It rained a little over night and we didn’t do our planned short walk before brekky. Did a stint in the hot pool after instead.
We were on the road by 10 am. Destination: the airport.
Did a couple of stops along the way for photos. Beautiful day! [forecast was for overcast …]. Wonderful scenery with valleys, mountains. Lots of braided rivers.
Now at airport - waiting to depart …
We did another walk around Nelson in the early morning (not too early!!) a different way from yesterday out towards the bay. Very pleasant. The weather is changing.
Had a great coffee and bought some croissants for lunch to have with our leftover jam and peanut butter :)
Back to the motel for brekky of our leftover muesli plus banana and yoghurt from supermarket bought on the way back from the bakery. Yum.
Stretches - then on our way back-tracking towards the west coast where we came from yesterday … to Maruia Springs. Forecast: rain.
Pretty drive - steep and winding in parts.
Quick stop at Kawatiri where there is an historic railway walk. And lunch at Murchison (again) and MF bought one of those nice pies (again). I had my croissant.
Beautiful drive: photo stop at Maruia Falls and then on through the Lewis Pass with mist coming down the hills: quite other-worldly. It didn’t rain (don’t take any notice of the forecasts …).
On check-in at Maruia Springs, we arrived at our cute little ‘pod’ for the night.
Then straight to the hot pools - with liberal doses of sandfly repellent splashed on.
We elected to book in for a complimentary yoga session at 5:15 pm (particularly as MF has a stiff back atm and was saying after the yoga we did on the Heaphy Track that perhaps he should sign up for some …).
It was quite good - an hour! Then off to dinner.
Tried to check-in on stupid Jetstar app and website - useless. Hope no issues tomorrow.
Early to bed.
Stopped at Waimangaroa for coffee - quaint, tiny west coast town with quaint cafe. Good coffee.
The drive passed through the Buller Gorge to Murchison for a lunch stop - the most amazing pies.
We say goodbye to everyone at Nelson at our car rental place.
Nelson is the oldest city in the South Island of NZ (founded in 1841), located on the Tasman Bay at the top northern end. It is the geographical centre of the country and a launching place for outdoor pursuits such as trekking and mountain-biking and NPs such as Nelson Lakes (where we visited Malc and Bron at Lake Roititi a week or so ago), the Abel Tasman and Kahurangi (Heaphy Track).
On checking in to our motel, we have a leisurely hour catching-up on the blog, etc. then amble into town along a walkway that follows the Maitai River flowing through the centre of the city to the Queens Gardens, through some of the shopping precinct (shops closed of course being late Sunday afternoon by now) to the Cathedral and then back to our motel briefly before heading out for dinner.
Great meal - and we celebrated (patted ourselves on the back) on the completion of the two walks! Amazing.
Last day of the walk!
The walk to Kohaihai turns south along the coast partly through forest, across rivers and with views out to the sea.
The mornings of course are starting darker as the days shorten - and it is cool.
We walk through forest of nikau palms, rātā and karaka along the coast with lovely views out to the adjacent beach and towards the distinctive conical Kohaihai Bluff.
We climb up and over several saddles (290 m of climbing today) and pass Scott’s Beach from where it then climbs through forest over the Kohaihai Saddle before descending to cross the Kohaihai River over our last swing bridge.
Morning tea at Katipo Creek Campsite.
We enjoy a yummy lunch by the beach at the end of the walk with some yummy extras thoughtfully provided by Jenni who was walking through from west to east with another group and did an exchange of the goodies and car keys with Mim and Dani.
A 15 minute drive to Karamea mid-afternoon allowed us enough time to do a big load of our smelly washing and get it out to dry in the sun.
A drink at the pub then dinner. Great day; sad to be over.
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Well we certainly have been off-grid. Huts with gas only for cooking, bunks, no showers, no lights (so off to bed when the sun goes down), long-drop toilets - and no wine (until tonight!).
Tonight we have a motel so we have our first hot shower since Monday - yay!
It has been a revelation to me to realise on this trip how soft we have become.
A few years back, we would have walked to Lewis Hut (12.5 kms from Mackay) but it was closed in 2018 (I think) due to flooding concerns (it was being undermined by water) so we have to walk a further 8 kms to Heaphy Hut at the mouth of the river.
The track starts descending towards the sea and true West Coast rainforest.
Despite the overnight rain and the mist that greeted us on awakening, a little bit of blue sky appeared and the walk ended up being quite delightful - I had thought during the night we might be walking through a downpour!
Such a pretty walk. A little chilly to start but I quickly warmed up. Lots of cheeky robins along the way.
The first nikau palms appeared just before the new Lewis Shelter (12.5 kms) which is situated more safely away from the river; we had lunch here.
This is the start of sandfly territory! Sandflies or ‘nociems’ Malcolm called them when we were at Lake Roititi: no-see-ems!! :)
Very exciting to see tantalising glimpses of the river broadening out as we descended.
From the shelter, we cross the Lewis River on a very long suspension bridge and straight after, another long bridge - this one over the Heaphy River. Very heavy rain can flood some parts of this section of the track but despite that we had rain last night, there is no risk of that at the moment as it is quite dry.
The forest comprises kahikatea, rimu and rātā.
We cross yet another swing bridge over the Gunner River and limestone and karst bluffs appear: quite magical. The Cave Stream runs alongside and joins the main Heaphy River shortly before reaching Heaphy Hut. Our guides:
Nikau palms become more prominent and the river becomes tidal with some small waves running up-stream. T-shirt weather for sure now!
Walked in at about 1:50 pm with views of the river emptying into the sea ahead. [After scoring a lower bunk for myself and one for MF, I then had to walk back 2 kms as I had dropped my drink bottle, so adding 4 kms to my total - argh!].
We spent the rest of the day lounging around until dinner with a session of yoga and a walk to the beach to watch the sunset. Another yummy dinner (much to the envy - yet again - of the other trampers)!
Last hut for us: last night on the Heaphy.
Managed some sleep despite the snorers (!) until I got cold and had to put on another layer.
The pretty dawn light didn’t last long as the mist floated about the mountain tops.
Another good breakfast - amazing what can be concocted out of supplies carried by our guides.
Misty rain came in as we set off. It was pretty walking through grassy flats beside the Saxon River then a climb through beech forest, then onto the open, shrubby Mackay Downs across a few bridges over streams with the water tannin in colour and very vibrant colours with leaves turning to autumn colours.
I walked 2 hours and stopped for an apple and a rest just as the sun came out a bit: I walked in and out of groups today which the guides were very happy with - quite a casual outlook to guiding here; kinda nice really as you can make your own pace.
Walking alone at this stage … I passed over lots of duck boards to protect the waterlogged sections and past a large granite outcrop.
In by lunchtime. MF got the fire going.
Got a view down the Heaphy Valley to the mouth of the river at the Tasman Sea just as the mist and then rain settled in. We have been fortunate to walk in such good conditions. Forecast had been for sun (don’t believe the forecasts!).
The hut is named after James Mackay, a Scottish explorer and public servant in the Golden Bay and West Coast area in the 1800s and is pretty new. We’ve even got flush toilets - AND don’t have to walk outside!
We did a group yoga session led by Dani then played a couple of rounds of a game called Salad Bowl before bed - it was such a hoot. Lots of laughs!
Beautiful morning - sun streaming in through the windows.
First up: the climb to the top of Mt Perry (from 885 m to 1238 m). Only a few of us took this on (silly me)! There was a lovely section with the most amazing variety of alpine plants as we climbed out of the plains below. Very technical climb. Panoramic views at the top including of the snow on the distant mountain ranges. We were very slow coming down - it was incredibly tricky and I did a few uncontrolled slides and glides.
After the descent, it was a straightforward route back on the main track through tussock areas alongside the Perry Creek and via lovely beech forest and waterfalls into red tussock downs stretching westwards. Quintinia Waterfall:
We had morning tea sitting in the sun at Picnic Table Corner; passed the famous Boot Pole which marks the change in direction of the track and where trampers have tied old boots over the years; then lunch with a pesky weka at Gouland Downs Hut (7 kms, if you don’t include our detour to Mt Perry). This hut was built in 1936 and surrounding it is an outcrop of numerous limestone caves in a beech forest carpeted in mosses and ferns and a lacy waterfall.
Saw a variety of birds (no animals in NZ!!): whio on the river; rifleman birds, tomtits and robins.
From there it was a really nice walk of 5.4 kms into Saxon Hut (our stop for the night). The walk passed through open grasslands crossed by streams and waterfalls. There was even a nicely positioned seat with a pleasant view - one of only 2 seats I saw on the track! MF and I walked this section together and enjoyed a short rest here.
We cross several creeks and rivers over bridges. The group crossing Big River:
Saxon is such a nicer hut because there are only 16 beds and only 8 of us plus a young German couple on 6 months sabbatical and Norm from the US walking on his own. It is also a fairly new hut; named after John Saxon who surveyed the track in 1886.
Everyone is very friendly. Salmon for dinner with quinoa. Good!
Fabulous sunset!!
Crazy stuff! Went looking for kiwis (with Mim and Dani) - in the dark. Heard one, saw nothing. A beautiful starry night!
It rained a little over night and we didn’t do our planned short walk before brekky. Did a stint in the hot pool after instead. We were on t...
