Squelch, squelch, squelch

14th March 2011
Routeburn Trek, Day 1

We set out upon our great adventure in the pouring Fiordland rain. Indeed, it rained continuously all day. The only respite from relentless vertical rain was in the afternoon when the wind began to blow and it became relentless oblique rain. The howling of the wind through the tops of the moss-clad beech trees was something fearful and we were glad to be trekking through thick forest this day. Small birds with sodden feathers flitted on either side of the path. Luncheon was a hasty affair of sandwiches, taken standing up in a simple wooden hut made fuggy by the heat of almost two score other bodies; two trails crossed here and we had probably happened upon a passing group of hardy pioneers.

We climbed on through a grim afternoon past raging waterfalls and were glad to finally come upon a native dwelling. The locals who greeted us described it as a “trekking lodge” and the comfort in which these simple folk sustained themselves was marvellous to behold (and indeed, to partake in). We fell upon the hot showers with delight, and upon the cosy room laid out for us. Their “drying room” was nothing short of superb, and after hanging our soaking things there it was tempting to simply curl up for the night. They fed us well, on smoked salmon terrine and tarragon chicken.

At ten o’clock the lights were turned out and we fell into an exhausted sleep, all no doubt fearful of what turbulent weather the following dawn would bring.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 7:45 pm and is filed under New Zealand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.