Wanaka to Fern Burn Hut – 24kms

Total – 925kms

Back into it today. Starting with an easy walk around the south side of the lake to Glendhu Bay. There was a really great campground right on the lake. There was a section of track around the lake where there were hundreds of rabbit’s running around. I have never seen so many. From Glendhu Bay I had a short road walk to the start of the Motatapu apline track. It was only a few hours up the Fern Burn which ran through some deer farm then beech forest before breaking out into tussock country and sidling on steep gradient to the hut.

I met a couple at the hut who are traveling northbound so got some good intel on the final sections ahead. Jade turned up not long after I arrived. I met Jade at Top Timaru Hut. I didn’t expect to see him again as he does bigger days but he rolled his ankle walking down the Timaru River and had to take a few days off. He moved back from Australia in November and went straight from quarantine to Cape Reinga to start the trail. He is technically homeless and unemployed so said he might slow down now because he doesn’t know what he is going to do when he is finished. He still pushed on to the next hut today though to take the edge off tomorrow. Then a guy called Andrew turned up. He is travelling southbound too and going slower than me. Good to know there are still others close by to me now that I am travelling solo again.