away from the sand flies except for the most voracious ones that still attacked our heads.

The stony beach was a great place to dry out our tents from the condensation from the previous night.  And we even rinsed out our smelliest clothes and laid them on the rocks to dry in the sun.  We also got the chance to test our stone-skipping skills because the rocks here were perfect for it.  My first attempt went Kerplunk after the first skip. But the second one went about 10 skips landing on the other side of the river.  I decided to stop while I was ahead, not a bad result for my first tries in 30 years.

I did not have the energy to move on to Middy Hut.  So I went inside the hut, set up my bunk and made dinner.  While eating dinner, Joerg arrived after walking a monster day all the way from Havelock to catch up with Rory who he knew would be here.  I had last seen Joerg in Whananaki in November and we spent some time catching up.  Another kiwi hiker named Ben also arrived late so there are 4 of us in this 6 bunk hut.

21km Day : 604km Total
19 January 2015
-41.301325, 173.569254

Yesterday I took a zero day in Havelock.  Resting up and preparing for what I expect to be an 8 day hike to St Arnaud.  With a 10 day supply of food it is the heaviest its been on the hike so far and probably will never be heavier.  I haven’t weighed it but I’m sure it’s close to 20 kg.

I had trouble getting to sleep last night.  It was nearly 1am before I dozed off.  So this morning I slept in.  Not a worry since I was to have a short easy walk today.  I stopped by the cafe at the info center for a coffee and donut.  I highly recommend their cinnamon donut.  The make it fresh on request.  Mine was still hot from the fryer.  I started walking at just past 9am.

The first half of today’s walk was on the roads. Most of which was one lane gravel roads through dairy farms. 

Then it became a trek through farms and pastures along the Pelorus river. 

This varied from open pastures to turnip fields to walking through a herd of cows.  One of the pastures was open but I had to be very careful not to step on the many fresh land mines laid by the cows.  But my infantry training was unnecessary to avoid the bovine biological expulsion mines (BBEs).  The cows made no effort to conceal them.

I climbed over at least a dozen stiles today.  A typical stile is shown in the photo below.

When I see these it always looks to me like they are giving me the finger.  Fortunately it looks like the good finger.  You’ll also see an orange triangle on the style post.  This is the default Te Araroa trail marker, but they can vary from colored ribbons or paint marks on trees to elaborate signs with arrows and distances and expected times..  Whenever I go for a while without seeing a triangle, I get a little nervous that I might have missed a turn.  I’ve gotten to the point that seeing an orange triangle gives me a warm feeling inside.

I’ve reached Pelorus Bridge campsite for tonight.  Just before arriving I crossed a swing bridge.  They do swing side to side as well as bounce up and down.  But even with all of the movement it doesn’t feel unsafe. 

19km Day : 583 km Total
17 January 2015
-41.2786, 173.7658

It rained last night. It was a light but steady rain that lasted all night. I stayed in my tent longer than usual this morning and was rewarded by the rain stopping around 8:30. As I was packing up and breaking down my tent there was a group of other hikers just down the beach doing the same thing. When i was almost finished packing I went over to speak with them. They are hikers from Colorado also hiking Te Araroa, so there will be at least 6 of us starting the richmond track at about the same time.

More than half of today’s hike was walking on the road. A couple of kilometers had very narrow shoulders. So I had to be careful because there was a moderate amount of traffic. The difficult part of today’s walk was climbing Mahakipawa. It was a 300 meter climb over a distance of 1.5 kilometers. To make matters worse the sun came out and the temperature climbed to 30°C. And there was very little shade along the track. When I reached the peak I met an English hiker who had just finished climbing from the other side. He had recently completed the Richmond track. We shared a small area of shade and discussed some of the tracks we had hiked. He answered several of my questions about the Richmond track, which I will soon be hiking.

The following 2 photos taken from both sides of the peak show the majority of today’s walk.

Looking Back

Havelock

Havelock is advertised as the Greenshell Mussel Capitol of the World. So guess what I had for dinner.