Leave only footprints

January 23rd

Mavora Lakes Campground to campsite on a moraine.

Distance: 20km

Elevation: flat-ish

Steps: 32,500

This afternoon the trail decided that we would be camping atop a grassy lateral moraine (look it up) in the Mavora Valley, approximately equidistant to Boundary and Taipo huts. We're looking down on the gravelly Mararoa River, coloured cobalt blue by the crumbling greywacke slopes either side of it, threading its way through high country grassland. I should also acknowledge Ngai Tahu, traditional owners of this area, who have given permission for the trail to pass through here.

We started the day skirting Mavora Lake in chilly temperatures but clear skies. The lake glassy lake suface forming a canvas for the surrounding hills.

After that the remainder of the walk was in exposed grass and tussock land with temperatures in the mid to high-twenties, the clear blue skies remaining with us. Just after leaving Boundary hut, where we ate and made some running repairs to our feet, we had to cross another swing bridge, which we much prefer to walking through streams. There was a decent sized rainbow trout patrolling under the bridge. This to match the trout we saw some anglers pulling in, about 5km downstream from here.

And we came across some interesting rocks.

In some ways it looks like a breathtaking natural landscape we've passed through today, with the mountain peaks, Lake Mavora, flowing streams and grassy plains. But along the way I've been reminded that it's far from a natural landscape. Many of the streams we crossed were clogged with invasive weeds, the rainbow trout in the stream are fun to catch but have only been in this country a short time (and compete with native fish for food and other resources), even the high country grass and tussock land which are so iconic of the South Island were much smaller in scale until people arrived and burned the totara and beech forests and stocked it with ruminants (as I understand it, happy to be corrected).

It doesn't change the fact that we're in awe of this landscape as we pass through it.