Eventyr i New Zealand

Vi tog afsted med god energi og med troen på, at vi nok skulle nå langt i dag og ankomme til en hytte på den anden side af en masse flodkrydsninger. De første 2,5 timer til Comyns Hut var uden problemer, og derfra gik det mod Double Hut. Vi vidste, at floden skulle krydses utallige gange, og efter regn de seneste dage var vi spændte på, om det kunne lade sig gøre. Vi havde på forhånd indstillet os på, at det kunne være, at vi blev nødt til at vende om på et tidspunkt. Vi kunne læse i hyttebogen fra Comyns Hut, at otte personer allerede denne dag var gået videre, og tænkte, at så var det nok ikke så slemt at krydse floden.

Efter ca. 15 flodkrydsninger, fire timer og to km – og lidt kravlen igennem stikkende buske - havde vi fået nok og kunne ikke finde et godt sted at krydse floden, hvor man efter ca. 500 m kunne slå teltet op. Vi blev derfor enige om at gå tilbage og håbede på, at vi kunne nå at komme tilbage til Comyns Hut, så vi var færdige med floden.

Vi var begge godt kolde, og koncentrationen efter syv timer i sådan et terræn var efterhånden godt brugt. Efter yderligere en times “vandring” fandt vi et lille, sikkert sted, hvor vi slog vores telte op.

Dagen efter pakkede vi vores ting og gik ned til floden og konkluderede, at det et eller andet sted længere oppe ad floden havde regnet meget. Floden var steget voldsomt, og der var meget stærk strøm. Vi gik derfor tilbage til, hvor vi havde overnattet, og slog vores telte op igen med viden om, at det kunne tage noget tid, inden floden igen var til at krydse. Vi lærte derfor også, at det giver bedre mening først at tjekke floden og dernæst pakke sine ting sammen! I løbet af dagen kom der heller ikke nogen forbi, og vi vidste derfor, at floden længere mod hytten også var umulig at krydse.

Næste dag om morgenen var floden endelig faldet betydeligt, men der var stadig meget strøm. Vi besluttede os derfor for at afvente til middag og håbede, at der ville komme nogle andre vandrere forbi, så vi kunne spørge, hvordan flodkrydsningerne var, med forbehold for deres højde og vægt.

Ved middagstid kom først fire forbi, hvoraf to af dem var faldet i floden flere gange, og de holdt derfor pause ved os, inden tre andre kom, som efter en time besluttede at fortsætte, hvilket vi ikke var interesserede i. Vi ville bare ud ad den hurtigste vej, men sikkert. Kort tid efter at de var taget videre, kom de tilbage, da en af dem var faldet i floden. De besluttede sig derfor for at vende om. Vi pakkede vores ting i rekordfart og fulgtes med de syv andre de to km mod Comyns Hut. Uden den store gruppe var vi meget sandsynligt blevet nødt til at blive nogle flere dage, da det om aftenen begyndte at regne mere end de tidligere dage. Uden gruppen var vi begge to sandsynligvis også faldet i floden, så vi var meget glade og lettede, da vi endelig ankom til hytten, og da denne flod endelig var et overstået kapitel.

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We set off with good energy and the belief that we would make good progress that day and reach a hut on the other side of countless river crossings. The first 2.5 hours to Comyns Hut were without any problems, and from there we continued toward Double Hut. We knew the river would have to be crossed many times, and after the rain of the past few days, we were curious to see whether it would even be possible. We had prepared ourselves for the possibility that we might have to turn back at some point. In the hut book at Comyns Hut, we read that eight people had already continued on that day, which made us think that the river crossings probably wouldn’t be too bad.

After about 15 river crossings, four hours, two kilometers, and some crawling through thorny bushes, we had had enough and couldn’t find a good place to cross the river where we could pitch our tent about 500 meters later. We therefore agreed to turn back and hoped we could make it back to Comyns Hut so that we would be done with the river.

We were both very cold, and after seven hours in such terrain, our concentration was pretty much exhausted. After another hour of “hiking,” we found a small, safe spot where we pitched our tents.

The next day, we packed up our things and walked down to the river, concluding that it must have rained heavily somewhere further upstream. The river had risen dramatically, and the current was very strong. We therefore went back to where we had spent the night and pitched our tents again, knowing that it might take some time before the river would be safe to cross again. We also learned that it makes more sense to check the river first and then pack up your gear! No one else passed by during the day, so we knew that the river further toward the hut was also impossible to cross.

The following morning, the river had finally dropped significantly, but the current was still strong. We decided to wait until midday and hoped that other hikers would pass by so that we could ask how the river crossings were, taking their height and weight into account.

Around midday, four people passed by first, two of whom had fallen into the river several times. They took a break with us before three others arrived, who after an hour decided to continue, something we were not interested in. We just wanted to get out the fastest way possible, but safely. Shortly after they had continued on, they came back because one of them had fallen into the river. They therefore decided to turn around. We packed our things in record time and walked the two kilometers back to Comyns Hut together with the seven others. Without the large group, we most likely would have had to stay several more days, as it started raining even more heavily in the evening than on previous days. Without the group, we would also probably both have fallen into the river ourselves, so we were very happy and relieved when we finally arrived at the hut—this river was finally a closed chapter.Les mer