- Round The World Trip Destination Wish #3: Great Walks in New Zealand
- Milford Track Booked For April 2015
- New Zealand, On The Road Again After a 2 Month Break
- 8 New Zealand Great Walks in 8 Weeks
- Preparing for The Great Walks and Waiting Out Cyclone Pam
- Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk Day 1: Onepoto to Panekire Hut
- Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk Day 2: Panekire Hut to Waiopaoa Hut
- Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk Day 3: Waiopaoa Hut to Marauiti Hut
- Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk Day 4: Marauiti Hut to Hopuruahine Landing
- Wairoa and Taupo, In Between Great Walks
- Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 1: Mangatepopo Hut to Oturere Hut
- Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 2: Oturere Hut to Waihohonu Hut
- Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 3: Waihohonu Hut to Whakapapa Village
- Wellington, Christchurch, Mount Cook, and Queenstown, In Between Great Walks
- Routeburn Track Day 1: Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut
- Routeburn Track Day 2: Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut
- Routeburn Track Day 3: Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide
- Milford Track Day 1: Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut
- Milford Track Day 2: Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut
- Milford Track Day 3: Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut
- Milford Track Day 4: Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point
- Te Anau, In Between Great Walks
- Rakiura Track Day 1: Oban to Port William Hut
- Rakiura Track Day 2: Port William Hut to North Arm Hut
- Rakiura Track Day 3: North Arm Hut to Oban
- Stewart Island, In Between Great Walks
- Kepler Track Day 1: Te Anau to Luxmore Hut
- Kepler Track Day 2: Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut
- Kepler Track Day 3: Iris Burn Hut to Moturau Hut
- Kepler Track Day 4: Moturau Hut to Te Anau
- A Return to Milford Sound
- Coastal Pacific Train, Hitchking, And Nelson, In Between Great Walks
- Abel Tasman Coast Track Day 1: Marahau to Anchorage
- Abel Tasman Coast Track Day 2: Anchorage to Bark Bay
- Abel Tasman Coast Track Day 3: Bark Bay to Awaroa
- Abel Tasman Coast Track Day 4: Awaroa to Whariwharangi
- Abel Tasman Coast Track Day 5: Whariwharangi to Totaranui via Gibbs Hill Track
- Heaphy Track Day 1: Brown Hut to Perry Saddle Hut
- Heaphy Track Day 2: Perry Saddle Hut to James Mackay Hut
- Heaphy Track Day 3: James Mackay Hut to Heaphy Hut
- Heaphy Track Day 4: Heaphy Hut to Kohaihai
- Riding The Tranzalpine Train in New Zealand
- In Review: 69 Days of Backpacking in New Zealand
Previous entry: Day 1 – Brown Hut to Perry Saddle Hut
Part of the New Zealand Great Walks Journal
Journal entry for May 9, 2015
Distance hiked: 24.2 km
There are seven huts on the Heaphy Track, and the three main big ones have only been recently constructed. Perry Saddle Hut has three separate bunk rooms, and a kitchen/common area with running water, sinks, and gas cookers.
The trails starts moving slightly downhill through forest. The first hour or so provided no special views.
Gouland Downs finally provided a change of scenery and some wide open landscape. I soon reached the famous Heaphy Boot Pole, a place where hikers had left some pretty worn out boots, and some not so worn out high heels.
I then passed through the small and very old Gauland Downs Hut.
What followed was a very interesting ancient forest area, full of moss and small arches.
The landscape opens up again, as I crossed two small rivers though wobbly bridges made of wires. They looked like they were recently constructed. I had fun crossing them as they feel very flimsy, but I’m sure they are pretty safe.
I then finally got to see the Powelliphanta, an large endangered carnivorous snail.
Stopping at Saxon Hut for lunch, I saw the only three other hikers from the hut the previous night: Timo from Netherlands, Callum from England, and Merlin from Germany.
My final stop for the day was James Mackay Hut. The three hours to there from Saxon Hut were pretty monotonous.
Inside the hut was a group of very obnoxious mountain bikers. One of them let out very loud farts every ten minutes, for the about three hours straight. He was making an effort to make them sound as loud as possible. None of his friends said anything to him, they just laughed. I mean, these are guys in their 40’s. I’m not uptight but farting loudly stopped being funny after high school. I don’t know what it was about mountains bikers but I had never seen this type of behavior from hikers. I realized that one of the problems was the lack of female presence in the hut. I was hoping that one would show up so people could act civilized again. That never happened.
More info:
NZ Department of Conservation’s brochure and video for this walk.
Part of the New Zealand Great Walks Journal
