tramping new zealand

It rained much of the night, and in the morning, some of the gear inside my tent, at a minimum, could be classified as damp. Tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, clothes, etc.

I hoped that maybe the weather would clear up, and it did, mostly.

The heavy drizzle only started late in the day around the Gunner River.

Overall, the walking was fantastic, and I ended up stating once again that it was the best day on the track, which I’d said every day.

After four days, we had been extracted from our city lives and were fully into the swing of marching through the landscape. I concentrated on noticing where I was, the extraordinary changing landscape, the misty moors, and my beating heart.

For the moment, civilisation was a trivial concern. The future was the afternoon, not beyond.

I was in the groove.

I loved the long, slow winding around, getting down to the Lewis Shelter and the two new suspension bridges.

The highlight for me was the next section down on the flat Heaphy River valley with the massive ancient rata trees, dripping with epiphytes. We ventured back on the old track now that the two suspension bridges have a new route, so we could stand and admire the trees, with a generous sprinkling of nikau palms around.

I raced ahead with the rain coming down, but it stopped as I made it to the hut and camping area. I even managed to dry out the tent’s inner section before it rained again shortly after managing to put the wet tent fly on.

It was fine enough to go down to Heaphy Beach for a non-existent Internet connection and an intense dose of sandfly.

The heavy rain arrived for a short while, but I migrated into the adjacent shelter with three other campers to eat dinner. It was enough of a deluge to discourage the legendary Heaphy sandflies from making my acquaintance.

Some surprise when D and Z came for a visit with a most delicious tropical pudding that went down well with no sharing required. Yum!

An early start was required in the morning for us to make our pickup time, but we should be good. Maybe the weather was finally clearing for the coastal stretch.

For once, I was thinking about how good it would be to have dry accommodation the following night. Damp bedding and clothing eventually lose their appeal after a few nights.