Makorora

I arrived in Makorora yesterday afternoon but didn't get a chance to write until this morning. I ended up spending only three days out (although I had planned four) and walked out because it was looking unlikely that they were going to be flying out yesterday or today because the winds have picked up a lot. I met Simon and Matthew, the two who I watched do the river crossing, on the second day and walked with them to a location further than that which I had originally planned. They were a lot of fun to walk with and yesterday we walked back to Makorora via the Wilken valley, which was mostly an unmarked track. Route-finding wasn't too difficult, especially because the river valley is clear and open in most parts, but we did have to work around the braided river which swings from bank to bank. By the time we reached the highway, we had done 6 river crossings, but they were all doable because the weather's been dry for the last three days and the river wasn't flowing very fast.

As we got within two hours of the highway I realized that I needed to get back by five to retrieve my belongings from the DOC office, so I hurried ahead of them and fortunately made it just in time. Since there isn't a marked route from where you ford the river back to the highway it was a bit of an adventure getting back. Farmland runs the length of the river and I had hoped to find a way through to the highway where I could hitch a ride back into Makorora (about 2 miles north of where I forded) but each time I thought I had found a way I was confronted with a 8 ft barbed wire fence halfway through and lots of confused sheep. I eventually made it back to the highway, but at this point I was only 5 minutes down the road from town.

When they finally made it in we treated ourselves to ice cream and other treats and then talked for a bit before the hit the road to head back down to Wanaka. Last night I met up with some guys bike-touring who had stopped to camp here and we had a drink here at the cafe.

The tramp over Gillespie Pass was incredible (and incredibly steep) and I'm not sure that any of my pictures can really show the 'on top of the world' feeling that you get when you stand there, seemingly as high as the snow-capped peaks that surround you from every direction. From the pass you descend into the Siberia valley which is equally beautiful, with long fields of grass framed by these same peaks, which have great names like Mt. Awful and Mt. Dreadful.

Today I leave around noon to continue north to Fox Glacier where I'll spend a night or two and possibly take a guided trip out onto the glacier if weather permits (which I don't think it will). They're predicting another four days of rain, but I'll work around it. I've caught a cold so it will be nice to have some rest days anyhow. The plan for the rest of the trip is to go from Fox to Greymouth where I'll stock up on food and then head west to Nelson Lakes where I'll do my final tramp. The tramp takes about a week and then I'll shoot up to Nelson. I've booked a flight from Nelson to Auckland on the 17th and then I'll have two days to kill in Auckland before coming home. Surprisingly, the flight from Nelson to Auckland was cheaper than taking the ferry and ground transport, and it also takes one hour instead of two days.

-Brian

March 2, Young Hut
After a very long sleep (I think on account of having a real bed), I set out late and walked 2km down the highway to the start of the track. Here I had to ford the Makorora; the crossing went fine, although the water was extremely cold and about up to my waist. From there it was a fairly challenging walk through the Young valley to the hut. The track was almost as difficult as the one around Taranaki (which I did in January), but the weather was good so it was no problem. I also think I've caught a minor cold, so I'm a bit slower than usual.

I was the first one to arrive at the hut, but about 12 people have shown up since. I'm really surprised to see so many people on this track, but I suppose they all wanted to come out while the weather was good. [It turns out that many of them paid 25$ to take a jet boat across the Makorora and avoid the crossing] There are a few crazies in this crowd, so I might try to skip the next hut tomorrow. One guy from Wales wouldn't stop going off about how great his first-aid kit was.

March 3, Kerin Forks Hut
Today I walked 10 hours, but the weather was glorious so it was a great day. The route to Gillespie Pass was nearly straight up, but the views at the top made it worth it. It was fun to be able to use the map and name peaks that were miles away but visible today. I had lunch at the top of the pass and then started a grueling 1000m descent that took me into the Siberia valley which, unlike the Young, was clear and covered in grass. The views here of Mt. Dreadful were outstanding.

I arrived at Sibera hut around 5 but it appeared crowded so I pushed on to Kerin Forks hut along with an Israeli guy that I met. We had to ford the Wilkin to get here, but I really like the hut. There are 9 of us here and everyone is a lot more friendly than the people that were at Young Hut. Tomorrow I will probably walk out because it looked unlikely that there will be a flight to catch in the next two days. [Later, I heard that things were a bit frantic at Siberia Hut as 25 people all tried to arrange transport out to avoid having to walk out the Wilkin Valley. One woman reportedly told the warden, "If I drown because of this, I'm blaming you," after hearing that there wouldn't be enough room on the back-flights for everyone. The following morning I was told that there was a mad dash to the airstrip and then, when it became apparent that no planes were coming, another mad dash down to the jet-boat pickup point.]