THE HOPKINS
Samantha had a couple of days work booked for February in Canterbury and, being the opportunists we are, it made sense to cram all the work into a Sunday and Monday and go hunting for the rest of the week!
A front moved through on the Monday night and was still clearing on Tuesday morning. Given that our goal for the night was modest, we decided to splash out and book a dip in the hot pools at Omarama until the weather passed. It was seven degrees and raining intermittently - splendid weather for a hot tub. Despite my remarkable English rose complexion I didn’t pay any attention to the possibility of sunburn, as it felt one step away from snow! When the weather began to clear we reluctantly prised ourselves out of the hot water and pointed the Hilux west. After bouncing as far as Sam’s work ute would permit us (with no snorkel it wasn’t nearly as far as I’d have liked, as I find walking 4WD tracks we could otherwise be driving particularly dispiriting) we hefted the packs and began the plod up the valley. It was a blessedly cool day, with the black clouds cloaking the peaks slowly softening and burning away under the relentless February sun. The glittering boughs of beech caught the sun and draped down over the golden grass on the valley floor. It felt good to be back in the Alps - there’s nowhere quite like it.
It was a good stint up to the hut, plodding along the valley disturbing the cattle and merinos as we went. My shoulders were burning inordinately and by the time we got
