Friday 24.03.2023

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 2569km
• Official kms: 13.5km
• Garmin kms: 15.47km
• Total time: 6:21
• Calories burned: 3107
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Stodys hut.
• Tent nights tally: 18
• Zero days had so far: 26

https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/walking-te-araroa-3000km-for-the-key-to-life

Track me live here:

https://aus-share.explore.garmin.com/curtiss

I woke 30 minutes before my alarm at 6am, deciding to get up, I was ready to leave just before 7:30am, it was light but the sun hadn’t come up yet.

I started walking, it was a typical morning from what it has been the last few weeks, cold! Today is supposed to be a challenging hike so I’m glad I have left early to allow plenty of time.

The DOC times for Top Timaru to Stodys hut is 8 to 9 hours for 14km! Let’s see how I go today.

It started off as an easy 4wd track for a kilometre & then became trail which was rocky & rooty. It’s just over 11km to the Junction from where I started from & very undulating.

There were a few river crossings required today & this wasn’t easy as the river was still grey & running swiftly.

The trail was challenging but not as bad as I expected. Within 4 & a half hours I had made it to the junction, I sat here for a 10 minute break & had some electrolytes. It’s only 2.2km to the hut from here but over 500 metres above me! That means it’s going to be a steep climb!

The sign here at the bottom said 1.5 to 2 hours to Stodys hut. The climb felt brutal at times but also allowed for some great views. It took exactly 1.5 hours to get to the hut. I was happy with the timing.

There were two other hikers who had passed me earlier before the junction, sitting here at the hut having lunch before pushing on to the next hut. I was in 2 minds wether to push on or stay here, since it was only 1:45pm.

I decided on the later, it’s nice to do short days sometimes, so I decided to relax & watch some Netflix series pre downloaded on my phone.

It’s only 21km into Hawea tomorrow & should be fairly easy. Hoping to get there mid afternoon & have a nice real dinner tomorrow night!