Week 8- Nelson Lakes National Park

Day 50 – Boyle Flat Hut to Anne Hut

The climb up to Anne Saddle was a longer slog than I thought, sweating like a madman. Not many photos were taken on this day as it didn’t feel very scenic until we reached Anne Hut. Just before the hut, we met a few SOBOs (separately) who had intended on staying at Anne Hut but decided against due to loud middle-aged women overwhelming them. We appreciated the warning. I was curious how bad they were.

Anne Hut (I also call it the House on the Prairie Hut) looked adorable. I feel like I say this for so many huts, but it’s true for this one.

The middle-aged ladies were indeed loud, but they weren’t all that bad if you had set boundaries with them. They were clearly on their annual hiking trip with their friend group and their excitement was too much to contain. All the questions they flew at us did get overwhelming, so we tanned outside instead. It was so early in the afternoon that we could have pushed on, but we had rain coming in and that meant carrying a wet tent the next day. We had another addition of NOBO, Paul from Germany arrive and eventually, it was a packed hut with 11 people. This section is part of St James Walkway so only 5 of us were TA hikers.

I only had 5 more days til I got off the trail for my sister’s wedding. The thought made me sad (excited for the wedding of course, but my heart was with TA at the time).

Day 51 – Anne Hut to Waiau Hut

We woke up in the drizzling rain. The misty cloud made the surroundings look mystical and beautiful. We set off early thinking we may have to fight for a bunk at this small Waiau Hut. Can’t let those damn SOBOs take my mattress! Today’s track was insanely easy, all through a well-formed flat 4WD track. I really enjoyed today (who doesn’t love flat terrain). I even didn’t mind the wet weather, the clouds hung around the tip of the mountains, making you feel like you’re in Jurassic Park. I listened to a solid 6 hours of LOTR today. We walked passed many SOBOs, 11 of them in fact. The hiker bubble doesn’t seem to be a perfect circle but of random bumps.

I get really hungry when it rains. I could have eaten my whole food bag. My small packet of almonds was all gone, obviously. Just before reaching the hut, I started smelling smoke from firewood. Pierre must be there (he was our handy fireman). Alan and Pierre walked straight back to the trail from Hanmer Springs instead of starting from Boyle. I arrived at the hut soaking wet and there they were, Pierre and Allen, with Philipp and Paul. To my surprise, no SOBOs to steal my place at my bunk.

Day 52- Waiau Hut to Blue Lake Hut

We hit the 1000 km mark today! The weather had turned drastically overnight and we had stunning weather for the famous Waiau Pass. It’s a section I’ve been hearing continuously from SOBOs as their favourite stretch on TA, so I was really excited to see what the hype was about!

The climb indeed lived up to its fame, sketchy at times, and a lot of rock climbing. I remember thinking thank god I was climbing this northbound, doing all this downhill would be insane.

I ate a bar called “Ems Power Cookies – Unleash your power”, and I kid you not, I’ve never moved so fast in my life. It’s all a mental game you see, if I hadn’t read that it gave me powers, I wouldn’t have performed the way I did. The voice in your own head matters.

Compared to the last 3 days, today’s scenery and terrain had changed drastically. It always amazes me how quickly landscapes can change like that. We saw about 12 SOBOs coming down the pass like tiny ants. Within an hour, they were all gone. They must have stayed put during the rain at Blue Lake Hut. I met my second Japanese hiker on the TA here. I wish there were more of us on the trail! I’m on Day 52 and I’ve only just met my second one. So many other ethnicities out here but Japanese? Rare findings.

My supernatural power from my bar had run out, and I was back to my good ol moderate pace. After a decent effort of nonstop climbing, I finally reached the top of Waiau Pass!

The photo below is Lake Constance. It carries a funny (not so funny at the time) memory. So, a SOBO hiker informed me that you can walk around the right side of the lake, avoiding a steep hill the actual TA takes you on the LHS. Of course, we all took his advice because who wouldn’t want to skip a climb? Little did we know, there was a vertical boulder drop that divided the pathway. It was just a short 30 m distance that we needed to cross, but without skillful bouldering (and with huge packs on) it seemed impossible. This lake is also sacred and is forbidden to touch it so dipping in the water was out of the question. We turned and walked back the hour we had already walked. I couldn’t help but laugh. Some of us were pretty pissed off. I felt guilty, because it was me who talked to this SOBO.

Well, we added 2 extra hours onto our day. The lesson of the day: Don’t listen to just any advice. There was no way he had done it himself, he must have just guessed by looking at the lake. You can actually see the section we couldn’t cross on the photo, you wouldn’t guess it by looking at it.

At last, we arrived at Blue Lake Hut which was almost full – 4 spare bunks perfectly for us. The bottle washes are starting to get incredibly cold. Shivering naked in the woods, hoping no one sees you. The act itself feels like a workout.

Day 53– John Tait Hut

Before we headed off, we checked out the Blue Lake by the hut.
Fun Fact: Blue Lake is the clearest natural lake in the world, It has visual clarity up to 80- 100m deep. It’s sacred to the Maori Iwi, and it’s prohibited to touch.

The morning was absolutely freezing and I started my day with 3 layers on. The descent into the forest was one of the most beautiful forests I’ve ever walked on. Lots of hikers around here. G’day. How’s it going. G’day. How’s it going. G’day. How’s it going.

The climb of Traverse Saddle was possibly the toughest I found for my body – I had very little to offer, mentally and physically by the afternoon. I kept up a good pace at first. But after lunch, I was a slug, just as I had expected. I know my body and her patterns pretty well now; lunch breaks screw up my pace. I was checking my map app every 10 minutes to see progress (never check your progress!). I felt defeated by nature. You win, Nelson Lakes.

I was finally out of the tree lines, then I saw the ascend I had still yet to climb. I cursed out loud, on the verge of tears. I was so tired, every step felt like a whole lifetime’s effort. A man descending down let me know that he wasn’t going to sugarcoat and say I was almost there, that I still had a wee bit to go. Great. I appreciated his honest heads-up.

God knows I gave it my all to reach the top. The view was stunning and I got emotional all of a sudden.

I didn’t have time to linger at the summit. I was adamant about reaching John Tait Hut on this night and that was still 3 hours away. Then I started crying, and couldn’t stop for the life of me. I think I was in awe of everything the past few days and I couldn’t figure out if these were happy tears or sad tears. I was a mess and looked like a mess too. The great thing about being alone outdoors is that you can cry as loud as you want, nobody is around to hear you.

The track downhill from here became very technical – rock hopping on shardy boulders and I needed my clear 20/20 vision to avoid breaking ankles. I told myself to stop crying, simply because I needed to see the path. Once the track got easier, I ran as it was getting late. A small break at Upper Traverse Hut where Philipp was waiting for me, and we trail ran down. Parkour! Parkour! This is fun! Trail-running is fun! We were on some kind of adrenaline high, the endorphins pumping through us. We should trail-run more often! I then, being the clumsy gal I am, fell and bruised my shin resulting in a huge painful bump. We no longer ran after that.

We arrived at John Tait Hut at 7.30 pm. We did it! This day can end now. I can put food in my stomach.

I slept as soon as my head hit my pillow – crazy to think I struggled with sleep once upon a time.

Day 54 – Lakehead Hut

We had a slow morning waiting for the hut warden to update the weather forecast. “Rain with moderate wind”. We stuck to our plan of hiking up to Sunset Saddle, staying at Angelus Hut via Hopeless Track. This was a detour from the actual TA but we heard that the views are amazing. We started hiking, and the rain started drizzling. The drizzle became a pour, and soon it started bucketing down. We reached Hopeless Hut looking like 2 wet rats. Miserable, cold, and shivering, we contemplated our plan to continue on. The rain only got heavier as we discussed our decision during lunch and our motivation level started to drop. Mine most definitely dropped after seeing Philipp look unsure. He’s usually one for a challenge. It took us one whole hour of discussing back and forth before deciding to change plans and turn back.

We arrived at Lakehead hut which was an identical twin of John Tait Hut (it was almost uncanny). 4 British hikers arrived late at the hut just as we were about to head to sleep. It had turned out they were on Sunset Saddle but had to change course due to a dangerous gale. We felt better about our decision after hearing that.

Day 55: St Arnaud

Last day hiking with Philipp, my hiking buddy since day 1.

Today was a short 3 hour walk around Lake Rotoiti to St Arnaud, where I stayed one night before I returned back to Christchurch. I had my first shower in 7 days here. It was heaven.

We decided to fine dine at the lodge for our last night, the rest of them were entering the Richmond Ranges the next day. I, too, had an exciting holiday ahead in Fiji but my heart just did not want to leave the trail or these beautiful people I was with.

Hitchhike to Christchurch

It was a 4.5 hour car ride from St Arnaud to Christchurch. Three different rides and 6 hours later, I arrived home. All sorts of emotions were running through me, but now it’s time to pack for Fiji! Catch you on the flip side, TA.

Slave-trader, neighbour’s cat named by Dad – because he likes to hang around our house more than his owner’s.