TA Days 132 to 136: Wandering to Wānaka

How do you balance days of stunning scenery with extreme fatigue?

Sometimes I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. Teetering between physical and mental exhaustion, along with downright dangerous conditions. However, there are also some brilliant moments on the trail, with lots of beautiful scenery and tram fun.

Yet. After weeks of poor sleep, wet feet, crowded campsites, and dangerous terrain, I feel exhausted and eager to finish the trail.

The stretch from Lake Ohau to Wānaka started with a bit of a laugh.

I am a very light sleeper and always use earplugs to help block out noise.

After staying awake for a long time struggling to sleep, I took out my earplugs. At some point I managed to fall asleep with the silicone plugs still in my hand.

I had a vivid dream involving Animal Encounter and another hiking friend. In the dream, we were backstage at a theater and there was a lot of leftover Christmas candy.

Animal Encounter and Duncan were talking, while I was deciding which candy to eat now and which to save for later.

For some reason, I ended up choosing to save a chocolate-flavored hot chocolate for later. Now I would eat a chocolate covered marshmallow. It’s ironic that I don’t normally eat marshmallows because they contain gelatin.

Still asleep, my mouth began to salivate with the taste of the marshmallow. Mmmm.

A few seconds later, I woke up after licking my earplug, sleepy. Thank goodness I didn’t bite into it and quickly realized it wasn’t candy.

After breakfast we packed up camp and walked to the start of the East Ahuriri track.

Forests, hills, fields and stream crossings met us along the way. I took a short break to do some watercolor painting and dry my tent while I waited for my tram to catch up.

We ended up walking up to 2552 km and camping next to a small stream for the night.

The next day, we had our last major river crossing (yay!). Despite being wide, the Ahuriri River was shallow and slow-flowing.

Heading away from the river, we crossed farmland, before following a path up into the hills and across a scree-covered pass.

Finally, we descended back into a valley and continued to the Top Timaru hut. There were already tons of campers there when we arrived.

Along with the varied terrain, rain, clouds, sunshine, and many rainbows greeted us on our hike.

The further south we went, the more excited I became for the last day of the river hike. Unfortunately for me, another rainy day awaited us.

The trail actually had two options: a high route that was supposed to be extremely dangerous and a river alternative.

Deciding to trust the TA trail notes and follow the other hikers who went before us; We also opted for the river.

Flashbacks to Comyns’ traumatic experience at Manuka Hut came rushing back.

At 8:00, the cold water of the Timaru River felt like needles were sticking into my legs and feet. I felt miserable.

Not only was the water bitterly cold, but we had to climb rocks to safely navigate deep sections.

For the second time on the Te Araroa trail, I almost felt like giving up. It is difficult to consciously submit to pain.

Add to that the stress of trying to find a way down the river safely and the situation becomes dire.

Animal Encounter was enjoying the river, meanwhile, my and Sophia’s gaze told the opposite story.

Fortunately for us, there was an escape route to the high road.

After squeezing the water out of my socks before my feet were completely numb, we continued on our way. We still had a few river crossings here and there, but it sure beat having to walk on water all the time.

Despite the warnings in the trail notes, the high route was no different than any other segment of the TA trail we had been on.

Finally, we began to get completely away from the river and ascend to Stodys cabin for the night.

Despite being the last to arrive, we managed to find relatively flat spots to pitch our tent in the mountainous area surrounding Stodys.

The next morning we let the other hikers leave before us. The good thing about being last is not worrying so much about someone approaching you while you take a pee break.

The views beyond Stodys were stunning. Beautiful mountains and the river winding below.

Finally, our ascent took us into the clouds, with an eerie fog all around us. Honestly, it was cool with sheep and rock formations appearing mysteriously through a blanket of gray.

Luckily for us, our ascent up Breast Hill took us above the clouds and to a stunning view of Lake Hāwea.

An obligatory tram photo break at the top of the hill, which turned into a descent to the Pakituhi hut for lunch.

From there we began a slow and steep descent.

It took us a couple of hours to reach the road below. A quick bath (or in my case, soaking our feet) led us to follow a walking/biking trail into town.

Our first stop at Lake Hāwea? To get ice cream at the store (fejoa sorbet, yum)!

From there we still had a couple more kilometers to “the camp” to spend the night.

Feeling exhausted, we set up our tents, started doing laundry, and ended up eating dinner at a nearby food truck.

I’m not going to lie, it was the first time I’d officially done laundry since arriving in the South Island. I had once washed clothes in the sink in Hanmer Springs, but nothing beats clean clothes!

With clean shirts and shorts, the next morning we set off towards Wanaka. It was an “easy” day, following flat walking and cycling paths along the canals into town.

Arriving in Wānaka, Animal Encounter and I ran a few errands and then bought crepes before heading to the supermarket to resupply.

As if the last few days hadn’t been action-packed, there was one more surprise in store for Animal Encounter.

Not sure her shoes would survive to Bluff, she tried on a pair to check the size in case she needed to order some later.

Like an unfortunate jinx, his store stake decided it was time to buy new shoes after all.

One second his shoe was pressing a tent stake into the ground, and the next the metal was pressing through his shoe! At first I thought my foot was impaled.

Fortunately, the troublesome stake had wedged itself between his toes, rather than between them. On the contrary, he had to cut his new socks and the fabric of his shoe to free his foot.

A quick trip back to the sports store to order shoes (they didn’t have his size in stock) finally put an end to the action-packed evening.

Now that we’ve gotten through the river sections and gotten some of the craziness out of the way, we’re hoping things calm down in the next section.

Be safe and have fun out there!