Day 13 to Mavora Lakes from Te Anau

I enjoyed a long brunch and a couple of phone calls to connect me with home before heading out to the wrong highway to hitch to Mavora Lakes.

⁹Luckily the first car to came along stopped and asked if I was a TA walker. “Yes”  I said   feeling pleased that we were being recognized by the locals. He replied “You are on the wrong highway. This goes to Manapouri”.

Hopeless I am. I didn’t think there could be two ways out of such a small town.  Anyway off I went and found the correct turn to take.

Fourth car along picks me up.  A French woman who has been in NZ for four years and was happy to take me the 30km to the Lake turn-off. I had decided to skip the part if the trail that goes through to Kiwi Burn hut as the 2 days track is apparently very neglected. I walked half of it last time and hitched the rest.

The rest of this section us the Mavora Walkway which joins up with the Greenstone-Caples tracks ending on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. We then need to get a ride to Queenstown where we start walking again. I think there could be another option of kayaking the Lake instead.

We chatted away until we arrived at the turn off snd then she said she was enjoying my company so was happy to take me the extra 35km along the gravel road towards the camp ground. I didn’t say no as was was a very hot day and I didn’t expect much traffic along there.

She dropped me about 5km from the campground as the gravel was getting a bit much for her low car. I was very grateful. I chatted with a couple who had been swimming in the Southern Mavora Lake. They had been biking in the area, he had  mountain bike and hers was an e-bike. They were an adventurous retired  couple having done quite a number of the bike trails around NZ.

So off I walked along the picturesque lakeside watching people fish and families picnicking, kayaking and swimming. This area is very a popular destination for fishing, camping, trail and mountain bike riding and 4 Wheel Driving.

Soon I was picked up again by a Gregor who was off on a tramping mission to explore some peaks around the lake. He parked at the main campground and took off to Carey’s Hut, 2 hours around the main lake.

I checked out the campground which was alive with families and sandflies. Being as it was only 3pm I decided to go onto Carey’s Hut as well along a rutted 4WD track in the blazing sun.

SOBO section walker, Matt, was at Carey’s Hut as well as Gregor, and a bit later Aieko, a Japanese woman ÑOBO arrived and we chatted enjoying the nice spacious Hut that even had Christmas Decorations.