The rain and wind continued on and off throughout the night, but by morning we could see bits of blue sky. I had left a note at the ranger station last night requesting a weather report before heading into alpine terrain. He was nice enough to print one out and bring it to the hut around 8pm last night. The people we have met here truly go above and beyond. Today our hike was short but challenging. We stopped at Waitewaewae Hut (pronounced YTYY) and hope to have better weather and a well rested legs for the 3,600 foot climb in the morning.
The landscape here is becoming increasingly more tropical. Today not only did we have ferns, but also mud and vines. The hut is nice and toasty with a fire to dry our muddy clothes into dry dirty clothes.
April 5th-
Throughout the evening the skies cleared and it turned cold. We left bright and early for our first long day through the Tararuas. As we climbed through the bush and into scrub the wind was calm and not a cloud in the sky. A rarity here. Our highest climb of the day was Mt. Crawford at 4,200ft. It was a perfect 360 degree view from our lunch spot. With stories of bad weather and wind we really lucked up. It would be miserable to cross this section in 60mph winds. We arrived at Dracophylium Hut to find 2 hunters that were helicoptered in. Throughout the day we heard the stag deer looking for his autumn mate. Looks like we will be wearing our bright colors the rest of our time in the mountains. We have one more alpine section tomorrow so fingers are crossed for another unbelievable day in the mountains.
The alpine sections here on the North Island are grass covered versus the rock in the South Island. It give the distant surrounding alpine mountains a beautiful green sheen.
Otaki River
Old logging equipment
Our trail
More trail
Heading to Mt. Crawford
After Mt. Crawford
Shadow on the ridge
Tomorrow's hike
Country Mouse and Shadow
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