Ruapuna

Started the morning with a run round Peel forest. Very steep and got the lungs working hard. Got back to the campsite and cooked up some bacon and eggs. Had loads, but cooked it all in case it started to get too hot in the car.
Refreshed showered and full, we packed up the car. Surprisingly with a bit of careful jiggery pokey, we managed to fit everything in with ample space for everyone. Looks like we didn't need a roof box after all.
Stopped in briefly to a river to skim some stones.
Our first walking destination was Castle Hill. A well known bouldering area on Arthurs pass. Very pretty place with boulding for those who have large cohones.
Next we stopped off at a caving spot. Got our wetsuits on and started walking through. Definitely head torches required in this 500m long narrow cave. Fast flowing water and some fun little climbs. Saw a few crazy people going though, one granny who could not make it up the water falls and kids which looked very cold. For us, epic fun.
It was 5.30 by now and we still had 2.5 hours to drive until we got to Hans campsite, near the west coast on lake Kaniere. Lovely lake but a few pesky sand flies around, so needed to stay fully wrapped up.
Got up briefly at 3am to try and take some star photos. But too cloudy.Read more