OFF the Beaten TRACK
I’M CAUGHT in a dense band of leatherwood, turpentine, spikey Spaniards and hebes. Their branches, wiry and interlacing, reach above my head, and it takes a supreme effort to move forward. Sometimes I crawl among the roots then climb a leatherwood to survey the route before crashing back to the ground. My legs are scratched and bleeding. Paul has found his way through and is shouting encouragement.
Whose idea was this? Oh, that’s right – an article in Wilderness suggested this was a good way between Lake Christabel Hut and the Nina Valley. Now we’re wishing we’d taken the conventional route.
It’s the week before Christmas. School’s out and the malls are frantic, leaving the mountains empty. The folk at Boyle Lodge have finished their school programmes and are gearing up for a surge of Te Araroa trekkers. They’re happy to drop us at
