We took the half-hour walk up to see the rock formations at the top of the mountain behind the hut before we headed down the trail. Quite interesting rocks up there that reminded us of different types of animals. It had cleared pretty well so we could see over the mountains down to the beach. Lovely view.
We started hiking down shortly after 9AM and reached Port Craig Hut at 4PM. This is just as nice as the last hut with all the same amenities.
There was a lot of mud on the trail today but not as much as I expected. I was just very careful not to slip as I quite often did on the Appalachian Trail. I didn't want to find myself sitting in a big pile of mud (my clothes are dirty enough without mud on them too). I remember one time on the AT I slipped on mud and my feet went out from under me and I landed on my pack laying on my back. I was like a turtle turned over on its shell and I couldn't get up. I had to unbuckle my pack straps and roll over on my kness before I could stand up and then haul my pack onto my back again.
After we settled into our bunk rooms we took the 5 minute walk down to the beach. Shari and Ann Marie went into the water above their knees and were splashed by the big waves. I got some good pictures of them enjoying the waves of the South Pacific Ocean. One of the other couples in the hut said they saw dolphins but we didn't see any.
Julianna just came in at 7:45PM to tell us there is a full moon tonight. I went out on the boardwalk and took a couple of pictures of the moon over the ocean. It is beautiful but I know it will look like only a little spot of light in the pictures. I love the full moon and it is such a treat to see it in such a lovely setting.
3/18: Up early and on the trail at 7:45AM. Nice hike out but nothing too noteworthy except the beach sections were beautiful. Finished the 17 km at 1:30PM. Drove back to Te Anau Backpackers hostel (where we have stayed before) and did our normal town stuff (showers, laundry, internet and grocery shopping).
Ann Marie had dropped off her film for one hour developing so we got to look at pictures over dinner tonight. I had a nice time hiking with her for the first half of the trail today. She is a physician's assistant and told some interesting stories of her training and work experiences.
We had a nice dinner at the hostel tonight and we are in a great bunk room with its own kitchen area and bathroom. After dinner Shari went uptown to use the internet because the server at the hostel was down. I walked up to meet her about 9:45PM and it was a beautiful evening with the full moon. My last walk up to the center at Te Anau. We take the 9:45AM bus to the start of the Routeburn tomorrow and then will take the bus to Queenstown when we finish the hike.
I will miss Te Anau. It is a lovely town and I feel like this hostel is home after staying a total of 5 nights here. I sure hope we find other places as good as this one during our year of travel.
3/19: Up early even though our bus wasn't going to leave until 9:45AM. Had a nice breakfast at the hostel and then finished organizing my pack and the stuff I was going to leave behind in Ann Marie's and Julianna's rental car. Got to the start of the trail about 11AM and had a nice pleasant hike today. Relatively easy uphills and lovely views, blue sky, low humidity and moderate temperture.
About an hour into the hike we took a little half hour side trip up to Key Summit. Beautiful views! A little farther along we came to Earland Falls (80 km high) and took lots of pictures because there was an exceptionally colorful rainbow near the base of the falls.
Hiked 12 km today and got to MacKenzie Lake at 5PM. Shari and I set up our tents and Ann Marie and Julianna got bunks in the hut. The camping area is very nice and I have set up my tent facing the mountains. I haven't used my tent since Chuck and I hiked in the White Mountains last September.
Shari and I can't use the hut facilities so Ann Marie and Julianna cooked their dinners in the hut and brough them over to the camping area to eat with us. I cooked my dinner on my little Esbit stove which is just a small metal platform on which you burn a small white fuel tablet that looks like a sugar cube. It's fun to be camping again.
3/20: I left my rain fly open last night so I could see out the screen door of the tent. Each time I woke up during the night I could see the snow covered mountians and the stars. It was very light because of the moon and the moon was right in front of my tent by about 4AM. Quite lovely except I was sort of cold sleeping last night. I should have put on my long pants and another shirt when I woke up at 4AM but I waited until 6AM so I was uncomfortable for the last few hours of sleep.
Started hiking at 8:30 and today was more uphill than yesterday but beautiful views. Stopped for lunch right on the trail at 11:30 then went on to Harris Saddles shelter where we left our packs as we would do the the side climb to Conical Hill. What a climb it was - about 900 feet in a distance less than a mile, but the views from the top were terrific. I'm just glad I wasn't carrying my pack. It took about 1 1/3 hours round trip.
I got to Routeburn Flats about 4:40 and Shari and I are tenting again tonight, so I got us a campsite. Unfortunately, the camping area is a few hundred meters past the hut and we have to be back up and packed very early. We set our watches to get up at 5:40AM so we can be hiking by 6:30. We need to be at the Routeburn Shelter bus parking spot at 10AM. It's only 6.5 km out to the bus, so we should have more than enough time to be there for the 10AM bus.
It's 6:30PM and I'm sitting in my chair beside my tent right now, looking across to some snow capped mountains. I'm drinking some hot chocolate and it's sort of chilly, and the bugs are still out. I'm about to cook dinner - packaged chicken - and I'll probably be in my sleeping bag by 7PM. Oh, the exciting life of a camper!
