21km total 2816km
9 hours
And another forest day! At least there will be less and less of it on my way to Bluff. But right now it is time to say goodbye to the hut and enjoy the cold weather to walk faster through the roots, stream and muddy parts of the trail. The time goes really slowly by so I listen to a lot of podcasts to help. After a lunch break at Lower Wairaki hut I walk up to the last point above 1000m of the trail. The forest finally makes room for some fantastic view of the New Zealand Southland. But it is very windy and cold so I quickly walk down on the exposed ridge. A nice reminder of the Richmond Range. I even get a bit of rain on my way down to the campsite. There I try to find a spot protected from the wind but it is really hard to find. I have a short wash at the river and then try some solution to protect my tent from the wind. Yeah it wasn’t successful. In the early morning I hear some familiar noise somewhere in the tent. A mouse found its way in and is having fun attacking my food! I chase it down but that thing is fast and just impossible to catch. Finally the rodent found the exit and I can go back to sleep.
