Week 2 – Birchwood to Greenstone Hut

Day 8- Birchwood to Telford Campsite

Everyone collectively agreed that this was a shit section. I arrived at Telford campsite angry. Angry and frustrated.

From Birchwood station, we immediately entered a track on farmland. We’ve been hearing that this specific farmer is not so happy with TA hikers, so I was wary of sticking to the trail. (He had good reasons to dislike us, as I heard that a few hikers in the past had broken into his house and stole some food etc.).

Here was the problem: the farmer had created a ‘new’ track which was not yet updated on the online map, so our navigation for this section was dependent on markers and poles. But the markers and poles were almost non-existent / poorly placed and everyone I’ve met had gotten lost here. One hiker got so lost he had even walked a loop and ended at the farmer’s house. He encountered the farmer and was threatened by him. I was lucky Connor had found me lost and we walked together until the markers got better.

There were some pretty bits to this day though – like this passage through a cabbage farm. We munched on the leaves for snacks. I learned later on that they weren’t cabbages but were actually food for livestock.

I got lost numerous amount of times on this day. This day made me remember the tedious moments of TA. When I look back at my journey on North Island, I only remember the enjoyable parts. Today made me realise this trail will consist of many frustrating days like this – but, that’s all part of the journey!

Right before arriving at Telford campsite, I saw that I was on the opposite side of the river, and had to backtrack 1km and walk another 1km. I cursed in the wind aloud. FUUUCKKK (yes I was actually shouting). I was tired. I could barely walk any further. I just wanted to flop on the ground.

To add to all of this, Telford campsite was infested by sandflies – the worst I’ve experienced so far. So much so that we all had to hide out in our tents and eat dinner alone.

*Not every day on TA is fun and games with breathtaking views.

Day 9 – Telford Campsite to Aparima Hut

Luckily for me, and readers on here, today was a much better day so I will not be complaining further. We woke up in the rain, packed our tents, and immediately started our 600m ascend. It was freezing up the top with a bit of gale. I thought I’d lose my fingers to frostbite (a little dramatic). One gear I don’t own and don’t think of buying is rain pants. Not sure why.

I was glad to be out of farmland. From my journal entry for yesterday – ”Fuck farmland. Fuck livestock. Fuck walking on cow and sheep shit for 10 hours”. Sorry, I did say I’ll keep it positive today.

I had a hot meal for lunch as the ridgeline was surprisingly freezing, and I had the best freeze-dried meal here – ‘real meals brand, mexican nachos’.

After a long day, we arrived at Aparima Hut, which was situated by the river where you can swim in. There were about 13 people here at this hut. Here I met Paul and Esther from the Netherlands. I loved this couple. There were 2 huts here, and both huts were almost full!

Day 10 – Aparima Hut to Te Anau!

The day we get out to civilisation = Food! We woke up at 5.30 am and set off early. I read some comments about wearing long pants today as the pig ferns will scratch your legs raw. So I did. We had some stunning scenery in the morning. I’ve been having tendon pains in my left ankle since Longwood Forest and the pain has slowly crept up to my lower calves. Worried this was becoming an injury, I slowed down my pace. I changed into my sandals thinking the culprit was possibly my shoes. Funnily enough, the pain was all gone once I changed into my sandals.

We then entered a track through these tussocks that were as tall as us. It was a struggle for two not-so-tall hikers to see the next marker as they were only just knee-high. It felt a little frustrating having to jump up to see our next marker, and I wondered why DOC hadn’t replaced them with appropriate-sized poles.

But overall it was a beautiful section – I love the colour scheme. Sandals helped my tendon pain, so I figured my shoes were the cause. I decided to buy heel insoles in Te Anau, hoping not to spend another NZD200 on a new pair of shoes.

We arrived at Lower Princhester Hut, and the rest of the track was on the gravel road to the junction to get hitchhiked to Te Anau. We all stuffed our faces with burgers on this night.

Day 11 – Rest day at Te Anau

We had a well-deserved rest day re-supplying and buying gear the next day. Te Anau’s a neat little town, I was here a few months ago with my girls when we hiked Routeburn. During my shop at the pharmacy I heard a few customers come in to get some remedy for Giardia (I eavesdropped to listen to their experiences). I should filter water more often, I told myself.

Day 12 – Te Anau to Swing Bridge Campsite

Strangely, I was nervous to get back on the trail. I bought so much food and I was anxious about how my left tendon pain would hold up with this weight. I bought heel insoles in Te Anau which gave me an uneasy falling sensation. We separated with Connor and Adar as they decided to hike Kepler Track from here and add the Routeburn detour to the trail. Huts for those tracks are all booked out of course as it’s a popular Great Walk, but you can hike Routeburn in one day or freedom camp as long as you’re 500m away from a DOC track and there are no signs saying you cannot camp (DO NOT quote me on this). My 2 nights of sleep in Te Anau were very poor, and I was getting really worried about my sleep health (it had been 11 days now with bad sleep).

We organised a ride back to the start of the trail. There was an option to get dropped off further, skipping the 28km of gravel road but we had a purist hiker with us who was dedicated to hiking every inch of TA. I admired his dedication. I, too, felt somewhat guilty if I skipped sections so I was glad to walk this bit. Today was really an uneventful day on the gravel road alongside farmland.

lunch spot next to the road

We arrived at our camp spot by the swing bridge and pitched our tents. This spot was one of my favourites (if not THE) on TA. We had two Robins keep us company for the entire evening. There was also a beautiful river nearby with bright blue water. I immediately had a swim after setting up camp. Get that sticky sweat off asap. I cooked dinner, experimenting with ingredients. Trial and error. I’ll get better at this.

Day 13 – Swingbridge Campsite to Carey’s Hut

My sleep was actually okay on this night! I slept as soon as my head rested on my pillow, but once I woke up during the night I never returned back to sleep. But I’ll take a few hours of sleep over none!

Today’s track was absolutely beautiful around North Mavora Lake.

It was only a short 23km hike, all on flat terrain. The last 8km was on dry gravel 4WD road on a hot afternoon. I still felt my left tendon burning up but it was only day 2 of this heel insole so I hadn’t given up hope yet. Finger’s crossed it’s not anything serious.

We arrived at Carey’s hut, situated right next to the lake. Feeling sticky and gross, we all had a swim immediately upon arrival. Swimming feels so good for the legs after a day of walking. There was a father and an energetic son (doing laps around the hut) who was staying at the hut. The father generously offered to carry out all our rubbish and gave us cold beer from his chilly bin. What a lovely human.

A SOBO couple from Estonia also arrived later at the hut here. One of the loveliest couples I’ve met on TA. They were carrying a fishing pole and fished til late. The girl had a short pixie haircut. She said she got sick of long hair on the trail and decided to just chop it off at the barber’s. After hearing that I was tempted to go all out and shave my hair. I bet it’ll feel amazing. I never got the courage to go through with it but I did dream of it during hot days with sweat dripping off my face.

Day 14 – Carey’s Hut to Taipo Hut

We had a short 18km day to Taipo Hut. I love this stretch so far. In the morning I saw that the couple had caught a big rainbow trout which they were going to eat for breakfast. We chatted all morning, and we found out they were both graphic designers (?) and had designed their own hiking packs and made them into a proper model. I thought that was insanely cool. We set off shortly after 9 am, which felt nice to have a slow morning for a change. The track turned into dry land, with tussocks and dry plantations for miles and miles. It felt like no man’s land. Lauren fell behind after lunch due to an ankle injury. The wind was strong and I got wind-burnt.

I remember telling Philipp this feels like the Sound of Music – to which he replied he had never heard of the movie. That was the craziest thing I ever heard.

I reached Taipo Hut and had a swim by the river. The water was beautifully clear and blue. I met Matt, an osteopath from Australia, and Pierre, an Engineer from France. Later on, Paul and Esther also turned up at the hut, so things got merry from here! Matt checked out Lauren’s ankle and suggested she take a break after reaching Queenstown. We all played cards before setting off to bed. I attempted to teach everyone how to play 500 which is a hard game to explain with a tired brain. It was fun still.

Day 15 – Taipo Hut to Greenstone Hut

Me and my buddies collectively decided on a very short (shortest on TA so far) 11km day to Greenstone Hut. With most of the hikers planning on staying there, I wanted to stick with the crew as they were all such good company. We woke up to rain and set off quickly after breakfast.

Matt told us about his experience getting Giardia just a week ago, and having to go to the doctors. He had a week off to recover. Listening to his story scared us all and to filter our waters whenever possible. (He doesn’t believe he got it from water but from the surface of a hut, which made it scarier).

Today’s trail theme: Parkour! Up and over many fallen trees.
Today’s discussion with Philipp: Disney movies & soundtracks. Conversations can get pretty random on the trail. We even started blasting the soundtrack from The Lion King. We were also both very hungry and listed out all the food we were craving. I was craving Korean. Bulgolgi. I would have eaten beef right here and there (note: I was still semi-vegetarian at this point).

We reached Greenstone hut at 12 pm. Worried the wardens would tell us off not having hut tickets, we all pitched our tent. By the evening, the hut was full as it is a part of the ‘Greenstone and Caples Track’ accessible from Queenstown. We had a swim at the swimming hole near the hut. The water was cold and refreshing. Best swimming hole on TA so far.

I noticed everyone was organising / had organised a shuttle from Greenstone carpark to Queenstown. It was something I didn’t even think to organise. I relied on hitchhiking there. Fingers crossed.

Day 16 – Greenstone Hut to Queenstown!

I heard Lauren and Pierre wake up and pack their tents at 4 am. Due to Lauren’s injury, she wanted a guaranteed ride back to Queenstown to get it checked out at the physio. I started my hike around 7 am. I saw a buck in the misty woods while I was gazing into the forest during breakfast. It felt magical. Today’s walk was another easy 3 hours on a well-maintained track. We got a free ride on a shuttle to Glenorchy. There we had lunch with Matt, and I searched for accommodation in Queenstown. (Keep in mind, it was a Saturday). I called about 10 different places and there was NO availability for any hostels or campsites, except for this very last room at YHA hostel. I was very lucky. After lunch, we easily got a hitch to Queenstown. My ride was a couple from Kerikeri! And they had helped Geoff Chapple create Te Araroa trail back in the 2000s! Their names are mentioned in the Te Araroa book. How cool!