South Coast Fiordland - Day 2

Following an old tram line railway once used to transport timber to the ships at Port Craig the going was pretty easy.

The deeper we went the more big trees and giant tree ferns like this we saw - dwarfing Daniel and Jenn. We also crossed several very tall, old school viaducts built over steep ravines for the rail-line. Today they are thoroughfares for hikers like us. Below mountains streams rush out into the sea.

Come later afternoon I found a dog. He befriended me and followed us. He has a collar with a radio, and we speculated where he came from out here in this wilderness. Later we found out when we ran into Tom and Tommy, two young Kiwi guys hunting for pigs and for their dog. Turns out they were staying at the same hut a few kilometers up on the Wairaurahiri River with two others.

Think hard-core rural Kiwi blokes. Hunter - fishermen extraordinaries meet academic American travelers. Nerdy naturalist, hiker extraordinaries. I think it was fascinating for both of us, a cultural exchange and great fun. They told us about all the deer, pig, fish and abalone (paua) they had taken the past six days and gave us fresh paua cooked up for lunch. We taught them card games and had great laughs all night at the table. It was great fun.