I think I must have a sadistic streak. Most trampers probably do too. After a painful few days with excessively heavy packs on the Kepler I was feeling ready for the next adventure. The South Coast Track looked tempting, especially because we wouldn’t have to worry about dying in an avalanche (definite bonus). We actually did some planning for this trip and so our packs were a reasonable weight for our planned 8 days. Our route took us over ‘The Hump’, around to Lake Poteriteri, Paddling down to the Slaughter Burn, then dropping down the Waitutu river to the coast and hopefully Westies Hut with tonnes of kaimoana before walking out down the coast. It would be Jakob and I most of the way, accompanied by Kerry for the trip over the Hump.
We met Kerry in Invers and bunked down there for the night. I think it was the social highlight of the month for him, given the somewhat lackluster reputation the southern city has. The next morning we faffed about and eventually got to the Rarakau carpark where we would leave our car. It was about 9 by the time our boots finally hit the track, a little later than I had hoped for. The beginning of the track meandered aimlessly for a few k’s high above the sea before meeting the beach. We made good time along this highway which was good because we still had a long day ahead of us.
