Monday 10.04.2023

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 2827.5km
• Official kms: 21.7km
• Garmin kms: 22.88km
• Total time: 8:12
• Calories burned: 3749
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Aparima hut
• Tent nights tally: 18
• Zero days had so far: 31

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Today I’m going back on trail & have mixed emotions about it. I’m starting to feel over it & just want to be home but I also want to complete this challenging journey.

I was up way before my alarm & was down at reception at 7am ready to catch my bus that I had booked a few days previously. For $27 they drop you back at the start of the trail on the way to Queenstown.

I was dropped & ready to go not long after 7:30am & started walking just before 8am. The start of the trail is about 6 kilometres of farm road to Princhester hut.

It didn’t take long to reach this hut & there were quite a few cars parked here from Easter weekend trampers & hunters. Surprisingly no one stayed in the hut last night.

After signing the book I started off again into bush this time where I needed to climb over a saddle 400 metre above me. It was very muddy & lots of roots to navigate but I got there in about an hour from leaving the hut.

From here the trail dropped down through the bush over a few kilometres before i emerged out into the open tussock, this had its own challenges as you couldn’t always see where your feet were going or where the next pole was. But it was mostly easy.

Today I bumped into a few people coming the opposite direction as they were coming out from their long weekend hike. I would stop & chat & see where they had come from & how their weekends were.

Before long I sat down in the shade of the bush for lunch. Most of today would go in & out of the bush & tussock. It felt like a long day & my feet were sore by the end of it.

I was glad to reach the hut just over 8 hours from when I set out. It was a challenging day & when I arrived I was the only one here. There are 2 huts here, the main one has 2 platforms & 8 mattresses & the older historic hut has 3 beds & seems just as nice but with more room!

About 20 minutes after arriving a family of 3 turned up & joined me. They are from Dunedin & it’s the 1st time their daughter has done an overnight hike. Hopefully she enjoys it & does more! We are all staying in the bigger hut. 2 TA hikers turned up about an hour later so fairly full hut tonight.

We all did a big firewood run to get enough wood for a few days. I’m expecting to spend all day here tomorrow as there is a lot of rain forecasted for tomorrow.

Another zero in a hut. Hopefully very relaxing.