1000 km, still alive!

March 9

Waiau Forks campsite - Blue Lake Hut

KM 2009.5 (remember, this is the KM mark for people following on the official TA map which goes SOBO)

Distance: 7.9km 

Elevation: ascent 920m, descent 836m

Steps: 18,000

Time: 8:00am - 3:00pm

It was a chilly night last night, the temperature probably dropped to around 5C. Thankfully we have the right gear to stay, not so much warm, but not frozen. So coffee and porridge was welcomed heartily by our bellies.

We were underway by 8am walking over the shadows of the surrounding peaks under a clear cold sky. As you can tell from the stats above a steep climb lay ahead of us which had us pausing quite often to catch our breath while claiming to be admiring the scenery.

After an hour and a half we reached some seriously steep climbing, requiring hand over foot scrambling up the rock face. Some of the rock faces we climbed had the appearance of filo pastry. The same way that baked filo has layers and is crumbly, so these rocks were comprised of fine sedimentary layers, and easily crumbled in our hands. We avoided these patches where possible, and grabbed the more solid looking holds. The whole way up I (Vaughan) was thinking of how much my rock climbing nephew Ashton would enjoy it. It was his birthday today and I had hoped to have data coverage at the top of the pass to send a message but it wasn't to be.

Then finally the Waiau Pass! And wow did the views live up to the promise. It's also where we left the Canterbury region behind and entered the Tasman region (we will always remember the Cant!). Our trail friend Linsey was waiting at the top, she had left camp half an hour before us this morning. In the photo below you can see Lake Constance/Pōhueroa behind us.

The path down the other side of the pass was over scree for about an hour and a half and nearly as taxing as the uphill. The most interesting thing was the sheer abundance and variety of grasshoppers we disturbed. Greens, yellows and dark reds, all bouncing away as we got close. Some performing precision landings, others relying on their hard exoskeleton to bounce off rocks until they stopped. 

Another milestone was achieved today. We passed the 1000 km mark for NOBO walkers! (KM 2013 for those following on the standard TA map which is SOBO). We passed it at the very location in the photo below (give or take a few metres). 

The climbing wasn't over yet though, we had to climb over a spur to avoid walking through Lake Constance/Pōhueroa which has been declared tapu (sacred, protected) by the local iwi (tribe, indigenous community).

The climbing eventually came to an end and we traversed the landslide which had created the lake, and descended to the Blue Lake/Rotomairewhenua where the hut is. It's claimed that this lake contains the clearest natural water in the world. It's an amazing spectacle and was incredibly inviting after a very hot day, but again it's off limits to protect the health of the lake which has already been adversely impacted by invasive weeds (the green colouring).

The hut was a great relief after a tough, hot day and we both collapsed with a cup of coffee before attending to admin. Linsey's sister Christine has joined her at the hut and we enjoyed getting to know her. She is just as warm and bubbly as Linsey. We'll sleep well tonight before a well earned short day tomorrow.