Day 25 - East Ahuriri Valley to Lake Middleton, 25km, 7 hours 15 minutes

About to begin the drop down towards Lake Ohau

I can tell I've been out in the bush for awhile. As I started walking this morning I could smell myself for the first time. It's either the wind fleece or the shorts I think. Both are in chronic need of a wash!

I started the day over a mogul landscape that I would imagine is fantastic for cross country skiing in winter. Although I am most definitely in ex-glacier territory, I'm pretty confident these are landslide detritus rather than moraine.

I had another saddle to climb over, not so high this time, only 500 meters, but this a route, with often not even a partial track to follow. It was heavy going to say the least, not too steep a climb, but tussock ackwardly mixed with spaniards, requiring a high lifted gait to make progress. It's difficult to explain how tiring it was, but think of doing a Monty Python style Ministry of Silly Walks for 2 hours whilst wearing a heavy pack and you'll be in the ballpark.

I sat and took in that it was indeed well
with my soul at this spot

I put some music on that I could mentally escape into, and one of the first songs on was very timely, "It is well with my soul". I sat in place, listened to the song, and remembered what a blessing it was for me to be in that place.

Afterwards I still had the same exhausting terrain to negotiate, but at least felt a lot better about being there!
Seeking to dodge more exhaustion I resorted to climbing a scree slope, an exhausting thing to do in itself, only to find the same terrain higher up.














The pass ended with a view down to Lake Ohau, seemingly close, with Twizel further off across the Mackenzie Basin.

I expected to be having a dip in the lake within the next hour or so, but it actually took quite some time to come down off the saddle and across the lowlands next to the lake. Close to the lake a beautiful, if breezy, day greeted me.



The last drop to the lake was accompanied by that most rare of things, DOC humour, "The Knee Tremble Drop" - not so knee-trembingly bad as some of the terrain I'd been on recently.

So it was packs off and time for a quick dip.  Again the lake was too churned up to be very conducive of a longer swim...

... before a quick road bash down to close by Lake Middleton for a better swim.

A few hours later I was met by my Aunty Colleen who has come down to spend a couple of days with me. A warm bed and wood fired pizza in Twizel tonight! Colleen, you're awesome!!!