Heaphy Final Day: 11 Feb 2018

Day 5 – a very wet day

It rained heavily overnight and continued to do so this morning. My fellow travellers – Kate and Ginny – Paul and Evan – Judy, Rowl, and Sue – are all catching the 1:30pm bus from Kohaihai, so are up before dawn packing, repacking, and suiting up in the waterproofs for the long trek out.

Shell of a New Zealand Giant Snail

A mostly flat day the track skirts the coastline, walking along beach edges and ducking back into forest to rise over the occasional bluff. With the overnight rain continuing persistently I was soon pretty soaked, my boots squelching as I trudged on. The first streams to be crossed were rushing by, but I was able to hop over them on stepping stones, or further down the bank. I thought I was doing rather well until I came to a rivulet in full flood – rocks to precarious or distant to risk jumping. The water was only up to about mid-calf, but this was plenty high enough to fill my boots, which no longer squelched but rather sloshed. Really I should be grateful; it is not so long ago that every waterway would have to be forded or swum, and looking at the Katipo River as I crossed it comfortably high on the swing bridge, I think in those days I would have been stuck at the hut.

Though not in my diary a memory that particularly sticks with me is the sound of the West Coast. The beaches here are deceptive - smooth sand that drops away sharply where it meets the waves, creating dangerous undercurrents. In places the beach gives way to loose rock, often where a stream opens out to meet the sea, and here a constant low thunder can be heard - the strength of the waves tumbling and grinding boulders beneath the surface. A reminder of the deadly force of the tides.

Coming to the end of the track requires one last effort; a steady climb over the Kohaihai Bluff, with the carpark in view from the top. I arrived before the bus, so got in a final round of goodbyes in the shelter.

Until we meet again, wanderers.