A Dangerous Business

Date: 5th February 2024

Start: Manuka Hut (km 2312.8)

End: Potts Road (km 2345)

Distance Travelled: 32.2 km

Total Distance Completed: 2182.7 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust

Wind Speed: bold of you to assume I have a wind gauge in my pack

Sleeping on an actual bunk made for a nice change from sleeping on the floor last night. It was also quite a bit warmer; no need to cover up every little bit of exposed skin. When I did wake up, I did so feeling a bit lost. Location-wise I knew where I was, but what should I do today? I booked a shuttle out from the Rangitata trailhead for tomorrow as that company doesn’t operate on Monday’s, but there are no more huts to stay at and everyone else is planning on trying to hitch from the end today. So what shall I do? I could stay put here for a day, go part way and freedom camp, or go all the way to the end and camp there, but the shuttle doesn’t come until 5pm. None of these seemed like great options, although I ended up going with the second one initially. Matt, Melly, and Oli were more pressed for time so I bid them goodbye and got set for a solo walk.

On a cruisey track like the one I was met with today, going solo wasn’t any worry for me. If anything, I liked having a bit of solitude. I could stop and set up shots with my GoPro without feeling pressured, get lost in my own thoughts, or play music without feeling like I’m being anti-social. Moreover, I could stop and take a break whenever I wanted as well. I love my little gang, but I also love having my own space every once in a while too.

Starting off it was more of the same dry, grassy scenery that made up most of yesterday, but as I rounded a bend near the end of the Hakatere Conservation Park, I was met with a gorgeous view looking towards the Southern Alps with Lake Emily in the foreground.

Passing my a pair of hunters, I left the park and started down a 4WD track that led to a gravel road.

Traffic was surprisingly busy with many a ute coming past me. More surprising was running into the camera-wielding trio resting under a tree. I arrived as they left, but still I must’ve been motoring along that track. I set off after a short break down the road until I came to the start of the Clearwater Track. Starting off it was more of the same; dry grass following a flat 4WD track.

I caught up with the gang again at a stream crossing to fetch water. Looking at Far Out, I had begun to plan to camp at the next stream 3.5 km ahead. That way I could have a short, easy walk to the end tomorrow to pick up my shuttle. When I got going again on what was becoming a very hot day, the thought of stopping this early with this heat and wind blowing (oh yeah, I was pretty gusty too) didn’t seem the most appealing. What exactly am I supposed to do?

Well let’s get to this potential camping spot first and sus it out. It was nice, and had it been a cooler/cloudier/less windy day I might’ve taken it. But as I sat there eating lunch, no part of me wanted to pitch up now. I might as well walk to the end and see what it’s like there, maybe even try to hitch a ride into town myself, as much as that would suck for the shuttle operator.

Still solo at this point (after spending lunch with them), I pressed on, with that wind I was talking about beginning to intensify. At a dried up pond the 4WD track ended, leaving me on a narrow tramping track zig-zagging down a hill looking over Lake Clearwater.

It was quite easy to see the trail from the bottom and I kept peering ahead to see if I could spot my friends. When I could, it then became a game of trying to guess how far ahead they were based on how much of a head start they had after lunch (around 15 minutes) and how fast we were both going. Look, I’m walking alone with no one to talk to, I need something to occupy my mind. Unlike the last two stints, however, I couldn’t catch them. Perhaps I was stopping more often to take more photos, or perhaps it was because I was now in a valley in direct view of the Rangitata River and the wind was now roaring right in my face. To be fair, at this point I didn’t really have a good reason to try and catch them as we still had different objectives on where we wanted to finish today. Although with this wind, I didn’t exactly fancy camping at the trailhead. Ugh, I’m gonna have to let someone down, aren’t I?

I got out my Zoleo communicator and sent a message off to the shuttle company enquiring about changing my booking to the other side of the Rangitata. Maybe I could hitch to Geraldine and still use them to reach the other side. That sadly proved to be unviable, they wouldn’t be coming through town until 5pm, far too late to walk anywhere. With that, I sadly had to cancel my booking. I felt terrible about it, but waiting until 5pm tomorrow to get to town wasn’t going to cut it and to do the same to get back to trail was frankly a bit ridiculous. I’d try my hand at hitching to Geraldine and then work out how to get back to trail from there.

In the meantime… it was still stupidly windy. And now I was on a small ridge getting blasted from the side. Not dangerous, but not fun, especially once I reached the Potts River and started to descend down to it. When I say “descend”, I really mean stagger down slowly.

Once at the bottom I caught up once again with the speedy trio who were busying themselves with collecting water. I did the same and went with them until the end. That’s when my annoyance peaked. Not with them, but with the river. I was in sight of the end of the trail, but standing between me and it was a stupid river crossing. I had kept my feet dry all day, and now I’m forced to soak them with only a few hundred metres to go. Oh whatever, I’m used to this feeling by now, let’s just get to the road.

Right, now to hitchhike… Where are the cars? In the space of 30 minutes, only 2 cars came past. One of which took Melly and Matt to Mt Somers, but for Oli, myself, and two other girls, we were stuck. That was until a shuttle operator (not the one I had boomed previously) rocked up and dropped off two hikers. Jackpot! Sure we’d have to pay, but it’s transport to Geraldine. Once I got mobile service I asked if Team Camera wanted to join us – they did – and then we went all the way to Geraldine. Now for a frantic evening of finding dinner, getting to the holiday park, pitching tents, doing laundry, and charging electronics. Oh, and doomscrolling social media for far too long. The good news with taking the shuttle company is that we now had a ride to the next trailhead at a decent time tomorrow, leaving Geraldine before 9am. Perfect! Everything worked out in the end, as most things do on the trail. But now it’s time for bed. I keep ranting about the importance of rest on trail but here I am staying up way too late writing a blog. Time to put my money where my mouth is. Good night!