Reimposta ricerca
Te Aroroa South Island
  • Anita STEWART
  • Anita STEWART

Te Aroroa South Island

Un’avventura di 61 giorni di Anita Leggi altro
SeguiPanoramicaPanoramicaCalendarioCalendarioFotografieFotografieCondividiCondividiLista dei desideri
PanoramicaCalendarioFotografie
  • Inizio del viaggio
    19 dicembre 2024
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    11

    Pelorus Bridge

    20 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Had a lovely walk along Daltons track f from Daltons bridge to Pelorus bridge. Mostly over farmlands. A bit showery but warm as.

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Pelorus - Captains hut

    21 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    9.2km 4hrs Showery, with some heavy showers. The walk eased us into the day by being quite flat and easy for a start. Gorgeous beech forests with under growth of a million different mosses or thick ferns. After the emerald pool it heeded up into an undulating path going up and down the ridges. Punctuated by skinny little suspension bridges. It would have been alright but ... I was wearing my rain jacket as a cloak as it was too hot to wear it properly and on the skinniest highest bridge it kept getting caught behind me and i had to keep reversing to unhitch it. I did learn from it though and tucked the flappy bits in at the next bridge.
    We got to the hut at about 13:30 definitely ready for lunch and keen to get out of the rain. A young Japanese girl, Hana and a South American guy called Chirstian joined us over time. After lunch the sun came out for a brief appearance which got everything a little steamy.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    Who's afraid of the big bad swing bridge?Wasps were eating the sweet smelling sap of ths beach trees

    Pelorus - Middy hut

    21 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    5.49km 2hrs 27min. Still a few showers but better than the morning. It was lovely to reach the hut in good enough weather to strip off and have a swim. The water was so refreshing but not at all cold. We were the first to the hut so got the pick of the beds. Christian was the only other person to arrive after us .Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Pelorus - Rocks Hut

    22 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    5.37km 3 hours. Mostly overcast with some patches of sun. Leaving the hut was nice and gentle with a swing bridge at the start. It wasn't too high so I stopped in the middle and looked at the view. I'm glad I did as it was the last we saw of the gorgeous river pelorus. After that the track was undulating with a few steep climbs. The forest was just delightful, still loud of beech but also patches where most of the bug trees were dead and all the undergrowth had bracken all through it. The rocks are apparently ultramafic rocks...whatever they are. We caught up with Christian at Rocks hut with was relatively massive with 18 bunks, a rainwater tank and flush loos!! Given it was only 10:30 we took the opportunity for a quick lunch and headed off to the next hut.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Pelorus - Browning hut

    22 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    12km 6 hours overcast and drizzly. The slightly damp weather really suits the mossy understory of the bush here. The mosses are so lush and look like little gardens! This track was a little trickier than the others so far. It was pretty much just knotted roots most of the way which meant keeping eyes on the ground most of the way. When we were able to pull our eyes away from our feet we saw a tom tit, a pair or rifleman and a completely black fantail. We popped out above the treeline briefly and bemoaned the weather preventing us from seeing the views. Luckily though there were patches of high cloud amongst all the low and we got glimpses of far off vistas. The last hour or so started to be quite hard work, with very steep down sections. We were very glad to get to the hut and find that Christian was the only one there. Especially as outside the hut there was a no camping sign as the area is reserved for helicopters. Interestingly, as it is a hunting hut there is a gun lock up and dog kennels.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    2

    Pelorus - Hacket hut

    23 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    6km 2hrs 19m mostly sunny. We were commenting quite loudly about how nice the track was this morning compared with the previous days but still somehow managed to surprise a small red deer. She was far more willing to leave the path than the goat from yesterday. The path ran along the river for a bit with a couple of crossings, and there had been a couple af washouts so it was not clear exactly where the path went so Chistian and Karen ended up nearly at the top of the cliff in the picture. Luckily realizing at the last minute that it was not the correct path. At the junction with hacket hut we weren't sure if the boys had recieved a message that we were planning on walking toward them rather than meeting them at the hut so I dropped my pack and ran down 10 min to the hut and the guys were already there so we walked back to get my pack and the others and headed to Hackett hut to resupply. Paul brought us cherries and raspberries so he might be my hero at the moment.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmond - Starvall hut

    23–24 dic 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    7.34km 5hrs 900m of up, patchy sun. The sign was the warning... the first hour was just crossing the same river over and over. But the following 4 was mostly just up. There are some highlights though.. pyramid peak was pretty nice, as was my delicious guacamole wrap for lunch. A robin was in the tree next to the path tweeting all his tweets at us. In one of the flatter parts we came across a whole load of rifleman congregating around a little glade. They stayed just long enough to entice us to have a break but no sooner did we sit down than they all disappeared. We were first to the hut and I had been fantasizing about washing my clothes (and myself) all day so I got straight to it in a little basin as there was no one else around... of course Murphys law, as soon as I was in my undies a lovely young girl showed up and greeted me. She assures me she wasn't scarred for life but only time will tell. She has a quick meal and left for the next hut soon after. I'm sure it wasn't me... 4 young chaps turned up quite late for the night but none of them were that keen to brave the old lady's in the hut so all camped outside. One sleeping on the table. Quite funny really. They were all really neat guys and up for a chat.

    After dinner I was hunting for my toothbrush and it occurred to me the my rainjacket was not in the pocket I usually keep it so I went through my entire pack looking for it. I must have left it at browning hut! I fessed up to Karen and Patrece knowing that it would likely spell the end of my time in the Richmond ranges. We brainstormed solutions, leaving most of the gear my pack at the hut and attempting to get down, get my rainjacket (assuming it was still there) and get back in a day while K&P twiddled their thumbs. Or taking all my gear, getting the jacket if possible and bugging out at hacket hut. I was fighting back frustrated tears when I found the damn thing under my sleeping bag. Crisis averted! I think we were almost all equally relieved That I didn't end up breaking up the three musketeers.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmond - Slatey Hut

    24 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    5.49km 3hrs 850m up sunny as. Such a beautiful day! The start of the day was a steady climb up mt starvall. Part of the path was the climbing from the Mt safety video so I was quite pleased that I manged to not disgrace myself there. I was quite taken with all the tiny alpine flowers along the way. The view from the top was quite breathtaking, on the one side nothing but mountains and in the other civilization! The further we got into the mountains the fewer glimpses of civilisation we saw though. The path was relatively flat compared to the last couple of days though, which made us fairly skip along. We had a lovely break in an alpine meadow where the grasses were much spikier than expected, and when we roused ourselves we found f the next hut just around the corner.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmonds - Old Man Hut

    24 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The next segment followed the Ridgeline across several ridges so that it was always possible to see where you were going if you knew where to look. The young chaps from starvall hut were leapfroging us so we usually had a fair idea. A lot of the track ran very close to quite extreme drop-off and there was a fair amount of climbing over rocky peaks involved as well which meant I had to be quite careful where I looked to prevent my head from spinning. Regardless it was the best hike so far. Absolutely stunning scenery the whole way! Until the turnoff to Old man hut where it felt like we lost all of the altitude we had gained the entire day. And a steep 30 min downhill on tired legs is almost harder than a steep 30min uphill. We were slipping and sliding the whole way down. And I think we were all and it by the end. A good wash and so.e dinner cured all ills though.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmonds - Rintoul hut

    25 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    6.35km 6 hours. Yep 1km per hour. Christmas morning was beautiful and sunny at Old man hut so we took our time leaving - about 0830 compared to the usual 0730. The climb out of the valley wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, in fact all the way up to little rintoul was just lovely. And the views from up there were great as well. Karen found that there was reception so we all called our families to wish them happy Christmas.

    Straight away after that there was a quite trying bit with a small ledge running up a rock face. It would have been easy if it was closer to the ground but I got the shakes going up and took quite a long time to calm down.

     Heading down little rintoul and across to Mt rintoul was over lots of loose rocks and stones so it was very slow going. The path up was so steep from our vantage point at the bottom I was a little concerned that about how I would be able to handle it, so I spent pur lunch break that we took at the side of the path stressing about it but once we were doing it it was absolutely OK.

    As we ascended the weather closed in so there were no amazing views but maybe that was just as well. The rain set in when we were starting our decent which was through lots of loose scree, patches of rocks and down into the forest. We all took turns slipping and falling in the wet. Luckily no one did themselves an injury so we arrived relatively unscathed.

    The 6 bed hut already had 2 people in it when we rocked in so I got my first top bunk. 2 more arrived after us so we had a jolly crew for Christmas supper.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    The scree slope we came down yesterday is visible between the clouds and rintoul hut below them.The TairnTairn hut

    Richmond - Mid wairoa hut

    26–27 dic 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We left rintoul hut quite early with the promise of rain after lunch we planned to reach tairn hut by then and wait out the weather. The track was lovely and when we got to tairn hut we checked the weather, which now showed no rain until 5pm and we decided to go on. The track between tairn and mid wairoa huts is notable for a very steep down section but thankfully it didn't feel as terrible as the down into old man hut, so an excellent day of hiking really. There is a gorgeous pool near the hut so I had a jolly good wash, wading through the sand flys to get to the water. Luckily they don't seem to like cold skin. Forecast is for fine weather tomorrow so all the things got a wash. The hut itself is lovely but has a terrible bumble bee problem. We had to shoo them out the windows but the would just keep coming in every time anyone came in the door.Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmonds - Top wairoa hut

    27 dicembre 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    9.65km 7hrs. We planned for a short day today, just 1 hut. Boy am I glad we did. The 8 river crossings were no trouble and didn't really start until the tramp was 2/3 done but there was a lot of sidling around rocky outcrops too high up for comfort. The first of these (but by no means the most daunting) had a cable bolted in as a hand hold, but none of the subsequent ones did. I think the adrenaline was what drained the reserves more than the actual activity. I'm so proud of us all for getting through them all unscathed.

     The highlight would have to be the river. It really was a wonderful backdrop even when it was thundering away 100 meters below us clinging to the mountain. When we stopped for a snack on the side of the river we saw a stoat crossing over and back again. Which made me sad for the poor little birds.

    The weather also deserves a mention as it was just stunning and made splashing into the river fully clothed after a crossing a very refreshing interlude. We made it to the hut in plenty of time to head down to the river for a splash and a wash off.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Richmonds - Porters creek hut

    28–29 dic 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    15km in about 11hrs stinking hot!

    The trek to hunters hut started off beautiful. We climbed to the ridge behind the top wairoa hut which had more stunning views and a traverse across a long scree slope. Then we had a lovely trek across the tops of some smaller ridges before descending slowly down a steep rocky slope into a river valley.

    By the time we had descended it was so stinking hot there was nothing for it but to a soak hats and t-shirts in the streams we passed to try to cool us down.

    By the time we were climbing to hunters hut it was so hot we had to stop just to cool down and prevent heatstroke. We arrived at hunters hut a little later than planned, probably due to the steep decent and the heat, nevertheless we decided to have a good break and press on to the next hut.

    At some point during the day while rock-hopping across a stream I managed to step on a greenstone rock which was super slippery and completely land on my pack in the stream. Luckily the only think to get wet was my toilet paper despite it being in a zip lock bag.

    Heading on to the next hut was a bit more of the same, bouldering and blistering heat in very little shade. The copper and black little butterfly's were really cool though as were the massive striped dragonflies that zoom around with there wings seeming to be in superposition. Every time we stopped the bellbirds would come down and peer at us.

    We were just heading up a steep gravel slope at one point when we saw the reason for the kennels at the huts... a couple were taking their dog with them, he had his own pack and looked to be struggling with the heat every but as much as we were. What an adventure for a dog!

    On the advice of the dog owners we washed up in the stream before we got to the hut as there wasn't any closer. We finally arrived a bit before 7pm, Louisa and Mario were the only other ones in the hut again which was nice, though there was another couple camping with a dog.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Out of the Richmonds - Murchison

    29–31 dic 2024, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today followed a similar pattern to yesterday, in the morning before the sun really started beating down the walking was quite pleasant, but 10am we were already wetting our shirts and hats every opportunity.

    The walk itself was very nice, skirting the side of another river valley all the way to the top. There seemed to be a lot more boggy patches today than there had been previously, with more and more the closer we got to the hut. There were a couple of pretty hair raising climbs up what appeared to be rapidly eroding slopes as well.

    I managed to pick every rolley rock in a stream crossing and ended up with wet feet again. Unfortunately I think it makes your feet softer and more prone to bruising for them to be wet all day and by the time we got to red hills hut they were feeling very sorry for themselves.

    After a good break and the opportunity to dry my feet a little we walked down the 4wd track to the dial use mtb track that took us to red hills carpark where Phil and Paul were waiting.

    Having a zero day in the camper van park felt like the height of luxury. Hot showers, not having to take loo roll with you to the toilet... we spent the morning washing all our tramping clothes, dubbining my boots and then the afternoon booking huts abs packing or packs for the next section.. the Waiau!    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    2

    Waiau - John Tait Hut

    31 dic–1 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    25.5 km 7.5 hours overcast with some sun.
    The path to lake head hut skirted lake rotoiti the whole way and was almost completely flat through beautiful beech forests. It was so nice on the feet compared to the boulder clamboring we had been doing the last few days in the Richmonds.

    We arrived at lakehead hut at about 11 which put us bang on the estimated time which was good as we had another 5 hours to reach John Tait hut.

    From lakehead it was through beautiful meadows surrounded by crazy tall mountains, some with a little sprinkle of snow on top. There were patches of forest between the meadows where we saw a family of Robins-2 adults feeding a young one that got really close.

    The track was really easy with a couple of swing bridges and board walks.

    We got to the hut right about when we thought we would. Washed in the cold stream then enjoyed the company of some really neat hut mates and warden. Despite threats no one stayed up past 8:30 to ring in the new year apart from the family with a ~7yo girl that showed up at 9:30pm clearly having had a big day.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Waiau - Upper Travers Hut.

    1–2 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    7km, 4hrs overcast.

    Today was a light day, I feel a bit like jumping out of my skin because I'm worried about the pass and the weather.. of course we could skip this hut and march on to the next but it will mess up all our bookings and honestly I think we all do need a bit more rest.

    The mornings walk up to the hut was magical. We took a short detour and a steep climb to look at Travers falls. (Well I climbed down). The second photo is my vantage from the bottom back up where you can just see Patrece.

    There was a sign next to a stream that there was a 30min detour to a bridge in case of high water... I'm glad that the stream was pretty low because there was a bridge under a lot of boulders near the sign. I'm sure it has been replaced but it struck me as comical. I would hate to make the detour abs find that it is the same bridge.

    The path today seemed to be through a fairytale garden. With the mossyest undergrowth in places and the most gorgeous little plants. The birds were super friendly as well, coming down to peer at us.

    Once we got close to the hut we popped out of the treeline and wow! The tussocky meadow, the flower lined stream, the rocky peaks still sporting patches of snow. Just unbelievably picturesque. And not many sandflys!

    Plenty of time this arvo to do a bit of washing in the stream, Karen is doing some painting and I plan to read a book. It's a hard life...    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Waiau - West sabine hut

    2–3 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    7km in 6 hrs, overcast with sunny patches.

    We set off quite early this morning (7am) as the trail notes said it would take 6-8 hours and we wanted to give ourselves extra time to get down the steep decent on the other side of Travers pass.

    It turned out to be a good decision just because the morning was so cool and lovely for walking. The top of the pass was just magical. Everywhere you look is just rugged mountains with rock bleeding to alpine meadow into trees. The yellow spikey flowers smell a bit like flax flowers.

    The descent into the treeline and down to the river was a bit brutal on the knees and ankles but we felt a lot fresher than we did last time we had a steep descent. And when the spirits flagged slightly Karen played us some "everything is awesome" and that made it better.

    In the beech forest it was just more of the same gorgeous paths, mud holes to skirt around, little streams to cross and friendly little birds.

    We got to the hut before 2, plenty of time for a rest and a wash before dinner. There are a lot more people in this hut early that aren't just passing through. And it would appear that there are plenty that are doing day trips from here. It makes having a private bath in the river a bit more of a tricky proposition.

    As I had suspected the hut was absolutely full. Everyone just got along and it was quite civilized really.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore
    211

    Waiau - Blue lake hut

    3–4 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    8.75km in 3.5hrs. Overcast/drizzling

    Another gorgeous day in the beech forest. I heard a chattering on the side of the path and saw 2 rifleman juveniles being fed by their mum.

    We arrived at the hut at about 1230 as it's another short day. It had drizzled pretty much constantly for the last 45 min but that hadn't dampened spirits.

    Luckily we had another burst of nice weather after we had gotten settled and eaten lunch so we popped down to see the blue lake. It is every bit as spectacular as promised. It looks like you could dive in from the shore at one point... if you were allowed to touch it.

    By late afternoon the weather packed in and started chucking it down so a lot of late arrivals that had intended to camp ended up sleeping on the floor. I think we almost ended up with as many in the floor as on the bunks.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Waiau - Waiau Forks Informal Campsite

    4–5 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    16.5km 8hrs all of the weathers (including snow! )

    Today was the day that I had been quietly worrying about for most of the trip. I'd watched the mountain safety video and pshyched myself out a bit. The morning at blue lakes hut was the coldest it's been so far and there was a fresh dump of snow on the hills we could see below the clouds.

    Nevertheless we got up super early, packed up and hit the trail munching our breakfast of Musli bars and no doze to ward off the caffeine headaches. Paul sent us an update on the weather conditions after we left indicating that it was only going to get better and ther the wind forecast was 30kmh winds with gusts up tp 65km as opposed to the warden whose forecast was of up to 100kmh wind. Pretty sure that's the 24hr forecast because it got quite wild during the night .

    We were watching the sunshine chasing us up lake constance but never quite catching up. There was a bit of rain and the wind was still quite blustery all the way so we had a couple of catchups with each other to make sure we were all happy to go over. Luckily we were all on the same page.

    From the valley floor by lake constance it was about 800m almost straight up. Mostly over rocks and though tussock but for at least one heart stopping section we were in scree that slid down every step. About 200m from the top it fooled us by taking a more flat path and as we were in the cloud by then we didn't see that there was more to come.

    The last push to the top was through a smattering of snow that had not yet melted and ice covered plants. When we reached the top I was expecting the wind to be worse s it was coming from the south but as we created the pass it just dropped away.

    The part I was most dreading was the climb down the rocks on the other side but as the climbs were really short and the angle not too steep they really weren't anything to worry about. There was just a lot of it! Knees and ankles were both a bit sore by the time we reached the valley, and even then we continued in our downward trajectory until we reached the waiau forks campsite. Mercifully free of the sandflys that the trail notes warned us of.

    The weather had been clearing almost as soon as we made the crossing so by the time we had our tents set up it was a beautiful sunny afternoon for lazing by the river.

    The tent was a great success. Despite it being finger numbingly cold in the morning I had the most toasty sleep.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • Anita STEWARTTe Aroroa South IslandViaggiatore

    Waiau - Waiau Hut

    5–6 gen 2025, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    10km 3 hours easy day. Drizzle clearing but a very cold wind.

    It was pretty nippy to start which made putting on cold wet boots to slog through a cold wet stream an uninviting prospect. But obviously we did it.

    There was a bit of bouldering to start but the valley eventually flattened out to a lovely meander down the valley with several small river crossings to keep our boots nice and wet.

    We arrived at the hut at lunch time so plenty of time to wash socks and other bits and pieces and light a fire to dry them.

    Then other hikers started coming in at about 4pm so our brief moment of having the hut to ourselves was ended.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione