Geraldine to Tekapo
Day 65: Geraldine to Royal Hut (over Bullock Bow Saddle (1692m)) 23.5km / 7.5 hrs I forgot to explain why we had a shuttle to Geraldine yesterday. As with the Rakaia River, it is not possible for us to cross the Rangitata River on foot so we have to get a shuttle from one side to the other. Apparently the point where we would cross (if we could walk on water) is 12km wide! That is one seriously wide river! So anyway, back to our trip…. Brian picked us up again from Geraldine this morning and took us to the start of the Forest Creek track. The official Te Araroa route actually goes up Bush Stream track but we had been told by a number of people that the river levels are too high so the Forest Creek track is a safer option. And boy oh boy, what an awesome decision we made! This track was fantastic! We started with three hours walking up the river bed. This involved a handful of crossings across the “creek” but nothing major. Then we turned right and went up, up, up! This had to be