Harpers pass - kiwi hut

20km in 8.5 hours low cloud in morning, sunny afternoon

We were quite glad that we had pulled off to camp when we finished the last 1.5 hrs to the bivvy. The path was a bit gnarly with some steep ups and downs. While it was very cute it really does only fit 2, you wouldn't have anywhere to put the packs with someone on the floor there was also only one seat, that was 4 paint tins with a board on top that said 'seat'. You couldn't sit on the bed because the bunk was too low.

From there up to harpers pass was just amazing. The plants were all totally different to what we had been seeing. So many things were flowering, it smelled amazing in places. The path up was cool too. It was gouged into the side of the hill as a big furrow, so we were up to our waist in track. S we climbed the clouds lifted and burnt off so it was beautiful and sunny by the time we were at the top.

Coming down the other side was a bit tricky with loose gravel and rock on a steep path, but nowhere near as trick as some other paths we have seen. We descended into the gorgeous valley that we could see from the top.

On the way there was a swing bridge where I managed to pull my cap off my pack and it fell onto the plants below. I didn't even notice until Patrece pointed out out. Luckily I managed to go back and find it as it came in handy later on in the blazing sun in the valley.

We stopped for a good while for lunch at Locke stream hut, enough time for our tents to dry properly and for me to get my shoes and socks off and find that my new socks had stained my feet blue! Locked stream hut is very cool, you can see all the floor boards, beams and rafters are hand hewn and quite rough but the hut is very comfortable looking and has triple decker bunks.

After Locke stream hut we walked down the river flats, it was like walking in a movie set, just so gorgeous everywhere you look. The rata were so vibrant and red on whole hillsides. It's really hard to capture on camera the vibrance.

The sun was so warm and the wind was warm so I decided to have a fully clothed swim where the river looked deep enough and it was the best decision! The water was the perfect temperature to be refreshing but not cold, I wasn't cold when I got out, and my clothes were mostly dry by the time I got to the hut.

A trip of hunters passed us just prior to the hut turnoff having shot a chamois up on the hills. Their packs looked really heavy!

Kiwi hut it a cute little hut, it's been rubbishes with lovely sleeping platforms. The only trouble is the sandflys!Leggi altro