- 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 2 – Perry Saddle Hut to James Mackay Hut
Part of the New Zealand Great Walks Journal
Journal entry for May 10, 2015
Distance hiked: 20.5 km
It rained on and off throughout the night, and once again heavily at around 8:30am. While waiting for the rain to stop, Calum, Timo, Mervin, and I did some cleaning in Perry Saddle Hut. We hit the trail half an hour later.
The 600-meter descent down to Lewis Hut was through unremarkable bush forest. One of my favorite pastimes while hiking in NZ is to read the “Intentions Book” in the huts. People log their names, city of origin, arrival/departure dates, next destination, and any other comments. Some of them are amusing. There was one comment by a girl who had forgotten her lighter and was left with no dinner, all by herself.
The scenery turned very interesting after Lewis Hut. Long bridges, beautiful rocky cliffs in the distance, and a strange forest with trees I had never seen before.
My final destination for the day was Heaphy Hut, in a beautiful area where the Heaphy River meets the Tasman Sea. You could see the high tide sea water and the downstream river water pushing against each other. Callum, Timo, and Mervin had just arrived too. We were the only ones at the hut that night.
We went for a walk to enjoy the sunset. The sun got blocked by a huge cloud just as it was hitting the horizon, so the sunset wasn’t as good as it could have been.
Back at the hut, it took us a long time to start a fire because of lack of small timber. The clouds cleared up after it got dark and we had fantastic views of the starry sky.
In my mind, this was the day that Heaphy Track earned its Great Walk honor. The first two days were rather unremarkable for me, but the scenery for this day was both very beautiful and unique.
More info:
NZ Department of Conservation’s brochure and video for this walk.
Next entry: Day 4 – Heaphy Hut to Kohaihai
Part of the New Zealand Great Walks Journal
