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 the longest, steepest track we have been up so far on this adventure! We were walking uphill for nearly three hours, some of it incredibly steep and near the top we were in clouds. But, despite the tough climb, the vistas as we walked up made it all worthwhile.  

Once on the saddle it was like a moon-scape, emphasized all the more by the low cloud around us. 

However, as we started to descend the new views hit us! Boom! Just amazing! It is hard to explain just how spectacular the views were. We were walking on scree covered in pink rocks with yellow tussock, looking down on blue lakes and up to mountains and down to valleys all around us. Just fantastic! 

We continued our descent and soon reached the junction which got us back on to the Te Araroa track. This took us to Royal Hut, named as such because apparently Prince Charles and Princess Anne stayed at this hut when they were children. The hut has some interesting “antiques” AKA old kitchen utensils and stuff around. 

This was an absolutely amazing day! 

Tomorrow we are due to go over Stag Saddle. This is the highest point of the Te Araroa walk. Fingers crossed this cloud lifts so we get to see the views. Otherwise it may be another day in a hut waiting for this weather to clear. 

Day 66: Royal Hut to Camp Stream Hut (over Stag Saddle) 15km / 6 hrs 40 mins. 

I was in for a real treat when I got up to go out to the long drop first thing. As I looked up the hill I saw two pointy ears and then two eyes staring at me. I stared back for a very brief second and then the owner of said ears and eyes bounced away. It was a wallaby!! I know they are pests but they are still very cute and it made me smile to have such a close encounter. 

I shared my exciting news with my very jealous room mates and not long after we headed off for today’s walk. It was already looking like the weather was playing ball and we knew we would be in for a good day. 

It took me about 2.5 hours to climb up to the saddle but every step was worth it. Roger and John were waiting for me on the saddle and we took the obligatory photos and celebratory high-fives. 

From here we could either head down in to the valley or divert off the formal trail to stay high and walk along the ridge line. As the weather was so good we went with the latter option. 

It did not take long for us to see why this route was a winner. Very soon we could see Mt Cook and other snow-tipped peaks in the Southern Alps but they were surrounded in light cloud. Feeling confident that this cloud would soon burn off we found a good spot to have lunch and a coffee whilst we waited for cloud to clear. 

And it did! We were treated with magnificent views of Mt Cook and its neighbours - some with snow, some bare. It was majestic! 

Eventually we pulled ourselves away from our fantastic lunch spot and started down the ridge line. More was to come! Very soon we were able to add a great view of Lake Tekapo to our visual treats of the day. The lake seemed to get bluer and bluer (technical term) as we got closer. It was magical. 

We carried on descending along the ridge for a couple of hours, enjoying the views all along the way. Then we dropped down one side and made our way to Camp Stream Hut for the night. 

This “compact” hut was built in 1898 and is very….rustic. It is not a DOC hut but is managed by the MacKenzie Alpine Trust. The bunks are pretty short. I can touch the end with my feet so I dread to think how Roger is going to be able to stretch out!! 

The end of my day was very similar to the beginning. As I went out to the long drop at around 10:30pm I saw not one, but two wallabies! The excitement was too much for me to keep to myself so I woke up Roger and John for them to see them for themselves. Fortunately both were very pleased that I did! 

Today we hit TWO significant milestones. (1) the highest point on the Te Araroa trail and (2) we are officially half way down the South Island.  

An absolutely phenomenal day. I feel so spoilt and so privileged to be out here experiencing all this. 

Day 67: Camp Stream Hut to Tekapo (33km, of which we walked 18km / 5.5 hrs)

No wallaby - sightings first thing this morning but that did not stop us setting off with a spring in our step as we headed out towards Tekapo. We knew it would be a relatively easy walk out to the road. 

Initially we walked along the Coal River and then headed up a wee hill which gave us some good views looking back at the river. 

We crossed the Round Hill ski field access road and then walked for 13km along an easy tramping track along the base of the Two Thumb range. This was a lovely meander with some stunning views of the lake and looking back at the Southern Alps. 

Once on the road we planned to hitch to Tekapo village but John had been trying to hitch for 40 minutes already with no luck so the three of us booked a shuttle to drive us the 15km along the road in to Tekapo. 

Today rounded off a good three days hiking.