From the Rakaia to the Rangitata

Dean from Lake Coleridge Lodge drove us to the start of the Clent Hills track and we set off in the mid-morning heat fortified by the thought of the delicious lunch Toni had prepared for us. I have to get that raspberry and white chocolate slice recipe! 

David and Kaye, old Comyns Hut 

It was a great track with awesome views and we were whooping and doing “The hills are alive...” antics as we skipped along. We stayed in the historic Comyns Hut with its corrugated walls and dexian framing, and for a delightful change we shared the space with two horse trekkers and two trampers.

Outside wandering around were two horses and three dogs. The two horses cornered me as I was coming back from the loo, and tried to follow me right into the hut. Leonardo kept looking in the window with great longing, but no room at the inn for a horse.

I’m glad that dexian framing was solid, I had to hold onto it and do an acrobatic hurdle onto a top bunk that night. There was no way in the world I was going to get up for any reason until morning as I don’t think I could have repeated the performance.

A good lesson – never decide all is going well and the tracks are getting easier because it turns around and bites you in the backside. Next day, although there was nothing scary (apart from a few rocks tumbling off a hillside), the track up and over Clent Hills Saddle was one of the toughest physically so far –  fifty-odd stream crossings to start with and then through high tussock with no defined track and pain inflicted by spiny Spaniards, mutilating matagouri and horrible hidden holes to jar your knees. We probably travelled at less than a kilometre per hour and it nearly made me weep - how I longed for puttees and sturdy boots! We actually welcomed the long sidles over huge scree slopes because they were faster and didn’t hurt.
Whose idea was this??

Lorraine and Sam at Double Hut

But oh the wonderful conjunction of reaching the Heron lake track junction and seeing Sam and Lorraine on their mountain bikes at that precise point. We walked the short distance to the lovely Double Hut together and once again enjoyed their great company. Sir Ed stayed in Double Hut in 1948 while he trained for Mount Everest on the surrounding peaks. Even though it was Waitangi Day, no one else came to share our hut. We have come to the conclusion that the South Island has been de-populated.

That evening Rob, locked in conversation with Sam, used Mycota cream instead of toothpaste....Arrrggh; and thought us unkind to crease up with laughter. 

Lorraine was very keen to try my Osprey Pack, so next day I walked free as a bird to Manuka Hut. Lorraine and Sam left us there to return to their bikes while we continued on over Emily Hill to pretty little Emily Lake. Cattle, merino sheep and four horse riders on Castle Ridge Station appeared as tiny dots in the vast grassland expanses of the Lake Heron Basin.


On the Hakatere Road Sam and Lorraine passed us on their journey home. Then we met Jane Liddle, a fellow “Trailer”, travelling south to north all on her own. Wow, admirable, and she’d done an impressive time. We all wished we could have spent more time chatting, but time was pressing, we said goodbye and went in our opposite directions.  We found a sheltered spot to camp in amongst the matagouri beside Paddle Hill Creek in the Hakatere Conservation Park and settled in for the night.

Rangitata River

A misty morning introduced us to an easy half-day to the Potts River, travelling past Lake Clearwater. We saw the mighty Rangitata River in the distance and then Sam’s head bobbing up above the tall grass! We were soon in Geraldine admiring the vegetable garden and the colourful dahlias and gladioli around the flat. We dined on roast goat wrapped in free-range bacon and a pile of yummy roast veges and fresh greens, and Rob had two helpings of chocolate pudding and ice-cream. I should have had a second helping too because Sam and Lorraine said I was looking a bit like a chicken carcass. Nice.

We drifted off to sleep with the lovely thought of no walking tomorrow. Yay! But the day after we will be heading up into the Two Thumbs Range, heading for Tekapo. See you later!

Notes:

Day 35: Glenrock Stream to Comyns Hut. 15.7 km
Day 36: Comyns Hut to Double Hut. 17 km
Day 37: Double Hut to Paddle Hill Creek camp. 23 km
Day 38: Paddle Hill to Potts Bridge. 16 km
Day 39: Rest Day, Geraldine