New Zealand – Only my footprints

New Zealand – The Caples, Kepler and Routeburn

The Routeburn and the Kepler are two of the most popular tracks in NZ. It is impossible to get a reservation for a campsite or a hut, so instead we decided to just bash them out in one day each instead of three. And to avoid having to get a bus 300km from Glenorchy we decided to walk 40k over the mountains on the caples track instead…., cheaper and it seemed a more elegant way to join up the route

Day 1 – easy stroll and a bivvy on the caples

We left the greenstone carpark about 3.30 after taking the shuttle from the Rees valley. Papa scout was amazed that a shuttle even went to the carpark given how remote it was, and I was in love with Joanna our shuttle driver who stopped to let us get coffee and cake, charged my phone for me, and offered to take our rubbish to town for us (there were no bins in the carpark).

The paths on the caples are some of the easiest in NZ, as doc has used a mechanical digger to bulldoze a route through the forest. While it doesn’t look great, it does make for very easy waking so we busted out a quick 20k in four hours. Finding a camp site was a bit tricky, and for a while we contemplated pitching our tents on the trail, but we eventually found a spot which was vaguely flat and set up for the night. After more dehydrated food which I didn’t want, it was off to bed with the earplugs as the birds were being pretty chatty.

Day 2 – 19k out to the divide

I was awake at 6.15 but there wasn’t much light so I made breakfast in bed and had a litre of coffee, and shouted out papa scouts wake up call at 6.45. We broke camp at 7.15 and meandered up the saddle. We had plenty of time to kill as our shuttle wasn’t until 13.30. We stopped at the lovely Howden lake for an hour for a substantial second breakfast (I am a hobbit), and then wandered up to key summit. After annoying the gizzillions of tourists who were up the hill by running back down from the summit, we made it to the divide carpark with two hours to spare. We contemplated hitching but I didn’t have a great deal of confidence in the driving ability of the tourists here, so we killed time by eating some more and doing yoga. While we had planned to head straight out on the Kepler, the weather forecast was very dodgy so we decided to have a posh dinner out a redcliff instead…. venison and spätzle…. and then sleep on an actual bed (albeit in the backpackers dorm) after having a shower…. what luxury

Day 3 – up the Kepler – 42km, 1500m of up, 7 hours

The forecast was for gale force winds and it was a grey and gloomy day. We decided to head out on the track and go as far as we could while the weather held. Being purists, we walked to the start of the track from town and then the flat section to Brod Bay, about 10k. Apparently no one does that, as shortly after Brod Bay we started overtaking hikers who had taken the boat over to the bay to skip some of the trail.

The climb up to luxmore hut is lovely, with nice easy switchbacks on a beautifully graded trail. We were below the tree line for much of the climb enjoying the ferns and the luminous green of much of the kiwi bush.

When we broke out above the trees, the winds started howling so we sped up and shortly after arrived at Luxmore Hut. The weather was turning and there were 90k an hour winds on the tops, so my original plan to walk all the way along the ridge wasn’t a great idea, plus the views would have been rubbish. Instead we climbed up to the summit of Mt Luxmore, trying not to get blown off the trail and then called it a day and headed back.

Papa scout was having an ‘off’ as he calls it, with ‘heavy legs’ but that didn’t stop him busting out a cracking walking pace of 7k an hour for the last ten k, my legs could barely keep up…. especially as his are quite a bit longer. After seven hours of effort on just two muesli bars we did spend much of the last five k figuring out what we were going to eat and in what order….. for me it was rump steak, chips, fried egg, mushrooms, caramel slice, lolly cake and two coffees at 4pm, followed by half a chicken, half a loaf of bread, grain waves, pikelets and Nutella and half a Moro bar at 7.30. And I was still hungry!!!! Can’t wait to get home to eat some proper vegetables.

Day 4 – back to the routeburn – 5k hike plus 15k bonus running miles

Unfortunately we are having to stretch our three days of walking to five, given the camping restrictions and the vagaries of track transport, so we didn’t head off to the start of the Routeburn until 13.30 from te anau. We did rouse ourselves by eight though to go for a run along the lake shore, and then went to town for coffee and yet more food. French toasted banana bread, bacon, strawberry muffin, ginger kisses and coffee. Honestly am getting tired of eating but I am also starving most of the time! It will be nice to eat normally again!

We were lucky with the weather today and arrived up the divide to stunning sun. We got to the greenstone saddle campsite in under an hour and set up our tents. It was only four so we went for a gentle 10k run through the forest down the greenstone track to Mckellar hut and back. For once I went faster than papa scout who was really having an ‘off’. Had a lovely, albeit too brief chat to Chelsea from Paeroa who is wisely taking some time out and enjoying a wonderful haerenga around our beautiful country including getting out into the bush.

Back to the campsite for dinner and then early to bed as it is pretty damp and cold. It took me about ten minutes to kill the c.50 sandflies who had managed to join me in the tent and am now well wrapped up and ready to sleep and it is only 19.30.

A group of four turned up at 19.45 and were about to pitch about 3metres away from my tent when I asked them what they were doing!!! I never understand why people think it is ok to go out into the bush and then pitch their tent on top of you. They were friendly enough kids and when I warned them I was getting up at five the were happy to shift further along.

Day 5 – out to the Routeburn road end – 32km, 1300m ascent

I awoke to a very wet tent in the damp greenstone saddle and was too cold and lazy to change out of my pajamas, so I made some coffee and got ready to go, only to find papa scout also preparing to leave in his pajamas! We warmed up about half an hour in and got changed on the trail! The morning was mostly quiet, no one was moving in Howden hut when we passed just after 7.

We made it to the lovely lake McKenzie by nine and knew we were close as we started meeting folks on the trail. From the lake we were at Harris saddle by 11 and it was an irresistible day to head up conical peak. I have been over this way many times and I couldn’t help but tell everyone on the summit how lucky they were to get the view from the peak! To see the Hollyford reach the sea at the end of Lake Mckerrow and to marvel at the lovely Lake Harris from above – these are rare gifts from the weather gods in these parts.

From the saddle we wandered down to Routeburn Falls hut, where we bumped into the hut ranger on the trail – the same one we had met on the Gillespie pass last week – small world! He was heading up the saddle to work on the trail. Our doc wardens are national treasures!

After a royal lunch of brie, Nutella, pancakes and flatbread sitting on the rocks above the falls we meandered down the valley where I bumped into another lady I had met at the Oturere hut in Tongariro three weeks ago. Papa scout reckons I talk too much and this is why I meet so many people.

We arrived at the road end at 3 having made cracking time in spite of the leisurely pace, long lunch, and the side trip up the hill. 8 hours from start to finish including all the stops – not bad given we were carrying all our gear!

I had a swim, cleaned and dried my tent, and kept busy killing sandflies until the shuttle arrived at four. Papa scout is flying home tomorrow and reckons his legs are done, I reckon we both have enough juice left for one more run up the summit of Ben lomond at dawn tomorrow. We will see!

Notes

– the Kepler – on a good day it is an easy day walk to Mt Luxmore or further onto one of the shelters before the descent to Iris Burn. For my money the section from Luxmore Hut to the hanging rock shelter is the best section on the Kepler, so if you don’t have time for the full hike or can’t get a reservation for a hut, you can see all of the great views in a long day walk (shorter if you take the boat)

– the Caples – is easily walked end to end in 6-7 hours, and would make a nice overnight loop with the Routeburn if you camped one night at greenstone saddle. This is also a great hike for new trampers as the trail is easy and well graded with no exposed sections

– the Routeburn – my favourite day hike!!!! But definitely too crowded to do as a traditional tramp. Huts are impossible to book and full of people who don’t understand tramping culture. If you do want to take a bit longer you can camp legally and for free at greenstone saddle and on the north branch of the routeburn behind routeburn flats hut

– transport. From glenorchy to the caples or routeburn, I highly recommend the lovely folks at glenorchy journeys. On the divide side you can use tracknet or buckleys to get to and from te anau

New Zealand – Over the cascade saddle trying not to crap my pants

I have long wanted to traverse the pylon and the cascade saddle – reputed to be the most beautiful pass in NZ – but had been put off by the multiple fatalities that have occurred when people have slipped on the path, as well as not having had the right conditions to make the ascent. This time, the weather window looked perfect and I had papa scout (a goat on the hills) for company so we thought we would give it a go

Day 1 – 10k, 2 hours

We had just got out of the Gillespie pass that morning, so we had an obligatory stop at wanaka for Eggs benedict and banana bread and two coffees, as well as stocking up on even more food, and then we got a taxi to raspberry flat. Being cheap, we strolled the 10k to just before Aspiring Hut and put up our tents next to the river, as it is free to camp anywhere in the park, except next to the huts.

Half way up the pylon. Crapping me pants

Day 2 – 30k, 1900m climbing, 9.5 hours of walking

Up with the dawn, we headed out just before 7.30. The climb up to the tree line was lovely, plenty of switchbacks and lots of tantalising views of Tititea/Mt Aspiring peeking through the trees. We came out of the tree line to one of the multiple signs warning us to take extreme care given the fatalities….. with my vertigo it is hard for me to get the balance right between taking extreme care and not having a panic attack.

One of many signs telling me I might die

I would have loved to have taken some photos on the way up between the trees and the pylon but mostly I had my hands too busy holding on to the side of the cliff! While the path was fine given how dry the day was, it is easy to see how lethal it could be when wet. Papa scout kept an eye on me and eventually we made it to the pylon for one of the best views I have ever had in NZ. I rewarded myself with half a pack of ginger nuts and tried not to worry about what the descent down the other side would be like. Honestly no amount of money would have got me to descend back down the same way.

From the pylon to the cascade saddle was a stunning walk, albeit across some hairy slippy sections. And the view of the dart glacier from the cascade saddle rendered me speechless. Honestly the best views I have ever had in NZ and worth the near crapping of the pants to get there. We hadn’t seen anyone since we left the valley, so it was an incredible privilege to be enjoying the view in solitude.

From the saddle to dart hut it was an interminably long and hot walk….. which only took 2.5 hours but felt like longer. Mostly the trail was fine, though some sections had vanished so I did quite a bit is swearing as I navigated my way across some of the steeper sidles.

We eventually made it to the dart hut after 6.5 hours (the guide had said 10), and decided to have a huge lunch but keep going. Papa scout and I could win an eating contest at the moment as my appetite is insatiable. After most of a block of cheese, more gingernuts, mealmates, and a litre of coffee we headed off again up and over the gentle Rees saddle. It was an easy and lovely way to end a tough day strolling through a high alpine valley.

We were delighted to get to the hut and only find one occupant – a young Israeli who was still in shock about how tough the climb was over the saddle (he had done it the day before). Not long after a very skinny Japanese guy struggled in with a 25k pack, a classic case of all the gear and no idea – he was carrying two stoves. I had a dunk in the river which is the next best thing I could have to a shower and then got eating. I was in bed by 8pm as we each had our own room and I needed to escape the Israeli who was determined to give me hiking advice.

Day 3 – 20k flat stroll to the carpark, 4.5 hours

I was confused this morning to see a face popping up at my window at ten minute intervals from 6am. After having coffee in bed, at 7 I finally went out to ask what he wanted. So it was our Japanese friend, who asked me to call him a helicopter as he was tired and didn’t feel well and didn’t want to walk out?!?!?!?

Hmmmmm. So I do have an sos button on my de lorme, but I am not pushing it for a tired guy whose name I don’t know. I explained I didn’t have a chopper on speed dial and I wasn’t hitting the sos button and incurring the $10k fee unless he was dying. I asked him if he was dying. He said he wasn’t. So I told him to rest in the hut for a day, hydrate, eat and walk out tomorrow. We gave him some food (apparently he didn’t have much left in spite of a 25k bag) and left him to it. He decided to walk out and we eventually saw him arrive about 7 hours after he left…. obviously not dying then. At this point I have a rant on the tip of my tongue about people going to the bush poorly prepared and expecting choppers to come get them but will keep that to myself.

It was a lovely, easy but muddy stroll out, with some stunning views of My Earnslaw. We made it in four and a bit hours so had ample time for another dunk in the river and some laundry before the shuttle arrived at 2. Next stop, the caples track

Additional notes

– the start and finish of this track are 2 hours drive apart. From queenstown you can get to raspberry creek carpark via wanaka with alpine connexions, or from wanaka with Karim at wanataxi (a great deal at $140 for the taxi)

– from muddy creek to glenorchy and queenstown I recommend the wonderful folks at glenorchy journeys

– for route notes, check with doc, but these are the most recent for the cascade saddle and Rees/dart

February 19, 2017, Muddy Creek Carpark

New Zealand – Up and down the Gillespie pass

We had originally intended doing a longer tour through the makarora region, but the stories about people dying on the rabbit pass had put me off! So instead we settled for a wonderful wander up the Gillespie pass and over to Lake Crucible…. one of the finest days I have had in the mountains in a long time

Day 1 – an easy stroll up to young hut – 25k, 4.8 hours

We were dropped off in makarora and had an unpleasant walk up the highway followed by a wander through some paddocks. We hit the river and it was flowing faster than I expected, but not so worrying that I wouldn’t cross it. Papa scout and I adopted the kiwi approach of holding each other’s packs and crossing together. Honestly it was at the limit of what was sensible as the water hit my waist and the current was strong, but we were fine and papa scout had survived his first proper river traverse. As it happens, a young English guy had been swept some way down the river the day before when the river was higher, and everyone else took the long way round that day including a 100kilo doc warden. Oh well. We made haste to young hut after finding out that the hut had 30 people in it the night before (and 20 mattresses) and enjoyed the easy amble up the valley. Luckily we got a bed, unlike the few people who slept on the floor that night.

Day 2 – a bonkers day trip to Crucible Lake and back – 32k, 2400 up then down, 10.5 hours of walking

Several younger Israelis had told us my plan for today was impossible! Well it turned out to be possible but it was a long day! Rather than stay at the Siberia hut which is always heaving with rich people who fly in on the helicopter, we decided to do the equivalent of three days of walking, or 22 doc hours of walking, in one day.

Up at 6.15 per usual we passed the campers at the start of the pass track, and we were first up to the Gillespie pass to enjoy the stunning views of Mt Awful with the early morning sun by 8.45 after a 1000m climb up a slippery track with some of it on my hands and knees. Breathtaking!

Descending the other side of the pass was a knee jarring assault above the tree line followed by a rocky rooty ride through the bush down to Siberia flats.

When we arrived at the flats we found 20- 30 other hikers, mostly young Israelis, making a start on the trail up to Crucible lake. The start of the trail was a hands and feet grunt for 300m of ascent and I was delighted that we swiftly overtook all the young kids on the way up while not getting too out of breath.

We made it to Crucible Lake after 5.5 hours of steady hiking and had a lovely lunch in the sun. Honestly stunning!!!!

When the crowds arrived, we decamped and headed back down to the flats to begin the second traverse of Gillespie Pass. It does seem bonkers to climb over a huge hill twice in one day, but the mountains look delightfully different in the morning versus the afternoon sun.

To our amusement, as we were making the ascent, we passed all of the Israelis who had told us our plan was impossible, descending the hill which we had come down six hours earlier.

After stopping for mandatory chats with the kiwis that we passed (something papa scout finds bizarre as it isn’t part of French hiking culture), we made it back to the hut at six and proceeded with our standard ritual of shoving food in face. To our delight there were only eight of us in Young Hut, and we heard from the ranger that the 20 bunk Siberia Hut had 50 people in it, many sleeping on the veranda.

Day 3 – a sleepy stumble back to town

Honestly, after yesterday’s scenery we didn’t much pay attention to what we passed. We returned down the valley, and reforded the river. While it was calmer, we did manage to get wet to chest level, but it was an easy ford.

Additional notes

– you can do this tramp as a circuit and stay at Siberia Hut (which has fly in tourists) or Kerin Forks (where you normally need to arrange a jet boat to get there and back as the river is tricky to ford). Most people do this, we just couldn’t be bothered with the logistics of Kerin Forks or the crowds at Siberia

February 17, 2017, Makarora

New Zealand – Scrambling the richmond range with papa scout

My hiking buddy Manu has turned up from France to join me on some of the more interesting trails in the South Island, starting with the Richmond range – described as a route only for experienced hikers and not to be attempted in bad weather. Manu was a bit sceptical when I told him we had to carry 8 days of food and be prepared to wait it out in the huts if the weather wasn’t right, but conditions on the hills persuaded him that hiking here was a serious proposition!

Day 1 Nelson downtown to Rocks Hut – 23km, 4 hours

This was a cruisy day! We arrived on the flight from Auckland, bought some fuel and started walking from the bustling metropolis of downtown Nelson. The short way into the Richmond Range is up the Dun Mountain Track, a beautifully graded old horse track that climbs gently for 17km up to the Dun Mountain saddle. Manu was appropriately sceptical about my claims that NZ tracks were hard….hmmmmm…… little did he know. We grunted up the hill with 8 days of heavy food in our packs and eventually left the easy trail to scramble over the pass to the lovely Rocks Hut. We were lucky, the hut only had 8 people in it, and beds for 16…. Apparently the night before it had been heaving with 18 squished in. In bed by 8pm, and was grateful for no snorers

Standard kiwi path – follow the orange

Day 2 Rocks Hut to Slaty Hut – 25km/ 8 hours

This is the day the range began. After a relatively gentle walk down to Hackett Hut (the guide said 5.5 hours, we took 3), the real hiking began with a relentless slog up the river and then up the hill to Starveall Hut. I love that NZ trail builders always seem to be short of funds, as they don’t bother investing in any switch backs….. the path took the shortest and most direct route from the bottom of the hill to the top. It was a wonderful example of a classic kiwi trail and I could feel my calf muscles groaning by the top. We passed a Te Araroa hiker on the way up who was surprised to be overtaken, but even Manu was knackered by the top. The view from Starveall was lovely, but given it was only 1pm (the guide said 6 hours to get there from Hackett and we took 3), we thought we should push on, and we made it to the lovely Slaty Hut on the tree line below Mt Rintoul at 4pm. Manu is astounded how few miles you can cover in NZ relative to the alps! We both admitted begrudgingly that we were knackered so had a kiwi tramper shower (one cup of cold water and no soap) and got down to the serious business of shoving calories in our faces. We were joined for the night by the lovely Swiss Lion – Lionel a.k.a Swissless and Clement the energetic German software programme! Fortunately none of them snored too much, and we had a lovely evening discussing global politics in a mix of french, english and german and listening to the wind howl around us.

Mountains under the clouds heading up My Rintoul

Day 3 – Slaty Hut to Tarn Hut – 21km/8 hours

The guide warned of attempting Mt Rintoul today in bad weather, and describes this section as the most difficult part of the Richmond Range traverse. I can see why having hung off the side of the mountain at various points of the day questioning WTF I was doing up there. Fortunately, although there was plenty of fog, the wind had died down and there was no rain. So we decided to give it a go, although we realised there was no hut for 8 hours. It was a hairy day. I have vertigo and no balance – those things are probably related.

I was ok grunting uphill over unstable rocks, but have more trouble keeping my balance when skidding down scree slopes. It was a blessing for once to have a hiking companion as there really are very few people hiking out here (we only saw two other people for three of the days we were out, and they were the two guys we shared the huts with), and if something happened to you, it could be a while before anyone noticed. We made it to the top of Mt Rintoul in the fog, and managed to pick our way to the other side.

At the top of Rintoul wondering how the hell I would get down

I heaved a big sigh of relief when I finally skidded my way (mostly on my butt) to Rintoul hut where we stopped for lunch and coffee and to admire the hardy goats who were eating the grass in front of the hut.

After that it was a relatively easy walk along the bushline ridge through purple top to the old fashioned tarn hut. We made it there by three with time to push on to the next hut but the rain had started, so we decided to stay dry. Clement and Lionel made the same choice, and we had a rerun of the night before in the hut. It was a smaller, older, cuter hut with a few holes in the floor, and it quickly smelt of dirty socks and laundry as the condensation built up on the windows. I was kept amused by the sight of them all doing their stretches.

I had a relatively quiet night until about 5 am when I was woken up by three men with head torches chasing one small mouse. I had forgotten to mention that I thought there would be mice, as I had seen a few mice sized holes in the floor. Ooops. Oh well, there were three of them taking care of business so I put my sleeping bag over my head and went back to sleep

DAY 4 – tarn HUT TO hunters HUT – 25 KM/7 HOURS

Another day with some hairy sections. After a steep descent to Mid Wairoa Hut on the Wairoa river, where I fell six times on my butt, we then had to head up the Wairoa river. This section is perilous after heavy rain as there are no bridges and the trail crosses the river 8 times. We had agreed to tackle this section as a group the night before, as all kiwis know it is safer to cross a challenging river as a group. As it turns out the river was calm and quiet, so while we enjoyed each others company, we didn’t need to hold on to each other as we crossed. Amusingly, much of the trail hung off the cliff side. I was too busy gossiping with Clement at one point and did fall down the cliff, but was conveniently stopped by a tree before I went too far. After that, less gossiping and more focussing on the feet!!!

We reached the delightfully orange Top Wairoa hut in time for lunch and a pee with a view! I love the long drops on this section, for some reason they are always located in amazing spots, and given the paucity of people it is fine to go with the door open :-).

After lunch, we made the gentle climb up to Mt Ellis, where I had to endure a few sections of my least favourite type of trail – crossing steep scree slopes. Fortunately my footing was more sure than the morning so no problems. After that we bombed down the hill, passing a couple of TA hikers and then eventually made it down the river to Hunters Hut.

We had planned to go further, but figured out from Alex at the hut that the next hut along the track was full…. (which we confirmed the following morning), and I thought it was too cold to bother putting the tent up at the next hut, and Alex had lit a fire, so it was too hard to leave. Lionel and Clement arrived and decided to stay also…. we were in a nice groove.

So we whiled away the bulk of the afternoon eating and chopping wood. Lionel gave me a 250g of whittakers, and I demolished half of it in ten minutes – it is amazing how hungry I get when I hike. And we were all in bed by 8.30pm, and no mice.

View from the loo with the sun coming up at hunters hut

DAY 5 – hunters HUT TO st arnaud- 31 KM/6.5 HOURS

Another glorious morning and we set off for the straightforward stroll to Porters hut up and down some boulder fields. We made it there in two hours (versus the advertised four – a common ratio for our hiking), and then headed on to the Red Hills Hut, the last stop in the range. This section was a bit trickier as we had to traverse the Motueka and Maitland rivers. Frequent flooding means the track disappears relatively frequently so my short legs got a good work out clambering up and down some steep slippery banks. Neither of us were thinking about much apart from the burgers we were going to buy when we arrived in town, so we just kept plodding on.

We passed Red Hills Hut at noon, and were heartened by the guide notes that it was only 1 hour 15 minutes to the highway – which we thought we would do faster. It turns out it was 8k, and it did take us all of the time to get there, even at the rapid pace we were walking. We were hoofing it, ‘smelling the barn’ as we say in running.

We made it to the highway where it was going to be a 10km hitch into St Arnaud town. There were already a couple of hikers trying to hitch down the road, so we decided to start walking. After about a km, we arrived a some road works, where I cheekily asked the Stop/Go man if I could hitch a ride when he had stopped the cars and he was fine with that. (Manu couldn’t believe that!!!). The first car we asked were a lovely Maori dad and son from Picton and they dropped us in town. We went straight for burgers and fries, followed swiftly by cake and coffee, and then after an hour in town we headed straight out into the Nelson Lakes National Park for another three nights – but that is another post…..

I would highly recommend the range, I loved it, but make sure you pay attention to the weather, and ideally go with someone else. More info here….

Click to access alpine-route.pdf

https://www.teararoa.org.nz/nelsonmarlborough/richmond-alpine-track/

New Zealand – Round the mountain with hubby in tow

Hubby and I compromised on another hiking trip….half my usual distance and twice his! We planned to join up the popular tongariro northern circuit with the lesser known ruapehu round the mountain track, and we almost made it happen!

Day 1 – Whakapapa to Oturere – 24km

The advantage of starting at whakapapa is you miss the legions of day trippers hiking the tongariro crossing who start from Maungatepopo. On a busy day there can be 3000 people, most of whom are unfit, ill prepared and too many of them leave rubbish on the mountain (I picked up a lot). If you leave whakapapa late morning, by the time you head up the hill most of these guys are gone. It is spectacular!

Emerald Lakes from the top of the crossing

After the stunning red crater (which one of the hikers described as an angry red vagina) and the gorgeous emerald and blue lakes, we descended to Oturere hut – a fabulous kiwi experience with 13 kids and 6 parents, and a few foreigners – rare these days. Graham the hut warden was a delight who regaled us with the joys of paekakariki.

Day 2 – Oturere to Rangipo- 23k

We headed off early and saw no one in the two hours it took us to walk to waihohono. Sections were quite eerie, like walking on the moon with Ngauruhoe glowing in the early morning sun beside us.

After breakfast at Waihohono, we left the northern circuit trail and wandered south towards ruapehu. There were some wonderfully hairy sections, my favourites being those with signs telling you not to stop in case a volcanic mud slide starts

We saw three people on the trail that day and arrived at Rangipo hut at 1pm to meet a lovely man and his autistic daughter who had been up for the night. He had told her Santa had left her some presents on the mountain and she had persevered up the trail to find the presents in the hut. Adorable!!!! They left and hubby and I had the hut entirely to ourselves so we lit a fire and enjoyed the view

Day 3 Rangipo hut to Ohakune mountain road

A glorious morning and a lovely undulating walk through the forest to Mangaehuehu hut. Three hours and not one person. We then headed out to Maungaturuturu hut hoping the rain would hold off

It was chilly but the views were stunning and all went well until the descent to Waitonga falls. In typical fashion I fell over on the well formed boardwalk part of the track. I roll my ankle frequently, but this time I managed to smack the bone against a rock. Ouch! I actually had tears in my eyes…

I got up and started walking hoping that would sort it out, but figured out pretty quickly that it was not in great shape. So we hoofed it to the road about an hour further on… weirdly I walk faster when I am in pain as I figure I may as well get it over with, so we overtook a tonne of day hikers on the way. Fortunately my lovely brother was in Ohakune so he came and picked us up and got us fully restored with cake, coffee and fritters.

We did think about trying to finish the route the next day but it turns out I wasn’t able to put weight on the foot until five days later! Next time!!!

More details on the walk here

http://www.doc.govt.nz/tongarironortherncircuit

http://www.doc.govt.nz/roundthemountain

February 1, 2017, Tongariro National Park

Recommended Hikes in NZ

I have met many wonderful people on my travels who want to come to NZ, and have asked for my top tips on where to hike. Apologies for the tardiness, but here are my favourite places to run and hike in the worlds best hiking country

The Great Walks

There are nine great walks in NZ, and they are justly named as they are some beautiful tracks (what we call trails in NZ) – including the Routeburn, Kepler, Milford, Abel Tasman and Tongariro. I would no longer do any of these walks as hikes, as there are too many people on them and you have to prebook the huts. However, if you are new to hiking, and/or want to be sure of company, then you will be happy walking any of these Great Walks.

If you are a trail runner, I can highly recommend running some of the Great Walks as the trails are all beautifully groomed, my fave runs are:

Routeburn from the Glenorchy carpark end up to the Harris Saddle or onward to Conical Hill, and back down to the carpark
Abel Tasman from Awaroa back to Marahau or vice versa using the water taxis to transport you one way – about 4-5 hours (tide dependent and with some paddling stops), 30k and pretty easy
Heaphy as a two day run, with an ultra light pack as you only need a bit of food and a sleeping bag
Rakiura is an easy 4-5 hour day run around Stewart Island

Running up to the Harris Saddle on the Routeburn

Terrific multi day hikes which are not ‘great walks’

New Zealand is a land blessed with wonderful hikes, and ones I would highly recommend are (* means trails are extremely runnable)

Near Auckland

Hilary trail which is a lovely stroll along the west coast of Auckland

Near Nelson/St Arnaud

Travers Sabine circuit in the Nelson Lakes area with optional detour up to Lake Angeles Hut
Travers Hut on the Travers Sabine Circuit
Mt Richmond Traverse through the Pelorus bridge down to St Arnaud

Near Wanaka

Wilkins Gillespie Circuit near Makarora with a side trip up to Lake Crucible
Matukituki valley tracks near Wanaka with some wonderful shorter walks based out of Aspiring Hut

Fording the Rees river heading up the Rees valley

Near Glenorchy

Rees Dart circuit * – one of my absolute favourites, simply a stunning run/hike up the rees valley and down the dart. This can be joined up with the Matukituki valley tracks in good weather with a traverse over the Cascade Saddle into the Aspiring national park. Note the Dart part of the track is currently closed
Greenstone/Caples track *- two easy day runs, or a tough one day round trip, much less crowded than its popular neighbour the Routeburn

If you are feeling super energetic you can join up the Wanaka/Glenorchy trails in a big long loop – hiking from Arrowtown to Wanaka on the Motatapu Trail, hitching a ride from Wanaka to Makarora to walk the Wilkins Gillespie, and if you have alpine experience traversing the Rabbit pass directly from the Wilkins to the Aspiring Hut (near Wanaka), and then taking the Cascade Saddle over to the Rees track to come out at Glenorchy. This is a pretty epic route and I am looking forward to seeing if I can make it work this summer

Near Te Anau

Hollyford track – a wonderful walk and you get to see the seals at Martins Bay. This can be a bit tricky, as the ‘demon trail’ is aptly named. If you want to go a bit upmarket and take a boat around the tough bits you can pay for a guided tour and they also chopper you out from the end
Tuatapere Humpridge* – a very good track, privately run, which means you can upgrade to a private room if you don’t want a dorm. You can also buy food in the hut, so you really don’t need to carry anything. And they have hot showers!!!

If you are looking for somewhere to base yourself for these hikes, I would recommend the quieter bases of St Arnaud, Motueka, Wanaka and Glenorchy. I tend to avoid Queenstown these days as it is too busy!

There are hundreds of other hiking opportunities in NZ, including considering embarking to Te Araroa – the long pathway which runs for 3000km from the top of the country to the very bottom, I have only picked my favourites, and I am sure others would prioritise different hikes

Accommodation/Transport

If hiking, you can get a great value pass from Doc for $122 which will allow you unlimited nights in back country huts for a year (excluding Great Walk Huts)
There is lots of good free camping in NZ, and I use the camping NZ app to find free campsites – many of these are pretty basic and administered by DOC.
I highly recommend that you DO NOT rent an RV and drive around the south island – our roads are not terrifically well designed for big slow vehicles and it is much more sensible (cheaper and easier) to rent a small car and stay in hostels or camp

additional information

Doc – the department of conservation is a wonderful source of info with track maps and the local office can advise you of trail conditions
Good too maps are free to download from http://www.topomap.co.nz

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Day 1 Nelson downtown to Rocks Hut – 23km, 4 hours

Standard kiwi path – follow the orange

Day 2 Rocks Hut to Slaty Hut – 25km/ 8 hours

Day 3 – Slaty Hut to Tarn Hut – 21km/8 hours

DAY 4 – tarn HUT TO hunters HUT – 25 KM/7 HOURS

DAY 5 – hunters HUT TO st arnaud- 31 KM/6.5 HOURS

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Day 1 – Whakapapa to Oturere – 24km

Day 2 – Oturere to Rangipo- 23k

Day 3 Rangipo hut to Ohakune mountain road

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The Great Walks

Terrific multi day hikes which are not ‘great walks’

Accommodation/Transport

additional information

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