Day 107: Awaroa Campsite to Awapoto Hut (18 km)

Thursday, March 16

We woke up around 5:30 to hit the low tide crossing at the right time. Walking with the sunrise was worth the early wake up call.

There were a few ankle-deep streams running out to the ocean, but was definitely the right time to cross. There were plenty of people walking in both directions. Sam crossed in his bare feet and Lauren in her crocks because it was wet and sandy (and I in my Chacos, but you probably guessed that).

At the end of the crossing there was an outhouse and steps. People were popping a squat all over to get the sand off their feet and put their hiking shoes on. We didn't want to start the day with sand in our shoes and get blisters.

As we were cleaning our feet off, we happened to be next to the hammock guys from last night. Some of their food was eaten by possums while they slept. I guiltily felt a little proud my prediction last night was correct.

We walked the trail and de-layered on another beach once it got warmer out. Then we kept walking until we reached Totaranui. There was a little bit of elevation gain and loss compared to yesterday.

Boats often pick up and drop people off at Totaranui, and there were so many campsites it was unbelievable. But it was on a road end so I'm sure people bring campers and huge tents. There was a DOC information center, toilets and picnic tables.

To make the low tide, we had packed up wet, dewy tents, so we hung them out to dry on fences and bushes in the sun. We had time since we were hiking about half as far as we hiked yesterday. As we snacked and waited for our tents to dry, we started talking to some Kiwis and Canadians waiting for their boat by the beach. They liked our shark buffs.

Up to this point we had been walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks, so the trail was impeccable. From Totaranui we were detouring to the Inland Track. That way the trail we took would form a loop back to our car instead of having to coordinate with a water taxi (and we'd get to stay in huts).

We took the fork to Gibbs Hill, then to Pigeon Saddle. It was a lot more uphill than we'd had so far and it was back to typical New Zealand tramping trail standards. The trail also quickly turned from a coastal trail to a trail through forest that felt like a jungle. At one point it crossed a farm and we saw some cows. If I was a cow, I think this would have to be one of the most scenic farm views in the world. They had nice grass and a view of the ocean.

Now that we weren't walking on the meticulously kept Great Walk trail, we decided to make a point system for falls. One point if you fall but catch yourself with your hand. Two if your knees or butt touched the ground. Three if you needed help getting up. And 4 if it was just such a good fall you deserve an extra style point for the entertainment factor. The person with the most points when we got back to town would get a beer.

The more into the forest we got, the more grasses and plants reached into the trail. Sam's legs got covered with seeds (one perk of shaving your legs is that they tend not to stick to bare legs).

At one point we crossed paths with a DOC worker checking traps. We said a quick hi and bye and asked him about the trail ahead. He was in the middle of working and was going pretty quickly in the opposite direction.

The trail kept treating us to nice views of the ocean and coast line. It was easy to follow, but as we got closer to the hut, we noticed lots of fallen trees around the trail. A couple came down the trail towards us and we asked them how much further it was to the hut. The told us it was only five minutes away!

When we got to the hut we were the only ones there. It was really nice. Although there were no other people, someone had left a few things in the hut so we took a look at the hut book. A DOC worker named Logan was doing trail maintenance and staying there.

Last night I had woken up a few time and had to re-inflate my mattress. It had a hole and I didn't want to forget to patch it. I blew it up and tried listening for the hole. No luck. But I'd seen my dad look for a hole in a tire with soapy water, so I figured I could try that with my air mattress. I took a bowl that was sitting in the cabin and made a water and Dr Brommers mixture. It worked! I decided to test the whole mattress. It would be a bummer to have bothered to go through all this work and find out I had more than one hole. Luckily it was just the single hole.

As I was finishing, Logan showed up. He was really nice and didn't care that I was hogging the table for a few more minutes. I wiped off the soap and laid the air mattress out in the sun to dry.

Logan was from the North Island and was here checking traps. He had mostly working in the Nelson Lakes area.

Now I was hungry, so I made dinner and packed my snacks for tomorrow. Then I quickly patched my air mattress and ate dinner. Hopefully the hole would be fixed next time we had to sleep in a tent.

The four of us talked and watched the unbelievable sunset. Once it was dark we got in our sleeping bags, talked a bit more, and went to bed to the sound of wekas. It was a great day!