New Zealand 54

 She had had all sorts of adventures all over the world and as she was coming from where we were going to, it was cool to get her insight. We also met a sweet couple from Auckland and we all found lots to talk about until it got dark. The huts have no electricity so after the first candle burns out it is pretty much bed time. We were all in bed by half 7, exhausted. As the hut was directly on the beach, we were lulled to sleep by the ocean waves. Fantastic day....

New Zealand 53

 I was SO GLAD I brought them, they proved to be essential. Regarding dinner, almost all of meals we brought consisted of "Backcountry Cuisine" which is basically freeze dried food to which you add boiling water. I know it does not sound appealing and maybe we were just really hungry but it was fabulous. Anyway, during dinner we met a girl named Deidra ("D") from Ireland and she was great, really fun to chat with.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued) 

New Zealand 52 Anchorage Bay Hut

 We were so tired, we just wanted to lie on the beach motionless so that is just what we did. After awhile I got cold from the breeze so I went inside, crawled into the sleeping bag on the top bunk and was dead to the world for about 2 hours. Matt woke me around 5pm and he made dinner while I cleaned up. I was a bit distraught about the lack of shower facilities but I managed to clean up alright with wet-ones.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued) 

New Zealand 51 Anchorage Bay

 Basically there was no one there, save the 20 or so people staying at the hut that night and a docked overnight boat that did not come to shore. We had absolutely no idea what to expect with the communal hut and we were pleasantly surprised. It had a nice kitchen area, bathrooms, an outside wash area (no showers though) and a couple of bunk rooms with mats placed side by side.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued) 

New Zealand 46 Anchorage Bay Hut

Lunch basically consisted of trail mix and crackers because that is what Matt was able to access without emptying all 40 kilos in his pack. According to the map guide, we only had 1.5 hours to walk to get to our first hut.

We arrived at Anchorage Bay Hut at about 2.30pm, very tired. The hut was beautifully situated on a very, very desolate beach.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued) 

New Zealand 46 Poor Beast

 My pack essentially held my clothes and the daily supply of drinking water. My camera equipment was in a separate pack I carried on my front. Matt carried everything else, poor beast. So we set off around noon, eager to get on the track. At first it was a pretty easy walk but it didn't take long for the weight of the packs to make what should have been easy not quite so. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful beach spot, secluded except for a few kayakers and day walkers.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued) 

New Zealand 46 The Saucepan

 Today was the first day of our first overnight hike and we were so excited! We had a very short walk to the first hut so we took our time packing the backpacks and getting everything ready. Matt had to pack and re-pack his bag several times because we had more stuff than he had room for. 

We decided the best thing to do was to tie one of the sleeping bags and the saucepan (not the lightweight, camping kind but the heavy, kitchen kind that came with the van) to the outside of his pack. This proved to be the center of endless jokes, laughter and lots of strange looks to come.

Matt and Cynthia (to be continued)