Rita

This was the second day of our hike. We left 7am at break of dawn to avoid the rain. We left the hut continuing clockwise on the North South track towards the Ngamarama track which felt harder due to sloshy mud in many many places. We came across a detour to 2 waterfalls- Wednesday waterfalls which is the bottom of the falls and then Pudding Basin waterfalls which is the top of it. Both beautiful. Did not stop for a swim as we were dodging rain later on, which did catch up to us about 45mim from the end. But this would have been a lovely stop for a swim. The way to the waterfalls is steep and overgrown in places, so it is no joke and does take about 30 min to get down there. And the same on the way back. We followed the coloured ribbons which took us in the right direction. At the very end, close to the carpark, my gpx wanted me to follow a 30min detour which was inconvenient and made us cross even more mud.. We were heading south and the best way is to choose the 10min detour to the carpark instead.

There was rain forecast for our second day of hiking, so we went anticlockwise to cross the river before the rain started. This was a good decision and it rained heavy overnight. The first day was slightly overcast and the second was cloudy and dark but the rain only started 45 min from the end of the hike, with a steady drizzle, so we were very lucky. Really nice and easy until you get to the N/S track which is gnarlier, and more like a bush track. Well marked and in general not overgrown. There were 2 river crossings where I took my boots off, they were very safe crossings thankfully. Lovely refreshing water. The hut is smaller than I thought but really nice- very warm and has a fireplace and also solar lights inside and in the porch, and also you can charge your phone! 12 bunks in 2 platforms. I have to remember to bring earplugs next time…

Rainy day in the bush. Straight forward track with beautiful rain forest that felt really long! We started at 7am pitch dark with our head torches to guide us. I was happy that the trail was easy to follow and the torches provided us plenty of light on our path. We had booked a shuttle to pick us up at rainbow reach at 3pm. We arrived with 15min to spare. The shuttle shaves 5h (one day of hiking) which was a great idea considering that it was raining and all there was to see was bush and moss. This was my first great walk. The ridge day was an absolute favourite and made all the effort worthwhile.

Glorious day on the ridge. My favourite day. We were lucky with the weather but still used all my 4 layers and a beanie as the wind was very cold in places. At Iris Burn hut, I almost lost one of my hiking boots to a cheeky kea! All gear must be inside where no kea can get in! Again, the hut has gas hobs, indoor toilets with toilet paper and indoor lighting in the kitchen. Just by the hut there is a cold stream, which would be an absolute dream… where not for the hungry sandflies… if you put repellent, then you will harm the stream… if you don’t, you’re eaten alive. So I just soaked my feet in and then returned to the hut. Still got bitten a million times, haha

An adventure to go into these caves, pitch dark, slippy rocks and tight spaces to navigate, but beautiful natural formations and good fun to explore.

Easy wide well formed track. Beautiful mossy forest. Fabulous Luxmore hut. It has gas hobs, indoor lights in the kitchen area and indoor flush toilets with toilet paper! No crockery or pots/pans so bring your own.

Stats incorrect as this was uploaded from trail forks, seems to lose a lot of the data. Tough going straight up on the way to the hut. Rooty overgrown and shaded the whole way. All natural paths. A few easy stream crossings closer to the hut and a swimming hole very close to the hut as a bonus. Leitch’s Hut is nice and tidy, no bookings required, $10/night. Lots of crockery and even dish washing liquid was available. No one on the trail but us. I had a heavy 11kg backpack and it took us 5 hours to reach the hut. Beautiful misty morning as a reward. On the way back we took a wrong turn causing a 3k detour that cost us a lot of time and energy tracing it back and a wild trip into a harder track hiking on a tiny single file on the face of the forest cliff. There is a huge fell tree right on the intersection of 3 tracks and that’s when we didn’t realise we made a wrong turn. Lesson learned. 10h in that forest.

Tough going straight up on the way to the hut. Rooty overgrown and shaded the whole way. All natural paths. A few easy stream crossings closer to the hut and a swimming hole very close to the hut as a bonus. Leitch’s Hut is nice and tidy, no bookings required, $10/night. Lots of crockery and even dish washing liquid was available. No one on the trail but us. I had a heavy 11kg backpack and it took us 5 hours to reach the hut. Beautiful misty morning as a reward. On the way back we took a wrong turn causing a detour that cost us a lot of time and energy tracing it back and a wild trip into a harder track hiking on a tiny single file on the face of the forest cliff. There is a huge fell tree right on the intersection of 3 tracks and that’s when we didn’t realise we made a wrong turn. Lesson learned.