Nelson to St Arnaud

Monday 8th May
Today was a typical DB/Fi day. Hopeless at making decisions. It was to be a rest day but the weather is supposed to turn sour for the next 4 days so I was keen for one more adventure before we head home. DB wasn’t quite sure as his left knee was a little sore. The decision was- Will we go for a drive to Golden Bay, or start the drive to Queenstown or just go for a short walk. The weather was playing havoc with our decision. We went to the DOC and checked out the weather a bit more as it was looking grim except for today. We thought we would buy some camp food just in case we decided to stay somewhere overnight. In the end we decided to drive to St Arnaud and do a short walk maybe just around Lake Rotoiti. Maybe the loop up above the lake if we had time but the weather and time was a little prohibitive. We thought we could maybe do the high loop without packs. Suggested time 5.5hrs but the DOC lady said she does it in about 3 so we thought Maybe it would take us 4. It was now 1.30pm which if we left straight away it would still be dark when we finished. The hike was from 800m elevation to 1421m then back down to a hut at 1291m. The forecast for the night was 0′ with rain tonight and tomorrow. I suggested we hike to the hut which we thought could take about 2hrs then stay at Bush line hut for the night and come back down in the morning. Even if it is raining we have our new wet weather gear and it isn’t too far. So the decision was made. Now to pack our backpacks. We travelled even lighter this time. No change of clothes. Just extra jumper, scarf & beanie. A dinner each plus a spare in case. Breakfast and a few snacks. Stove saucepan and toiletries. Our packs were much lighter than when we finished our last hike. So by the time we had lunch, packed and drove to the start of the track it was 3pm. It was very cold in the shade before we started and it was clouding over.  We started the hike up and up and up. The view was amazing. The clouds blew away and we had an incredible hike uphill for an hour. We came across a snow shelter which made me more at ease because I was a little worried that the hut may be full as it only had mattresses for 12. At least we could stay in the shelter if necessary. We then walked down the ridge to the hut at 1291m. This only took another 20 mins. We arrived at the hut to find 5 people there. That was awesome, we have a bed.

We then met Klervie France, Johanna Germany  23, Rubén Germany, Alice US and Andrea France.

Klervie was a French girl with average english who met Johanna in Westport earlier this year and Klervie saw her hitchhiking a few days ago and picked her up, so they had been travelling in her magic mushroom car (mouldy wet mushrooms growing in the backpack mobile) for a few days together. Johanna had some amazing stories, she had done a tough 8 day hike on Stuart Island which was through knee deep mud. She did this with a guy who arrived at the same time as her. It was an amazing adventure for her. She has worked in WWOOF (WWOOF is about Living and Learning on Organic Farms. WWOOF provides volunteers hands-on educational and cultural experiences, learning about what is involved to grow produce and animals organically while living with local families and joining in the daily farming and family activities. Usually you live with your host and are expected to join in and cooperate with the day to day activities. In most countries the exchange is based on 4-6 hours help-fair exchange for a full day’s food and accommodation.) Alice was from the US but went and worked in Germany 8 years ago where she met Ruben and they have been a couple ever since. She now lives in Germany with him and they have been travelling, camping from their car and in huts for a while. They also WWOOF. Andrea was from France but he was very quite, in his late 20s we think. He was very nice but his English was also a little sketchy.

We shared a meal with them and some very interesting stories about their travels. Backpacking is such an incredible way to travel. We really have enjoyed these moments. We shared some of our stories as well. Another great experience. DBs legs survived the hike and we will decide if we go up further in the morning or just go back down to the car. The weather will help with this decision. It hasn’t rained as yet and it is now 10.45pm. Well off to sleep now. Nighty night xx