tramping new zealand

The tent and my leg have passed the initial test.

My sleeping mat? Not so good.

I woke in the middle of the night and reinflated it as best I could while groggy and lying on it. Despite that, I slept well. I was quite physically exhausted.

It was overcast in the morning, which meant the sandflies were out in force. I’ve forgotten about them. I applied some Bushman to the back of my hands and neck that kept them at bay, in conjunction with a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

That’s how I’m travelling these days.

The guys had taken the direct route towards Bob’s Camp Hut, but I had spotted the old four-wheel-drive track on another ridge and thought that would be the better option for my leg. It was called the Whare Route and was almost twice as far, but it was more gradual, which would be better for my tendon.

I had all day, so I wasn’t in any great hurry. Then, I thought, it’s only 500 m which is steep. The gentle slope is a better option.

As it turned out, I went straight up, and so did that for a while, until I made it to Cattle Ridge. Then it was up and down for the morning, with me taking frequent breaks to correspond with others due to an Internet connection.

I guess my body was silently complaining.

The drizzle lifted, the sun came out, making the raincoat redundant, except for what it was carrying in the pockets, due to my lack of a day pack.

Eventually, I dropped down to Bob‘s Camp Bivvy. It was very similar to the nearby Upper Salmon Creek Bivvy, including looking like it had been flown in by helicopter. I lay on the bunk and could’ve slept for an hour, except the day was getting on.

I probably enjoyed the second part of the circuit more. The first section was a steady slope through mountain beech forest with a brief uphill to get to the highest point for the afternoon.

The four-wheel-drive track event eventuated in the last kilometre, but generally it was okay underfoot.

Back to my tent. Dinner, then horizontal once more.

Life is simple.