(Day One can be found by clicking here)
We wake up early around seven. I feel like I've had a good rest and it's pretty awesome waking up in a hut in the middle of the forest. I ask Jess if she slept well and she says she did. We get up, grab the cooking gear and head into the main building. It's a nice morning outside and a different perspective looking out at the gully we're nestled in after a nights rest.
Now to cook...the rice. After last night's depravity we decide to tackle it a new way this morning and pour the bag of rice into the cup itself with some water and stir like crazy. It's a never ending battle to find the balance between burning myself and burning the rice on the bottom of the mug. I just about manage it with the first pouch of two (unfortunately) and we sit down to tuck in.
Jess looks at me with a sombre hard stare and takes a forkful...and grins. It's actually alright. I let out a deep breath of anticipation I hadn't realised I was holding in and we both start laughing again. We take our turns at the first pack, I cook the second and it's alright too. I'm pretty glad as I was pretty nervous this was insurmountable and we'd be stuck dreading each meal, end up not getting enough food in each day and find it all a real struggle. All too easy to do when you're not feeling that hungry to begin with.
After breakfast we pack up and head off. It's nearly nine and I had hoped to be on our way a bit earlier but we wanted to wake up without having to set an alarm too early.
There is a sign off to the side saying we can go for a twenty minute walk and see the Iris Burn falls. We decide to head down there as it's not too far too go and I ask how Jess is feeling today. She says her feet are still sore but nowhere near as much as they were trying to get through the last hour or so of walking yesterday.
Soon enough we're at the falls and I try to get a good photo of each of us but Jess isn't so keen on photos at the best of times so definitely doesn't want to now. I manage to get one or two before the sandflies start attacking and as they have she's really not enjoying the falls so we decide to head back to the hut and carry on up to the hills.
Soon enough we're at the falls and I try to get a good photo of each of us but Jess isn't so keen on photos at the best of times so definitely doesn't want to now. I manage to get one or two before the sandflies start attacking and as they have she's really not enjoying the falls so we decide to head back to the hut and carry on up to the hills.
Almost straight after we pass the hut again the ascent begins. We're currently around five hundred metres above sea level and the uppermost point today is going to be around one thousand five hundred. It's going to be a bit of a trek.
Almost straight away the path becomes switchbacks, snaking their way up the mountain. We soon notice over the other side of the gully, on the next mountain range, that we are basically mirroring going up the side of a really huge mountain there. It looks big. It looks daunting. It looks formidable. The queasiness starts and I begin to wonder if I'm going to cope with this at all. At least it's a stunning view if nothing else.
On the mountain across the way we notice that the cloud cover looks to be about a hundred or two metres above us and I point out to Jess we'll be above the clouds soon enough. She's not afraid of heights so doesn't seem too worried.
As this is a ridiculously steep section I make sure we take regular stops for a minute or so as I don't want Jess to hate it from the beginning of the day. She seems happy enough, though, so long as we do take the odd stop and looks to be enjoying herself.
The walk to the falls took us about fifty minutes including the stop once there and in the hour since we've climbed a good two hundred and fifty metres. It's been pretty intense. We look ahead and it just gets steeper from here. We've been on a straight section for a while but we now go back to some more switchbacks and as I turn around for the first one I note that the cloud cover is still above us and seems to be rising.
We do the same thing on this section, making sure to take a few breaks here or there to avoid becoming completely knackered before we've even got anywhere. We know, however, that this is going to be the hardest section of the whole trail. This climb we're currently doing is the reason most people tend to do the route the opposite way to the one we are.
It's hard going but the upside to doing it this way is that we've got the best part ahead of us rather than just the long flat section that we did yesterday. I'm looking forward to it. I think.
The path gets a bit narrower on certain sections. The steeper ones. I feel my heartbeat rise. We cross a wooden bridge over the side of a waterfall and get a clear view of the mountain opposite us. The last of the clouds wisp away from the top of it and it's a peaceful moment.
Soon after we cross a landslide and get a clear view of the drop down. It's incredibly steep and suddenly hits me quite how high up we are. I look above me, knowing we'll be crossing this part again on a switchback no doubt. It strikes me that if I'm struggling with heights now I'm going to be much worse when higher up. I start to panic. I start to shake. I wonder whether or not we have to turn around. I'm seriously considering turning around. I'm not sure I'm going to cope.
I try not to let Jess see this internal struggle as I don't want to make her more nervous than she already is, albeit for different reasons. After a minute or so of deep breathing and telling myself it will be fine, that thousands of people are up here every year and no one had any issues (glad I didn't google 'death on Kepler' before we left) so I'm going to be fine too. We carry on and do indeed cross the same landslip again but I'm calmer this time. My footing is secure and I'm fine. I think.
Luckily Jess is too busy being annoyed with the hills to notice. As there is a lot of climbing today we've repacked the bags so I've got all the heavy food and spare water and she's got all the light stuff. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her and figured that would spread it out a bit more fairly given I go up mountains more often than she does. A little bit of me is regretting that now as you really do notice extra weight on hills. I'm pretty sure a fair bit more of me would be regretting it if I hadn't though. And we're all good and still working well as a team which is the main thing. Truth be told as well, it's probably not too much more that I'm carrying.
We keep zigging and zagging our way up the hill, with the mountain over the other side a good gauge of our elevation increases. We notice the very last of the cloud cover washing off the top of it as well and it looks like we may just be lucky with the weather. We do eventually pass the landslip a couple of times higher up but I keep positive and I'm okay. The weather clearing has made me a bit nervous about the fact I'll be able to see exactly how high up I really am but I tell myself it's going to be okay.
Then out of nowhere we come out above the tree line. Out of the forest we can suddenly see the mountains ahead. Then we look round to see those too. I relax suddenly. I can see we are only about twenty metres below the ridge line and we can see the first shelter of the day in the distance. And it looks fine. The nervous anticipation of the morning lets itself go, my shoulders drop down from their tense position up near my ears and I laugh to myself. Everything is fine.
We climb up the final two switchbacks and there is a fork in the path telling us there is a lookout off to the left, five minute's walk away. We're right on the ridge line now so drop our bags, take the opportunity to put sun screen on (believe it or not in Te Anau) and climb to the peak of our first mountain of the day. It's really nice to let to go of the packs and to be able to move freely again.
We reach the top and look around. It's so stunning I could almost cry. Off to the very distance we can see Lake Te Anau and next to it the township itself. It's so far away it really gives a perspective of how far we really have come. Rising out of the lake to the right is a mountain range that stretches off far into the distance to peaks far higher than the ones we will be traversing today. They disappear off as far as you can see and to our right is another range that directly beside us has the mountain we've been watching all morning, with the cloud above it now, and these move outline behind us in an almost one hundred and eighty degree semi-circle, broken by the ridge line we are currently on meeting it where the hut is situated directly behind us, to fall back down into Lake Te Anau. Then sat on a rock between me and that view is Jess, grinning with the chance to sit down for a few minutes and basking in the sun.
It's a clear sky now with only the odd tiny cloud to break up the blue. The air is fresh, we gulp it in; I close my eyes and listen to the wind gently rushing past and through the mountains. You can feel it moving past the hairs on your arm up here but it gives a nice breeze to temper the high noon sun.
We sit here for ten minutes excitedly talking about how nice the view is and pointing out rock formations and snow lines we see in the distance. Then we take a minute just to sit and relax. It's peaceful here and we're both happy to be here. It's been a busy year and a busy trip in New Zealand so it's amazing to be able to just enjoy the outdoors.
After a time we're ready to move on to the next panorama. We've seen in the distance a couple of guys moving quickly this way and they reach us as we're heading down to pick up our bags. A quick hello, we collect our gear and we're away again adventuring.
We move along the ridge line and the sign tells us it's forty five minutes to the shelter and an hour and a half back to Iris Burn. It's only taken us one hour and fifty minutes so we're making good time considering we we're going up the mountain rather than down it.
There are spikes next to the path about three foot high with orange spray paint on them. Jess points out they're not the nicest looking of things and I explain they're there for the winter months when the track is covered in snow and therefore it's quite important to have some markers to know where you are going.
We reach a set of steps up a particularly steep section and we go past the two guys who were moving up the ridge line towards us earlier pass us going back the other way. We stop a moment to appreciate the view and let Jess catch her breath. There are oily pools of water, similar to yesterday's ones next to the track and we stare at them wondering what makes them look that way and, whatever the substance is, where it's come from.
Soon enough we are at the Hanging Valley shelter. We're now one thousand three hundred and ninety metres above sea level. About three and a half hours and seven kilometres or so ago we were at around five hundred metres while at Iris Burn hut. It's been an intense morning.
We go inside this shelter and it's a bit better set up than the one at Rocky Point yesterday. By better set up I mean it has walls and a floor. Other than that it's a bare room with an axe on the wall. We go back outside and there is a toilet here next to the shelter. Only it's a little portaloo dangling precariously off the edge of the cliff. We take a look over and can see why this place is called 'hanging valley'. There's a pretty massive drop down to the side of the mountain below. I step back. I don't need to add to the fear.
As this is also the first section in quite some time with a flat area they've also put a picnic table up so we sit down and have another muesli bar to keep the energy up. I get the impression Jess is starting to get thoroughly sick of these bars but they're easy so she eats it all the same.
She's knackered but at the same time has a content look on her face looking out over the mountains. I ask her how she's doing and she says she is alright but tired. I'm not surprised as it has been a pretty tough morning. But we're nearly at the highest point now so from here on in we just go up and down following the ridge line until we reach the next hut and decide whether we want to stay the night or not. Simples.
This is the point where the semi-circle of mountains we were looking at earlier meet the line we
were on; so we're taking a sharp right turn here to head back to Te Anau eventually. We decide to look at what is over the other side of this range now that we've finally reached it.
This is the point where the semi-circle of mountains we were looking at earlier meet the line we
were on; so we're taking a sharp right turn here to head back to Te Anau eventually. We decide to look at what is over the other side of this range now that we've finally reached it.
Looking down the other side is the South Arm of Lake Te Anau. It stretches way off into the distance from the shore off to our left, surrounded by more mountains, and into the main body of the lake off to our right, where it looks like the range we are heading over ends as it falls down into the lake; just as we saw earlier at the look out in the other direction.
Directly in front of us over the other side of the South Arm is another set of mountains and more behind them from the looks of it, so they seem to carry on forever here. It's just as amazing a view as that we had on the other side, only now we are going along this line we'll be able to see both.
We look off into the distance at where we are going and can see the track weaving along for several kilometres. It seem to follow the top of the ridge mostly but occasionally dip down to cut across a mountain rather than climbing each one. I see far in the distance the track cuts across a huge scree slope on what looks to be the biggest of the mountains, presumably Mount Luxmore, and it puts the fear of God in me. It looks incredibly dangerous and slippery to cut across in that way and I'm a bit gutted as I'd only just gained my confidence again.
We pack up our things as the same two guys pass us going back the other way and we wonder what they are doing going back and forth but don't stop them to ask.
The first little bit is nice and easy going as it's downhill and we reach a man with a huge pack and poles going the other way. He stops us to ask we take a photo and we tell him we were going to ask him to do the same. I have to step back a few paces down the scree slope but go carefully to avoid a hazardous fall.
We're soon back on our way again and it's still nice weather with a breeze so we try to make sure we're going at a casual pace. I still see the mountain in the distance though. And the path cutting across it. I struggle to take my mind off it.
At this point we start to meet the day's travellers. As most people will leave each hut early in the morning and we are going the backwards route, we notice quite a large flow of people coming the other way from this point on as we hit the point in the middle of the day where we all cross paths. It's a bit tricky to get around some of them and others are much nicer and try to stop to allow you past and vice versa. It's a pretty narrow path up here so there's not often a lot of choice otherwise. Most are smiling but, same as yesterday, there are a few couples not speaking to each other with one looking much happier than their partner, also usually carrying the bulk.
Every now and again we stop to look out over the mountains over the other side of the lake and see them from different angles. There is one that is in the middle with a narrow peak that curves off to the right and it's quite interesting to look at. Not to mention just staring out over the peacefulness of the lake itself. It's also a good opportunity at these points to catch our breath as there are quite a lot of small ups and downs and each one seems to take its toll.
After another couple of hours we reach the Forest Burn shelter. We sit down and there is a group of three guys sitting chatting and they are quite eager to find out a bit more about our journey for the day as they are hoping to get to Iris Burn and back again by nightfall. I don't see it happening but we give them some information on the route all the same and they in turn fill us in on what's ahead.
From here on it's apparently pretty much the same as what we are on currently until we reach Mount Luxmore and start the descent, at which point we'll start moving through some mountain valleys. He says it's not too complicated but he also seems far more confident in his abilities than he perhaps should be, going on his aims this evening, so I take it with a grain of salt preferring to rely on what we know and see rather than his advice.
They head off pretty soon after as we fire up our little camp cooker, heat up some water and pour it over the one pack of pot noodles we've each brought. As we open the packets we realise that there is a small plastic fork in each of them, not to mention the styrofoam cup they sit in and nearly scream. We had forks and cups all along.
It's a nice lunch all the same and good to break the afternoon up with some hot food as it is about three o'clock now and we were beginning to get pretty hungry. Afterwards we pack up the cups and forks and keep them in case we need them later, now we know we've got them, and head off again.
This shelter is nestled in the valley slightly below two close peaks so we're straight back into an ascent. Sitting at the shelter looking at it, it had seemed pretty treacherous and going up it is no different. It's quite a long line of switchbacks going up a scree slope and we have to be careful of foot placement as we don't want to slip. It's also completely out in the open so the heat is bearing down on us but it's nice all the same.
We reach the top of this section and hear a helicopter in the distance and I immediately wonder aloud if that means someone has fallen. Jess scoffs at this and tells me to stop being so paranoid; that no one has fallen. I'm not completely sure but we continue on all the same.
The next section is probably the hardest but also the most stunning in terms of views. We continue passing quite a large number of groups as we make our way around the side of a peak. It's quite interesting to watch all their faces. I'm guessing this is the first time they've come around this side of the mountain and seen this view and they all seem stunned, often just standing there taking in the view.
We get around the other side of the peak and can finally see the beast up close. Mount Luxmore. This is the highest point on the route at a touch under fifteen hundred metres. I can also see the scree slope on the side of it up close now and it still looks pretty daunting; but I feel relieved to finally be here.
I think Jess is feeling the same as this means that it's only downhill from here. She's been getting increasingly fed up with all the uphills. Considering she doesn't really do any training or anything of this sort I think she's coped amazingly well and has taken it all in stride so it's been pretty nice for both of us. I'm not sure if I'd be saying the same at this point if it had rained all day though.
Soon we reach the fork in the path whereby you can go left along the scree slope to continue or take a ten minute excursion up to summit. I ask if Jess wants to. She says she doesn't mind and is happy for me to decide. I'm in two minds. It's more elevation and my nerves are pretty frayed from the day but I don't think I'd forgive myself if we didn't go up so we drop our bags and start the final ascent.
Straight away I notice a momentous change in myself. As soon as the bag is off my back I suddenly feel balanced again. I start bounding up the rocks and laughing. Jess wonders what the hell has gotten into me and I explain that I feel a million times more secure doing this terrain without a massive bag unbalancing me.
Then I realise my phone is in the bag. My phone is the GPS. I don't want to reach this peak and not be able to include it. But it's not really in the spirit of getting back to nature. Ah, screw it, I'm having a nice time bouncing along so I run back down again and pick it up.
We notice a sign telling us to stick to the path but can't seem to find one to stick to so just keep going up instead. It's pretty boulderous around here and as we climb we see our first bit of snow around the bend slightly from us. A few minutes later we're at the top.
It's a breathtaking view. Similar to what we've seen through the day only this time we're above it all. There is another man here also just sitting and enjoying the peace. We stare all around us at the multitude mountains and it suddenly all feels like it was worth it.
It's been terrifying for me and arduous for Jess but standing here it really is worth it. Worlds below us is Lake Te Anau and we can now see the South Arm stretching around behind us where we came from.
There is not a cloud in the sky.
There is a cool breeze.
We have climbed up a number of mountains...
...and it feels amazing.
We stay a few minutes just taking it all in and speaking with the man already there, who tells us it's only another forty five minutes or so to Luxmore Hut, but there are also moments where we just stop and look out on the land, not wanting to break the silence. It feels exhilarating. It feels amazing to know that we've come so far and especially so now that we can see the town we left far in the distance and a long way below.
After a time we decide to continue and Jess tells me to run ahead so I lope my way back down to the bags to wait for her. She arrives and we pack up. A deep breath and we're crossing the horrible scree slope. Only...only I'm not scared anymore. Having taken the bag off for half an hour and gone for a small run back down I feel completely confident again. The fear is just...gone. I even manage to walk upright and not even hug the side of the hill to stop from falling.
We reach the other side and I stop to take a photo of this terrifying section that ended up being one of the easiest of the whole day, we round the corner and we're going down again.
We come up on a group of young foreign people who are extremely happy to be up here, having just had a snowball fight around the corner. We tell them they need to summit but that they should keep moving at a fairly decent pace as they've quite a long way and not that many daylight hours left to reach Iris Burn. They also let us know we're not far from the hut and we carry on our way.
We're soon going through the mountain valleys we were told of earlier in the day and it's nice to be back on some flat ground again for a while, rather than relentless narrow paths where it feels like one wrong step will mean certain death.
As we approach it is coming up to five in the evening. This is the point we have to decide to stay or continue on. The hut has a stunning view down below of the Lake and it looks really inviting but I'm keen to be able to finish this in two days for the challenge and Jess is pretty keen to have a shower and get away from my God awful culinary skills.
We take a quick comfort break and fill our water bottles, hoping not to get told off by the ranger, but notice he is giving a speech on the mountain over at the helicopter pad.
We sneak past and see a sign directing us to the caves not too far away but with regret don't feel we've got the time and have to carry on. I grab out another muesli bar for each of us but Jess refuses, completely uninterested. I insist that she try as she needs the energy and will thank herself later for eating it. She still refuses. I ask her to compromise and have half. She has a couple of bites and leaves it at that. It's better than nothing so I let it be at that.
We cross another walkway and at the far end a group wait for us to pass. We say hello and ask them how long they think it will take. I'm keen to get a realistic idea of how quickly we need to go. A slightly overweight and overly unfit older man starts to curse the world, proclaiming it the hardest day of his life and very much looking as if he's about to keel over any moment. He says it took several hours and carries on with this diatribe for a couple more minutes until one of his younger companions politely mentions it took them around four hours, grinning at the older man of the group. We thank them and carry on. I shout back to the old man he is five minutes away from the hut but he doesn't respond, preferring to wallow some more it seems.
We joke as we descend the hill and soon enough we're back into the bush line and heading down some switchbacks once again. We decide that if it is getting too close to nine o'clock, which is the time the holiday park closes, and we're not close then we'll stop and I'll leave my stuff to run ahead and get a key then come back and get her. She doesn't seem too fazed, saying we can just find anywhere but I'm worried as small town New Zealand doesn't quite work the same way as it does in the United Kingdom. Meaning if we don't get there in time we may be sleeping under the stars. Which I don't think I'd mind too much but am pretty sure she will.
We go down quite a few switchbacks and they're actually quite painful on my legs after spending so long on our feet. It's always the downhill the hurts the most. It's nice to be back in the trees for a change and over this side there are ferns just beginning to open. In fact there are whole fields of them which is nice to look on. I get out an Aptonia gel each which Jess gets pretty excited about as those ones taste like baby food rather than syrup and are quite nice. Plus it's a change from muesli bars so is pretty welcome and perks us up a bit.
Eventually we come out onto Brod Bay campsite and it's good to get our bearings. At this point we both wish we had arranged the water taxi to come and pick us up but alas, we haven't, and so have to continue on. It's fine though as we're now by the lake again and it's really nice to hear the serene, tiny waves and birds around. There are a few people already set up to camp here tonight but we move on. We know we've still got possibly an hour and a half to go until we reach the control gates and then a while after that again.
The path becomes the same as it was at the beginning again and is now well looked after with gravel laid and a fully flattened path. It's nice not to have to worry about where you are looking but we reach a small undulation and I turn my ankle quite severely. I'm used to doing this all the time on trail runs so just roll with it and right myself again. Jess doesn't look so sure and thinks I'm just trying to look fine and am actually hurting. I explain I'm fine.
Just as I'm explaining it doesn't hurt much I do it again. This time I swear. It still doesn't hurt much but is a bit ridiculous turning the same ankle twice in two minutes so I'm more annoyed at myself than anything. I try to laugh it off and four steps later do it a third time. Jess tells me I'm an idiot and I have to concede she may be right.
I take thirty seconds to mentally check through myself and it's fine, mainly just my non existent pride that's hurting. And let's be honest...it's pretty funny. I can climb a mountain range but struggle on a flat gravel path.
So we continue on, ever present the sun going down, and the pace inevitably picks up. As I've been carrying all the food, which hadn't been too much more but enough to make a difference, I've started to flag a bit. Jess is upping the pace as she did yesterday as she just wants it to end. Oh well, no matter, we do need to continue on and we are on a time pressure. So I don't say anything.
Then I crash. All the energy just leaves me and I start to struggle to keep up the pace. I slow down a little but Jess is in her terminator stop-for-nothing mode and doesn't notice until eventually I just say I can't keep up and need to slow. A couple of minutes later I tell her I just need to sit down a minute. I can tell she doesn't want to but too bad this Kiwi is going to sit down a minute and that's final.
I catch my breath and eat my final muesli bar. I'm still liking them but Jess is looking at me like I'm eating a dead rat. I don't care. I need the energy. I tell her she needs to finish the one she has. She refuses and I insist again, saying that's she going to crash soon as well but she doesn't want to.
After a few minutes we carry on and not too long after that we open out into the entrance to the hike, then back around the trees and are back at the control gates. It's a massive relief and a nice boost for both of us as we're both shattered. We did it! And with no arguments, we managed to do it well as a team.
We don't dally, though, as we're not quite out of the woods yet. Well, we are out of the woods in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense we still have to get to the end and book a room or we will literally be sleeping back in the woods.
So we continue along, remembering that this section was relatively easy. We have an hour left before the holiday park closes and it's not far enough that we wouldn't make it in time. We hope. It's now my time to up the pace and it lasts about ten minutes before Jess first asks me how far away it is. I say I think it's not too far but ten minutes later the town doesn't seem forthcoming and she asks again. Here follows her inevitable crash.
She's been fine all day but we've now been going half an hour since the control gates and neither of us remember it being this far away. She was expecting us to reach it by now so mentally shuts down. Unfortunately we're not quite there yet and only have half an hour so she does need to carry on. I have to be mean and just keep pressing on at a good pace and trying to keep her talking to take her mind off it. It doesn't work and she continues to get more and more tired.
Twenty minutes left and we reach a fork in the path. She's sick of the stones hurting her feet and suggests we follow the one to the right that is just dirt. I'm not sure as we don't have time for backtracking if that way doesn't work out. We go that way anyway though as I want her to feel better about it since she's not feeling great.
We then of course don't recognise where we are. Fifteen minutes to go. I'm frantically trying to keep walking and also keep an eye on the map to make sure we are going the right way and aren't on any private land and about to hit a long fence to go around.
We round the bend and go through the middle of an animal shelter that looks to be an aviary of sorts. It's full of native birds which normally we'd be quite interested in but today couldn't really care less. Jess is managing to keep up and I apologise for the pace but explain we're getting close to the deadline for a bed for the night. She says it's okay she's just absolutely knackered and is annoyed at me for moving the holiday park further away. I laugh and we carry on.
Then we round a corner...and there it is in front of us. The holiday park. And we have ten minutes left. It's only about three or four minutes away. I can't tell if the noise I hear from behind me is happy, angry or just surprise at stepping on a stone but either way we cross the road, go in and ask for a room.
We're given one with a shower and they even arrange us a free ride for the local pub in half an hour to go get some food. We have a really quick shower, which is amazing, then head down and have one of the best meals of our life before getting a ride back and collapsing into bed.
A pretty epic day all round. Nearly twelve hours of walking, eighteen hundreds metres of ascent and thirty four kilometres. Not to mention the best views either of us have ever seen in our life.
Can't complain at that.
Here's the GPS tracking if you're interested:
