Category: TA Trail

15 Jan. This is reputed to be one of the harder days in the Richmond Range. Only 12km but 1500m of climb. I left Hacket Hut at 07:30 and followed a river bed for about 2km before the 900m climb South up to Starveall Hut. Got there at 10:45. Freya was just moving on as … Continue reading Hacket Hut to Slaty Hut

14 Jan. 21km but with 1100m of climb and decent. Everyone was up at 06:00 and most on the track by 07:30. People walk on their own but we meet up on the track when taking breaks. First stop after 2 hours was Rocks Hut and from the nearby Lookout on the ridge I was … Continue reading Middy Creek Hut to Hacket Hut

13 Jan. Arriving by shuttle at Pelorus Bridge early afternoon meant that I was one of the first TA walkers there. Nice shower again, but mustn’t get used to that! Thoroughly recommend the Circle Loop tracks opposite the campsite. It goes through a wonderful section of preserved native forest. More walkers came in as the … Continue reading Pelorus Bridge to Middy Creek Hut

12 Jan. Today I finish the Queen Charlotte Track and transition to start the Richmond Range section. The track follows a road between Anakiwa and Pelorus Bridge. Roads are for vehicles so I wanted to avoid walking roads and booked a 11:25 shuttle into Havelock for resupplies. That meant and early start, up at 05:30 … Continue reading Mistletoe Bay to Anakiwa

11 Jan. Last night, Nicolas from Switzerland joined Davina and me at the Bay of Many Coves campsite. He has completed the North Island section and aims to cover 30km a day, so he will soon be ahead. The Wekas (chicken sized ground birds) were around our tents throughout the night, scouting for loose items … Continue reading Bay of Many Coves Camp to Mistletoe Bay Campsite

10 Jan. Shortish day today, so late start at 09:30. Shared the campsite last night with another trail walker, Davina from Melbourne. She has just finished her PhD in environmentally sustainable food processing and has a gap while looking for the next thing. She is passionate about the NZ outdoors, so if anyone has a … Continue reading Madsen Camp to Bay of Many Coves Campsite

9 Jan. With WiFi and beer available I am writing this from Furneaux Lodge at 16:30 having started at Ship Cove at 09:30 this morning. Managed to get the 08:00 water taxi from Picton. I still have about another 5km to go to the Madsen campsite. The days total will be around 25km with 500 … Continue reading First day from Ship Cove to Madsen Camp

8 Jan. Jenny and I walked the Queen Charlotte Track (the first section of the South Island TA Trail) when we first visited NZ in December 2011. The track starts at Ship Cove, the bay James Cook used as a base for exploring NZ between 1770-77. We also visited Bluff (Southern tip of South Island) … Continue reading Interconnected View

7 Jan. Got some final body tuning, admin, and farewells done today. A visit to Tara, my chiropractor, and Serena for acupuncture, got everything aligned and eased for the start. The body passed it’s Warrant of Fitness test (MoT in UK). I also saw my colleagues in the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre to get … Continue reading Last things

6 Jan. I have had the dehydrator going over the last couple of days so now have 9 meals of chilli-con-carne bagged up. It is over-rationing for the first phase on the Queen Charlotte Track, but the commercial dehydrated meals tend to be so bland so I will spread my own out over the first … Continue reading Prep and Packing