January 9 17.2 km 9 hours 20 mins
Good time on more of the same sidling, deep creeks, and smallish saddles to Hunters Hut - ahead of DOC times again, but then definitely failed to keep to time on the next section.
Climbed up out of the Motueka River for lunch looking back towards Hunters Hut away in the distance, but this was the point where at times the marker poles became harder to spot because of their faded paint that made them merge easily into the landscape. We lost them altogether doing the slow rocky sidle of Mt Ellis, and remain convinced that where they actually are is lower down than the track marked on the topo map.
Anyway up onto the following ridge and down that for a while, and then a slow and difficult sidling descent down into the upper Wairoa valley - minimal markers / cairns - at least where we were, and even when the markers reappeared, the track was rough and hard on our tired bodies.
Some unexpected other guests arrived at an inconvenient moment after I hadn't quite put on my hut clothes after a good wash in the stream ! They provided warnings of track ahead, with wasp nests on the track, and steep sidling / and edging around bluffs
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