LAKE TEKAPO – WANAKA

Section Distance = 201 km

Total Distance = 1449 km

Helloooo lake country!

LAKE TEKAPO – LAKE OHAU 

Took a break from hiking to cycle the Lake Tekapo to Lake Ohau section of trail. Much faster than walking…

I split this into two days, Lake Tekapo – Twizel and then Twizel to Lake Ohau. The Alps to Ocean cycle route differs slightly from the TA hiking route between Twizel and Lake Ohau. DO NOT do what I did which is assume they are the same as you will have some VERY rough cycling over deep gravel slopes instead of a lovely flat cycleway past the canals… 

 

LAKE OHAU – AHURIRI RIVER CAMP 

Leaving Lake Ohau behind I officially passed from Canterbury to Otago after crossing the Ahuriri River! Hiked through varied terrain throughout the day from bush, to beach forest, back to tussock above the treeline and sidled through grasslands to reach the river. I finished the day with wet boots and pants but setting up camp on the far bank that evening meant I would at least start dry the next day…

This is the last big river crossing on the south island so it was great to get it out of the way and we ended up with 8 TA’s in our tent village ⛺⛺⛺ that night.

 

AHURIRI RIVER – TOP TIMARU HUT 

I packed up camp and made it to the top of the steep bank in time for sunrise!

Today the trail crossed through farms and follows a 4wd track up a long gradual incline over Mt Martha Saddle and down the other side to the Timaru River.

It was such a hot sunny day ☀️ that I sat with my feet in the river while my tent dried in the afternoon sun.

There were so many grasshoppers and butterflies today as well as a giant dragonfly! 🦗🦋🦗🦋🦗🦋 It always amazes me where I find animals, the seemingly barren scree slopes of a 1500m peak – yep 😀

 

“Sometimes we fall because there is something down there we are meant to find…and sometimes you get distracted by the stars and end up in a spear grass bush!” 

A midnight loo run ended with two bleeding hands after I took my eyes off my feet to take in the stars. This area is part of the dark skies region and boasts some of the most epic night views in all of NZ. Unfortunately, I should have watched where I was going instead and had to wash off some blood in the river before trying to sneak back into my sleeping bag without waking anyone else in the hut… night adventures! 

TOP TIMARU HUT – PAKITUHI HUT 

After hearing so many people say the trail route between Top Timaru and Stody’s Hut was less than ideal, I followed the river instead! The flow was low and the walk was not only beautiful but a lot of fun. There was one section that required rejoining the trail to avoid a waterfall and some mild canyoning with the pack but otherwise a straight forward ‘diversion’.

This was followed by a 2km almost vertical ascent 🥵 to Stody’s Hut and a further 11km (of thankfully more gradual ascent) to the summit of Breast Hill! 

 

PAKITUHI HUT – WANAKA 

Great views over Lake Hawea from the top of Breast Hill and the sunrise the next morning as I descended was lovely to watch. The vertical knee murdering descent on the other hand was not quite so lovely…

Flat gravel road walking along Lake Hawea to Albert Town followed, by which time my knee had decided we had gone far enough for the day, and I got a lift the remaining distance to Wanaka.

This meant I did have to do some hiking on my planned rest day BUT I could slack pack (hike without my big pack) the last 12km and smash it out before brunch by the lake in Wanaka 😃

I stayed at a wonderful backpackers in Wanaka (Wanaka Backpackers Bothy) to give myself the treat of sleeping in a real bed. The owners have a little separate bunk room for TA’s so we can spread out gear, pack up super early without disturbing any other guests and enjoy the amenities. 

 

Queenstown here I come… Te Araroa Part 12 should only take around 4 days (with lots of ups and downs to hike in that time). 

I should also reach the 1500km or half-way point of my TA journey in the next few days 🙌🥾😬 

Are you keen to see more epic photos from my journey? Jump onto my Instagram @discover_with_danni