Te Araroa Day 75, d'Urville Hut to Blue Lake Hut

Starting km: (2114)
Finishing km: (2138)/2025
km covered today: 24

Day two of tramping with Ryan was another good'un.  We suspected we had a longish day so started walking before 7, saying farewell to the d'Urville Hut with its nice views of the lake (which we enjoyed), million sandflies (which we didn't) and giant eels (which we didn't see, but I know they're there.)

The morning got off to a bit of a slow start. We easily crossed the d'Urville River, which was very low, but struggled a bit to spot the trail again on the other side.  Eventually we found it again and set off into the  bush for the next valley over, the Sabine.  Incidentally, I'm at a complete loss for how to pronounce that. I'd always pronounced it Say-By-n. Then I phoned the Nelson Lakes DOC office and the ranger there pronounced it Sah-been. Then the farmer who gave us a lift to the trailhead and a volunteer hut warden pronounced it Say-by-n. So I just have no idea.

Along the way we had a crossing of a slow moving, but deep stream that got my bum wet (and veeerry chilly). And had some nice views up the lake from a beach in its centre.  The track was generally in good shape, but there were a few fallen trees and slips across the track that made it tricky in spots.

Compared to this, the trail up the Sabine Valley was easy as.  Well maintained and only a few small climbs to get over bluffs or past waterfalls.

Pretty much the whole way was in either grassy river flats or through beech forest.  I'd observed the previous day that the microscopic wing beats of millions wasps made a sound audible through the whole forest.  Intriguingly, I'd also noticed a similar phenomenon with smell.

Most of Nelson Lakes' beech trees  are covered in a thick black coating of fungus. Beneath this live scale insects that harvest sap from the trees. They concentrate it and excrete it out long, thin white tubes. The concentrated sap forms small beads (which wasps love to eat) and which ferments and makes the whole forest smell like a mix of a bee hive and a winery.

About four hours up the river we stopped for lunch at the West Sabine Hut. It was here that I rejoined the official Te Araroa route. I think I haven't actually explained what the parentheses around trail km have been for the last week or so. Since I'm haven't been on the official TA route for this time, the distances listed have been my personal trail distances. Though now that I'm back on TA I think I'll revert to the official kms.

At West Sabine we realized that our destination, Blue Lake Hut was going to be very full (based both on people at West Sabine who said they were headed there and info in the hut intentions book.) This being the case I dashed up then 7km of trail to Blue Lake to ensure that we got at least one bunk in the hut between us.

This gave me plenty of time to have a wander up to the head of Blue Lake (measured to be the world's clearest fresh water in 2011, with a visibility of 70-80m!) As well as to fill my water bottle from the Sabine just as it exited the lake. Holding my hand underwater for the minute or so it took to fill my bottle was painfully cold. But that nutter Ryan has a personal tradition of going for swims when tramping, so he actually immersed himself in the 5-8C brand new waters of the Sabine  River.

But he also cooked dinner for me and brought along Exploding Kittens (a card game) for us to play, so I should be nice to him.

Te Araroa Day 74, Tutaki to d'Urville Hut

Starting km: (2090)
Finishing km: (2114)
km covered today: 24

My mate Ryan had come down from Wellington to join me for a few days of tramping.

Our first day on the trail together was a super fun one. We started out hitching from Murchison to Mangles Valley Road, some 5km east on SH6.  We split up for this, but shortly after I arrived at the intersection a passing farmer picked us both up and dropped us right where I'd started my walk the previous day.

Half an hour later and we were on the Tiraumea Track. When I called the DOC office the previous day to get more info on the track the ranger on the other end had called it "the trail of a thousand fords." This was an exaggeration, but not a huge one. The track follows the Tiraumea River from where it joins the Tutaki, past an eponymous hut to its source.

Whether through grassy flats, airy beech forest or the cool deep green gorge, the one constant was the river crossings.  I counted a total of 53 crossings of the Tiraumea before we reached the hut (not to mention a fair bit of time spent simply walking up the river.)

The other constant (yeah, I know I just said there was only one) was an odd low buzzing hum that seemed to follow us wherever we went. It was pretty astonishing/worrying when I realized it was just the wing beats of millions of German wasps that infest Nelson Lakes.

This made it all the more curious that when I was stung near the start of the track it was by a bumble bee.

After reaching the source of the river at Tiraumea Saddle it was soon time to descend the quick and very steep ,200m to the d'Urville Valley.  Because it was already 18:00 we decided not to carry on up the d'Urville but to make for the d'Urville sitting near the mouth of the river on the ~20km long Lake Rotoroa.

As it's possible to get a water taxi in to this hut I was rather surprised that we had it all to ourselves. We enjoyed the view of the mountains across the lake. I killed the sandflies that had made it into the hut. Ryan went for a swim. I cooked dinner (couscous for two. Plus veggies, cause Ryan had a courgette.) And we both had a cup of tea before bed.

Te Araroa Day 73, Tutaki to Murchison

Starting km: (2090)
Finishing km: (2071)
km covered today: 19

As it turned out I sort of got my wish of a short day's walk into Murchison today.

My friend Ryan is coming down from Wellington to walk the next few days with me.  As we're meeting in Murchison there was no need to go much of anywhere today.  However it occurred to me that he probably wouldn't be terribly interested in the 19km of road walking before the start of the trail in Nelson Lakes National Park.

So I decided to go out and walk those this morning so we'd be free to head straight for the trailhead this morning.

Because of heavy rain in just about every part of NZ except here (here it was merely moderate rain) the newly re-opened State Highway 1 through Kaikoura (damaged in an earthquake related landslip a bit over a year ago) was temporarily closed again. The alternate route goes through Murchison, so there was plenty of traffic. Nonetheless it was tougher to get a ride for the first 5km on the main road than it was for the next 14km up the valley side road, where the first car past (driven by a friendly young farmer's daughter who'd been grocery shopping in town) picked me up.

I didn't bring my phone along because I figured there'd be no reception (I'm sure correctly) and nothing to take photos of (incorrectly. The low cloud wreathing the hills beside the valley was actually quite pretty.)

A few hours more and I was back in town. Some iced tea, a bath (I mentioned yesterday that this is a nice hostel!) a bit of writing. Now all I need do is wait for Ryan so we can do our final food shop and I'll be all set for the day :-)

Te Araroa Day 72, Lyell Saddle Hut to Murchison

Starting km: (2018)
Finishing km: (2071)
km covered today: 53

Is 50 the new 40?  I've never felt as good after a 50+km day as I did this afternoon. And three out of my past six days of walking have been 50km or more.  One way or another, I think that from now on if the terrain and conditions are right I won't be super concerned about setting myself days like this.

It started up on Lyell Saddle. As it turned out more people did arrive, so there were four of us in the hut and three in the private "summer sleepout".  Curiously they were all Kiwis, three from Wellington and three from Invercargill. As one of them pointed out, it's quite unusual to visit a hut at this time of year and have locals be in the majority! It appears that international tourists haven't really discovered the Old Ghost Road yet.

The walk down was really pleasant. A gentle slope with forest providing just enough shelter from the sun to keep it cool.  It was also jam packed with bird life. Kereru, Tomtits, riflemen, tui and most especially South Island Robins.  For some reason I'd thought these birds were somewhat rare. Clearly not. I'd seen a few on the Heaphy, many on the first couple days of OGR and probably dozens this one morning.

They're some of the most charming NZ native birds. They'll fly up and and maybe 2m ahead of you on the trail, then hop ahead of you until you get within a metre or so, then finally panic and fly off.  If, however, you stand still, they'll hop closer and closer until they're almost on your boot tops. Adorable!

On the way down there were a few gold rush-era ruin to explore, and a bunch of interpretive displays at Lyell Village at the bottom where I had lunch. Lyell Village isn't really much of a village anymore. Just a campground, a few ruins and one of the finest collections of sandflies in NZ.  Like many of the gold rush villages, when the mines went bust so did Lyell. My sister Melanie and bro-in-law Ka Hung may remember walking up to some of the ruined gold works and the Lyell cemetery when they visited NZ many years ago.

From Lyell the route was 35km along State Highway 6, which was quite busy with campervans and vehicles carrying kayaks.  This was actually a lot better than it sounds. Most of it was on the true right of the Buller River with a wide, not too vegetated grassy shoulder to walk on of you were on the river side of the road, facing traffic. Only the last 11km after crossing to the other side was unpleasant as the shoulder got narrower, and the "wide shoulder" side was no longer facing traffic.

Anyhow, pretty much the whole walk was through the Upper Buller Gorge. I didn't get to see as much of it as I would've liked, because there was often bush between road and river, but what I did see was fabulous. There were people rafting, kayaking and jet boating on the river, and the dark teal, clear water flowed fast and deep throughout, often with plenty of white as it made some pretty impressive rapids and sandy beaches on the banks.

I'd originally planned to camp somewhere between Lyell and Murchison, but a second hand weather forecast from one of thd many cyclists I'd met coming up the OGR convinced me that it might be nice to have a roof over my head.  Heavy rain was on the way.

So I just kept walking and walking and around 18:30 I'd arrived at the lovely Lazy Cow backpackers in Murchison.

So here I sit after two huge plates of nachos (the salsa I made was so-so buy the beans were tip top), some ice cream and a big jug of iced tea.  It's way past my normal bedtime, but I'm showered and well fed and my feet and knees aren't even particularly sore.

Te Araroa Day 71, Goat Creek Hut to Lyell Hut

Starting km: (1979)
Finishing km: (2018)
km covered today: 39

My first day in real South Island mountains.  What a beauty!

I knew I had a fair distance to cover, and while I suspected the walking would be easy I wasn't 100% sure, so I got on the trail at 05:30.

The first couple of hours were a climb up through more beech forest before going up and over Solemn Saddle and into the Boneyard.  The boneyard was the remains of a massive landslide where it seemed that half of a mountain had fallen into Earnest valley below.

After the series of depressing names, it was nice to be greeted by Lake Cheerful as I neared the valley floor (though Lake Grim and Stern Valley were soon to follow [no, I'm not making these names up.]) I saw a few trampers and even fewer cyclists headed my way in this section (the trampers all seemed to be earlier risers for some reason.)

After a breakfast stop at Stern Valley hut the climb continued up and up.  During another forest section I passed a couple riding (or rather, pushing) touring bikes with big full panniers. This trail was significantly harder than the Timber Trail, and I didn't envy the folks who'd done the same there.

Things were only going to get tougher for them, as after a long slow sidle up a steep, forested hillside came the Skyline Steps. 300 Stairs aren't that big a deal when you're on foot, but even carrying a bike down them would be tough!

The steps were the gateway to the line section of the trail. The section on the open tops leading up to Ghost Lake Hut (where I stopped for a leisurely lunch, just missing a helicopter that was visiting) was nice, but the bit afterwards was even better. Rocky Tor and Mount Montgomery were seriously big and steep pieces of granite.

By this time it was clear that I would have no problem reaching my destination, so I had another nice long sit at the picnic table on the saddle between the two peaks. I didn't see another soul between the  time I left Ghost Lake Hut and when I reentered the bush.

The trail got busier at this point, as I encountered the walkers and cyclists who'd started their day at Lyell, 20-odd km below.  While nice, the beech and dracophyllum forest was something of an anticlimax after the grandeur of the mountaintops.  At least it was an easy stroll down to my home for the night, Lyell Saddle Hut.

This would be my one night in the fancy OGR huts that I'd been walking past for a couple of days, so it was nice to arrive at 15:00.  This gave me lots of time to sit out on the deck, admire the (still pretty good) view from the saddle and do a bit of reading.  I could swear that the hut was meant to be mostly booked our, but for most of the afternoon my only companions have been one other tramper (a fellow Wellingtonian headed the other way), two wekas (unsurprisingly, not at all bothered by people... one of them tried to steal the other walker's socks) and a black goat with a nice big set of horns (more surprisingly, also not bothered by people.)

If no one else arrives soon I'll have a bunk room to myself in the hut!

Te Araroa Day 70, Seddonville to Goat Creek Hut

Starting km: (1947)
Finishing km: (1979)
km covered today: 32

There's nothing like having walked 53km the day before to make a 32km walk feel easy.

My first day on the Old Ghost Road was great. The OGR is an old mining road from the West Coast gold rush days of the late 19th century. It was started but never quite finished. Eventually it fell into disuse and disrepair and was forgotten about.

Then in 2014 after several years of work it was reopened as a mountain biking/walking trail. It's on public conservation land, but the track work was done by a private trust that also maintains most of the huts and campgrounds.

Having walked two mountain bike-accessible trails already on TA, I was fairly confident that I knew what to expect. As it turned out, at least the first day was a little rougher than either of those, but still pretty pleasant walking.

At its start the trail went through cool, damp west coast forest.
Then headed across some sections that were pretty much just cut into cliff faces (and in some cases suspended in front of them).  I met lots of cyclists headed the other way, as well as a few other walkers. This being Tuesday January 2, the second of two public holidays in a row, I suspect the finishing section of the trail was about as busy as it gets.

I stopped for lunch at the OGR trust's Specimen Point Hut. It was pretty impressive. A new, tidy hut with a lovely balcony and views over the Mokihinui River.  And inside, the standard bunks and wood stove, but also gas cookers, pots and pans, cutlery, dishes... There were even wine glasses for heaven's sake!

After lunch the trail continued alongside the Mokihinui through forest with lots of rimu (with its long, weeping rows of short needle-like leaves it's probably my favourite NZ tree [except, of course for the flowering beauties pohutukawa and rata.]) There was also lots of horopito. This made me happy. Its mottled green and pink leaves taste (and feel) like chewing on pepper, and while walking TA I've taken to chewing on them, at first so that the burn on my tongue and lips would distract me from aches and pains and later just because I enjoy it.

I was planning to walk the OGR's 85km in two or three days.  My long day yesterday meant I could take three, so I'd be staying at the Goat Creek Hut, the only one that's even roughly near the 1/3 point.

However location wasn't the only reason I was staying at Goat Creek.
The OGR trust has set up a bizarre system for use of their huts where it's a flat rate of $140 for any number of nights up to four.  While $35/night for back country huts is about the same as the Great Walks, and while I really like what the trust has done, the idea of paying $140 for one night of hut accommodation rankled. (The camping situation is even odder, with a flat rate being applied for up to four nights for up to two people. Since it's DOC land you can legally camp anywhere on it, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find anywhere outside the official sites. The weather forecast also looked a bit uncertain, so I decided to go with the hut option.)

Fortunately the trust does allow single night hut bookings for the huts nearest the end of the track. This is really meant for people who want to walk in and spend the night, then walk back out. But by spending one night near the Lyell end (far end for me) and one night at Goat Creek (the only hut on the track that can't be pre-booked and is still fully managed by DOC) you can turn the walk into a pretty reasonable and not terribly expensive three day tramp. So long as you don't mind walking days of 32, 39 and 18km to do it. Which, of course, I don't :-)

So here I am, completely alone with the wood-smoke smelling four bunk hut all to myself (except a surprisingly few sandflies, three curious/cheeky wekas and a variety of other birds singing away outside.) I even arrived early enough to do a good lot of reading, write this and go for a quick dip in Goat Creek.  All with plenty of time to get to bed early before my big day tomorrow.

(This post is so ridiculously [and not entirely positively] me. I go for a beautiful walk in the woods beside a lovely wild river, and see cool stuff like a clear spring welling up into a pool in the middle of the forest and I spend 60% of the post talking about how to save $105 on hut fees. I actually feel good enough about the trail and what the trust has done for it that I'm considering making a further donation anyway. If they'll let me change my hut booking to a slightly more convenient one nearer the middle of the trail on the spot tomorrow...)

Te Araroa Day 69, Karamea to Seddonville

Starting km: (1894)
Finishing km: (1947)
km covered today: 53

I'd been struggling with how to break up the walk from Karamea to Seddonville (and the start of the next bit of tramping.) In the end I just decided to forget about breaking it up and do the whole thing in one go.

This was very much a day of two halves. The morning was spent walking along the road behind the beach. There was always a strip of farmland between road and beach, meaning that I only rarely saw the sea, and didn't get to go down to it until I'd almost reached the town of Little Wanganui.
But I could certainly hear the beach all morning. It was in a more energetic mood than the previous days and its roar was constant company. As was the sea breeze, which was nice, as the sun started to grow hot in the late morning.

After Little Wanganui the road turned inland and the sea breeze disappeared. Until some cloud came up around 16:00 it started to get uncomfortably hot. Having left the beach meant leaving the farmland too, and it was now dense native bush on either side of the road with lots of bright rata and matai trees and plenty of tree ferns. I was relieved whenever any of these overhung the road and provided s moment's shade.

An interesting feature of the road was a series of about half a dozen small signs marking the location of historical schools along the route. They were kind of neat to read, but with the possible exception of a few cycle tourists I felt like I must have been the first person to read them in a long time, as the print was small and they appeared at random spots on the road with no warning or place for cars to pull over to check them out.

I had lunch at Lake Hanlon, a small lake whose reputation exceeded its actual prettiness (on this day at least.) And the viewing platform was in direct sun, leaving me a bit grumpy about having added 1.5km to my already long day while walking  up to it.

After the lake all signs of human presence disappeared from beside the road and the bush grew to its thickest and wildest. I found it pretty cool that such a well built and busy road transited such wild country.

Eventually after a long climb and sidle along Karamea Bluff the road started back down. At the bottom the farms returned. It was gerting late (around 18:00) and I knew that the intersection near Seddonville mustn't be far away. However one turn of the road followed another and and it kept not appearing. I wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but my feet were a bit tired and this final km or two started to feel a bit tedious.

Finally then junction arrived, and the long bridge over the Mokihinui River (probably the longest one lane bridge I've walked over to this point, with the possible exception of the one between Waitangi and Pahia) and a quick 2km further on, Seddonville.

I popped into the hotel/pub/dairy (the only retail business of any kind in town) to buy myself a well deserved  ice cream. Visible through a doorway and across the bar were a couple who said hello and let me know they were the caretakers at the Holiday Park and that I should just go and make myself comfortable while they finished their dinner at the pub.

The Holiday Park was a cozy, charming and surprisingly busy place (good for them I guess... It was the height of NZ holidays, so if they weren't busy then they likely never would be) and a nice place to pull up after a long day on the road.

While I'm writing, a couple quick notes about road walking: it sounds easy, but its not. Sealed roads are hard on the feet and gravel ones are often even worse with lumps to poke into your soles.  And I've noticed a strange feeling when I pause during a long road walk. Almost like the way you still feel the roll of a boat after you disembark. I think this is because of the constant light bounce of me on the road and the pack on my back. Without the pack there's not enough bounce to make it noticeable. And on bush trails the terrain and my steps vary enough that I don't feel it. If I close my eyes or look up in the air I actually feel a bit disoriented or dizzy. An odd feeling that seems unique to long road walks with a sizeable pack on, and one I hadn't experienced before TA.

Anyhow, that's enough for now. Time to take down the tent and go have breakfast :-)