Swampy and scratchy

January 17th
Aparima Hut to Lower Princhester Hut
Distance: 17km
Elevation: ascent 550m; descent 400m
Steps: 28,600

Today was one of our tougher days on the trail, mostly for the last 3 or 4 km. 

It started off absolutely beautiful, light rain, much MUCH cooler than yesterday, and just a little bit of a breeze. The rain didn't last long, but the cooler weather did, for which we were grateful all day. 

Today's track alternated between open tussock and beech forest. So basically we were going from Gondor into Fanghorn, and back, over and over again (Vaughan had nothing to do with this reference). See?
(sometimes you have to get creative with where you put the trail markers...)

And while there were times that the tussock was so high that it was impossible to see the next marker, the forest tracks were very well marked.
The other thing about walking through tussock is that it will scratch up your shins and legs, just little by little, and nothing noticeable by looking at your legs, but lemme tell you: spraying deet-based bug spray onto those little micro cuts will DEFINITELY let you know they're there!! 

We also saw the formal, grand entrance into the woods, but did not take this as we weren't official visitors:
That's about where the photos end for the day, because pretty much the next time we entered the forest, it got tough. Like at times we were afraid we had wandered onto an old trail that had been effectively decommissioned, because this trail has not been maintained for quite some time. So we were making great time, and then slowed right down. Having to watch where you place every foot, having your shins cut up even more by bracken fern, having to sidle up slopes where the track has fallen away, and climb up over and around trees roots that are just not placed where a good track would have them... yeah, we were tired and at the end of our energy by the time the hut came into sight.
A lovely home for us for the night, and we both half-hearted sponge baths in the nearby stream, knowing that we are heading into Te Anau tomorrow. There we will spend a couple of days for RR&R. Rest, Recovery, and Resupply. Also, showers!  

Finally, another collage for you of some of the interesting plantlife we saw today:

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