On the 19th I set off alone from Te Anau, heading down the Milford Highway once again in order to walk the Hollyford-Pyke loop. I made it to the Hollyford road end fairly easily with a couple hitches, and started walking around 2. The Hollyford runs right along the floor of a valley that is bordered on one side by the Darran Mountains, the other side the Humboldt Range. I expected and hopes for views of the spectacular Darran range, but was disappointed when I arrived at Hidden Falls Hut after 10k - the Hollyford is completely enshrined in dense, jungle-like vegetation that hardly lets in any light, and very rarely gives views of the mountains. What's more, the Hollyford is built like a great walk - it's extremely well graded, wide, and completely flat. Basically, the views don't exist and the trail itself is so drearily easy. I was discouraged, so I spent the night at Hidden Falls.
The next morning my ambition had returned, and I vowed to walk 25k to the Demon Trail Hut. But after 2 hours of tramping I had climbed to the highest point of the Hollyford (a pitiful 100 meter climb to little Homer Saddle), and still the trees and vegetation were too thick to get a decent view of the mountains. After another hour or two of walking, I made it to Alabaster Hut, intending to spend the night there.
At Alabaster Hut I ran into a friendly local legend named Bruce, who offered me a ride up Alabaster Lake in his boat. He said he was coming back down the lake on Monday, and he'd be happy to give me a lift back. Since there was heavy rain predicted, I figured I'd get to Olivine Hut, spend a day reading and messing around in the rain, then head back out with Bruce.
Bruce shuttled me up the lake, up to a little airstrip by the rundown hut he calls home, then I walked an hour and a half to Olivine Hut, bush-bashing through the poorly marked path. At Olivine there was a hand crank cable cart that crossed a river, so I spent a bit of time playing around on that. At 6 or 7 a group of 3 hunters showed up on jetboats, bringing a bit of whisky and homemade venison salami, and we had ourselves a grand ole time in the Olivine Hut. In the morning the promised rain (50-75mm, allegedly) didn't come. I had wasted a day for naught. I walked up to the Olivine waterfall, fished a bit with a rod the hunters left for me, and read my kindle til it ran out of battery. Very boring day.
The next morning I woke up early and started packing up to go meet Bruce.
"Pat, where are you going?" asked one of the hunters.
"I'm headed out to meet Bruce."
"Pat, it's Sunday."
So I spent another day lazing around Olivine Hut, playing on the cableway, trying to avoid sandflies.
The next morning I left the hut and met Bruce. He took me back down Lake Alabaster. At this point I was full of energy, and I walked back out to the Hollyford road end, effectively undoing 4 days of walking in 1 day.
The next morning I rolled off the picnic table I slept on and headed off to hike up to Lake Adelaide, where there is a big rock I intended to sleep under. The track was incredibly steep and poorly marked, and the dew combined with the light rain to make rocks and roots horribly slick, and streams horribly muddy. After 4 hours I reached a large rock field. I began scrambling up, and slipped a couple times before sliding a few meters off a rock and smashing my knee. When the pain subsided I pulled out my phone and checked how close I was. I had risen 300m, less than 1/3rd of the total, and traversed about 1.5k out of 8, and my knee ached. The last two K's of walking around Lake Adelaide was in a very steep boulder field, and if it was anything like this one it would be way too slick to cross. I sat around for two hours, thinking I might sleep out in the open, but eventually my knee began to improve, and I started climbing back down. I got to the road and hitched back to Te Anau, sick of the Hollyford Valley and defeated by Lake Adelaide.
I slept in the control gate shelter where Nolan and I slept two weeks ago, then walked back to Te Anau and got a room at a hostel. My knee is no longer swollen, but still aches to climb up or down on. Not sure what my plan is for the next few days - I think I will go to Invercargill & meet Nolan and Clement as they finish the TA.
The next morning my ambition had returned, and I vowed to walk 25k to the Demon Trail Hut. But after 2 hours of tramping I had climbed to the highest point of the Hollyford (a pitiful 100 meter climb to little Homer Saddle), and still the trees and vegetation were too thick to get a decent view of the mountains. After another hour or two of walking, I made it to Alabaster Hut, intending to spend the night there.
At Alabaster Hut I ran into a friendly local legend named Bruce, who offered me a ride up Alabaster Lake in his boat. He said he was coming back down the lake on Monday, and he'd be happy to give me a lift back. Since there was heavy rain predicted, I figured I'd get to Olivine Hut, spend a day reading and messing around in the rain, then head back out with Bruce.
Bruce shuttled me up the lake, up to a little airstrip by the rundown hut he calls home, then I walked an hour and a half to Olivine Hut, bush-bashing through the poorly marked path. At Olivine there was a hand crank cable cart that crossed a river, so I spent a bit of time playing around on that. At 6 or 7 a group of 3 hunters showed up on jetboats, bringing a bit of whisky and homemade venison salami, and we had ourselves a grand ole time in the Olivine Hut. In the morning the promised rain (50-75mm, allegedly) didn't come. I had wasted a day for naught. I walked up to the Olivine waterfall, fished a bit with a rod the hunters left for me, and read my kindle til it ran out of battery. Very boring day.
The next morning I woke up early and started packing up to go meet Bruce.
"Pat, where are you going?" asked one of the hunters.
"I'm headed out to meet Bruce."
"Pat, it's Sunday."
So I spent another day lazing around Olivine Hut, playing on the cableway, trying to avoid sandflies.
The next morning I left the hut and met Bruce. He took me back down Lake Alabaster. At this point I was full of energy, and I walked back out to the Hollyford road end, effectively undoing 4 days of walking in 1 day.
The next morning I rolled off the picnic table I slept on and headed off to hike up to Lake Adelaide, where there is a big rock I intended to sleep under. The track was incredibly steep and poorly marked, and the dew combined with the light rain to make rocks and roots horribly slick, and streams horribly muddy. After 4 hours I reached a large rock field. I began scrambling up, and slipped a couple times before sliding a few meters off a rock and smashing my knee. When the pain subsided I pulled out my phone and checked how close I was. I had risen 300m, less than 1/3rd of the total, and traversed about 1.5k out of 8, and my knee ached. The last two K's of walking around Lake Adelaide was in a very steep boulder field, and if it was anything like this one it would be way too slick to cross. I sat around for two hours, thinking I might sleep out in the open, but eventually my knee began to improve, and I started climbing back down. I got to the road and hitched back to Te Anau, sick of the Hollyford Valley and defeated by Lake Adelaide.
I slept in the control gate shelter where Nolan and I slept two weeks ago, then walked back to Te Anau and got a room at a hostel. My knee is no longer swollen, but still aches to climb up or down on. Not sure what my plan is for the next few days - I think I will go to Invercargill & meet Nolan and Clement as they finish the TA.