Posts filed under 'Hollyford'
Long day. Great weather. Very windy, so less sandflies. Four beers were still in the river waiting for me when I got out! Doesn’t get much better than that.
I was up early this morning at 5:30am and on the trail at 6am to get to Martin’s Bay Lodge to catch the jet boat out. 3 others were doing the same plus a big boat of trampers at the lodge doing a guided waslk so the boat was FULL. So full that they had to leave the low-life dirty hut trampers off at McKerrow Island and take the high-rollers out then come back and get us in order to get through the low part of the river ok. The views of Hollyford Valley from the water were great. What took 2 days of walking took only 1.5 hours by boat and by 10am I was at the confluence of the Pyke and Hollyford Rivers and had a 20 km cruise out to the road from there.
It was a bit of a race to get out since we all got dropped off at the same time - at first in the lead were the two Mt. Cook mountain guides (a man and a woman), then me, then a group of 8 Kiwis who were out in the bush for several days hunting. The bush people passed both me and the guides and I though it was over, then they took a break and I passed them and then passed the mountain guides, and guess what, the ol’ wondergimp in her sandals beat them all in the end by miles!
I got to the road and started the 8 km road walk out to Gunn’s Camp but got picked up right away by an older Israeli couple. Cool! Their 20-minute lift saved me another 2 hours of walking.
I got to the camp and paid my $5 tent site fee and then went straight down to the river to look for my beer. And it was still there hidden under the rocks - 4 cans of cold Victoria Bitter! Nothing tastes better than a cold beer after a few days of hiking. As I was on the second beer I saw the mountain guides drive by and then the bush-walking deer killers. Hah! Still can’t catch me.
Since then I’ve done my laundry (by hand in the old wringer) and had a hot shower and resupplied my food for the next few days at the office store and now I am RELAXING. Feels great to be clean and in clean clothes.
Tomorrow I will try to hitch out to the beginning of the Routeburn Track and pick up the Greenstone Trail heading back to Queenstown.
Sandflies in New Zealand are always a nuisance
3-wire bridge on the Demon Trail
The Settler Museum at Gunns Camp
January 14th, 2003
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
January 13th, 2003
It’s raining hard in Firodland today. I was going to do a longer day, like 26 km, but the rain and slippery rocks, roots, and trail made it enough for me to do a mere 16 km (10 miles). It was slow-oing through the many sloppy sections of mud and countless blowdowns on the trail. I’ve started part of the Demon Trail, which is said to be’the most exhausting non-alpine track in New Zealand,’ and consists of’undulating rocky sections following the steep shoreline of the lake.’ Not a fun task to negotiate such a trail in heavy rain. So I decided to leave the rest of it (another 9 km) for tomorrow in hopes that the weather clears.
At this hut tonight there are 3 of us so far - the Japanese guy from last night and a new guy who just showed up (from Czech Republic). Anyway I hope the weather clears up some - don’t mind showers but heavy rain is the pits. The sandfly population only seems to be increasing as I go further into this track. Today my mind was wandering back to Thailand and the days of pedicures, massages, and long afternoons in the hammock on the beach. Why did I want to come to New Zealand anyway? Can’t remember at the moment!
Morning at Lake Alabaster Hut
The rain can be beautiful sometimes
Evening at Demon Trail Hut
January 11th, 2003
19.5 km today, all flat, easy walking through the Hollyford Valley. The start of the track was 8 km (5 miles) down the road from Gunn’s Camp where I stayed last night, but lucky for me I didn’t have to walk it. Instead I got a lift from a Swiss guy who kindly offered to drive me in while his wife and daughter were taking showers this morning. I spent a few hours talking with them last night actually ? they spent 11 months travelling around the US some years ago and went to all the National Parks. This trip they are in NZ for 5 months and are travelling with their 6-year old daughter which I think is pretty cool. Anyway it was really nice to get a lift and not have to walk the 5 miles of road before even starting the tramp.
I got on the track at 10am and made it to the first hut just after 12 noon. The trail itself is nice and the Hollyford Valley is really pretty, with snow-capped peaks on either side, but the weather today has been showers and is now up to a heavy rain, so I wasn’t really able to see the peaks because they were in the clouds. Also I’m feeling a bit tired from the last several days of hiking and was in low gear all morning. After the first hut it was only another 3 hours to Lake Alabaster Hut where I’m staying for the night.
Along the way I met the hut warden on the trail doing some trail work and we had a bit of a chat. I told him about the 159 pilot whales that beached themselves on Stewart Island 2 days ago which is the big news here in NZ. He, being out in the bush 10 days on/ 4 days off, hadn’t heard anything about it. After that I continued on, passing a few people heading out on the way, and arrived at the hut around 3pm. Luckily, luckily, luckily I was the only one here!! The hut warden told me that he had 14 people here last night and I did not want to walk into a full hut of people, especially after the unfriendly bunch that were on the Hump Ridge Track.
A little while later a Japanese guy showed up and so far it looks as if we’re the only 2 here for the night which is cool with me. We’ve been getting eaten alive by sandflies though and I have to admit that the whole sandfly thing is getting pretty old. I’m tired of getting eaten up all day long! It seems to be either the sandflies, the rain, or the pollen in NZ, but it’s always at least one of them. Tomorrow calling for more rain.
~ ~ A sign in a shop window in Karamea says:
SANDFLY CURE:
Purchase a bottle of good quality whiskey
Rub liberally on arms and legs
Dust sand on skin whilst still wet with whiskey
The sandflies come along, get drunk,
and throw rocks at themselves.
Gunns Camp in Lower Hollyford Valley
Morning in the Hollyford Valley
Images of Fiordland
January 10th, 2003
