Richmond Ranges

Richmond Ranges 

Havelock - Pelorus (24.5km)

The walk today started on road but we chatted most of the way which made it a tad easier. 

When we reached the turn off into fields, it was a bit like hiking in England, only with a billion more electric fences to contend with and styles between every single field! 

Nonetheless, we had another lovely day of sunshine and the entire walk was flat so it made for a fairly easy day. At one point we walked through a turnip field and it smelt just like Grandad Ken's garden - was a nice reminder of home actually. Luke picked up one of the uprooted veggies and stuffed it in his bag for tea. 

We carried on through fields until we got to the reserve where we picked up forest track until the campsite. We crossed Pelorus Bridge over the Pelorus river where the Hobbit barrel scene was filmed which was cool but the actual river itself was amazing. I wish I had a camera good enough to capture it- the water was bottle green and as clear as you could possibly imagine. In places, the water could have been 4 meters deep and yet you could see the bottom. People were jumping in and swimming - while I wasn't up for swimming, it did look inviting! 

We took a little walk from the campsite to a waterfall but Luke doesn't walk particularly well in flip flops on muddy track so we headed back to camp and cooked our turnip and pea couscous! Yum! 

Pelorus Bridge - Middy Hut (27km)

Starting with 14km of gravel road, the forest track that followed was a pleasant surprise. It followed an easy track beside the river to the 'Emerald Pools' where we had lunch. There was a family of five at the pools and Luke and I both thought how lovely it must be to be able to take walks and just go for a swim for free in a place like this... and then jump back in the car and have a shower rather than have to camp!  

After lunch, the walk got a bit more challenging. We followed the track up river bank and back down to swing bridges which are challenging in their own right anyway- I realise why they are called 'swing' bridges! 

We passed the first hut 'Captain Creek' reasonably early so decided to carry on to Middy Hut where we stayed for the night. 

Middy Hut - Hackett Hut (24.5km)

The walk from Middy to Hackett was mostly straight forward aside for me desperately needing to use the loo half way through and having to race to the hut to get there. 

When we arrived, there were two children staying at the hut with their mum for the night so we decided we'd do the polite thing and give up the remaining beds to the Germans behind us since they had to camp the day before. 

We pitched a tent outside the hut but had to army roll every time we wanted to go inside to avoid the ten billion sand flies that accumulated inside the outer. 

We had a 'swim' in the river (dipped our feet in and splashed water at our armpits while gasping for air from the cold), and then mentally prepared ourselves for our first proper climb of the Richmond Ranges that was due to come the morning after...

Hackett Hut - Slaty Hut (11km)

For the first time, I realise what all the fuss was about. Up to now, the tracks we have been taking in the South, besides for being hilly in parts, have been fairly simple and nowhere near as interesting as in the North. However, today we spent the first kilometre crossing the creek from one bank to the other eight times, then we had a very steep climb through forest all the way up to Starveall Hut where the views of the Richmond Range were just incredible, and then we climbed up and over Rocks to summit Mt Starveall, and along the ridge line through mossy forest to Slaty Hut. The ranges look incredible- I can't tell you the number of times we just stopped, despite being wind blasted in the face, to look at the views around us. 

Although we probably could get to the next hut this afternoon, we have decided we really don't want to rush this section. Tomorrow is supposed to be the most challenging day yet but also the most rewarding in terms of views so I'm really hoping the weather holds out for us another day. 

For now though, Luke and I are about to have a game of cards before tea. 

Slaty Hut - Mt Rintoul Hut (14km)?

Blue skies and zero wind - hooray! I woke up several times last night thinking of razor back edges and slopes of loose rock leading to impending doom so when I woke up, I took about an hour to pack my bag while I prepared myself for the walk ahead. 

In the gorgeous weather though, the first climb up to the first summit was incredible. We were above the tree line so in every direction their was a new view of another mountain - we'd only walked for three days but it seemed as though we were in the middle of nowhere and it would take weeks to find our way back out again. 

When we reached the turn off to Old Man Hut before the climb to Mt Rintoul, Luke admitted his hasty walking was due to being absolutely desperate for the loo - how did we do this two days in a row? 

We had to drop down 200m to get to the hut, where we stayed only long enough for Luke to do his business, and then had to climb back up the steepest 200m I've ever known before we'd even started the main ascent to the peak of Rintoul!! It's safe to say we were both incredibly sweaty and probably should have settled for digging a hole on this occasion. 

We stopped for lunch just before the main climb where we were passed by another walked who, like everyone else, warned us about the razor back edges. So we decided we'd better get a move on while the wind was still holding off and finished up lunch. 

Believe it or not, we first had to climb 'little rintoul' which should more suitably be named 'big rintoul' and Mt Rintoul maybe just 'bigger Rintoul.' We had to scramble upwards on boulders and loose rock to a high point where we first caught a close up glimpse of 'Bigger Rintoul.' It looked so daunting from where we were but even more daunting once we realised we had to drop down 250m via a steep scree climb to the saddle. 

We walked along the ridge and then another climb up to the summit - it always feels so good to stand on top of the mountain you've spent the last few days worrying about! 

We set the camera to timer so we could get a quick picture of ourselves on the top and then had a quick chat with the 60+ year olds that were just casually having a picnic at the top!! Crazy people! 

The climb back down to Mt Rintoul hut was one of the most fun descents so far! It was all loose scree and the only real way to go down was to 'scree-ski.' I hadn't quite mastered the technique but luke had it down to a tea and had skied the whole way down in seconds - notice we'd made it all the way over Rintoul with no razor back edges? Maybe the other walkers were trying to put us off doing the route for some reason. The track was tough but not razor back! 

When we reached the hut, there were four Americans already resting. They asked us where we came from and when we left and we explained we'd walked from Slaty. They all looked at us in amazement and said 'You've come all that way in 5.5 hours!?' We hadn't realised how quickly we'd done it and they'd come from Old Man in 6! It felt pretty good to have done one of the hardest parts of the track so quickly but my knees were definitely paying for it! We decided to stop at that hut with two of the Americans while the other two pushed on to the next. 

We had a lovely evening just chatting and playing cards as usual and we all fell to sleep VERY easily after such a tough but probably the best day yet!

Mt Rintoul Hut - Mid Wairoa

Today was another beautiful view 

day but was tormenting knowing we were climbing down to 300m only to go back up again tomorrow. 

The track was really cool - it was all through forest and kind of rolled up and down gently so we had to work hard but not enough so that we were struggling. We stopped at Tarn hut along the way which is right on the edge of a lake - I wouldn't have wanted to swim in it but it looked pretty cool anyway! 

We carried on to our hut for the night, Mid-Wairoa; as in mid-way up the Wairoa river, only to find ourselves climbing down so steeply on mud and gravel that our knees were practically giving way come the end. 

We were there reasonably early and although it was raining a little it was still warm so we had a swim in the water to wash off. 

(When I say swim, I use the term very loosely. Luke dunked his head and then had a fight with a swarm of sand flies, and I washed my pits, then lay on a rock and dunked my hair under while trying not to be eaten alive by them.) 

I'm not sure Zoe would really approve of my hair washing technique and I'm also not sure it's really that effective since it dried greasy anyway - we can't use soap in the water obviously and the river water is hardly warm enough to loosen the grease. So I'm basically a gross greaseball who can't wash her hair.  

Anyway, we had to spend the evening barricading the door and keeping the windows shut to stop the flies coming in, and the hut was full so Luke and I were sharing a bed. Sure you can imagine the heat! 

We played cards for a while and learned how to play Eucher with John and Phil until the heat got the better of us and we pulled our bad apart to find a solution for the bug/heat problem. 

Phil had a big mosquito net and some filing clips, we had some medic tape and a shoe lace so we managed to make a half useful bug screen for the window! We opened the window as far as it would go but Luke and I are still sweating in our less-than-a-meter-wide bunk. 

Mid Wairoa - Top Wairoa

Very annoying day but wonderful come the end.

We read in the track notes about the 8 river crossings in only 7km so I decided to hike in my sandals as opposed to stop and start all day switching shoes or getting my boots soaking wet. However, it wasn't until we'd reached our first proper river crossing after what felt like over half of the way through that I actually needed to be in my sandals! The track just followed beside the river which meant sidling on the bank so my feet were sliding out of the side of my sandals and had no real support what so ever. It was a beautiful walk as are the rest but I just wanted the crossings to hurry up so I wasn't uncomfortably walking in forest wearing sandals for no reason. 

Eventually we did get to cross several times and the river was exceptional. It was the same gorgeous crystal clear water I've mentioned countless times but since we were moving up to higher altitude, there were more falls and cascades of white water flowing down into huge bottle green pools. 

Just as we were coming to the last few crossings though, the rain came in and the rocks were getting slightly more slippery. Luke stepped onto the top of one in the river bed and fell a meter down onto another. From where I was standing it looked as though he'd just disappeared! I rushed around to check he was ok and he was laying face flat against the rock ... but he was ok!! 

We hurried across thankful to have finished the crossings and even more thankful that we could see the Top Wairoa hut just 100m above us! We climbed up the scree slope to the hut, ran inside and stripped all of our wet gear off before we got too cold, and started chopping and gathering wood for a fire. 

It was only 11.30 but to continue and go over the saddle in the rain seemed ridiculous so we sat it out while the fire dried everything out. 

The German boys decided to push to the next hut once the rain had passed but Luke, John, Phil and I decided we'd rather stay and enjoy the river while the sun was shining! We went out to collect and chop more wood to replace the stuff we'd used and learned how to play Eucher (an American card game.) we had the best afternoon and we're really pleased we decided to have a chilled afternoon - something we didn't do much of in the North. 

Top Wairoa - Porters

Maybe we should have taken advantage of the sunny afternoon we had yesterday since we woke up this morning to grey sky and clouds covering the hills we were about to climb. 

The climb up to Mount Ellis wasn't so bad but once we summited and had the task of edging across the ridge line with barely visible markers, the wind started up and the rain came in. We geared up in gloves and waterproofs and fought the weather until we made it to the forested section and were slightly more sheltered. Typically, though, as soon as we were climbing down and covered by trees, the weather decided to change and we pretty much had glorious sunshine for the rest of the day! 

We had lunch at Hunters Hut but pushed on for another few hours to get to Porters where we stopped for the night. The route from Hunters was all alongside the river which was beautiful but if I ever see the word 'undulating' in the track notes again I might cry. Although the route wasn't difficult, it was a fair bit of up and down considering our legs had already taken a beating from the Rintoul Scree-ing. 

When we reached Porters, we worked out what food we had left and scoffed everything and anything that wasn't needed for our last day's hiking tomorrow. 

When Phil and John caught up and dibbed their beds, we had an America vs England Chmpionship game of Eucher - the outcome isn't important. 

The last two hut beds were taken by a French couple walking North Bound. They had passed the German boys,who had gone ahead the day before, earlier in the day and seen one of them fall three metres from a rock and crack his head open. The French girl just happened to be a nurse and so put six stitches into the German's head on the track with no anesthetic or anything! I'm never amazed by what happens on this trail. 

Porters - St Arnaud

Another day following the river but Luke and I were just ready for a shower and some proper food. 

The path wasn't too bad and there were some amazing views of the Red Hills and the 'Mineral Belt' which is where oceanic and continental crust have collided and formed patches of really green rock - luke and I both took a small chunk and we've challenged each other to carry it until Bluff. 

The track then leads onto a gravel road that takes you all the way to the main highway into St Arnaud. Since the other roads have been closed to trucks because of the Kaikora earthquake, they are all using this route through so there were tons of trucks driving beside us and there was no hard shoulder so three km in we decided we'd hitch into the village.

It took 2.5 hours. 2.5 hours of standing hopelessly on the side of the road in 25 degree heat. It was not fun at all considering we thought it would be an easy hitch with all the traffic! 

When we eventually did arrive in StArnaud, though, we booked into a hostel, put our washing on, and went for Fish n Chips at the chippy that only opens for 4hours a week! That is how small this place is- only  4 hours! 

(Oh - we got free soap when we checked into the hostel too! Win win!) 

Rest day - St Arnaud

Lush day doing nothing today! 

Had the best breakfast in the Lodge, went for a little walk and wrote Rosanna a post card, then had to resupply for the next section. 

The resupply was in a little tiny local shop that had nothing but charged five times the price for whatever they did have- that wasn't fun and killed our mood slightly but thankfully we had agreed to meet John and his daughter Kelli for dinner so we had an all you can eat BBQ at the lodge and spirits were lifted again!