Coast to Coast - from Freshwater Hut to home (part 2)

After heading downhill for an hour, I heard kaka calling and decided that he was telling me it was time for lunch! I had a beautiful spot - a fallen log to sit on, native orchids smothering a branch above my head and the curious kaka coming closer to check me out.

Kaka in full voice calling me to lunch!

My lunch spot looking down the hill

My lunch spot looking back up the hill

A branch smothered with native orchids

I could have stayed there a lot longer but the GPS told me I still had a way to go. I left around 1pm and walked through stunning bush; it reminded me of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island although with a lot more crown fern (the deer have eaten the more palatable fern layer). It took another hour to get down to the river crossing which marked the start of the 'around the bays' section.

Almost down the hill - no writing on these track markers but great

to know I'm on the right track!

How to get across without wet feet

The river crossing went surprisingly well considering; water is outside my comfort zone but my trusty manuka stick proved invaluable, both for checking the depth and for testing slippery stones. The gods were watching over me and I reached the other side with dry feet and a healthy dose of gratitude! A whitetail deer just around the corner eyed me up and down before heading back in to the bush; then it was into slogging it out around the bays - up, down, slosh through mud; repeat lots and lots of times!!!

Beautiful bush views...

...and glimpses of the water

Pretty streams rushing down to Paterson Inlet

and this glorious waterfall

I was told that this section took about 3 hours but that if the tide was out you could walk across the mudflats and get to North Arm Hut in about an hour. I didn't know what the tides were doing (or exactly where you went) so stuck to the track for over two hours until the markers led me down on to the coastline. I couldn't face going up and over yet again so explored around a couple of bays until I rounded the last corner and saw North Arm Hut. Woohoo!

Paterson Inlet in the setting sun

North Arm Hut beyond the mudflats

Now, this is where I planned on stopping for the night; it's a Great Walks Hut and beds have to be booked in advance. My legs were feeling great and the thought of my own bed, and not having to wear wet and muddy clothes the next day, were very appealing so I filled out my intentions in the hut log book, put my camera away and set out for home. I managed the first 30 minutes without needing a torch and put the hammer down, reaching the road end in 3 hours from the hut and home 15 minutes later at 8.30pm. Huge thanks to the moonlight and being steered along the right track. I had survived the longest tramping day of my life (12hrs 15 mins) and even enjoyed it in the process!

Coast to Coast - from Freshwater Hut to home (part 1)

Freshwater Hut to North Arm Hut (red dot),

then all the way out to the yellow star

(map courtesy of Google)

I couldn't have asked for better weather conditions for my big hike; clear skies, cool temperatures and no wind. After a hearty breakfast and words of wisdom from other trampers, I left the hut at 8.15am and set off, smiling at the inspirational messages on the track markers as I passed each one.

Profile of Coast to Coast, courtesy of DOC brochure

Topo map of Freshwater Hut to North Arm, courtesy of Google

and NZ Topo Maps

It took me about an hour to the start of the really steep bit where I struggled initially until I realised that wearing a raincoat was the reason for overheating. A tramper at the hut suggested taking a manuka stick and that was invaluable, both for balance and for testing the depth of mud! Slowly (very slowly in places, ha ha) and surely I plodded along, taking photos where possible.

I had heard that there's no real view from 'the top' but there were tantalising glimpses towards the top as you progress along a stream bed. I'm sure this would be a raging torrent in wet weather but fortunately there hadn't been much rain for the previous fortnight so a tame burbling brook for my crossing.

Glimpses of sun-soaked ridges

Looking back at the stream-bed section

I hadn't seen a lot of wildlife on the way up but birds come when you're still and calm, not puffing like a steam train and squelching through the mud! I checked my GPS occasionally to ensure I was making progress and it was very satisfying to reach the end of the uphill before midday. What a gorgeous bit of track along the ridge - the sun was streaming through, there was heaps of kiwi sign and fab views over bush clad hills and down into Paterson Inlet.

At the top of Thomson Ridge (about 430m)

Looking ?south

Looking back over Freshwater Valley and the west coast

Walking in kiwi footprints

Sunshine and boardwalk at the top of Thomson Ridge

Looking south-east over Paterson Inlet

Starting the downhill bit

A good place to pause here and continue in my next blog...

Coast to Coast - a confidence booster from @wildboy_adventures

My afternoon stroll near Freshwater Hut was partly to calm my nerves at the next day's undertaking. I had heard several tales of how difficult it was; how one couple spent 16 hours walking between the two huts and that hardened trampers who breezed through the North West Circuit reckoned that they wouldn't do it again. There's only one way to assess it and that's to do it yourself. I am not a tramper - I love wandering in the bush but long hikes to get from A to B aren't really my thing.

I hadn't gone far on my recce when I came across orange track markers that had inspirational messages on. They gave me such a boost to my confidence that I photographed them on the stroll back just in case I needed their energy on the tough sections the following day.

What a brilliant idea and my huge thanks to Brando Yelavich for doing this when he was on the island recently. If you don't know Brando's story, please, please visit his website - read his inspirational story and watch his fab video of  Stewart Island/Rakiura. Let's ditch the politicians with all their hot air and put youngsters like this in their place.

And how about Squawk Squad too? Their recent kickstarter campaign raised $70,000, three and a half times their target, from ordinary people deciding to do something before it's too late.You can wait for the government and DOC to save our birdlife OR you can band together and actually do something about it!

Thank you to those who inspire and lift others up to make their dreams take flight.

Coast to Coast - from Mason Bay Hut to Freshwater Landing

The 15km track from Mason Bay Hut to Freshwater Landing

(map courtesy of Google Maps)

At this time of year it doesn't start getting light until about 7.30am so the first two hours of our tramp were in the dark. The sky was stunningly starlit most of the time; just a few clouds breezing through but luckily no rain. It was cold though and crossing the Chocolate Swamp on iced-over boardwalk was a bit freaky. My new friends, Leanie, Madelane and Ise weren't expecting such a muddy track - they did amazingly well although we were cutting it a tad fine, arriving at Freshwater Landing only five minutes before the water-taxi. Phew! We had taken over 4½ hours (DOC time on signs is 3-4 hours) and whilst I never expect to achieve fast times (I stop frequently to take photos and talk to the birds), I didn't think we were walking that slowly either. Just as well we didn't see kiwi and stop to watch, otherwise Leanie, Madelane and Ise would be spending another night in a DOC hut instead of hot showers and soft beds in Oban.

Yay! We made it - thanks, Leanie, for the photo

I watched the water-taxi leave then climbed over the bridge to Freshwater Hut to have breakfast.

Freshwater Hut and swing bridge

Initially I had planned to climb Rocky Mountain, a 3hr return trip to the top of the hill; I've done it before but it was freezing cold, blowing a gale and visibility was poor. On a clear day the views would be spectacular - right over to Mason Bay on one side and Paterson Inlet on the other.  The frequent showers and low cloud made it a no-brainer to shelve it for another time. Just as well I did as I was treated to a male/female kiwi duet at 10.45am and again at 11.15am. I grabbed my camera and walked 50m up the track...

The track behind Freshwater Hut - wait for it...

What a beautiful female and such a poser!

She walked right past me as I stood on the track and I got the whole close encounter on video. Pure magic!

I spent the next couple of hours cutting firewood. Freshwater Hut is on the cold side of the hill so doesn't get a lot of sun at this time of year. The wood in the woodshed was wet and green and although there's a lot of manuka 'top', there's not a lot of bigger stuff around that keeps the woodburner well-fed. I got enough to keep it burning for a while and also leave enough wood for the next person to use.

Freshwater Hut and rainbow

After lunch I went on a recce along the track I'd be doing the next day; I timed myself up to the first stream crossing and then slow-walked back taking photos so I wasn't tempted to have a slow start in the morning. The track winds around beautiful trees - I couldn't resist taking these shots...

A magnificent rimu with outstretched arms

...or these of the track...

To save battery power I had an early tea and curled up in my sleeping bag shortly after dark. Kiwi calls accompanied my dreams and thoughts of what tomorrow might bring.