North West Circuit
Day 1: Oban - Bungaree Beach 18km 7-8hrs
- Hut nights: 7
- Solo hut nights: 6
- People in huts: 4
- Overall people: 6
- Kiwi: 1
The first day's walk would take me past Port William Hut to Big Bungaree Beach Hut, hopefully before nightfall. It was now about 11am as I walked the road out of town in misty rain. The road ended and I passed through a gate in the predator fence that protects kiwi form their foes. I stopped to get a shot of the chain link sculpture that connects the anchor of Stewart Island to the boat of the mainland. As I trudged up and down the gradients of the coast hugging track the rain eased to nothing and it wasn't long before I started over-heating . I got down to shorts and t-shirt from rain and warmth gear. With the exertion from carrying my pack the heat generated would keep at a comfortable equilibrium.
My first test came when the track lead down to a bay, the high tide waters were lapping the bush line leaving no beach to walk upon. I put my gaiters on and studied the flow and ebb of the water. It seemed possible to run along the beach in the time between swells - though if I got it wrong I'd get soaked. I waited till the water left a decent amount of dry land then made a mad dash, I had to make it around a tree and some rocks before I would be safe. The swell behaved and I was on dry land by the time the sea had swamped my footprints. Avoiding the sea would become a theme of this journey.
At the point where I left the shorter Rakiura Track and started on the North West Circuit I met a couple of British chaps. They had cheap army surplus packs on, the lack of shoulder padding were causing them some discomfort. They were going my way but only as far as Port William, I was heading for the next hut. I bid them farewell and kept up a steady pace. It was about mid afternoon when I passed the first hut and the track time to Bungaree Beach indicated I'd make that hut by nightfall. So off I set.
The track in these early stages was relatively mud free. The bush was lush, diverse and magnificent. The next few hours was a solid non-stopping get-to-the-hut mentality, it seemed to be taking forever to get there. It was twilight and I'd taken longer than the indicated track time when I broke out of the bush. Bungaree Beach was a lovely bush encrusted crescent beach with the hut placed at the northern end.
My first solo night would set the pattern for the week to come. First task was to boil some water on my gas stove for a bucket shower. Whilst that was heating I get a fire going with the hut's firewood supply and my own newspaper and firelighters. Out on the deck I strip down, splash a cup of the warm water over me, soap up, then rinse off with the rest of the bucket. Feeling thus clean and refreshed it was time for a cup of tea and a cracker, then some dried soup. Dinner tonight was a gourmet serving of pasta with red pesto and an avocado. At least my pack would be lighter the next day. My entertainment was a book by Aspley Cherry-Garrard - the youngest member of Scott's Antarctic Expedition. He gave a full account of the two year ordeal at the end of the earth and of the failure to beat Admundsen to the South Pole. Titled 'The Worst Journey in the World' its tales of ardours in extreme conditions made light of my own near Antarctic expedition. Night had set in shortly after 6pm, I was snug in my sleeping bag by ten.
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