Thursday March 22 26.7 kms 7.25 hrs
Light rain overnight, and awoke to low fog covering the hills. A later start than usual, Following an old farm track down a valley with mountains on either side, with the fog gradually clearing. Popped in to check out Manuka Hut – a pleasant sheltered spot beside a stream – and then after a while climbed a low saddle and descended the other side to Lake Emily – an open patch of water in a treeless landscape.
Then again on a farm track out to the Lake Heron Road, and met up with Hazel for a lunch stop at Maori Lake. Now a warm sunny day, but not as hot as the day before.
A short road walk, then off on the track towards Lake Clearwater. General direction clear, but poles again a long way apart – this time the binoculars routine was enhanced by having to remove my sunglasses each time. This eventually became tedious, meaning that I ended up on the wrong side of the stream with dense matagouri (spiky) bushes protecting the banks on either side…. Backtrack to where the marker poles crossed the stream !
An unsignposted junction with the obvious poles heading the wrong way, so an extra couple of kms as a result. But eventually found a place to camp with a good enough water supply. Ominous clouds arriving from both sides, but in the end the overnight showers were not much.
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