I mentioned my new found weather planning skills in the previous post. Well this lasted for the entire 7 day walk and bike. I decided that I had better re-position this as luck rather than planning skills as Ruth was starting to set weather expectations for our upcoming summer that even God was going to struggle with.

We covered 65 km of track during our four days which was considerably further than the distance we thought we would walk. Comparing it to our first long walk, of the nearby Queen Charlotte Track, we decided that our fitness has improved remarkably over the last year.

As we have found on all of our walks we met some interesting people but very few of them were local. Our last night was spent in a backpackers on the water. With 17 people on board and being confined to the boat you had little option but getting to know your fellow adventurers.

The walk was stunning but we rated our first three days as the best. The last day from Anchorage to Marahau did not have the same wilderness feel about it and was also the most section most populated by other walkers, mainly day trippers who could walk in from the car park.

However, that last day had it’s advantages.  We got to enjoy a real coffee at the Park Cafe before the short bus ride back to Kaiteriteri where we pick up the bikes for our bike ride back to Nelson.