Author: Karen Griffiths

We were all up at sparrow fart (I really did hear them) and I was off on a mission to Princhester Hut remembering my previous time on this part of the trail

In 2020 there had been 2 days of rain  and was still raining that day I tramped through here so the marshy parts of the day were nearly knee deep in water. I could hardly see the markers ahead through my wet glasses so it was a hard day physically but I was on a high and really enjoyed it.

This time the day started with  fog but there has been a long dry spell so the marshy parts were much easier than I remembered. As the sun came out I could easily see the markers ahead and only had to double check my route a couple of times.

I was in the bush then out in the marshes all day really enjoying myself. The track through the high grass was fairly well trodden so usually easy to follow.  I am beginning to get comfortable with my journey.

I tried having 2 smaller lunches so stopped at about 11am under some sheer cliffs in the sun for my first wrap. Shortly after that I came across a couple of woman who were section hiking and stood and chatted with them for quite some time.  I also met a man doing a bit of a circuit in the area. I do like to know that I am not completely alone out there.

The last 3 hours involved a big climb up a hill through really rugged bush. I was holding onto tree roots and sidlings along some quite dodgy bits of track. Then going down the other side for 2.5km was hard going. Climbing down a steep broken, rocky and muddy is not really much fun and quite risky. But I made it through and was feeling good until I had to push my way through about 30 minutes of really scratchy ferns.

My poor legs were getting a battering and I wished I had gaiters with me. Why can’t all ferns be nice and soft?  This is another section that may benefit from any lotto win I might have. (Not that I take ticket)

But 9 hours later I was at Princhester Hut that was already taken over by a huge family of sandflies. I grabbed the hut bucket and ran down to the nearby creek to fill it for a wash.  I jumped up and down in the cool water to give my shoes and socks and legs a wash then headed back into the hut for a sponge bath. Having the hut to myself allows me thus luxury.

No matter how hard the day is I always feel better when I have washed my face and put on a (semi) clean set of clothes.

Fully clothed and with bug spray on I sat outside with a cup of soup and the last of my crushed chippies in a spot with reception and caught up with the world again. I downloaded a couple of podcasts to listen to on my 6km road walk in the morning.

I called my son, Dean, and caught up with his South Island holiday before climbing onto my bunk feeling very happy with my day.

Soon the door opens and Chloe from Dunedin arrives. She is going South so has nearly finished her South Island Te Araroa.  She had hitched out from Te Anau and walked the 6km to the hut with a fresh Subway for her dinner.  It smelt very good and reminded me that I hadn’t had my dinner yet.

She was a very confident young woman, well into the groove of a long hike.  We chatted about our experiences on the trail and her time working with Sledge dogs in USA. Like Te Araroa walkers sledge dogs also don’t care if you haven’t showed for over a week.

Because of the rain overnight I prepared my packing for a higher than normal river crossing. I made sure everything was stowed inside the pack and I attached my PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) to my bra.

I have heard that swift river water  can pull clothes from people but I reckoned my bra would stay put because my boobies are quite heavy at the moment.  Therefore  if I got swept away  and list all my clothes I would be able to let off my beacon and wave to the Rescue Helicopter clad only in my bra. That would not be a pretty sight but would get their attention for sure.

All my preparations were a waste of time because the river was only ankle deep and a few metres across! Anyway it was good practice.

It was a hot and humid day so the seat poured from me by the litres. It reminded me of trekking in Bornea. I was soaked through most of the day.

Only 12.5 km with one big climb so a short 6 hour day. I even stopped often and took photos of plants and did some wee videos . I was happy to be having an easy day.

I had a really good day and eas pleased to have 2 short days. Last time I was here I did these 2 days in one but I had about 2,850km under my much smaller belt. I need to be kind to my body.

At the hut I stripped off out in the sun and had a bowl wash while wacking away the sandlfies.  About half an hour later 2 kiwi blokes arrived. Dennis was from New Plymouth and we know quite a few people in common.  Barry was from Hamilton and they had been walking together for about 500km.  Both were about my age and had that lean strong look that SOBOs had at this stage.

A French lady arrived a couple of hours later and set about needing dough for her bread. It did smell very nice. Barry had dehydrated all his food and sent it head for collection as he made his way down the country.  He shared some dried tomatoes which were yummy. I had a Curried Beef Backcountry dinner and some chippies.

Last time I was at this hut the mice were so bold that they climbed up onto the table as I ate and raided my pack during the night eating the best bits from my muesli. This year I have heard no reports of mice which supports the theory that they were at plague levels in 2019-20 because if the mast year.

I found my entry in the Hut Intentions Book from my SOBO as well as an entry about the mice.

That night the snoring and farting was record breaking, and it wasn’t me.

I was soon in bed trying very hard to convince myself that I was enjoying the Te Araroa. I just needed to get fitter and stronger and faster and thinner to make the days easier and more enjoyable. Also I needed to learn how to take the correct route.

About 10pm the wind came up and blew a gale all night. I had to go out to replace a peg at one stage but my tent held up well even if I got hardly any sleep.  The boys had both had collapsed tents and bent poles.

I left camp about 9 am as the wind had died down. Today I was determined that the day would be better and I would double check at every turn I made and in between. I would be going over a high exposed ridge for a couple of hours and would not have wanted to be up there in that wind. Unlike my recent Wellngton wind experience this kind of terrain would not be so forgiving

Uphill for about 2.5 hours part of it through some really dense prickly bushes. I swore that I would pay for someone to cut this back if I won  a big lotto. I was sporting some good  scratches when I finally got through and onto the tops.  There I could see that the boys were still in their tents.

I climbed up and up with about 6 false summits but beautuful views back to the coast and where I had started 9 as ago.

By the end of today I would have walked 185km.

This was to be a short and easy day. My friend, Kate Mckay, would not agree though. I even had time to take photos of plants for the Lockwood ladies to look at.

The rest of  the 4.5 hours was spent going downhill through very messy bush with a few muddy patches.  I do wish they would sweep up all the little branches that fall down.

Cam passed me just before I reached the hut but he was going to go onto the next hut, as was Okan.

I had planned to have a restful afternoon catching up on some sleep and resting my body. Nice little hut but a few mosquitoes and sandflies to deal with first.

The long drop toilet without a seat must be the worst on the Araroa. It wa so bad that I couldn’t even take a photo of it. They do provide a shovel in case trampers would rather dig a hole in the bush.

I hadn’t stayed here last time as I was faster and fitter and stronger and thinner by the time I reached here having walked 2,800km.

I had the hut to myself which meant I could spread out my gear and sleep in peace.

It rained from about 7pm until about 1am so I had a sleep in ease there was a river to cross about 100 metres from the hut. I wanted to give it time to go down to a safe level to cross.

Another day done.

Worse days tramping in my life. I don’t even want to write about it!

Mount Linton Station is the biggest privately owned farm in New Zealsnd and renowned for its genetic breeding. But the iwner very reluctantly allowed ys access across hus property. I think he has made the trail as hard and arduous as he could and is out to piss me off.

He takes us through headhigh thistles, up hills following a fenceline just to have us climb a style then go down the other side of the fence. Grrr. It is not well marked and the  TA App and Guthook App and the Topo maps can all give different paths. 

Each time I came to a decision point I got it wrong. I was sure I walked an extra 10km at least in searing heat with no shade at all. I was a very grumpy woman.

There is one campsite that we are allowed to use and there has been reports of the owner flying over in his helicopter shooting at walkers in the wrong place. By 6pm I was ready for him. I would just put my arms in the air and call out “Shoot me”

It took me 11.5 hours from  7.30am to 6.55 pm. I had decided that if i was not at the camp   by 7pm I was going to pack the whole thing in  luckily I arrived at 6.55pm so I will continue.  Boys there since 5.30 ish and had had as much trouble as me but they just walk faster. There was one SOBO girl who probably wondered what her tomorrow would bring and if she would end her day ranting and raving like me.

28km day. I needed a hitch out to the start of the Island Bush Track but this took me over half an hour. I usually don’t wait long for a ride as a grey haired old lady seems to make nice family people want to get me off the road.

Otautau is only a small town an mostly tradies vehicles and Fonterra milk tankes passed by me. Neither woukd be allowed to pick up hitchhikers. But eventually I was picked up by a man who was escaping Hamilton and Covid-19 lockdowns effects by doing a road trip around the South Island.

The track was a bit hard to find as it is just a wee sign marked with a small rock tarn in the side of the highway which would only really be seen by a walker. My driver was happy to go back and forth until I spotted it.

I was on track at by 9.30am. I remembered this track from my SOBO as a good day.

I walked across farmland, then cut into some nice native beech bush. The track was a bit hard to find at places but I plodded on getting scratched and bashed around a bit. But I remembered having a similar experience last time ao i wasn’t worried.

Soon I was out on a forestry tracks. As it was another hot day and I had 3.5 litres of water on board. That adds 3.5 kg to my pack that weghs about 9kg with food on board. Therefore it does feel heavy and that encourages me to drink.

I can get some speed up on these tracks which went through areas where the trees had been felled and ones where they were still majestically standing waiting for their final day.

Then I had a hot 5km road walk passing though nice farmland giving me sheep and steers to talk to. Did you know that young cows are called steers because they steer at you? They run up to the fence and just stand and steer as if they had never seen such a thing before.

The Woodlaw Track was next. Te Araroa is mainly made up of some existing tracks and others made especially for us. They are usually connected by road walks. We are very grateful to the farmers and forestry owners who have allowed us to enjoy their properties.

The last part of the day was through Birchwood Station, a huge sheep and beef farm. I remembered that there was a huge climb on my SOBO so was pleased to be going North this time. I did stuff up and take a wrong farm track that meant I ended up with a big hill covered with thistles to climb back up to find the correct downhill. However I was enjoying my day. My feet were good and I have had no legs muscle pain at all.

About 5km from the end young Cam came along behind me and we finished the day together. From England, he arrived a couple of weeks before Covid-19 hit. He enjoyed his lockdown at a backpackers hostel in Queenstown which is where he met his girlfriend.

I enjoyed having some company even if he did get the directions wrong to the hut were were to stay at.

We tried to shortcut our way back and ended up in a paddock with more steers steering at us and a very slimey creek that we didn’t want to rusk crossing.

We were happy and weary arriving about 5.30pm. Okan had had a rest day there and had already gone on the shuttle to the Takitumu Tavern. The sign said they only do one pick up an evening but I rang and convinced them to drive out the 13km to pick the 2 of us up. There were 2 SOBO woman there who were not keen on joining us. So we had quick, much needed showers and we were soon at the pub for pizza and a couple of beers with Cam and Okan.

Home and in bed by 9.30. Beds not good sore back and bad sleep. 

The next day is across Mt Linton Station. One of the SOBOS had taken 9 and was not happy at all about the signage. I remembered feeling the same on my SOBO. It was one of the worst days on TA . So I went to sleep promising myself that I would start early and be very careful.

I think we had a rat free night as our packs and sleeping bags had not been invaded. I was a “hear no evil, see no evil” person wrapped up tightly in my sleeping sheet with mask and earplugs in situ so wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

I was first away in the morning through dense, mossy bush in a slight drizzle that lasted until lunchtime.  The notes said a 10 hour day but I planned on 11 so as not to push my body too hard.

There was a lot of muddy sections; some that had me nearly knee deep and wondering if I would get out without a tow. It was hard going and I was doubting my sanity at doing this again.

No photos for this day as my phone was dying..nearly at the hospice stage. Using it for Navigation was more important. I knew it had issues before I left home but noe it was getting pretty drastic so I hatched a plan to hitch back to Invercargill to get a new one. Funny what has taken me 5 days to walk takes 35 minutes in a car in a raod rather than a muddy bushy track .

Out of the bush and up into the clouds I went, barely  making out marker poles in the distance.  At one stage I realized I was off track and turned back to the last pole and thankfully  came across Okan. We stuck together on and off so I used his young eyes and followed his bright blue pack cover for most of the day through dense bush then a forestry track followed by 7km gravel  country road. About 28km all up. The sun came out and warmed my body and spirit after a lunch break in an old limestone quarry.

There is a hut at the end of this section that was built for us by a local farmer. They probably got sick of Te Araroa walkers camping on their property and pooping behind their bushes.  This is where I found Okan and Jimmy and Isaac 11 hours after I started the day.

But I went out to the road and hitched a ride with a hunter into Otautau where I stayed for the night at the hotel. I washed my mud caked shoes, socks and legs before entering as the sign dictated.  I needed to do quite  lot of scrubbing to cleanse myself in the shower and was pleased to see my blisters had all healed.  White towels are not a good idea for Te Araroa walkers!!

So Thursday I hitched a ride into Invercargill with a man and his 4 kids under 5 on the way to daycare. One was not too happy about having a strange woman in his car.

The Dad was very adept at ignoring the kids’ efforts at reducing the boredom of the trip. His wife is a vet who works at the local freezing works from 5am to 2pm. So Dad has the 4 kids up at 6am and is out the driveway at 7.15am. A well oiled machine that I reckon is also a noisy one.

A small fortune and three hours with a very patient man in the Vodafone, and I had a new phone that did everything that my old one did but better.

I popped into an Opportunity Shop to buy a cup and scrounge a piece of cardboard to make a hitching sign. The old ducks were so impressed with my plans that they gave me both for free.

I had a ride quickly with a farming Mum of 5 kids. Gosh they breed well down here in Southland.

I was off before 6.30am as I was going to be taking the day at an easy pace. I had to make sure I didn’t get lost again in the Longwood.

The track was now fully marked and I didn’t get lost at all. All day I walked for an hour then sat and rested for 10 minutes so as to pace myself and be kind to my body. At one rest stop I heard something crashing through the bush towards me. It was a female deer and I thought I best just sit still. She got a real fright when she saw me and changed directon really quickly. Maybe it was the sweat running down my face that scared her.

The bush was lovely after the 5.5km road walk to start the day. I am definitely not a beach girl as I really do prefer to be in the bush with all it’s green beauty.

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Okan caught up with me at lunchtime at Turnbull hut and then we carried on together for another couple of hours to Martin’s Hut.

Now Martin’s Hut must be the worst on the whole Te Araroa and last time I opted to sleep in my tent a distance from it. But with Okan for company I decided to brave the 🏠. Built in about 1906 it us pretty rough. We were joined a couple of hours later by Jess and Raefael who are filming their Te Araroa. Hence much longer days.

I didn’t sleep well as I had some aches and pains (getting old) . I didn’t want to get up and get pills as our packs were all securely hung up out if the way of rodents. Last time I was here there had been a rat infestation in this hut. But we saw and heard no sign of them. Earplugs and a sleeping mask also help.

I had a fairly good first night back in my little tent at the Riverton Camping Grounds. I did toss and turn a bit and kept putting stuff in the wrong place but that should all come back and become habit again for me.

I had some blisters than need dealing and I needed to buy some sunscreen to so I was up and into town (1.5km) at 9 am to catch the chemist when it opened. However the sign on the door said it wasn’t opening which contradicted what was on the website. Bugger, that meant I just had to buy some Elastoplast from the supermarket rather than Compeed for my blisters.

So I had a coffee and though about my day ahead sitting on a sundowner outside the cafe. It was a perfect seat for a weary walker except I must have looked like an invalid getting up from it.

Vaughan and Eliza arrived to say they were having a rest day to let their feet heal a bit before continuing.

There was a 12.5km Beach walk on today which I did last time. It was awful, and extremely sloping beach with lose stones all day. On my SOBO we had walked this section by morning tea time and were going to carry on and do another 38km walk to Invercargill. I lost the plot and hitched a ride with a courier driver.

So my memories of the beach walk to come were not good at all and my feet weren’t the best so I decided I would hitch.

I had only walked about 50 metres when a car pulled over and a lady jumped out saying “Karen, Karen I recognize you and your pack. I am so pleased to finally meet you “

Now that is Trail Magic! This lady is about my age and had followed my blog all the way through my SOBO Te Araroa. This inspired her to walk the South Island part last season.

She had read my last couple of posts and knew I was in the area but didn’t expect to see me on the main road. They were heading out to the beach about halfway along for a walk and thought they may see me there.

So I had a ride and a good chat to the beach entrance and ended up walking the last 5km along the beach. I saw Jim and Isaac, a couple of Kiwi lads ahead of me and they were walking up at the edge of the sandhills on a nice easy flat track. Gosh I wish we had known about that last time.

So I arrived very happy af Colac Bay by foot this time. Last time I arrived by helicopter after getting lost in the Longwood Forest. A much less dramatic entrance this time and no free bottle of beer either.

The pub and camping grounds were full up as this was New Years public holiday and we had had 3 unusually hot days in a row. They ran out of good at the pub and water at the camping ground. Luckily I had already filled my water bottles and had some extra dinners available on my bag.

I met Okan a young kiwi plumber whi had walked on the stones all the way. He was gutted to hear of the nice track up higher. There was another couple who would be on trail tommow. So I wouldn’t be out there on my own.