From Hail Storm to Sunburn: Hooker Hut

Date: 19-20 September 2026

Party: Mark, Mr13, Me

In April 2025, a storm came through the Aoraki - Mt Cook National Park, and finally sealed the fate of the second bridge over the Hooker River (already a replacement for an earlier model). We were gutted - we had been waiting for bookings to open for the 2025-2026 season so we could plan ourselves a winter weekend at Hooker Hut, but the hut was now unreachable, unless you were keen to pack raft across the Mueller glacier lake.

We don't own that sort of kit, so we opted to wait for the bridge to be rebuilt - its such a popular piece of track that there was never a question of it not being rebuilt.

Bookings finally opened in August, once the replacement bridge was open and the hut was inspected.

I managed to nab us 3 beds in the hut for the Saturday night of my birthday weekend and I was stoked.

 Our Saturday morning start was lazy. The weather forecast wasn't great all day for the area, but there was a promise of maybe reduced rain in the afternoon. So we packed, sorted meals from our pantry and freezer, threw our gear in the car, and headed off on the 4 hour drive to the carpark.

Lunch in Omarama, on the picnic tables outside the 4 square, was lovely and warm. 

We arrived in Mt Cook Village to rain. With our raincoats in the boot. Whoops.

We grabbed the woodshed key from the DoC office (to make sure we could light the fire), changed in the bathrooms at the day shelter, and opted to leave our car parked in the village overnight and walk the 2km to the campsite to save ourselves $50 in parking at White Horse Hill.

By the time we got to the shelter at the track start, I was searching accommodation in the village to decide if we wanted to turn back.

The wind was fierce. The rain was mixed with hail. It was cold and not particularly fun.

The good news was, the track was easy and well maintained for the most part, and then it was only about 1km from the track to the hut via a trail. This was easy walking, to a booked bed in the hut. If there was the possibility of having to tent, we wouldn't have continued.

The track was busier than we expected, given the weather. Everyone was sodden. There was a family with 3 young kids who were about the only people who looked like they were genuinely having fun.

Straight along the track, turn off at the marker, boots were wet, feet were damp, everything was damp. The marked route to the hut was a stream, and some of the puddles were unavoidable and deep. I had thought my feet were wet, until I stood in one deep enough to go in over the top. NOW my feet were wet.

We arrived at the hut to find a party of 5 in residence, with the fire going. There is no entry shelter at the hut - you open the door straight into the living area. So while Mr13 got his wet gear off and himself sorted as close to the door as possible, I went to the loo and got some water, and Mark topped up the firewood.

The hut is TINY. Which means the fire warms it up fast. So we all spent the evening opening and closing the door, trying to get it to stay open *just a smidge* so we didn't get rained on at the table. The windows are sealed shut as heritage protection, so the door is also the only ventilation. The beds and door frames are also short, so expect to need to duck a lot, and you might end up playing overnight footsie with a stranger...

The other party we were with were brilliant fun. So it was no challenge to squeeze into the space with them. We had dinner, then they had dinner. Everyone retired to their beds about 9:30pm.

The fire might heat the hut efficiently enough that Mr13 couldn't sleep on his top bunk in the living room, but the hut is also not insulated, so it got really cold overnight, which sucked a bit for poor Mr13, who was on the floor.

The sun came out while we ate breakfast, as the rain and wind had died off about 2am. The views to Aoraki from the table were incredible, worth all the discomfort of the wet arrival. We ate, packed, helped split some kindling for the next group, and made sure we tidied up a bit before we headed off.

 Rejoining the main track felt horrid. We went from the peace of the hut surrounds to a solid walkway and dozens upon dozens of people. It was a real shock to the system. We wandered up to Hooker Lake, threw some of the ice collected on the beach back in the water, and the meandered our way back to our packs, tucked just out of sight of the main track at the junction.

The last thing we felt like by the time we were crossing the White Horse Hill carpark was walking the last 2km back to our car, but we had no other real choice. Feet were sore, bodies were sweaty, and we were all regretting not putting sunscreen on that morning.

Lunch in the sunshine on the picnic tables outside the DOC Visitor Centre with some super expensive cans of coke was lovely, before we popped back to the Day Shelter to change again, then headed home via ice creams in Twizel.

Hut: 10/10 would do again, but would book out in its entirety and only take 6 people max. 
Track: 7/10 you need boots for the trail to the hut, but the main track is killer in boots
Weather: 5/10 one day good, one day absolute rubbish

Overall:  7/10

It's a long way to Kohaihai

Early morning from James MacKay Hut, looking down to Heaphy Hut

Heaphy Track, Brown River Carpark to Kohaihai
Kahurangi National Park
02 - 05 February 2021

Team: Me, Marion, Ange, Jaana

 An adventure more than 12 months in the making, Marion had picked up the Heaphy Track brochure from the DoC Office in Oban as we walked towards the wharf, finishing the Rakiura Track in October 2019. It was never going to be on the agenda for 2020, because we wanted to do it early in the year, and were not going to be ready for February 2020.

With Marion and Ange locked in, we looked at all the travel options - shuttles, flights, car transfer - and decided on car transfer, since that offered the most flexibility and the least weather reliance. Plus, by the time there were three of us, even with the ferry, it was about the same cost. Doing this also meant we had a spare space in the car, so I put the call out among friends and Jaana jumped up to say she was interested.

It's a lot of travel to get to either end of this track - and the ends are both a long way from anywhere. We ended up staying the night before at Kaiteriteri, which was heavenly. A swim before dinner, burgers with a view of the beach, an evening stroll through the campground. Several of us genuinely discussed just staying put and pretending we'd walked the track it was so nice.

We knew that there weren't many places to stop on the walk up the hill to Perry Saddle Hut, so we aimed to hit the carpark at Brown River about lunchtime and eat before we started. As per the theme of the trip, being stationary outside meant two things: Sandflies and Weka.

This encouraged us to get going, so I put up all the sun shades in the car, popped the key in the lockbox, and we shouldered packs to head off. A very brief stop at Brown Hut for the toilet and the uphill started. And it just never stopped. It got hot really quickly, despite being fully in the shade, and we slowed down with our full packs. We stopped at Aorere Shelter for toilets, and the lookout at Flanagans Corner, and just kept moving towards the hut. We were about the last people in for the night.

Sunset was pretty, the guided group were doing very loud yoga in the main area that echoed through the whole hut while others tried to sleep, and I was awake before dawn. The toilets at Perry Saddle Hut were revolting, but best in the morning when the bugs were still asleep. 

We were up and out of the hut as everyone else started to stir as we knew we had a long way to go and my ankle was a bit iffy still from an injury in August. Our first fantastic moment was spotting a Takahe crossing the track as we stepped off the deck, so that was pretty magic.

We enjoyed the peace and coolness of the still dim bush section in our early morning, arriving at Gouland Downs Hut in time for morning tea hot already from the exposed section we'd already walked through. The whole rest of the day was largely like this, with small sections covered by trees, so it was super hot going for 24 long kilometers. While here, we met a couple and their three kids (all under 5!) who were walking the track over about 11 days - stopping all over the place and having multiple rest days.

Lunch at Saxon Hut saw most of us take our boots off for a rest, which felt amazing and allowed our feet to cool down a bit. The rest of the afternoon for me was a bit of a loss as my ankle became unbearably painful - every step hurt, and the pain spread through my whole body, leading me to a total mental collapse just under 1km from James MacKay Hut when Ange came back to offer to take my pack off me. I was entirely broken. And we were only just over half way there.

While Ange took my pack into the hut, I stumbled down the hill to the "Mountain Spa" to soak my feet. I spent a full 30 minutes with my feet in that ice-cold water and it was heavenly. Back at the hut, I took some painkillers and anti-inflammatories and lay down to rest while they kicked in, before enjoying dinner in the sun-drenched living space. In addition to the ankle, my overheated feet had developed deep blisters on my little toes, so I also tended to these as well as possible before hitting bed for an early night.

I realised the next morning that I probably wasn't eating enough. I had no salty snacks (I'd forgotten crackers or pretzels) and desperately needed them. But I also wasn't hungry - I was caught in that bind I sometimes have when tramping of not eating enough, then losing my appetite to go with it. I've decided that when I replace my current pack, the new one will have pockets I can reach while wearing it, so I can pack snacks in them.

From here our day was mostly down hill. My ankle had eased overnight and with a small amount of painkillers on board (plus a stretchy bandage) seemed to holding up. Marions knee decided it wanted to play up going down the hill instead, so we both took it super slow and gentle. We heard the daytime kiwi below James Mackay hut, but didn't see it.

This day was gorgeous. The bulk of the stretch down to Lewis was gentle gradient and all in the shade. After lunch at Lewis Hut (to be demolished as its falling over and being undermined by the river), we crossed the massive Heaphy River bridge and headed along the flat to Heaphy hut.

I want to go back and do that section in particular again. The flora is AMAZING. Stupendously enormous trees, really interesting rock formations, just wow. 

I arrived at Heaphy Hut limping a little and definitely uncomfortable, but in far less pain than the day before. Or so I thought, until I tried to climb the ladder into my bunk. I basically couldn't put my left foot on a rung of the ladder at all with any weight on it - if I did, the pain screamed all the way up to my knee like a red-hot poker. Bugger.

I limped down to the river for a swim, where the best way to avoid the sandflies was to go as far into the river as possible. Swimming in a tidal river is a strange sensation, as the water is constantly changing direction, vanishing and surging. But being fully submerged felt amazing.

Our whole bunkroom went to bed early to read, while some of the others went and had a driftwood bonfire on the beach for the evening. I had an absolute rubbish nights sleep and woke in the morning deep in a fug, wanting nothing more than to just stay put, unable to eat from exhaustion, absolutely convinced that the others were wishing I had never come and that I was a stupid burden on them that they didn't deserve.

Eventually I forced down breakfast and some painkillers and managed to get myself packed and ready to head off. I put my earbuds in and started listening to podcasts, because I knew I needed to not walk in my own silence for the day if I wanted to make it out in one piece mentally. It helped so much. Having my poles back from Marion was another great assistance in keeping moving, she had borrowed them the day before for her knee.

We never spotted clear indications of which beaches could be walked on if the tide was low enough (which is was), so we presumed none were suitable / had clear access back onto the track at the other end, and stuck to the track instead. It was amazing watching the coast go very suddenly from soft, light coloured sand, to massive boulder fields. The constant noise of the surf carried through the podcasts on my headphones. We enjoyed several reasonably new bridges, and had fun with the other non-bridged stream crossings.

Eventually we reached a point where we could see what I was pretty certain was the Kohaihai Bluff. While the others stopped for a toilet break at Scotts Beach, I opted to just keep moving, knowing they would catch and overtake me pretty soon. Which they duly did.

Marion and I opted to take the detour to the lookout at the saddle - it was barely 2 minutes each way, and then it was all down hill. Just before we got there we met our first day walkers - a pair of ladies in lovely pretty dresses off to Scotts Beach for a picnic. We hoped they enjoyed the sandflies and the DoC worker mowing the lawn there with his weed whacker. The last section with the loop track and high water detour felt like it was forever, but Ange and Jaana appeared around here to cheer us in to the carpark. If they had caught us earlier, I might have given them my pack, but the signs all said we were super close (we were not that close).

Quick team photo at the sign, collect the key from the box, toilet break, dump gear in the car and we headed off, killing thousands of sandflies that got in with us as we went. We stopped for "lunch" or snacks (salty chips and coke for me, to wash down more painkillers) at Karamea, then at the Pool and Rec centre in Westport for showers (Oh they were amazing).

More food purchases at New World Westport, stops in Murchison and St Arnaud for snacks / toilets, Blenheim for dinner (and to buy me new jandals, I just could *not* manage sneakers), and we finally made it to the Top10 in Picton for the night as the receptionist was doing up late arrival packs.

Despite the exhaustion, I couldn't get to sleep. I was up for the bathroom several times, and then to hunt out safety pins to pop excruciating blisters, before popping a codeine at midnight and finally being out cold (for the all of 5.5 hours I was allowed before we had to be up for our 6:30am ferry check in).

Two weeks later, I've lost one toenail from the blister, my ankle is still an annoyance (and it feels like I may have plantar fasciitis in the other ankle), but oddly, I think I'd do this track again.

I'd got the other way though - the first day with the heavy packs would then be flat, the uphill to James MacKay is nicer than the uphill the other end was, and despite what the DoC altitude map suggests, there's actually heaps of uphill in the southbound direction. Also, I'd overnight at Saxon Hut, and make it a five night trip. That said, I'd also be keen to take Spike, and do 2-3 nights at Heaphy Hut with a daywalk to Lewis Shelter, or up to James MacKay for the night and back. While seeing the wild Takahe was AMAZING, I don't know if I *need* to do the whole track again...

Slogging through the Bogs

Rakiura Track, Lee Bay to Oban, Stewart Island.

Party: Me, Mark, Spike, Marion

8-10 October 2019

After an incredibly calm (for Foveaux Strait) crossing to Oban, Mark, Spike and I meandered up the road to the Oban DoC office to await our booked water taxi, while Marion and Hadyn jumped in a taxi to the start of the track. Our couple of hours at the DoC office passed smoothly, with the lovely ladies providing us a DVD to watch (a documentary on the Auckland Islands).

Our water taxi transfer was bought forward suddenly when the company rang to say they had a pickup to do further around, so could take us earlier if it suited (hell yes it did!) and all of a sudden we were at Port William Hut, having avoided the easy, pretty day of the track to save the 8km on little legs.

We settled in, picked our beds and had some afternoon tea. Port William hut was much more sheltered from the wind than Oban was, so it was super pleasant. We decided to wander down the track to find Hadyn and Marion, who were about 15 minutes away by the time we found them.

Port William hut wound up being busy but not packed, with one of the summer DoC rangers being in residence with his family on a familiarisation trip (and off to do some hunting). Late in the afternoon, a small white-tailed deer appeared in the clearing outside the hut, which was exciting. She was completely unconcerned by people (we were all fairly quiet so as not to disturb her) and she wandered in and out of the clearing all evening.

Wandering the beach late in the afternoon, we discovered that it glitters. It was impossible to get a good photo, but it was so gorgeous and entrancing!

After a good dinner (leftover Sweet & sour pork on rice, followed by s’mores for the boys), and some great conversation with the other kiwi family in residence, it was time for a reasonably early night.

Wednesday morning dawned cloudy and cool, with a threat of rain. We said farewell to Hadyn, who had decided he wasn’t up to the rest of the walk after all and was returning to Oban via water taxi, and headed off into the bush.

The walk from Port William to North Arm hut is really nothing to write home about. Some amazingly well constructed staircases, an old log hauler from the forestry days, and a small group of trampers met near the high point of the day. Loads and loads of mud. Eventually we got to a trio of bridges that were all marked “do not cross if water above boards of bridge” – there were only two streams marked on the map, so we presumed these were those.

This day just dragged. Other than the bridges there were no key markers as to where we were. There were no views to try and triangulate a position. You just had to keep moving and hope you were nearly there. I struggled massively. If you find a tree with a boating buoy hanging in it that says “Half way”, note that this is for the whole loop – there was a trail run on the circuit the weekend before we went, and this was up then, but we don’t know if it stays year-round – we only figured this out the next day, after consternation that “half way” for the day had seemed to take 4.5 hours of a forecast 5-5.5.

North Arm hut has lovely views into Patterson Inlet, but be warned that the toilet is back up the hill a bit, so you’ll want proper shoes and your raincoat if its wet. We didn’t actually go and explore the lovely views while we were there, because the weather was so bad. But it was a gorgeously peaceful spot and the Invercargill-based teenagers we shared the hut with were lovely, so I have really fond memories of being here too.

 

Our evening was peaceful and we all went to bed early, it had been a long day and we had an even longer day coming, with colder weather forecast.

Heading back up the 47 steps to the track junction was a great way to warm up into the tramp for our final day. From here, the track genuinely undulates along the coast of Patterson Inlet, with a few moderate uphills and descents. We made reasonable time, considering the track condition (loads more bogs again today), stopped briefly for a toilet break at Sawdust Bay, and missioned on to the Kaipipi Bay track junction, getting ever colder as we got closer to Oban.

We stopped here briefly to grab out lunches and extra warm layers. Mark and Marion whipped down the track to the bottom to have a look at Kaipipi Bay, which is described as “sheltered” to find the wind was in exactly the right quarter to render that description pointless. Spike and I got moving ahead of them to avoid getting too cold.

From here, the track climbs and has been re-located in a couple of places to make it smoother / less steep / drier. The climb is not short, but is also not sharp – its smooth and pretty easy. It becomes really clear when you’ve reached the top and it starts dropping, and doesn’t stop dropping until you get to the Ryans Creek track junction and the carpark.

By the time we got to the 4wd track from the carpark to the road (marked as tramping track on all the maps), we were all pretty shattered. The promise of real beds, showers and shelter from the wind was all that was keeping us moving at this stage. 

Stopping in at the DoC office to get a talking Tuatara for Spike (because I promised the day before that when he’d walked all the way around he could have one, and I think it was all that kept him moving), we regaled the lovely ladies there with the story of our adventure. From there we were blown in the door of the South Sea Hotel, where we desperately wanted a bowl of fries, but they didn’t have any available, so we settled for dry clothes and hot chocolates before checking in to our ferry at the wharf in between rain spells.

The ferry home was super rough and several people were very ill, which was unpleasant for the rest of us (not as unpleasant as for them, obviously), and we were all glad to get back to Invercargill to unpack, dry off some gear, shower, dinner and early to bed.

Exhaustion level: Epic

 

Tongairo Northern Circuit, Great Walk. Whakapapa Village to Whakapapa Village.
Party: Marion, Me
03 – 05 February 2018

Halfway up the Devils Staircase, under the light of the ¾ moon, at about 4:30am on Sunday morning, Marion commented to me that I was probably the only friend she had crazy enough to not only do, but suggest, such a trip. I think she meant it as a compliment.

Track, Whakapapa - Mangatepopo

After dropping off our town clothes and after-tramping food at the club lodge at Iwikau, we nabbed a carpark in the village, threw on rain gear and headed off on the “least maintained track in the National Park” (DoC Visitor Centre Rangers own words). With reasonable weather, we made it across to Mangatepopo Hut in good time. The track was definitely average, with some bits that would be awful in bad weather.

It was cold on the deck of the hut, catching the wind, with little to no sunshine, but it was lovely and warm inside with the gas fire going. We nabbed bunks, had some dinner, and re-packed as much as we could in preparation for Sunday mornings scheduled 3am alarm. After a gorgeous sunset, most of the hut started heading for bed, although the DoC Ranger on duty sat up being rowdy and drinking with a small group of others who had turned up with a significant quantity of beer and vodka.

Needless to say, Marion and I felt no guilt at all when we woke Mickey, who was sleeping on the kitchen floor (having given his room to his mother for the night), as we were heading out at 3:15am.

Sunset, Mangatepopo

The weather was perfect for night walking – clear, cool but not bitingly cold, and with a reasonable moon. We had head torches in our pockets mostly for when we were in and out of our packs changing up layers, relying solely on the moonlight for walking. We could see head torches ahead of us on the staircase, but we never caught up with them.

Near the crest of South Crater we were overtaken for the first time by a daywalker (so, sometime around 5:45am), who soon went back down past us, looking for his girlfriend. We were shocked that he had left her behind in the dark.

The light was starting to rise on us, and with our night-adjusted eyes, South Crater looked bathed in sunlight well before the sun was up. We made it to the edge of the crater just in time for sunrise and settled in with all our warm layers for breakfast at last. It was bitterly cold at this point, probably the hardest time of our morning, and we still hadn’t made it to the top.

Emerald Lakes

More people were starting to come up and through to overtake us at this point, and a group was already on their way back as we paused just before the crest of Red Crater, while a drone illegally flew overhead, ruining the otherwise peaceful morning atmosphere.

We finally started warming up as we headed down Red Crater to Emerald Lakes, and by the time we had taken more stops here, and gotten around the bottom lake to the track to Oturere Hut, the top of Red Crater was covered like an ants nest with people – a sight we regularly looked back onto for the rest of the day. We were thrilled to have beaten the crowds.

Once back off the Alpine Crossing, the track condition deteriorated again, and was a huge climb down before meandering along towards Oturere. Our fatigue started showing here, as everything took longer than expected.

Oturere Hut

It was cold when we arrived at Oturere, not long after most of the previous nights occupants had left. The windows were all open to air it out after a night of a full hut of wet people, and while it was sunny, the cold breeze made it a generally unpleasant place to be.

The first of the people we had left behind at Mangatepopo at 3am started arriving within an hour of us, and soon the weather warmed and I got sunburnt feet from wearing jandals and long johns. The people at Oturere were absolutely lovely, and we had a great night, but the hut itself is WELL too small for the number of bunks it has, with one small laundry rack, a table that can seat 6 at a squeeze and only four cookers to deal with 27 beds and space for 15 more in tents. It also only had one working tap – that hut was ripe for a norovirus outbreak. Thankfully it had a generous deck with several picnic tables and we hit good weather, so most people hung about outside.

Monday morning I woke shortly before sunrise, then missed the best colour of sunrise by being in the bathroom. It was another beautiful one, this time with lots of cloud to colour unlike Sundays clear blue sky. We had a lot of ground to cover (about 24km), so we didn’t dither in bed, but instead started prepping to get up and away towards Waihohonu in good time.

The track between Emerald Lakes and Waihohonu was my least favourite of the entire circuit. I simply found it all hard going and uninspiring. We arrived at Waihohonu fatigued and damp after the days first rain shower came through, and met people who had left before us already departing again after their morning tea break. We stayed for lunch instead.

Stormy Conditions

Waihohonu to Whakapapa is actually pretty good condition track overall. A couple of bits are a bit boggy / old, as if they are still on the upgrade list, but much has been laid with gravel and stairs. In good weather (but not too hot), it would be a rollicking walk with incredible views of Ruapehu, Tama, and Ngauruhoe. Instead, we could barely see anything for the day, which did make it hard to gauge how we were going.

About 1/3 of the way across a sudden storm passed through. The forecast had been for “passing showers, becoming heavy in the late afternoon”, but with 0cm accumulation of rain every 6 hours. We did not expect hail, gale force winds, and torrential rain that had us soaked through on our legs within seconds. Heads down, we kept moving.

The rain didn’t hang around for too long thankfully, and the wind cooled us off. But every time we thought maybe we could put our jackets away, the rain came back. After the second to-the-skin soaking, when the wind turned bitterly cold, we stopped (in the rain) to take off our jackets and add an extra layer – this was hypothermia weather if ever we saw it.

We opted not to go to Tama Lakes, as we were cold and tired and just wanted to get to the end. We rested at the top of Taranaki Falls in some rare warming sunshine before putting our coats back on to keep warm for the last push home across the tops to the village. The moment when we could see the chateau was amazing.

Hot showers at the lodge, cheese and crackers before dinner, an early night and hot pools at Tokaanu the next morning rounded out our adventure.

Hidden Scenery

Milford Track, Great Walk. Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound
Party: Mark, Me
19 – 22 December 2017


Getting to the Milford Track is a feat of organisational skill, even doing so as a domestic visitor. We had to know what dates we wanted so that when bookings opened, we were only trying for specific dates – and then we had to get through the overloaded bookings system, which we barely managed. Add in sorting getting physically TO and from the track, and well, it took a bit of planning!

After leaving Spike in Christchurch with his grandparents and cousins, we jumped on our quick flight to Queenstown, where it was gloriously sunny. Our bus to Te Anau (TrackNet) picked us up at the commuter bus stop immediately outside arrivals about 2 minutes later than scheduled, and dropped us to our accommodation in Te Anau.

The next morning, after checking out and leaving a bag at reception for our return, we hefted our packs and wandered along the lakefront to the DoC visitor centre to pick up our passes for the track. With a couple of hours free time, we then left our packs behind and walked back into town for a last café break before grabbing our bus.

The wind at Te Anau downs was fierce and freezing, so everyone bundled up into their jackets while waiting for the launch to arrive for our pickup. The sun came back out as we cruised up the lake, enjoying the views of the mountains and the Southern Rata, but jackets stayed on as it didn’t really warm up as we hit the start of the track.

The wander in to Clinton hut was largely smooth sailing. We stopped outside Glade Lodge to remove our jackets, and were the last independent walkers from our boat across the famous swing bridge over the Clinton river. It wasn’t long before we started spotting the robins that became synonymous with our trip. The bush was lush and thick, and we got snippets of view as we walked. Arriving at the hut, we found it only 2/3 full, both of us nabbing bottom bunks in one of the two bunkrooms. We settled in to chill out for the afternoon, reading or doing the jigsaw puzzle laid out in the dining room. It was a bit of a late night, given it didn’t get dark till after lights out and we hadn’t walked far – everyone had loads of energy.

The Praire

Day 2 dawned fine and clear. We ambled off about mid group, stopping regularly (at first) to admire the robins we were seeing along the track. It seemed not long before we reached the lunch shelter used by the guided walkers, where we later discovered we should have topped up our water. It was already getting pretty warm, so we enjoyed a break in the shade before heading off, planning to lunch ourselves at Prairie Shelter.

Prairie Shelter was a roof with no sides. It reflected the heat back in, did nothing to deter the sandflies, and would have been a miserable place to stop in bad weather. While it had a toilet, it had no water supply. It also had a local population of weka, which made the break here a bit more entertaining.

Along the way, at one of the side tracks, we had picked up a wallet accidentally dropped out of a pack. We made an effort to stop at the guided walkers lodge at Pomplona to ensure it wasn’t one of theirs from a previous day (we were confident the current days walkers were all somewhere behind us), before discovering just shy of Mintaro hut that the wallet belonged to a member of a party on our own walking day – good thing too, since it had drivers licences and car keys in it!

A half moments personal reflection was had as we crossed the creek bed immediately past the Guided Walkers Pomplona Lodge – likely the place where the young couple got into trouble a couple of winters ago – to contemplate the crossing of that water course in high flows without a bridge. Crossing it when there was no flow was challenging enough.

Eventually, after being slightly broken by the heat of the day and having run out of water, we made it to Mintaro Hut, where we grabbed a couple of mattresses effectively on the floor and chilled out awaiting a time suitable for cooking dinner, opting not to join several other parties in a mission to the top of the hill to see the views before the weather closed in.

The forecast rain arrived at about 4am, and was soon a steady drizzle. Such an incredible change from the heat of the day before. Suddenly there were thousands of waterfalls visible from the deck of the hut, and we were going up into the clouds and through to the other side in it.

The climb up to Mackinnon Pass was actually almost my favourite part of the trip, despite the weather. The track was well graded, the zig zags enabled good altitude gains while not being too steep, and despite the clouds we got glimpses of amazing views. Cresting out at the top we found the memorial and some tarns, with a bitingly cold wind that had us briefly confer about whether we should stop and put on additional clothing (we opted not to). Mt Balloon and the 12 second drop both kept teasingly peeking out of the cloud before vanishing again, and we spotted a very cold looking weka just as we arrived at the shelter.

Walking into the shelter was like walking into a steam room. Everyone was wet through and sweaty, plus people were (sensibly) taking advantage of the provided gas and water to have hot drinks before heading off again. The toilet with a view had no view to speak of, and one of the girls in another party was struggling with hypothermia (which her party had well under control, utilising group members spare gear and refilling a water bladder with warm water).

Down the hill was a long, slow, cumbersome slog. The track was clear, but not well-formed. There were a lot of unbalanced rocks and huge steps. It had some positives though – Roaring Burn Creek was amazing in the rain, and Andersons Cascade is a massively under-advertised part of the day, especially if it’s been raining.

We finally stopped for lunch at Andersons Cascade shelter, most of the way down the hill. We were eaten alive by sandflies while there, so didn’t stay for long, opting to push on towards Quintin Lodge, where there was another shelter (with a flush toilet and a water boiler). We had decided on our way down that we wouldn’t go out the side track to Sutherland Falls as we were both so tired, but after 20 minutes rest at Quintin, were persuaded by others that we should. We made it to the second swing bridge before deciding we were rather done-in and needed to be aiming for our own hut again.

Not our pack, thank goodness!

Dumpling Hut was a sight for sore feet when we finally got there, although we were far from the last in for the evening. The bunkrooms stank from people hanging their sweaty damp clothes on the bunk ends (to avoid kea predation), despite there being drying racks in the living room. Most people retired early for the night, disbelieving the wardens suggestion on walking times, after all taking significantly longer to get down from the pass than suggested by the previous warden.

Mark and I were the last ones out the next morning, departing as the first guided walkers appeared on the deck in search of toilets. I had massive tendonitis lumps on my Achilles, and so was unable to walk in my boots, instead needing to strap my feet and borrow Mark’s Teva sandals.

Giants Gate Falls

The walk out was odd – I was actively trying to keep my feet dry for starters, and had to be concerned about rocks because kicking one accidentally would have been painful. We ran into Akiko again (a guide for the private walkers, who we had jump-frogged with the day before) a couple of times and she was full of good advice for dealing with the walk out in sandals.

The various waterfalls on the last day of the Milford are lovely, and the track was largely under cover of trees, so not too hot. We made reasonable time, but the last mile seemed interminable. Arriving at Sandfly Point shelter about 5 minutes before the recommended 15-minutes-before-departure of our boat was a relief.

The boat trip back over was incredibly bumpy, as the rivers were up and the tide was moving in, along with the afternoon sea breeze. When we loaded, we had all considered that perhaps opening the blinds would be good to let the breeze in. By the time we were half way back, we were super glad we hadn’t as the spray was huge.

Grabbing a seat in the air conditioned wharf building while we waited for our bus home, Mark whipped up to the café to get ice creams, which were absolute bliss. Thankfully there were only about 6 of us on the bus, so we could put our feet up in preparation for limping off at our accommodation in Te Anau.