A Dangerous Business

Date: 27th January 2024

Start: Hope Kiwi Lodge (km 2113.8)

End: Hurunui Hut (km 2131.6)

Distance Travelled: 17.8 km

Total Distance Completed: 1969.3 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: This Is the Kingdom by Elevation Worship

Bumblebee Betrayals: just one, but it really stung

The timbers of Hope Kiwi Lodge creaked and groaned all night as strong winds and rain collided with the hut. While we could hear the storm raging outside, inside the hut was very peaceful. We all knew this was coming so there wasn’t any concern about not being able to get going early, because we weren’t planning to.

The rain kept falling as the sun began to light up the valley, even when I eventually rose at 7:30. That’s ridiculously late for the TA, but I had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. A few more hardy hikers did leave around 8am, but for myself, Melly, and many others, we weren’t going anywhere until the rain cleared up. It did so from around 10am, so it was time to start stuffing our packs, sling them on our backs and hit the trail once more.

Up the valley we walked in much the same fashion as yesterday, with one annoying exception. Less than half an hour into the walk, we came across a stream that couldn’t be crossed with dry feet. Once I had made my displeasure known, I splashed down and settled in for another day of wet feet.

There was a small climb up to Kiwi Saddle, although with all the weight we were carrying it Might as well have been Waiau Pass all over again. That’s the negative feedback loop with carrying excess food: the added weight means you burn more calories, requiring more food which adds more weight to your pack. Even still, Melly and I had managed to dart ahead of Sahar, Alex, and Sophie so we were still keeping a good speed. I wonder how Oli and Matt are getting along. Chances are we won’t see them again for a couple days. In the meantime, we have to get up a saddle and walk through your stereotypical New Zealand forest.

Just off the summit of the saddle marked our lunch break for today, sitting down on a fallen log. As I got my wraps out to prepare them, bumblebee came over to investigate me. They’re often attracted by the blue clothes I often wear. As it landed on me, I dropped my spoon on the ground. I went to pick it up, which angered the bee who responded by stinging me. I have never been more hurt. Physically I was fine – I could apply some anti-sting cream – but to be hurt by an animal I thought I was friends with is a pain that I cannot shake off easily.

I tried to distract myself from this hurt by walking further into the forest. Not much to see really, just a lot of trees, some of whom need an explanation for how they look.

A short descent later led me to the shore of this forest park’s namesake, Lake Sumner.

Still taking many a short break to give my shoulders a rest, following the trail became oddly difficult. Normally with these forest tracks th red one very distinct pathway going through it, but here I needed to be very vigilant on looking for those always reliable track markers. Well, I say reliable, but the truth is that a lot of them were old and had become discoloured over the years, and with a seemingly endless number of tracks leading off in every direction, it was difficult to stick to the proper trail. Eventually I was led out onto the grassy valley where it was easier to follow, now turning towards the Hurunui River and passing by a herd of dairy cows along the way.

This was also the time the wind decided to pick up. Right as I was about to cross a swingbridge that really lived up to its name. It swung. A lot. Over a fast flowing river still recovering from this morning’s rainstorm. Once across, I could hear the less than subtle approach of a helicopter. A bright red helicopter that reminded me of the surf rescue chopper that patrols the Queensland coast during summer. Did someone call search and rescue?

Yep, someone had, all becoming clear when I arrived at Hurunui Hut.

A cyclist had fallen off their bike and broken their collarbone. He seemed pretty relaxed about the whole ordeal and the SAR team was doing a great job in keeping it that way. Now came the question of how to get him out of here. There’s no landing pad nearby, so that means he’ll have to be winched up. The chopper was called back, with the patient and SAR medic sitting on the grass nearby. The cable was slowly lowered to them and with a simple click they were attached and the call to bring them up was given. It all seemed very professional and gave me a lot of confidence in their abilities if I ever need to call them in.

Now it was time to relax in the hut. Matt and Oli will have likely gone to Hope Kiwi Lodge tonight in the hopes of catching us up in the next couple days. At our hut, we spent the evening chatting away, wringing out every little detail we could about the track ahead of us from the handful of NOBO’s with us. I’m honestly not sure where I’ll go tomorrow. Melly wants to push all the way to Locke Stream Hut, but once again with her plans I’m feeling a great deal of apprehension about it. There’s a tiny 2 bunk bivvy 6 km before it so I might stop there, although that will mean going down Harper Pass alone. It’ll come down to how I’m feeling and what time we get there by, from what I heard it’s going to get a bit rougher from here. But that’s a problem for tomorrow, for now let’s enjoy a good rest in another one of New Zealand’s awesome huts.