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| One of the arches in Oparara Valley, a must-see on the West Coast |
The only problem with backpacking is that once you finish the trail you have to get back to your car. The two ends of the Heaphy Track, a Great Walk in the north-western corner of the South Island, are separated by about 430 kilometers of road so you can't just hitch back to your car. Or can you?
Logistically, you need to book your bunks in advance, so there's a timeline rearing its ugly head. You can hire transportation (including vans and helicopters!) but who has the money for that? I need to spend my money on chocolate muffins, not transport! So Captain and I drove Sparky up to Kohaihai, the farthest north you can drive on the west coast. The Tasman Sea was booming and sunsets were grand. We spent the night, kissed Sparky goodbye, and early the next morning hitched a ride with a couple of mountain bikers. It was the end of the high fare summer season, and fall had definitely set in. DOC opened the Heaphy for mountain bikers the day we started and these two were helicoptering their bikes to the start.
We figured it was a Par 8; we did it in 5! The most notable hitch being the Anana Express (Anana means pineapple in french). German stoners are amusing characters. Without the mountain bikers, it would have been rather difficult to get to the start. However, we made it in 1.2 days and started right on time.
We were aiming to make it to Perry Saddle for the night, and though the walk was all uphill, it was a rather pleasant time, but not too much in the ways of views, other than dense beech forest. So, no pics. We almost got run over quite a few times throughout the trip by mountain bikers. It started to rain just after midday and steadily became heavier. When we arrived at Perry Saddle hut, the heavens opened up and a full-force gale was washing down sheets of cold rain and vicious winds. Thankfully we escaped the worst of it. The hut was half-full, with only a couple backpackers and a couple large groups of bikers. Most of them came in after us; dripping clothes filled the air with a pungent scent and gave rise to a wet floor.
We played cards and met our soon-to-be walking partner... ummm...I was going to call him Captain because he's a real captain of yachts, but since Captain K has already claimed that title, his name shall be...Disco Stru! Disco Stru was a Kiwi who lived in Florida for a good long while, and we realized we were all walking in the same direction and decided to go along with each other.
The next morning the storm had blown itself out and we continued on. The terrain changed significantly. Instead of beech forest, we were in grassy meadows interspersed with small groves of moss-covered Alice in Wonderland trees and bumps. Disco Stru discovered some purple mushrooms, which he said were a hallucinogenic type, but we failed to test its efficacy. We met a handsome weka at Gouland Downs Hut; brazen bird. We crossed a few streams, were found petting the moss (you see it and you'll understand), and were occasionally blessed with views of the Tasman Ocean, our future destination.
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| Alice in Wonderland grove. |
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| You definitely see the gorilla in the moss, right? |
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| Moss! Close up! Fascinating! |
Disco Stru almost got run over by a mountain biker, who instead hit a rock, went head over heels and busted his head. Blood everywhere, but he was alright. He didn't clean the scalp wound for the rest of the trip and looked pretty gored up. That night, we camped outside of James MacKay hut, sharing food with Disco Stru, listening to the sounds of kiwis singing around us.
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| That is a dinosaur egg. |
Following morning was mostly downhill to the sea, and again we were found petting the moss. But the forest began changing. The trees got bigger the further downhill we went, and evidence of the GIANT CARNIVOROUS SNAIL was lurking underfoot. Eventually, we encountered the Lewis River and hut, along with 10 million sandflies, and some Nikau palms and massive rimu and rata trees. And I mean massive. Lots of cavelets began popping up alongside of the trails, and the bird population exploded.
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| GIANT CARNIVOROUS SNAIL! BOW BEFORE HIM!!! |
We hiked on to the Heaphy Hut, taking too many photos of the trees and admiring the rivers and where it meets the Tasman Sea. Saying goodbye to Disco Stru there, Captain and I continued on to the Katipo Creek Shelter, and I'm glad we did. We were the only ones there, the night sky was diamond studded, the fire warm, and the beach deserted. We left a trash bag under the eve of our tent, and when we got back from the beach, it was gone. I assumed Captain had put it in his bag. But it was STOLEN.
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| Trees be big! |
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| Cavelet! |
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| Our first good view of the Tasman Sea! |
The next morning, as we were waking up, we heard a creature stalking the outside of our tent. I grabbed the camera, only to look up and see a weka under the eve of our rainfly. Only the netting separated us. We yelled at him to go away and he did, only to come to the other side of the tent and peck Captain in the head repeatedly! With Captain swearing at the bird, we got up and started packing the tent but the weka wouldn't leave us alone. He grabbed our new trash bag and ran backwards into a bush pulling it behind him. Being environmentalist and conservationist-minded, we ran after it. But the bush got super thick and all around us were decades-old tins, plastic bags, and other trash. Looked like a regular bandit lived there! We read the log and wrote a warning (the second of its kind) to future campers. The hike out was quick and the roaring sea intimidating, but the waves were incredible and their suicidal dashing against the jagged rocks was jaw dropping.
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| Neighbors for the night. |
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| All by ourselves. |
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| Evil weka! Pecked Captain three times on the head! |
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| Typical beautiful New Zealand. |
We were happy to see Kohaihai and Sparky again, and Captain was relishing some dry socks and shoes. Poor guy had a couple of giant blisters.
Things to check out in Karamea (the town near Kohaihai): Definitely check out the Oparara Valley caves, arches, and forest! They are incredible and a lovely day hike!
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| In the Oparara Valley forest, the rivers run red due to all the sediment, same effect as tea. You can also see the archway! |
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| Nearing Kohaihai. |
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| Successful, stinky backpackers! |
