And the rain kept coming. Vicious winds drove sheets of rain crashing to the ground. I watched the rain pour in all evening and I heard it splashing onto the tin roof of the backpackers all night. The staff party led to much madness in the bar with a live band and much silly dancing but thankfully my bed was far enough away from it all that to allow for some sleep. This morning, it rained some more. The clouds did lift briefly as I was leaving Mt Cook but nowhere near high enough to expose the great mountain itself. So I reversed yesterday's 200km journey and landed back in Wanaka not having seen as much as one of Mt Cook's ridges. But I did enjoy being there - watching the ridgelines of the surrounding mountains ... read more

Day dawned cloudy but not as bad as predicted so optimism levels quite good. Breakfast on the front, stop at shop for more muesli bars (well, oaty slices, but close enough - forgot to tell you that one of the farmers I met on the Dart leg of the Cascade Saddle produces something like 85% of New Zealand oats, so now I quite like the idea that I probably know where the oats come from whenever I eat muesli / oat bars). And then I drive down to the road end. The road is fun - lots of dirt track and lots of fords as well as the odd bull to coax out of the way. Unfortunately, the cloud is also building. Rain comes and goes, some quite heavy which I don't mind really but the ... read more

Back in the relative civilisation of Glenorchy. Will go back and post the tramp descriptions on ther previous days so look there for tales of knees, ankles, feet, dutch financiers, american river-runners, heat, sweat, toil, glaciers, and sandflies galore. Now waiting for my transport to Queestown. This is one of those rest day things again so a bit uncomfortable (from a temptation point of view) sitting out in the wind this morning with the head of the lake (Wakatipu) on one side and mountains on all sides. Will be collecting a car again tomorrow though so will indulge some whims then me thinks. And now back in Queenstown watching England make really hard work of bowling the Aussies out but Hussey is whacking us all over the park. Ho hum.... read more

Very noisy night in Dart hut but I sleep well on my precious mattress having managed to shuffle a table and some benches out of the way and claim a wee private corner of the main room. Slow start this morning - the feet are feeling the effects of yesterday's effort. I shake Owen firmly by the hand and thank him warmly "well, couldn't have you kipping on a bench after a hike like that mate". Then it's back on the trail. 6-8 hours to Daley hut is the published agenda. Sore feet give me a gentle pace but a desire to get out of the sun drives me to the hut in about 5 hours and I claim a bunk. As it turns out, we're ok for bunks this time (lucky, as the hut is ... read more

Transport arrives a wee bit late - the driver is sure he recognises me from a few years back which is possible but it's also quite likely to be one of my many twins he's actually thinking of (they get everywhere). Bumpy but fun ride to the road end - an interesting Austrian couple (he's actually Japanese but lives in Austria and he's wearing trainers) are sharing the trip - they're also heading over the saddle but are camping instead of using the huts. Road end to the hut in two hours through more agricultural land - sheep and cattle polluting the wilderness. Last night's rain has cleared and it is very warm but beautifully clear giving stunning views up to Rob Roy Glacier, Mt Liverpool (the hut still nestling up high, looking tempting) and Mt ... read more