tramping new zealand

After the lack of sleep on New Year’s Eve, the next night was the opposite. Rather than share with the family and the other bloke, I’d set up my tent to give some autonomy about my sleeping, and it was great to stretch out early.

In the morning, there was no great hurry as the DOC time to Deep Creek was three hours, and it wouldn’t matter if it took twice that.

It didn’t.

There’s something about being up in the tussock areas with the natural stone sculptures all around, with blue skies above and not too much wind. Even some Internet reception.

Much walking was on a four-wheel-drive track that had been little used since the Pisa Conservation Area was established. Sheep have been removed from the high country here following the tenure review, but the vegetation has undergone significant modification with 100 years of sheep grazing and burnoffs, with Hieracium taking over in some areas.

The jarring moments were realising I was near the flight path to Queenstown Airport, and jets intermittently whistled by.

The last third of the day’s effort was through tussock, and the route was not quite as easy to follow. I was surprised to see a working water race in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, the area was mined in the 1930s or earlier.

There is evidence of a significant amount of rock being moved around across the river from Meg Hut, as well as at various points along the way.

Somehow, in the last half hour, I realised I’d lost my glasses. I’d swapped to sunglasses, and my standard long-distance glasses were gone.

At that stage, I felt there was no point in turning around and looking for them. It would be better to get to the hut, leave my pack, and go back to where I had lunch. There was plenty of light at this time of the year, when you could still wander around outside easily enough at 10 pm.

At the hut, I pulled everything out of my pack, and fortunately, there they were, in their case. I’d put them away in a non-standard stash, so that saved a lot of additional effort and calmed my racing heart.

I liked Meg Hut, which is in better condition than Deep Creek Hut, where one of the features is the floor at a 3° angle.

At least I had it to myself, not with five others like the previous night, and that’s a bonus.

I hoped the weather would hold up the next day, as much would be spent at elevations around 1900 m. Plus, it would be great to get a view of Cromwell and Lake Dunstan.