I slept poorly as it rained literally all night at Kohaihai where we camped before our flight to the start of the trail near Brown Hut at the northern end of the track. I had been anxious that the tent fly would eventually fail and I would get a good soaking. I needn’t have worried as the tent (one of Richard’s spares) was superb and did not leak at all.
The facilities at Kohaihai are excellent: clean flush toilets; lots of tank water, a good shelter, and lots of good camp sites. It is also a beautiful setting as well, next to the ocean. Beware of the weka and sandflies which were not out in force due to the rain but were still a menace.
We set off in the morning to Karamea to fly to the start of the trial. We were hopeful we’d be flying even though the weather was appalling. Unfortunately flights were cancelled, and we were stuck.
We decided to ride along the coast to Heaphy Hut. It is a stunning ride, the nikau forest and beach wouldn’t look out of place in the tropics.
The climbs were fine, steep in places but mostly rideable. A few times we all dismounted and pushed for a short distance. Some of the downhills would have been rideable for me but I was taking a very cautious approach.
We were also careful riding the creeks, which were flowing pretty steadily given the decent rainfall, as in places the bottom was not clear, and we did not want to risk a derailleur hanger.
It was about 16km, which we completed in about 3.5 hours. While I think we could have continued if we’d stopped for a break and some kai, we decided to camp at Heaphy, as some of the crew were pretty over it in terms of the rain and so on.
The facilities were once again fantastic, flush toilets, a good shelter, and a nice setting. I have to say I did enjoy my freeze dried dinner and breakfast, the Radix range is very good.
Our original plan is in the diagram below. I think we ended up booking the Gouland Downs hut, which would have made for a pretty big second day. I think staying at Saxon would probably have been a better option.
