Five Guys

Long ago I was brought into this life
A little lamb, a little lamb
Fearless was my middle name

But somewhere there I lost my way
Everyone walks the same

Expecting me to step

The narrow path they’ve laid

- Buck/Mills/Stipe (R.E.M.) Walk Unafraid

No matter where in the world you are, the South is just different ... and needs a little extra time.

I finally completed a Great Walk. Unfortunately, it was without Kari or JRH. Kari has a walk of four days on the Tora Coastal Track coming up, but it isn't one of the Great Walks, and after our four day tramp on the Queen Charlotte Track (Link: The Long Walk), JRH has no desire to ever walk so far again. Technically, we did complete one of the Great Walks as a family (Link: The Land That Time Forgot), but it is a river trip and traveled by canoe or kayak, so we didn't actually walk it.

New Zealand has a number of amazing tracks for hiking, and many of them take several days to complete, but only 10 of them have been designated as "Great Walks". They are easily accessible, well-maintained, and well marked trail systems that range from 32 km to 82 km in length and can take up to 6 days to traverse (the Whanganui Journey is 145 km of river paddling). Along the way, much of New Zealand's most spectacular views and culturally important areas are revealed. Accommodations are generally combination of campgrounds and Dept of Conservation maintained huts. Some of the tracks cross private land where there are lodges or private homes in which to stay. DoC huts can be as simple as four walls, a roof, a wood-burning stove for heat, and a wall of bunks on which to sleep, or they can be quite elaborate set-ups with small semi-private rooms and gas ranges on which to cook. They all feature some kind of water source, but that often consists of a cistern or other water source that needs to be filtered or boiled. We were fortunate to have filtered water at each of our huts (still, we filtered it again ourselves).

Mine was not a hiking/camping family, so my first forays into the wild started in my late teens once I had a car. We were young, naïve, and strong. We didn't have the money for light-weight camping gear, water filters, etc; so, we carried everything we needed (including drinking water) on our backs. I only weighed about 150lbs back then and I suspect my pack weighed just as much. While I learned how to survive in the back country, some of the biggest lessons I learned had more to do with what one needs and what one can do without. As we got older and wiser, and could afford updated equipment, our packs got lighter and the walks more enjoyable. It has been many years since I walked long distances, and many more since I did it with any significant weight on my back. Camping with my family has focused more on convenience than survival. That convenience came with a price. This time, the price I paid for convenience, and for forgetting lessons learned long ago, was a pack that can only be described with Kiwi slang ... "heavy as".



Day 1 - Wainui Bay to Whariwharangi Bay

Distance 5.24 km
Time 1:20
Max Elevation 190 m
Elevation Gain/Loss 342 m

Our first day on the trail was a short one. The night before, we took a ferry from Wellington across the Cook Strait to Picton. We spent the night in Picton at a bach called the "Cow Shed", awoke for a lazy breakfast, then drove 3 hours to Marahau where we picked up a 1.5 hour shuttle ride to our trailhead.

Empty late night ferry.

Lounging in the Cow Shed.

 

 

All smiles at the trailhead.

Whariwharangi Bay Hut was originally built as a homestead in 1896 and was restored in 1980.

The short hike was a great way to get our legs under us and start the trail. Erik had done all the planning for the trip and had assured us that we had reached our max elevation ... the next four days should be a true coastal walk. I ate a little pack weight, and after a rousing round of BS (the card game) we were in bed for an early morning start.



Day 2 - Whariwharangi Bay to Awaroa Inlet

Distance 16.87 km
Time 4:57
Max Elevation 142 m
Elevation Gain/Loss 1153 m


As would be the theme for the rest of our walk, "an early morning start" is a relative term, especially when traveling with two teen-aged boys. We drank coffee, had a hearty breakfast, and were the last group on the trail to start the day. That wouldn't usually be a problem, but we had to get to Awaroa Inlet by about noon. The inlet requires an estuary crossing that is only accessible for about an hour on either side of low tide. If we missed low tide, we would be crossing the inlet on foot while the estuary filled with water.

Erik was true to his word. Max elevation was only 142m ... he didn't tell us about the 1153m we would actually cover.

We left the hut and immediately started climbing. While it is true that we didn't get as high as the prior day (142m vs 190m), this day would prove quite difficult. We still weren't used to the trail, we hadn't yet eaten down much pack weight, and the trail had a lot more elevation change than anticipated. We would immediately climb a headland and descend to a sandy beach, then walk to the end of the beach to do it all again. Walking with full pack weight along a sandy beach can be ... tedious. The scenery, though, was amazing.

 

 

Still smiling. Boy-1 has a bit of a wild look in his eye ... or maybe he is just hungry.

 

 

The terrain for Day 2 was very different from Day 1, and variable along the way. We arrive at the shoreline about 30 minutes before low tide, stopped for a rest and a snack, then crossed Awaroa Inlet by wading through a knee-deep, ice cold river.

We still had fresh legs and clearly hadn't had enough walking, so we explored the bay a little and trudged off into the way-back to find an old tanning industry steam engine. It was pretty amazing to watch the tide roll in and cover our back trail.

Exploring Awaroa Inlet.

Day 3 - Awaroa Inlet to Bark Bay

Distance 15.86 km
Time 4:32
Max Elevation 141 m
Elevation Gain/Loss 1085 m


Day 3 would see us last out of the hut again, and it would prove to be the longest day of the trip so far, though not the longest distance. We took a bit of a break part way through the day, and it gave the wizened veterans an opportunity to impart a little trail wisdom to our young charges. After a couple of hours on the trail, we came upon a side trek to the Awaroa Lodge where coffee, fried food, and beer awaited us. The boys insisted that this was "cheating". Our take was that we were merely taking advantage of resources available on the trail (the very essence of back-country tramping). Our view won out, and when all was said and done, I don't recall hearing them complain too much about it.

 

Profiles split into two parts ... one before and one after beer a lovely break.

 

 

Boy-2 still smiling ... Boy-1 starting to look a little crazy-eyed.

 

A well deserved break ... good coffee, beer, fish & chips, and a whole lot more BS.

 

We continued to have good trail Karma, even after "cheating" just a little.

The end of Day 3 also involved an estuary crossing ... this one neither as cold, nor as deep. Never content to call it a day, we went for a swim and explored the trails a little before eating and turning in for the night. One of the luxuries I had allowed myself on the trail was apples and peanut butter. It was getting heavy, so I made sure to eat extra helpings this night. Ryan also made a discovery helping Boy-1 organize his gear. Prior to setting out, he allowed Boy-1 to do his own shopping and packing ... a valuable lesson in planning and organization. He discovered that Boy-1 had little food, no rain gear, and no warm clothes. No wonder he had been lapping up our extra helpings and practically sprinting ahead along the trail. Not that I would ever want anyone to suffer, but the weather was so good to us that he never felt the consequences of his poor decisions.

 

   

Teen-age boy "pack vomit" ... a nightly occurrence.

Day 4 - Bark Bay to Anchorage Bay

Distance 18.93 km
Time 6:37
Max Elevation 136 m
Elevation Gain/Loss 1121 m



Day 4 would prove to be a long and difficult one, but it was marked by two amazing side treks. Cascade Falls was a steep 30 min tramp along an overgrown and narrow track. We stashed our packs in the underbrush and hiked it light. Unfortunately, this did not stop Ryan from turning his ankle. Nor did it stop me from losing my sunglasses. Recorded distances and times are artificially inflated ... I made a round-trip run up the trail and back to retrieve them. The second side trail was to Cleopatra's Falls where I rode a natural water slide into a deep pool. It was also time for a little grizzled trail wisdom ... in life, as in on the trail, it is the side trips that have the most risk and the most reward. On this our penultimate day, and on the final day 5, we started to see other people on the trail ... it was damned near a Kiwi traffic jam!

 

 

Day 5 - Anchorage Bay to Marahau

Distance 12.71 km
Time 3:16
Max Elevation 137 m
Elevation Gain/Loss 718 m

Day 5 was a "short" 12.7 km hike out. It would be our last stinky day on the trail ... and boy, did we stink! We kept passing lovely people on the track. They were carrying light packs, wearing light footwear, their hair was properly coiffed, and they smelled nice in passing. I don't want to imagine what they have written to describe us as we passed on the very narrow trails.

 

We were off the trail before noon and immediately checked into our bach for the night. After a round of showers and a change of clothes, it was off to town for a proper burger and to stock up on beer, whisky, and provisions for the evening.

It was an awesome trek along one of New Zealand's beautiful coastlines. We are on a shoulder season here ... tracks are open but many of the services are not. We had plenty of room to spread out in the huts and on the trails. Fortunately for Boy-1, and for all of us, the weather was perfect. A little chilly to start the mornings, but t-shirt and shorts weather through the day. I won't say the water was "refreshing", in fact it was downright freezing, but that didn't stop us from taking a daily dip. I can't thank Ryan enough for inviting me, and Erik for making it all happen.

"Wow! That's a lot of lies"
- The Master of Cards