Pelorus

March 21

Rocks Hut to Captain Creek Hut

KM 1846

Distance: 9.6km 

Elevation: ascent 215m, descent 892m

Steps: 20,400

Time: 8:55am - 1:30pm

Having had the entire 16-bunk (2 'bedroom') hut to ourselves overnight, we had a nice leisurely morning. We knew there would be some light rain coming in, but we also knew that we had a short day ahead of us.

So rather than rush out into the morning to get ahead of the rain, we decided to have a nice wander up to the nearby lookout, to watch the sun rise. 

Yeah, red sky at morning, sailors take warning, right? There have been other parts of New Zealand very badly affected by the current weather systems, and our hearts go out to anyone who has been evacuated or is dealing with damage to property right now!

But dawn where we were, and indeed the rest of the day, was only a light drizzle at most; and even then for the most part for us it was moderated by the forest; so we were mostly only dealing with drips from the trees.

Ok, maybe a litte more than that - it was definitely worth having all of our wet weather gear on for this day's walk. But let's be honest, it's nothing that Oregonians or Washingtonians (the ones who live west of the Cascades, at least) would think twice about.

Even with our late, leisurely start, we made it to the first hut (Middy) for lunch. Again, this is a cute hut with a wonderful clearing around it, and in other circumstances we would have been tempted to stay longer than just the short nap...

After Middy, the track got a little bit more difficult, and in Eliza's opinion a lot more dangerous. This is because we were finally on a track overlooking Te Hoiere, the Pelorus River, which is famed for its Emerald Pools. We won't see those until tomorrow, but the startling green colour was obvious from the first look. 

So why so dangerous, you ask? It's because the river is so beautiful, it would be very easy to forget to watch the track and walk off the side or miss a turn!  Seriously, if anything the photo above doesn't quite get how green the water is. Apparently the water is so green due to the blue-grey sandstone deposits that this river is slowly eroding. (fact check, please, if anyone knows better!) 

And at the same time, the water is soooo clear. You can easily see through the water down what looks like several meters. If it had been warmer, we would have jumped right on in! But as it was, Vaughan reckoned that there would be an instant Eliza-cicle if she went into that water, so we wisely stayed on land.

We mentioned that this was a short, easy day. Well, it was short, and it was easy in comparison, but we were both more than ready to put our packs down for the day when we arrived at Captain Creek Hut. The loading on our quads, knees and feet over the past week had taken its toll, and pretty much every part of our bodies was ready for a rest.

That being said, Vaughan spent much of the afternoon chopping wood so we could have a fire, and also so that we could leave the hut with a nice supply of ready firewood for future residents.

We also wandered down to the Pelorus River, just a two minute walk downhill from the hut, to pass some time and continue to marvel at its beauty.

We also lucked out, because this was the last DoC Hut we stay at on the South Island, and we got the hut to ourselves. So it was a poignant farewell to the huts we had stayed at for so many nights over the past months. (Yes there are a few huts on the North Island, but it's fun to engage in nostalgia sometimes).

We will miss this sight!