tramping new zealand

The site I chose seemed slightly convex rather than my presumed dead flat area. I was too tired last night to do anything about it.

With the barbed wire fence and steel gate adjacent, it still seemed like farming country, but that would change.

Sandflies abounded and enjoyed my company for a while.

The grass was lush from the wet spring and recent precipitation, and the hills had a distinct green tinge.

Despite that, the creeks were low, and I hoped there wouldn’t be much impediment in getting to Fidget Bivvy.

The sky was cloudy, but the sun was breaking through.

Some sense prevailed as I realised a day trip up to the bivvy was preferable rather than lumbering over giant rocks with a still-heavy pack. So after yesterday’s long haul to near exhaustion, I settled on a shorter day on the last of the four-wheel-drive track to Stony Flat. I had lunch at the old Fidget Hut site, which once provided accommodation and then headed a kilometre or two upstream.

I wanted to get around the first bend as the valley widened, and it looked like some decent camping spots would be found. So it proved, and while I was initially attracted to some willows, a trek further up the hill revealed an open area with acceptable water. The water in the main stream looked like concrete slurry.

I had been thinking about maybe abandoning Dubious Bivvy as it’s such a long way upstream and pack carrying would be necessary, but if tomorrow went well, I thought I might as well reconsider.

It was a warm afternoon, and the lure of getting horizontal in my tent proved too much. Excellent camping conditions, although I’d prefer pure water.

I spent time while making and eating dinner watching three goats hopping around on the cliffs on the other side of the stream. The two kids didn’t like following mum and sorted out a more challenging route.

I wondered how they could get down from one precarious perch, but they had a method: run at great pace.

That seemed to work.