SAFA Skysailor Magazine

22 SKY SAILOR May | June 2024 off with so many crossings. After Macetown the fun started. I had a choice – the high trail or follow the river (the recommended route). It was 7km up the river, literally. Wading up rapids, some sections were along the banks, but most were obstructed by NZ finest scrub – a mixture of thorny rosehip, nettle and some other thorny plant, more thorn than plant. This of course was also mostly barefoot, hiking poles no doubt saving me and my phone from unwanted swims many a time. By then I remembered my thongs, which made some sections a little easier, making sure the current didn’t rip them off and carried them away. Amongst the difficulties, I did take in the beauty of my surroundings, noting many wonderfully patterned rocks, looking like they’d been inked by the Maori gods themselves. It was this wonderful section of the trail that inspired me to share this. By the end of this section, I was relieved not to have drowned my phone and connection to the outside world, and happy to be climbing hills again. However, the trail was poorly maintained and very narrow. A boot width wide on a slope too steep for hiking poles. The climb seemed endless, my legs ached terribly. Eventually, I reached Roses Saddle, and started the long hike down to Roses hut for the night. What a relief, 29km of hiking done! Day two saw a gruelling climb straight up out of the valley, then down, then up, you get the gist. Passing some wonderful scenery, beautiful gullies, fantastic vistas… Yet any insights I got for flying this area were terrifying! The wind was brutal, each gully did its own thing, wind up, wind down, a swirling, gusting horror story for any pilot caught out in worsening conditions among these steep slopes. I arrived at Highland Creek hut, not my intended destination for the night, but I was so exhausted, I stopped. A dip in the creek and a nice cuppa to end the day. Day three, now longer than anticipated, saw yet another gruelling climb up the narrowest, steepest spur I’ve ever encountered. Sections of track maybe a foot wide, death down one side of scree slope, riddled with jagged racks, and certain injury down the other option of tufty grass laced with rocks. This while enduring more of the swirling wind trying to unsettle me. My poles were next to useless, I navigated several sections on my hands and knees, terrified, but made it to the next pass and it seemed all downhill from there. My hopeful expectation again underestimat- ed the NZ landscape. Hidden gullies were just waiting for my aching body. Painful toenails hit the end of my boots as I climbed down such steep hills to continue on my way. After A New Zealand adventure – Part 1