Day 48 - Boyle Flats Hut to Anne Hut, 16.6km, 4 hours

I woke from a really good sleep to a beautiful morning and set off into the upper Boyle Valley.
It wasn't long before I passed Rokeby Hut. Last time I'd been here was with my brothers Paul and Stephen. We'd just had a memorable night, for all the wrong reasons. We'd dropped over Anne Saddle late in the evening and taken the first tent site available once we got to the river - indeed the only tent site for some distance. It snowed over night, a small stream we were camped beside rose, and we ended up with 3 inches of slush in the bottom of the tent, seated back to back to back, waiting for the first glimpse of dawn. No sleep, with probably my longest ever night. As soon as dawn started touching the sky we packed up and stumbled down to Rokeby Hut, near hypothermic. We lit a huge fire and warned up for an hour or two - I can still recall the steam in the tiny hut as we dried ourselves, and everything else, out.


Today's weather couldn't have been more different. My legs couldn't have felt better, and in 30 minutes I was up Anne Saddle and down the other side.


The top of the Anne Valley is a beautiful place. The St James Walkway, which it is part of, is very worthwhile, especially since it has reverted to public land and been largely de-stocked. It has a sub-alpine feel yet has no significant climbing, the 200 meters over the Anne Saddle the only exception.


Pushing on down valley I got a bit of a shock when I saw what at first glance I first took for 3 opossums immediately beside the track. In actual fact they were 3 piglets - I have no idea where the mother was and there was nothing I could do for them in any case.


I had been intending to push on to Waiau Hut today - I had plenty of time to do so. However this would have me exiting to St Arnaud on Easter Sunday. I'm hopeful of finding some accommodation there thereby avoiding the tent, so it would be better to come out on Monday. Therefore I decided on another really easy day by stopping at Anne Hut. Since I had been here last the old Anne Hut had burned down, with a beautiful hut built another kilometer down the valley as a replacement. It sits really well into the landscape.

A hard afternoon of sunbathing on the porch in my knickers ensued.