Rees-Dart Track Day 3 – Daley’s Flat Hut

January 25th, 2003 at 12:00am

Long Day. 11 hours of hiking (22 km or 15 miles) from Shelter Rock Hut. Did 2 days of walking in one. It was COLD this morning at Shelter Rock, so cold that the water taps had ice in them. Started walking in hat and gloves and jacket until the sun came out over the mountains and into the valley to warm things up. Walked from Shelter Rock up to Rees Saddle at 1447 m where I had 360-degree views of snow-capped granite peaks. It was awesome.

From there I followed the Dart Valley down to Dart Hut where I stopped for a break before continuing on to here. The trail from Dart Hut to here was in much better shape than the Rees Track so the walking was easier. But the last hour is always tough on a long day. Made it here at 6:30pm. Only 3 people here in this hut tonight – Roger (from Shelter Rock) and an Italian guy. That makes me very happy. I think of all the walks I’ve done in NZ so far this is my favorite. Just outstanding scenery, and hardly anyone on the trail. Oh yeah, and I saw my first keas today in Rees Valley – they are an alpine parrot native to New Zealand and are really colorful and beautiful. An added bonus to a great day.

Tomorrow I’ll head out of Dart Valley and hope to catch a ride back to Queenstown.

Over the Rees Saddle and down the Dart Valley

Cool hiker chick

Dart Valley at the end of a long day

Entry Filed under: Hiking/Trekking,New Zealand,Rees-Dart