Day 88 | Locke Stream Hut
9 January 2023 | 26°C | 21km
What is poison for my groin problem in my right leg? Sand, moving stones and wobbly ground. How is the terrain all afternoon today? Sand, moving stones and wobbly ground while walking through the river bed of Taramakau river all afternoon.
I am quite surprised though how relatively good my legs feel after yesterdays “trail run” over Goats Pass. Amazing what the body can do after a good nights sleep (and my daily stretching routine), Very quiet in the dorm today, only 1 other Canadian guy who apparently likes to sleep in as well.
It’s Monday morning and hitching takes some time now that all the weekend tourists traveling through Arthur’s Pass are gone. Eventually a tourist shuttle stops and takes us to Morrison’s footbridge for 10 bucks each.
Surprise on the first few km’s in the forest: I bump into Margot, Jasper and Anouk whom I know from the North Island. They are so surprised that they almost pass me by. 😅 We have the usual chit chat. While I tell them about the nicest spots in the South, they mention some natural hot pools coming up in about two days further North. Looking forward to that! The wobbly, stoney river bed walk starts after lunch. The sun ☀️ is full on today. Good to be close to the water but few spots to find shelter. Consumption of sun screen at its maximum!
Still it’s a walk through a nice valley. What a pity that you have to watch each step very closely. I stop once in a while to look back and once getting close to the hut I am amazed once more how much ground one can cover by foot in a day.
Locke Stream Hut is quite a big one with 2 dorms with 9 bunks each separated from the main room. We expect some northbound hikers there but once we open the door, there is: Nobody!
Total kilometers on the South Island by the end of the day: 870
