Hollyford Track Days 3 and 4 – Martin’s Bay Hut

So the weather has changed for the better, the trail has changed for the better, and I’m finished with the Hollyford Track tomorrow. Tonight will be my second night at this hut – I’ve taken the day off from hiking and spent the day wandering the beach and watching the seal colony nearby. Yesterday I went from Demon Trail Hut to here, a distance of 22 km (15 miles) but it took me nearly 12 hours, mostly because I took a long break in between at Hokuri Hut and also because I spent the morning conquering 9 km of the Demon Trail which took 6 hours! And yes, the Demon Trail is every bit as undulating as they say it is – full of big and small rocks (all slippery) and strewn with blow downs just in case you were getting a little bored. It was very slow but thankfully the sun was out and even though the trail was still very wet and slippery from the 2 previous days of rain, it was not too bad knowing that it wasn’t getting any worse.

I arrived at Hokuri Hut just after 3pm thinking I would spend the night there and continue on to Martin’s Bay today. But when I arrived there were already 8 people there and the hut was hot and stuffy and strewn with gear and in talking with people who came the other way it sounded like Martin’s Bay might be empty and that was all I needed to know before deciding to continue on. I made my dinner at Hokuri Hut and left there at 5pm for the 13 km (8 miles) to Martin’s Bay. The trail was much easier than the Demon Trail and it only took 3.5 hours to get here. A beautiful hut right on the beach with the sun setting in the water and it was all mine! It was a great night’s sleep and a wonderful morning having the peace and quiet in such a beautiful setting. I’m staying here again tonight so that I can catch the speedboat out tomorrow – since it only runs on even days I had no choice but to wait an extra day but it’s cool because I had the day today to walk around here a bit.

So, at about 11am the first wave of folks arrived – there are 7 people who flew into Martin’s Bay today and they are all staying at the hut, plus the Japanese guy, and another couple who walked in, plus me, which makes the current total 11 for tonight so far. It will be much different than last night but I consider myself lucky that I even had one night to myself.

Tomorrow I’ll be up early tp catch the 8am jet boat which will take me most of the way out and from there I should have 5 hours of walking to the road. Weather is supposed to be good for the next few days. Now if we could only do something about the sandflies…I am just covered in red bumps from all the bites! They are ferocious, especially here at Martin’s Bay. The seals are so incredible to watch but it is difficult to enjoy when you have swarms of sandflies around your face and body. I will definitely NOT miss the sandflies when I leave New Zealand. Now, time for some repose from the stressful sandfly-attacking afternoon…

Walking from Hokuri Hut to Martins Bay

Sunset from the Martins Bay Hut

Seal on rock at Martins Bay

Add comment January 13th, 2003