Day 36-40: Comyns Hut to Tekapo. 2292km-2419km - š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
- Tough Girl
- Apr 26, 2024
- 5 min read
Day 36/64 š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
šSupported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ā¹ļøStats: Monday 5th February
Weather: Sunny āļø & hot
From: Comyns Hut
Start time: 8am
To: Manuka Hut
End time: 4pm
Accommodation: top bunk - 6 bed hut
Terrain: river/gorge walking 2hrs, grassy land, across scree slopes x3, 4WD track
š„¾Km: 13.2
š¦¶Steps: 16,879
Total Km: 2313/3028 = 76% ā
š°Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 5/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 5/10
āļøHighlights: the viewsā¦ šššš
šļøChallenges: a small patch of skin on my right ankle is looking infected and a bit oozy š¤¢. I keep putting antiseptic on it and clean it at the end of every day. But itās been like this for a while. (As my feet are constantly wet!)
šThoughts: long day - felt so long and never ending. It wasnāt particularly hard terrain - pretty normal for the TA. It was just hard going.
Tomorrow is a big day - approx 30k to get to the trail head and I need to be there at 4pm - so itās going to be an early start!!!
Day 37/64 š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
šSupported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ā¹ļøStats: Tuesday 6th February
Weather: Sunny & windy. š¬ļø
From: Manuka Hut
Start time: 6.50am
To: Potts River Bridge carpark, Hakatere Potts Road
End time: 2.30pm at the trail head. Collected at 5pm ish, arrived at the next trail head at 8pm ish. In the tent by 9pm
Accommodation: camped šļø
Terrain: grassy tracks, 4WD track, gravel road.
š„¾Km: 20.4
š¦¶Steps: 26,100
š»Hitch 4K gravel road - Sam & James š
šShuttle to Glenrock Stream, Double Hill Run Road (136km)
Total Km: 2345/3028 = 77% ā
š°Costs: $100 shuttle
Food resupply $75 (misc - painkiller & chapstick $14.65) (2x gf wraps, jelly snakes š x2, cheese, pesto, chocolate, 1x banana, crisps, protein bars, chocolate chip cookies gf)
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10 - easy track walking, good markers.
āļøHighlights: the views of the mountains in the distance was spectacular š finding Gf wraps at the supermarket.
šļøChallenges: not knowing if I was going to be able to get on the shuttle. I sent Alec a message via my Zoleo and found out that 3 people cancelled - so I had a spot!! š„³
That evening my @msr_gear tent pole broke in the wind and ripped my tent āŗļø so annoying.
Worst tent. Not impressed. At all. I miss my old tent. š¢
Managed to create a temporary fix with duct tape and a splint - it will have to do for tonight. Tomorrow- Iāll need to figure out a way to get it fixed or replace the pole š
šThoughts: the next section is Two Thumb Track. Which should take 2.5 days. There is one challenging river crossing and also the highest point in the TA. Plus it looks like it may rain tomorrow š§ļø
Day 38/64 š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
šSupported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Two Thumb Track
ā¹ļøStats: Wednesday 7th February
Weather: hot and sunny āļø
From: Glenrock Stream, Double Hill Run Road
Start time: 7.30 am
To: Stone Hut
End time: 3.10 pm
Accommodation: bottom bunk - mattress
Terrain:3 hr gorge walking, steep climbs, scree descents, grassy tracks, stream and river crossing.
š„¾Km: 14.8
š¦¶Steps: 18,894
Total Km: 2364.5/3028 = 78% ā
š°Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 6/10
Fatigue: 8/10 - I did not sleep well last night and I can really feel it today
Ease of terrain: 6/10 - not as horrendous as the TA notes make it out to be.
āļøHighlights: the weather, the views š Stone hut was also really nice. š they had the blue thick mattresses. š¤
šļøChallenges: everything, the terrain, the broken tent pole, the sun, the descents, finding the track, crossing the streams, eating food. Itās all a challenge today. Plus I think Iāve eaten too much chocolate and processed food / or had bad water. As Iāve got the shits š©š©š©
šThoughts: the climb after the first hut was brutal. It was like walking through treacle. Feeling weak and tired. Not sure how Iām going to finish the hike by the 3rd March. As I really need to start doing bigger distances. Which in this terrain is hard going (or I find it hard going!)
Day 39/64 š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
šSupported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ā¹ļøStats: Thursday 8th February
Weather: hot & sunny āļø
From: Stone Hut
Start time: 7.30am
To: Camp Stream Hut
End time: 3.40pm
Accommodation: bottom bunk - 6 bed hut. Very cosy!
Terrain: tussock covered ground.
š„¾Km: 11.3
š¦¶Steps: 14,486
Total Km: 2385/3028 = 79% ā
š°Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 6/10- looking forward to an afternoon nap!
Ease of terrain: 6/10 - not horrendous and you could move pretty quickly on the downhill through the tussocks.
āļøHighlights: meeting Wizard @captainaomi šŖ& Purav at Royal Hut.
šļøStag Saddle (1925m), the highest point on Te Araroa. (I found this quite an easy climb) š
šļøChallenges: emails have been sent (via zoleo) to @msr_gear re a new pole, Iāve messaged about the bike hire and emailed 2 places re accommodation- which is apparently fully booked this weekend!
Plus my stomach is still not good š„ŗ
šThoughts: Iāve got no accommodation booked for tomorrow. I havenāt heard back from the bike people and the MSR tent support team are saying the tent was discounted and it may be hard to get a replacement pole!!! I told them it was a brand new tent I bought in Sept 2023 and has been used less than 40x. Nothing is going rightā¦.
Hopefully the trail will provide and it will all be sorted tomorrow when I get into town! Iām very tired and need to have a sleep. š¤
Day 40/64 š„¾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island š³šæ
šSupported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ā¹ļøStats: Friday 9th February
Weather: hot & sunny āļø
From: Camp Stream Hut
Start time: 6.40am
To: Tekapo
End time: 12.05pm
Accommodation: dorm room - bottom bunk
Terrain: very easy walking track, one steep section. Otherwise pretty much downhill and flat!
š„¾Km: 17.2
š¦¶Steps: 22,086
š» Hitch - 12k to town Tekapo
Total Km: 2419/3028 = 80% ā
609km to go 23 days - 26.5k per dayā¦
š°Costs: šļø Accommodation $62
breakfast $21
š²Bike hire $93
total š° $176
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
āļøHighlights: getting my @msr_gear tent pole sorted. They are going to send a replacement to Wanaka and there is a guy in the shop who is going to mend it for me. š„³š„³š„³
š²Bike hire for tomorrow is also all sorted ā
šļøChallenges: massive stomach ache - donāt feel great at all. š„ŗš„ŗš„ŗ
š§ š¤ÆSorting out all the logistics for the next few days is painful. So many moving parts.
šThoughts: I canāt find any accommodation in Twizel. Iāve reached out to some NZ friends to see if anyone knows anyone. So far no luck.
If I canāt find anywhere Iām going to have to splint the tent pole with a can and duct tape and camp. Otherwise Iām out of options.
I also donāt know what to do after Twizelā¦
On the next section - there is no huts for 50km - only camping.
So do I skip ahead and miss that section and go to Wanaka and wait for the tent pole? Which I donāt want to do! But I have no other option if I canāt get the splint for the tent to work!! Ahhhhhh š§š§š§
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