Day 75-80| Km 2061-2183 | Harper’s Pass & Arthur’s Pass

After back to back alpine ranges in the few weeks prior, the first stretch from Boyle Outdoor Education Centre (BOEC) left me feeling a little eager for more of where I’d just come from. Instead of high mountains I learnt to appreciate a different side of nature; big rivers, bush fire & sandflies. All three simultaneously in fact, on my final night before Arthur’s Pass.

The logistics of the South Island are a little different to the North. Popping in and out of mountain ranges means it’s not quite as easy to restock food at a local supermarket. So I’ve posted ahead bounce boxes full of goodies; advice to my future self - make the boxes different in some way…if I have to eat one more pumpkin seed…

BOEC are fantastic in catering to the needs to TA hikers, holding all our boxes and providing a ‘pizza, drink, laundry and shower’ deal. They also provided me with the magic Zip-tie to hold my back pack together for the next 100km before I could get it to Christchurch for a repair. In my last blog I mentioned my pack had started chaffing my back again, and upon closer inspection I discovered where the straps attach to the back had ripped at the seam, tearing a hole in the back and then loosing the straps. Changing the straps so the force then went through the higher attachment (which also started to rip) meant my pack sat much lower on my back and I hadn’t realised how much I had got use to this position and didn’t think anything of it…until I had the pack replaced! I’ll come back to that later…

Physio-ing my pack with zip ties & k-tape

SANDFLIES. Can someone please explain their existence within the ecosystem? Apart from being a public nuisance do they have any other reason to be alive?? Google tells me ‘Sandflies are renowned for their bite, however it is only the female sandfly that bites as she requires blood to produce eggs and acquires this by piercing the skin.’ So every time you slap a sand fly on your skin and it squirts blood, find some solace in the fact that you saved the world from multiple more sandflies being born into existence! Luckily I don’t really react to their bite, but I find it reeeeeaally hard to act zen-like and ignore them crawling all over you. For example, Hope-kiwi Lodge, my first stopover before Lake Sumner was a beautiful hut converted from an old farm house. All the windows had to be kept shut as the sand flies were so intense and they somehow even get through the fly screens. The hut got so hot I couldn’t stand it so I braved the flies to put my tent up outside. I wish I’d filmed the debacle. At all times I had maybe 30 sandflies on my legs and they didn’t care about flying in my eyes either. Finally inside my tent and calming down from a murder spree I’d dished out to the ones I’d brought inside, I was safe. Right up until darkness fell it sounded like it was raining on my tent as thousands were diving bombing me, with the same thing happening as soon as dawn broke. I refuse to carry fly spray as that just adds weight to my pack so my attempts at zen practice will have to continue. That was an intense introduction to the South Island sandfly!

The trail around Lake Sumner provided lovely undulating runnable terrain for me to pack in some easy Kms. My impression of Lake Sumner was that of a giant Canadian Goose pond, only catching glimpses of its still waters as I ran through the trees.

I found a few cool bivvys on the climb up to Harper’s Pass. I especially love the 2 bed one above with the fire exit sign on the only door. Best of all though, I always get a little too overexcited by 3 tier bunk beds! Also a new find on the trail is ‘walking the tight rope’ to get over a river - slightly more dicey especially taking a photo whilst still trying to balance, thankfully I’ve retained some skills from my years of gymnastics!

After Harper’s Pass the devastation from flooding and rock avalanches became clear. At one point I was navigating a gorge and using a tree branch to cling onto to avoid falling into the water below. I looked up and saw giant rocks jammed into its branches from previous rock falls…I gently let the tree go to avoid them falling on my head!

I then caught up with a French-Aussie couple to cross the Taramaka River. It’s a threaded river with multiple crossings and due to previous flooding had washed away the trail. Thinking safety in numbers, we found a way to wiggle across together. On the other side (after hours of walking over impossibly time consuming, energy sapping river pebbles and rocks) we met Trev the trapper who’d been laying bait for rats and stoats which are common NZ pests. He was waiting for his helicopter ride out of the bush…

Giant trees left stranded on the riverbed from recent flooding

Now, about that bush fire…I’m laid fast asleep in my tent and wake up hearing Claire’s French accent and the jiggle of light from head torches against my tent. ‘Nat! There’s a bush fire! We are escaping to the swing bridge’. Now I’m sat bolt upright and feeling the adrenaline course through my body. Also slightly confused by the origins of the bush fire when the world outside my tent seems so damp and dark… anyway who cares, there was a fire and I didn’t want to lay and wait to see if it was coming my way. I’ve never packed up my tent so fast and navigated fallen trees in the dark… Zac showed me a photo the next day, there was definitely a fire! I later learned the fire brigade and DOC had been called to attend to it but seeing as it was the other side of the river for them they just monitored it rather than cross the river in the dark. Unbeknownst to them we were scurrying through the dark ourselves to safety.

The route up to Goat Pass hut is used as the trail run part of the Coast to Coast multi sport event. It’s basically monkey climbing up a giant river and multiple waterfalls and I absolutely loved it! Reaching Goat hut and having not heard the weather for a 4 days I radioed through to the Arthurs Pass DOC office who strongly recommended I get the heck down as a cyclone was fast approaching and with 200mm of rain and 100km/hr winds over the next 24hours they were quite stern on that one! I blitzed my way off the pass and down into the Arthurs Pass Valley. When I do the Coast to Coast event next year, I’ll be surprised if I can beat my time - 2:15 hours with 10kg on my back. I was flying!

I was picked up almost straight away from the road to Arthurs Pass Village, funnily enough by an ex-American Outward Bound instructor...thanks Coban! The rain hit that night and the high winds even scared away the Kea’s (alpine parrots that act like stroppy teenagers and attack tents and route through your bag for food!). I decided to make use of my time out of the mountains and grab a lift to Christchurch with Bill who owned the hostel I was staying at. What a fab guy and a fountain of knowledge for TA hikers. Joined by a few other TA-ers we had a pie party onboard the bus and also helped out with a bit of bus/countdown carpark physio treatment. I’m sure we appeared as classic hiker dirtbags taking over the parking lot!

THe start of the Coast to Coast trail ‘run’

The view from Goat Pass Hut

Christchurch was 32C - stinking hot - but [success!] as the amazing , awesome, fantabulous Martin at Further Faster gave me a brand new backpack!! I was so appreciative I gave him a giant hug! That is customer service at its best..I didn’t even initially buy the pack from them. Those guys are really amazing and have everything a trail runner can need. Wearing my new pack felt like a dream, and wow had I missed what it should actually feel like!

Looking back up to Goat Pass…see you next year in the Coast to Coast…just need to learn to white water kayak!