A beautiful morning dawned and we set off early(ish) down the Hurunui towards Lake Sumner, 10 or so kilometres away.
As we walked a southerly wind sprang up over our shoulders, promising not such great weather to come. Nevertheless after only an hour of walking we came to the Hurunui Hot Springs, which I had been looking forward to for some time. I was worried about walking straight past, as it had been some years since I've been this far up the valley. I needn't have worried; the thermal waterfall that drops from it to the riverbed is a dead give away. As it happens there is currently an excellent swimming hole in the river directly beneath the thermal spring, so the next 40 minutes were spent oscillating between the hot pool, at about 38 degrees, and the river, at about 11 degrees.
It was marvellous!
Reluctantly carrying on we climbed away from the river towards the Hurunui Hut, situated close to the lake. A good place for another early lunch.
As it happens also a good place for another curio, a superfluous style.
Lake Sumner marked the 900km point on the trail. Having shortly before been stung by a bumblebee I was keen to get into the lake for a cold swim. The thumbs up photo slipped my mind! For 2km anyway.
The climb from the lake to Kiwi Saddle was more of a drag than I'd anticipated. I'd only climbed the saddle from the other direction before - you don't get the same sense for what a climb might be like when you descend it. While there was some nice scenery on route, I arrived at the top pretty tired.
A very adventurous Robin entertained us as we recovered over our snack bags at the saddle. The bird life in Lake Sumner Forest Park is most impressive. While traversing the lake there were anything up to half a dozen bellbirds singing more or less constantly. It may have something to do with adjoining the Hurunui Mainland Island in the upper Hurunui Valley that we had just exited, although I must say I didn't notice an exceptional amount of bird life further up the valley. In any case, it made for a memorable few hours walk.
From the saddle there is an easy drop to flats then across to the hut, only 4km away.
As we walked a southerly wind sprang up over our shoulders, promising not such great weather to come. Nevertheless after only an hour of walking we came to the Hurunui Hot Springs, which I had been looking forward to for some time. I was worried about walking straight past, as it had been some years since I've been this far up the valley. I needn't have worried; the thermal waterfall that drops from it to the riverbed is a dead give away. As it happens there is currently an excellent swimming hole in the river directly beneath the thermal spring, so the next 40 minutes were spent oscillating between the hot pool, at about 38 degrees, and the river, at about 11 degrees.
It was marvellous!
Reluctantly carrying on we climbed away from the river towards the Hurunui Hut, situated close to the lake. A good place for another early lunch.As it happens also a good place for another curio, a superfluous style.Lake Sumner marked the 900km point on the trail. Having shortly before been stung by a bumblebee I was keen to get into the lake for a cold swim. The thumbs up photo slipped my mind! For 2km anyway.
The climb from the lake to Kiwi Saddle was more of a drag than I'd anticipated. I'd only climbed the saddle from the other direction before - you don't get the same sense for what a climb might be like when you descend it. While there was some nice scenery on route, I arrived at the top pretty tired.
A very adventurous Robin entertained us as we recovered over our snack bags at the saddle. The bird life in Lake Sumner Forest Park is most impressive. While traversing the lake there were anything up to half a dozen bellbirds singing more or less constantly. It may have something to do with adjoining the Hurunui Mainland Island in the upper Hurunui Valley that we had just exited, although I must say I didn't notice an exceptional amount of bird life further up the valley. In any case, it made for a memorable few hours walk.From the saddle there is an easy drop to flats then across to the hut, only 4km away.
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