Pelorus bridge - Captain Creek hut

Den kommende strækning byder på Richmond Alpine Track, som strækker sig over ca. ni dage og byder på en masse højdemeter. Vi har valgt at dele den op, så vi tager de første tre dage, og derefter går vi ned og finder et lift mod byen Nelson, hvor vi fejrer jul og holder hviledage i et par dage.

Om morgenen mødtes vi kort med en, vi har mødt på Nordøen, som ville give en anden vandrer et lift til Christchurch, da han alligevel skulle den vej for at fejre jul. I mellemtiden tog vi et spil fire på stribe (jeg var rød) og en varm kakao.

Derefter fortsatte vi langs en lang grusvej for at gå langs en flod og videre ind i en skov, inden vi ankom til hytten Captain Creek. Dette er den første ud af mange hytter, som jeg kommer til at overnatte i her på Sydøen. Senere dukkede to danskere op, som går Sydøen fra syd mod nord, altså modsat af os. De havde de hidtil største rygsække, vi har set på trailen, og de vejede over 25 kg! Vi kunne fortælle dem, at dagen efter ventede et varmt bad og en lille vogn med mad og drikke, hvilket tydeligvis var gode nyheder!

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The upcoming section includes the Richmond Alpine Track, which stretches over approximately nine days and involves a lot of elevation gain. We chose to split it up by doing the first three days, and then hiking down to find a ride toward the town of Nelson, where we will celebrate Christmas and take a few rest days.

In the morning, we briefly met someone we had encountered on the North Island, who was giving another hiker a lift to Christchurch, as he was heading that way anyway to celebrate Christmas. In the meantime, we played a game of Connect Four (I was red) and had a hot cocoa.

After that, we continued along a long gravel road, walking beside a river and then into the forest, before arriving at Captain Creek Hut. This is the first of many huts I will be staying in here on the South Island. Later on, two Danes showed up who are hiking the South Island from south to north, the opposite direction of us. They had the largest backpacks we have seen on the trail so far, weighing over 25 kg! We were able to tell them that a hot shower and a small food and drink cart awaited them the next day, which was clearly very welcome news.Read more