Rakiura/Stewart Island

BLimey Guvnor! That was a mission.

Set off with a very heavy backpack with food for 11 days from Oban. Was hot, sunny, dry road underfoot. Mud, I thought, what do they mean when they talk about mud.

So rather than give you a blow by blow account I shall break the trip into Highlights and Lowlights. Every day basically consisted of slithering around in ankle sometimes calf (moo!) deep mud, walking up streams and across rivers and all in a lovely place and usually a fantastic beach halfway. Sometimes there were nice easy patches just wandering through the forest. Most days you walk for between 4 and 7 hours between each hut. (All of which were well maintained, clean and relatively comfortable) Average walking speed usually about 2 or 3 km per hour due to the terrain.

HIGHLIGHTS

Saw 4 Kiwis at various points. They are so big and Rakiura is one of the only places they come out in the day time. If you stand still they come right up to you. The one I saw on the first day must have been about 6 inches away for a while. So cool!...

The view from Big Hellfire Hut. Only 200m up but on one side the big valley in the northern part of the Island stretches out for miles. I wouldn`t have been surprised to see a dinosaur wandering about down there it all looks so kind of primevil. Well obviously I would have been butcha know what I mean....

Long Harry Hut. Its a new hut just 4 years old and above the cliffs. Sun all day and it was nice and warm. It even has a solar shower. This isn`t as posh as it sounds but does the job. Fell into a Blissful snooze before dinner time. Someone had also left some apricot jam and couscous there which meant I was able to extend the rations into bigger portions the next few days. Felt uber calm...

Lucky Beach (btwn Christmas Village Hut and Yankee River Hut) Really strong winds usually in the same directions mean all the trees and bushes are all pushed in the same directions. Imagine someone dragging a giant hairbrush across the landscape and it staying like that. Well kind of like that....

Smoky Beach, at the end of which after you`ve waded through the river and the track leaves the beach and returns into the bush is one of the most beautiful places I think I`ve ever been in. Sheltered from the wind but no sandflies, sunny and all lush and jungly above. Even the rocks have stuff growing on them. And some fallen tree trunks to sit on and have lunch. Geoooorgous....

The Manuka trees near the beaches which are all small and clearly inteneded for Hobbits....

The 3 Moro bars I was able to buy from the River Taxi driver at Freshwater Hut on Day 9. Given what a bugger day 10 turned out to be they were much needed...

The shower at the hostel in Invercargill. I don`t think I`ve ever felt cleaner. The bottom of my feet seemed to have aged about 40 years, but you`ll be pleased to know they are getting more youthful by the hour.....

The whole thing. What an incredible experience. I`ll have to back one day...

LOWLIGHTS

Not buying chocolate despite several people suggesting I should. What was i thinking? Muesli bars just don`t cut it. Iiiiiiiidiot!......

Freshwater Hut to North Arm Hut. Maximum energy for no views, track horrible mixture of mud and branches and rocks and streams all at once for lots of the time. And the Last Bit does actually go on for Ever in fact I think i might actually still be there. So who`s writing this? Hmmmm, one to ponder......

Day 3 after leaving Port William Hut and cruising along for an hour or so and realising I`d left my waterproof overtrousers outside the hut. The pristine beauty of the forest was briefly punctuated with some rather non-pristine self deprecating expletive combos. *** ************ ****** ****!!! That sort of thing. Still a wise man smiles in the face of hardship and all that stuff. It was nice to walk for a while without my pack to go and retrieve them....

Not having any chocolate.....

Not having any chocolate.....

Not having any chocolate.....