McKenzie lake hut

We had a relatively relaxed start to the day. We didn't set off until 930. The kea made an appearance just before e set off. Peering at us over the lip of the roof.

Heading up past the falls, the cloud lifted a bit but hung around just enough to provide a bit of mystery and atmosphere. Unfortunately, as we rose up out of the valley the cloud got thicker till by the time we were walking past the lake we could only see the ripples glinting through the fog.

At the shelter below conical hill we made the decision to go up the hill. It looked like there were breaks in the cloud cover so we had a chance of getting some views from the top. The climb was a little more technical than the walk had been thus far. There were rocks that looked quite slick (though they really were quite grippy) that needed to be climbed. About 2/3rds up the hill overlooked the lake and the cloud had completely lifted from there so it was well worth the climb just to see that. When we got to the top though, there was very little to see. This was doubly disappointing for the French couple who had climbed up twice a they thought it might be clearing.

We saw and heard more kea flying around as we continued on toward the hut. Once we dropped below the tree line it was quite difficult to figure out how we were approaching the hut and when we popped out I was quite surprised what direction we came from.

Cindy and I had been walking together, and we got to the hut well ahead of the others and after we bagged our beds we headed down to the lake for a swim / wash. Yeah the water was as cold as it looked.

Once the others arrived I was surprised that just about everyone went in! The afternoon sun was very well recieved and aided immensely in warming up.Read more