Monthly Archives: March 2013

16. North-West Circuit 9

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Freshwater River– North Arm, 11.3 km
Monday, February 18: Very cold overnight, some cloud in the morning clearing to sun
GPS Tour
North Arm across the mudflats

North Arm across the mudflats

It was so cold that the temperature must have gotten below what was allowed for the sleeping bag, so I had to put on the jumper to continue sleeping.

The HK alarm went off first, but no movement from the couple; then the German one went off so I decided it was time for breakfast. Not much left over except for coffee so I had a double shot. Then getting everything packed and ready to go. The HK couple were the first to be ready for their water taxi, and meanwhile Martin and I had taken apart the S-bend in the common room to try to remove the obstruction that was blocking water flowing down the pipe. Dismantled, emptied, but no change in the nett result, except for a bit of leakage. Continue reading →

15. North-West Circuit 8

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Mason Bay – Freshwater River, 14.0 km
Sunday, February 17: Drizzle overnight, cloudy in the morning, clearing to blue skies by afternoon
GPS Tour
Cheeky Stewart Island Robin (Petroica australis rakiura)

Cheeky Stewart Island Robin (Petroica australis rakiura)

Most people were in bed or on their way by the time that the sun set. I was sharing with the Hong Kong couple who had gone to bed an hour or so previously; she was the only snorer but her snores grew weaker the longer the night. I was about the first to be up and finished with breakfast, then tried demonstrating the bracketed panorama to anyone who cared – that was mainly Julia (together with her lieutenant, Katrin I had had long discussions with yesterday evening and continued at breakfast). Then they were gone and I still needed to throw a few things into the pack, get a satellite fix and start my own day. Continue reading →

14. North-West Circuit 7

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View from the deck at Mason Bay hut

View from the deck at Mason Bay hut

Big Hellfire – Mason Bay, 17.0 km
Saturday, February 16: Fog, patches of drizzle; on the beaches strong winds; some brighter periods
GPS Tour

Up at around 8:00 and had two eggs, three muesli bars & a strong coffee for breakfast of the hardest day. The day was not looking promising but after sending off my signal with the spot tracker, I bid farewell to Bob & Ken, who were also leaving, and took off up the track. Continue reading →

13. North-West Circuit 6

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East Ruggedy – Big Hellfire, 15.0 km
Friday, February 15: Some drizzle at first, clearing, rain later on
GPS Tour
West Ruggedy Beach

West Ruggedy Beach

Got just over half a night’s sleep and was, of course, the first up and about, although I tried hard not to wreak revenge for last night’s events. Donna was up just as I had gotten my stuff together and I was ready to go.

Decided to split the day into four parts of (un-)equal time/distance divisions: 1) The track now leads via West Ruggedy Beach, so that was the first stage, including along the beach to the end; 2) From the beach end to the pass in the Ruggedy Mountains; 3) From there to Waituna Bay; and 4) finally to Big Hellfire. Continue reading →

12. North-West Circuit 5

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Long Harry – East Ruggedy, 9.9 km
Thursday, February 14: Rainy and windy overnight, a couple of light showers during the day
GPS Tour
Youtube video
East Ruggedy Beach and Sand Dunes. Hand-held panorama

East Ruggedy Beach and Sand Dunes. Hand-held panorama

Slept in until 8:30 this morning and quickly had breakfast and was packed and underway. Long Harry Hut has moved from its position on the old map to a position more to the east. From approximately its old site I could see the new hut but was unable to photograph it, as the camera was packed into the rucksack (as was most other stuff because of the rain). Continue reading →

11. North-West Circuit 4

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Yankee River – Long Harry, 8.4 km
Wednesday, February 13: Heavy showers overnight, mostly sunny during the day, short showers in the afternoon
GPS Tour
The easy end of Smokey Beach

The easy end of Smokey Beach

Had been latish into bed last night (around 10:00) and awoke just after 8:00. Feeling very sore from the last days’ hikes and can barely get around on the left foot. Packed everything up, cleared out the fireplace and swept the floor.

The track between Yankee River and Smokey Beach was possibly the worst in terms of mud. However, I was trying to take an easier pace, as I was in no hurry. Continue reading →

10. North-West Circuit 3

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Christmas Village – Mt Anglem – Yankee River, 19.7 km
Tuesday, February 12: A few light showers during the day, heavier in the evening
GPS Tour
Christmas Village in the morning

Christmas Village in the morning

Two snorers – the far worse was Ross, but Bernhard also joined in the concertino russamento. I slept until 1:00 before being awoken, and then I searched around for an aspirin, as I had a headache, but nothing could be found. Went out for a pee and heard a possum; then it was intermittent sleep until 6:30 when everyone got up and had breakfast. We were all going up Mt Anglem, but only I was going to attempt to get to Yankee River before the rain set in. Continue reading →

9. North-West Circuit 2

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Port William – Big Bungaree – Christmas Village, 17.4 km
Monday, February 11: Rain overnight; during the day a couple of very light showers; in the afternoon sun but a little colder.
GPS Tour
Little Bungaree

Little Bungaree

Up at about 6:30 and the ladies were pretending to snooze. I set about breakfast and then the packing and am around 19 kg with the water. Farewelled by the wardens and made my way to Big Bungaree. The track was in surprisingly good condition, with the mud not so slippery and quite firm in most places. There were really only two places at the beginning and at the end of the track where the mud was treacherous. Continue reading →

8. North-West Circuit 1

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Oban – Port William, 12.6 km
Sunday, February 10: Cloudy, somewhat variable, still dry
GPS Tour
Suspension Bridge at Maori Beach

Suspension Bridge at Maori Beach

Was up at 8:00 and had the full cooked breakfast, which made up for the lost breakfast at Matt’s from yesterday. Then there was work to be done in transcribing the diaries and scheduling the blog. That took up pretty much two hours and in the meantime I sent a regular OK message on the Spot Tracker, which showed up as such on the internet site. Sent the address around to a couple of friends (still wondering whether it would have been a good idea to send it to all the FB friends), had a cuppa with Tina and then did the rest of the packing. With the billy and the gas can on the outside of the pack (together with the raincoat and the dry change of clothes in a plastic bag) all the food fits on the middle level of the pack (i.e the bottom of the top section) with the vanity bag and the batteries on the top. The pack barely closes, but there you go. Continue reading →