Wild Camp - Top Timaru Hut

Efter den varme og lange dag i går havde jeg håbet på lidt skyer eller skygge på vejen, man kunne søge ly ved. Desværre blev det en ekstremt solrig dag igen, og jeg kæmpede meget med varmen. Om morgenen kæmpede jeg med at komme ud af mit telt, fordi mine ben føltes som beton efter de seneste to dage. Benene kom dog hurtigt ind i rytmen igen efter et par kilometer.

De første par kilometer gik vi i et område, hvor der var opsat hegn for, at kaninerne ikke skulle komme ind på jorden. Der var vanvittigt mange kaninhuller der, hvor vi gik, så man skulle være opmærksom på, hvor man trådte.

Kort tid efter krydsede vi den bredeste flod på Te Araroa-trailen, Ahuriri-floden, som heldigvis var nem at krydse grundet de seneste dages gode vejr. Derefter fortsatte det med 1.300 højdemeter op, inden vi kom op på toppen af Martha Saddle (1.680), hvor vinden tiltog. Efterfølgende gik det knap 1.100 højdemeter ned mod Top Timaru Hut, og efter 30 kilometer, 12 timer og alt, alt for meget sol ankom vi endelig og konstaterede, at hytten var fuld, så vi i stedet satte vores telte op.

Svea havde i løbet af morgenen fået en besked om, at Tyskland havde vundet og var kommet i håndboldfinalen. Jeg afventede stadig svar på resultatet fra Danmarks kamp. På toppen havde vi lidt signal, og der erfarede jeg, at Danmark også havde vundet. Det eneste problem var nu, at vi vidste, at vi ikke kunne nå ud i civilisationen igen inden finalen, hvilket var ærgerligt!

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After the hot and long day yesterday, I had hoped for a few clouds or some shade along the trail where we could take refuge. Unfortunately, it turned into another extremely sunny day, and I struggled a lot with the heat. In the morning, I had trouble getting out of my tent because my legs felt like concrete after the past two days. However, they quickly found their rhythm again after a few kilometres.

The first few kilometres took us through an area with fences set up to keep rabbits off the land. There were an insane number of rabbit holes where we walked, so you really had to watch where you stepped.

Shortly afterwards, we crossed the widest river on the Te Araroa Trail, the Ahuriri River, which luckily was easy to cross thanks to the good weather in recent days. After that, we continued with a 1,300-metre ascent before reaching the top of Martha Saddle (1,680), where the wind picked up. From there, it was just under 1,100 metres down towards Top Timaru Hut, and after 30 kilometres, 12 hours, and far too much sun, we finally arrived—only to discover that the hut was full, so we set up our tents instead.

During the morning, Svea had received a message saying that Germany had won and made it to the handball final. I was still waiting for the result of Denmark’s match. At the top, we had a bit of signal, and that’s when I found out that Denmark had also won. The only problem now was that we realised we wouldn’t be able to reach civilisation again before the final, which was a bit of a shame.Læs mere