Advertisement
Published: January 16th 2011
Jan. 13, 2011 - The Way In
We stayed in a hostel in a small town called Tuatapere. At 8:30am we were picked up by hired transport, and taken to the start of the Dusky Track. This is considered to be one of New Zealand's more challenging tramps, but I was confident I'd be able to do it at this point. We had packed nine days worth of food (read: heavy packs).
To reach the start of the track, you take a boat to the other side of a giant lake called Lake Hauroko. The ride takes about an hour. The water was smooth as glass, and the sights along the way are fantastic. Once on the other side we are immediately assaulted by sandflies (this assault would be constant). We use a hut near the shore to gear up, and we're off.
The walk is quite difficult, but I manage. The path is well marked and easy to follow. However, it is very rough. Tree roots and rocks line way, and the track is all up and down (mostly up in the end). This first walk was a tale of two halves. I set an excellent pace for the first
half of the walk. We go across a three wire bridge, suspended over a river. This is literally what it sounds like. You hold on to two wires, and trapeze across a third. I was a little nervous, but I handled it and make it across. I wasn't able to sustain my pace, and slowed considerably for the second half of the hike. I reached Halfway Hut in seven hours, an hour over the suggested time (disappointing). Andrew had starting feeling sick (the same illness that had hit Chad a few days earlier; an illness that I alone seem to have avoided...because clearly I'm that cool), and needed to stop for the day. I was quite good with that, as the hike in had been long for me and I welcomed rest.
This hut was completely and utterly, thoroughly and totally riddled with an infestation of sandflies. We covered up as best as we could... and were still destroyed that night. These tiny insects are the new bane of my existence.
Jan. 14, 2011 - A Boat at Sunset
We had our breakfast and set out for the next hut by 9:00am. This day should take about five hours
to walk. I'm determined to get faster. Despite feeling spent last night, in the morning I feel completely recovered. My conditioning is improving. Once I correct a few mental errors slowing me down, my speed should (and will) begin to improve. Alas, we would not make it to the next hut.
About an hour into the day's tramp, Chad suddenly stopped and said he couldn't walk. His right knee, which has been giving him some problems, was in severe pain. We took a break to assess our options. In the end it is decided that the risk of further serious injury is too great to continue the track. There were at least five more days of the hardest areas to tramp still to traverse. So, we turn around and make for the hut located on the shore of lake Hauroko.
The tramp back seems to take forever, but we finally make it. Our good friends, the sandflies, are waiting eagerly to greet us. We settle in for what we expect to be a two day stay in this hut. The boat that dropped us off runs twice a week, on Monday and Thursday. Assuming that some other trampers needed a
ride into the Dusky Track, a boat would in theory be coming by in two days. Turns out we wouldn't have to wait that long.
At about 10:00 at night, just as the day's final light was beginning to give way to darkness, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a boat. On it were six Kiwi's from Invercargill. A father, with his two sons and three of their friends (they were all in their early twenties, the father was about fifty). They had boated in for the weekend to fish and hunt.
They give us a beer (as a rule, anyone who offers you alcohol is an instant friend... rule of life), and we talk into the night. Eventually, they offer to give us a ride out to the other side of the lake in the morning.
Jan. 15, 2011 - The Way Out
For whatever reason, I find sleep to be elusive and light. Morning finally arrives. The sandflies return with the dawn. After we've eaten, we pack up. The others have decided to move to a different hut, and offer to give us a ride to the other side of Hauroko. We have no idea if we'll
be able to get a ride on the other side. We have no tent or groundpads if we can't and there isn't a hut... so naturally, we eagerly agree to take the ride. We'll deal with the other side on the other side.
The small boat offers a very bumpy ride. The waters aren't as calm as when we rode in. I wasn't particularly worried (although I did wonder at one point if I would die by drowning and listening to "Brown Eyed Girl", which was blasting over the boats speakers). So, after a somewhat harrowing (but mostly fun) ride, we are dropped off on the jetty. Lo and behold! More sandflies are waiting for us! (The joy was palpable.)
On the other side, rides are sparse. Well, in fairness to accuracy, rides were all but nonexistent. This was potentially a bad thing, as it would mean spending the night outside in our sleeping bags. I was not eager to experiment with this. Fortunately, after sitting around for about two and a half hours, an older couple from the UK emerged from the forest lining the lake. They had been off on a day hike. After telling them of our
situation, we are offered a ride back to Tuatapere. We gladly accept. We return to the same backpackers that we stayed at a couple days ago.
We had several odds go in our favor in getting out and back to town as soon as we did. In a couple days Chad will go to a doctor to see what the deal with his knee is. We'll figure out our plans from there. The tramp failed, but was still a fun adventure. Odds are are it won't be the last time our well laid plans go astray. No matter. We'll deal with whatever may come our way. In the end, it's all still part of a great adventure and I'm still loving it. As a famous smuggler from a galaxy far, far away once said: "never tell me the odds!"
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 12; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0344s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
betterman
non-member comment
Hey, glad you're having a good time, hope Chad's knee is ok, and hope those sandflies go away soon...