Hi All,
We have completed our second great walk in much less dramatic fashion than the last. Billed the easiest of the great walks, we made it slightly tougher by aiming to complete the bulk of the 51km in just 2 days. Still we managed to get back safe and sound with little more than aching feet and some nasty sandfly bites.
Day One: 21km, 5.5hours
Setting our alarms for 6am to ensure we got an early start, we fuelled ourselves up with toast, eggs, beans and sausages and set off for Marahau, the start of the track! We were aiming for 21km and the first 11 or so were pretty uneventful. The track was fairly flat and mainly passed through bush close to the coastline. By 11.30am we had arrived at Torrent Bay - the bay was only passable within 2 hours of low tide so we had a one hour wait - we had some lunch and watched the water gently slope away before taking off our boots, rolling up our trousers and wading across. We made it to our hut by 3pm and were able to have a relaxing afternoon. The hut was beautifully situated a few measly metres from the sea and by a tidal estuary. When we arrived the beach was huge! By high tide there was little sand left. All in all it was a nice day of tramping without being overly spectacular. We both agree that the path should have spent more time on the beach!
Day Two: 24.5km, 7hours
Day two started with slightly more weary legs and backs and with a much less satisfactory breakfast! There was no need to get an early start as we had to make a couple of tidal crossings and the low tide fell at a bad time. So at 9am we strode out and were quickly faced with a pretty steep climb which meant we were stripping off our thermals half an hour after putting them on. The walk became more pleasant with more glimpses of the coast and more stretches of beach to walk on. After a couple of hours we came to our first tidal crossing that went pretty smoothly. An hour and a half later we came to Awaroa. A stunning beach/estuary area. The hut warden warned we would have to wait at least an hour. So wait we did for the waters to lower. A few sandwiches and slabs of chocolate later and it was trousers off time as we waded across. Wincing as we trod on sea shells, but avoiding getting wet despite the water level being over our knees in places. We reached the other side at 2pm but with the bulk of the km still to do we faced finishing in the dark so we strode on as fast as we could. The walk was certainly nicer but also a little tougher as we kept descending on to beaches and then reascending to the bush and cliff tops.
Just as the sun started to set we came across a lone seal pup swimming in the surf close to the beach. He was very curious giving us a long hard stare, he seemed a little lost so we hope he is ok! We then faced an hour of walking in the pitch black in the bush. Headlamps strapped on, we braced ourselves and delved into the dark. The track was very clear and straightforward so we soon arrived at the hut where we chatted to a very friendly kiwi couple. She had been to Luxembourg and not the UK (fairly rare!) and her boyfriend has sung in Ely Cathedral! A small world indeed! They were real south islanders - having seen less of the north island than us!
Day Three: 13.5km (5hours)
We began early as we wanted to head out to Separation Point - a seal colony and beautiful spot to watch the sunrise. Leaving our packs in the hut we set off at 6.30am, again in the dark! We arrived at the point at 7.15am. Just in time to watch the sunrise and watch some sleeping seals on the rocks below! (Lazy little buggers - we got up early to see them and they slept in!) As the sun rose higher in the sky we were able to head back to the hut for breakfast and put our torches away. We faced a morning of retracing our steps as the sea taxis you take back to the start of the walk dont go as far west as the walk does. We decided to take it easy and spend a little longer lingering on the beautiful beaches. We made it to Totaranui campsite in three hours and with plenty of time to spare. We spent much of the two hours killing as many sandflies as possible. However a short rainshower led us to the safety of the 'day room' and a remarkable coincidence! Niall opened the visitors book and believe it or not it fell open on a page and the first thing Niall saw was "Philip and Ida" and their entry from 2006! Truly amazing!
The water taxi was an unexpected adrenaline rush! The tiny and very fast boat jumping and lurching over the huge waves! Our hunger certainly subsided! The boat completed our three day walk in little over an hour! Returning to the house in Motueka with the exciting prospect of hot shower, pizza and tv was a lovely prospect - but there was not quite the same relief as retuning from Tongariro!
Amy and John have arrived from Auckland to spend a long weekend here in Motueka so we are spending a few days with them before beginning work in a packhouse on Monday - rest assured, next week's blog promises to be very dull indeed!
Love
Laura, Niall & Ruff
(Ruff has decided not to work - he wants to be a kept dog and he has too much fun chasing kingfishers!)
Friday, 23 May 2008
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2 comments:
It's not that truly amazing we did do it, and it was freezing by the time we finished, so we decided to put our names in the book. I think I'm right in saying that I was the first Luxemborgian to get my name in the book. I had nothing to do so I looked. Sad I know but hey. Great memories of the walk though, barring sandflies, and we even saw some seals . Didn't have the luxury of pizza and a hot shower in a nice afterwards though, it was a long drive to the middle of nowhere and a cold dinner, and putting up the tent.
This is a great blog- absolutely beautiful pictures guys i am so jealous sitting in my student house in York! Makes me all the more excited about doing my own travelling in a couple of years.
All the best and i look forward to more entries!
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