Day 137: Highland creek hut to Roses hut

Thursday 30.03.2023

Te Araroa kilometres done: 2657
Official kms: 10.5km
Garmin kms: 10.94km
Total time: 5:00
Calories burned: 2578
Body battery: 8/10
Accommodation: Roses hut
Tent nights tally: 18
Zero days had so far: 27

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The hut full of 10 people all got up about the same time. We also all left together at 8:30am, the temperature initially being -2.8 degrees. So cold!

The day started with the trail dropping to the creek & then climbing steeply before dropping down to another creek, from here it climbed really steeply up a ridge! I think the theme for this section is ‘Steep ridges’ that pretty much sums up the Motatapu trail.

The climb up the ridge on the right. (Hamish in yellow & red)

Within an hour & a half I had made the 400 metre climb to the top, the 5 of us who had got there first sat down for a short break, before setting off down the other side, this next bit was a drop of 400 metres before having to climb up the next ridge which is 400 metres.

It would get steep at times but I was managing ok. I was at the top of the second climb in under 4 hours. I didn’t really stop for this one apart from taking a few photos. Hamish was sitting at the top having a break.

Second climb done, Lake Wanaka in the distance.

We started the last descent of another 400+ metres down to reach the valley. From about 2km out you could see Roses hut in the distance down in the valley.

I decided I wasn’t going to have lunch until I reached the hut. It was a steep & at times a slippery descent. Once I reached the hut I had decided that I was going to call it a day. I was initially going to walk to Macetown & camp, but we are expecting temperatures in the negatives again overnight & I only have my summer gear.