18 December 2019

The Original Plan: Freshwater to North Arm
The New Plan: Mason Bay to Halfway Down a Mountain
Steps: 45,780
Floors Climbed: 90
Distance: 34km
Tantrums: 0 (no really!)

I’m planning to solider on, with a torch if need be, to make it to North Arm Hut. I am prepared and armed to use the tent though if I hit the proverbial wall. Rakiura WILL NOT BEAT ME. Not today!

A long 15km walk to Freshwater Hut but was easy peasy compared to yesterday which was the same distance! Some patches of mud were almost laughable in size, there were three sets of footprints in these patches:

Tourist Prints (edges): OMG mud, must creep around the outside so I don’t get dirty since I don’t have gaiters.

Hiker Prints (off to the sides): Oh more mud, OK I’ll kind of go around the outside but I have my gaiters on so all good.

NWC Hikers (right through the middle): Ha! Call that mud? You don’t scare me!

Intermittent rain spells with a cold breeze, nek minute it's sunny and warm. Alternating a bit due to the wide open space, I suppose! Sand dunes, swamps, bush scrub, varied scenery along the way.

The area was once farmed so there were some historic buildings and signs about the history, I read up on it afterwards as I needed to keep moving.

The best part? BOARDWALKS, BABY! A well-marked track and BOARDWALKS. This was epic! One more time....BOARDWALKS!!!! Oh what bliss to have a comparatively easy walk, though my body was beginning to complain about the recent days' activities.

They had flood signs that warned if the water was above the line it would be too deep to proceed, luckily that wasn't the case as I was very keen to get back to civilisation/steak/beer.

There is something very freeing about walking through such a wide open space, peaceful with a light breeze, intermittent drizzle and the odd curious fantail. I really enjoyed this section!

Made it to Freshwater Hut via an awkward wonky swing bridge and stopped for a lunch break and to refill my thermos for the journey ahead so I had replenished water and caffeine. Tristan and Jen arrived ahead of me, for once I did get most of the way before being passed by them so...progress!

It's a very serene little spot so it was a shame I didn't have the time to stay and do the side trip up Rocky Mountain. I shall go back and do it one day as part of the Southern Circuit, but I'll have to be fitter and better prepared.

After saying goodbye and exchanging best wishes, I carried on through the forest for a couple of hours including a tricky stream crossing with steep banks...then started climbing! I met two German hikers who said I wouldn’t get to North Arm by dark so I knew I’d be camping, to be honest by then I knew that might be the case and so I had time to prepare mentally rather than hike to breaking point and pitch a tent mid-tantrum.

So I had a wee reshuffle to put my sleeping bag and bed roll at the top of my pack, this made it so much better to walk with as the swing was reduced significantly. I wish I'd done that on the first day!

The hill was partly climbing a stream until the water stopped at the top, so that was pretty cool to follow a stream right to where it began! After this it was up and over the summit through alpine scrub, a quick break when I found some reception to text parents and assure them I was alive. I decided not to tell my Mum about the camping plans (smart) but I did let my Dad know. Then it began to hail. Joy. I put my parka on and headed down the other side to where the foliage was more sheltered and set up the tent about 9:30pm as the clouds made it darker. At some point I had lost one gaiter, I don’t litter deliberately but I was also not climbing back up to look for it in the rain.

I pitched the tent and got my camping stove out for a late dinner, now it is very dangerous to use gas in a tent so to be clear I cooked with the door flap open and the cooker on a level surface.

What I did here was actually not smart, in retrospect I should have kept moving as my sleeping bag got wet through the ground so it was hard to get warm even with thermals. At the very least I should have slowed down and got myself to the bottom of the mountain to find a camping spot. I don't know if I had hypothermia but it is known to be a silent killer, I did have a survival blanket on hand but didn't need it.

A very cold, wet and shivery night! I had a dream I was back in the office and telling my colleagues that I couldn't remember how I got back, so that was lovely to wake up and find out I was still in the bush and it was still cold!