A Dangerous Business

Date: 21st February 2024

Start: Queenstown (km 2709.1)

End: Greenstone Hut (km 2724.1)

Distance Travelled: 15 km

Total Distance Completed: 2570.6 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: hard to keep a song in my head with Oli’s constant whistling (it was peaceful)

Mushroom Density: large enough to make Radagast the Brown happy

12 days. 12 days to go. That’s my mindset at this point in time. Just got to get through these 12 days and I’ll be at Bluff. I’m leaving behind the awe-inspiring mountains of Canterbury and Otago and entering the muddy forests of Southland. It’s poetic how the end of the trail mirrors it’s beginning. I started this journey with a long beach walk and a muddy forest and I’ll end it with the muddy forest and a long beach walk, plus a few mountains along the way too. I’m not exactly looking forward to all of that if I’m honest, I’ve been loving the mountains and dry weather. But at this stage I want to see this trail to the end. Not going to skip anything, just got to embrace the suck and finish these last 300 km.

Today was on the nicer side, thanks to its short distance, groomed track, and peaceful views. My bag was packed up and placed in the hold of the coach that would take us to the start of the Greenstone Track by 11am, saying goodbye to my family as they finished their time in Aotearoa. Dad was heading up to Palmy to spend a week with Grams, mum and Eli returning to Brissie. It’ll only be two weeks until I will be with them again so I wasn’t feeling as sad as when I had to leave my family in Palmy.

I understood immediately why the TA considers this road to be a hazard zone. Walking this would be ridiculously treacherous. It’s just a shame there’s no way to get water transport to the trailhead. I’d happily pay a premium to take the TSS Earnslaw over to the other side of the Wakatipu. At Glenorchy, the four of us (I really need to get a new group name for us) were piled into a van as the coach was taking the rest of the passengers to the Routeburn. The road turned into a windy, gravelly mess, bad enough to give me minor motion sickness. At the trailhead, we took half an hour to ease our stomachs before entering the Greenstone Track.

DOC doesn’t have an official track tier below the Great Walks in terms of quality, but if it did the Greenstone would be on it. Wide, gently graded, grippy surface, it’s everything I wish for a bush track, and it sucks knowing this would be my only day on it. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Most of the trail is through the same sort of forest we’ve experienced all the way down the South Island. Beech trees as far as the eye can see, but unlike the other forests, the floor of this one was covered in bright red mushrooms.

Oh, did I mention that the track was really good? Because it was really good!

Even the streams had bridges over them.

Ok, there was one proper river crossing to do, but it was easily rock hopped and our feet were kept dry.

Nearing the hut, Oli and I started hearing an interesting bird call in the sky above us. Fir sst impressions were it being a Kea, but I was doubtful as I figured we were too low for Kea to be present. As I listened closer, they started to sound similar to kaka calls. Sure enough, a big orange bird flew overhead soon afterwards, a South Island Kaka. They’re much rarer than their North Island counterparts, the biggest visual difference being the South Island variant is white on top of their head.

Our journey on the Greenstone Track ended at a short bridge over a deep gorge.

A short trail then led us up to Greenstone Hut, which immediately gave off Great Walk hut vibes. Large main hut, separate warden’s quarters, and flush toilets. And being charged extra to stay in it.

Our warden – Gareth – came around later to take our hut tickets and chat about our journey. As much as I love the smaller huts I’ve stayed in over the last month and a half, I still have a soft spot for these larger huts with their more extensive facilities and living space. It also helped that it wasn’t particularly busy tonight, I think we’re were only 6 people staying in the hut. Most of the evening as spent mentally preparing myself for the rest of the trail. Tomorrow will mark a return to the classic TA rubbish and it won’t improve until I reach the south coast on the 1st of March. Just gotta endure these last few days, enjoy the enjoyable moments, and embrace the mud.

Oh yes, we’re back to mud.