I left the hut first to get a head start knowing a hill climb was ahead of me.
It was a beautiful pink sunrise telling us rain could come later.
It was no time before I was joined on the 7.5km road walk up to the trail by Max and Bex. We passed deer farms on the way up the road.
There was a gradual climb for 2.5km up to a clearing before entering the forest again. Soon after the transmission tower and then more road after crossing the tops.
Forestry file management. Logs all laid out in some order not known to me but very tidy.And then onto Bald Hill and a descentMud, damp, mud, deep mud, mushy mud, MUD.The view from the Longwood Forest to the coast. Still have to squint to see the coast.Bex and Max about to walk the road to the quarry.The soft bank that easily breaks away was a pretty pink colour.It took 6 hours after all that mud to get to Martins Hut from the quarry.The ridge along the top was soft track snd better than the mud. A pleasant respite for a while.Water was scarce. This source proved fresh mountain water from the drain.I was walking along and behind the rock on the tops Bex popped up over the rock and said, time for a break. They were well ahead of me after the hill climb. It’s so nice to have company along the way especially this mud reknowned track.
We did catch up on mud patches. So much mud and deep difficult to skirt around mud. Max took videos of our different tactics to avoid over knee high bogged in muddy tramping.
And the view at the top.A buoy a long way away from the ocean. On the descent to the hut that never seemed to end.Roots and mud.The sign said 2km. It took forever to get there.Evidence of gold mining in the 1880’s began to come into view.One small window in Martins Hut. Build 1905. The stream was a bush bash to get to, and report I avoided further bush walking do drank from the tank. It tasted rusty after boiling.
Cleaning the mud off gear proved a challenge without going to the stream. I used a small hut pot, all the scrubbing made no difference.
Once dark we all sank into our sleeping bags for a good well earned rest.
Exploring New Zealand 