Daybreak

Today was my first day on the Kepler Track Great Walk. Given the limited availability of the huts, I had to go the "backwards" way, the opposite direction most hikers go. Day 1 was a mostly flat 15.5 km through mature beech forest alongside the Waiau River. I heard and saw lots of Fantails, and even a pair of Riflemen. Despite the flat trail and magical scenery, it was a tough day physically. By the time I reached the DOC hut, my feet and shoulders and hips were hard pressed to understand why the hell I thought this was such a good idea.

The Moturau Hut, a 40-bed bunkhouse equipped with mattresses and gas cookers (like all Great Walks huts) is situated on the tranquil shore of Lake Manapouri. I arrived within three hours of leaving the carpark, just in time for the hut talk with hut ranger Boyd. He talked about hut safety, fire procedures, etc, and the importance of not flushing anything down the toilet, namely in the prevention of the dreaded "poo geyser." He also talked a lot about DOC's conservation work and just how much effort and money is needed to maintain the programs that are staving off the native birds' extirpation from Fiordland, the latter of which is steadily shrinking away in the government's drastic budget cuts.

Afterwards I went and sat by the lake, listening to the waves gently lap against the shore, and doing my best to keep every millimeter of skin hidden from the swarming sandflies. The cozy bunkhouse was a welcome sight as I turned in for bed.

The Blip today comes not at all from the Kepler Track, but from the Eglinton Valley, which I passed through on my way out of Milford Sound early this morning. I stopped at a small campground to look at the mountains one last time. When I got out of the car and walked out into the grass, a single female Paradise Shelduck appeared from the south and flew up the Valley, honking as she went. It was an idyllic moment.