Sue's long walk

I walked down the road to the sea. A lovely morning. The tide was going out and initially the beach was fairly sandy but then it changed to small pebbles. The beach has a huge drop off. Was lovely to hear the waves and smell the sea. When the pebbles got a bit hard I was able to walk a road for a bit but until it turned inland. After a while the beach ended with a lot of rocky outcrops. There was a goog trach that undulated above the rocks then dropped down to secluded beaches. It was a beautiful walk. We then went on to farmland and I walked through a gate cut into a deer fence. It was then a bit of uphill over farmland until reaching Mores scenic reserve. This was beautiful bush and uphill to a look out over Riverton. I then walked down a road to the camp ground. They had no cabins available so I had to pitch my tent. Fortunately I carried it. I had a rest, went for a walk round Riverton and then to the pub for tea. ...

Time to tick a bit more of Southland off. Chris dropped me at Roundhill carpark and I went walking. I had hoped to make it to Martin hut but. The first part of the track was lovely, manicur d as it was part of a short walk that looked at all the waterways the Chinese made as the mined for gold in the late 1800's. Amazon ng what they did. At one stage it was one of the largest Chinese settlements. Then the track got hard. It was pretty muddy and took me ages. The sign said 2 hr 30 min. Well it took me over 4 hr and not too many stops. The southern rata petals on the ground and the moss covered trees were lovely but the mud!!!.; I tried to avoid it but I ended up covered. I was pleased to see Turnbull hut. It is considered derelict but had 2 bunks with mattress, a dirt floor and no water. I decided to stop the night as I was just walking out the next day. I found some water from an  soak by the old dam but made sure I sterilised it. A German guy called Sam also stayed the night. Fort...

I set off fairly early knowing what was ahead of me as I walked back out. I hoped I would be faster and better at avoiding the mud but I wasn't. Met several groups going north including the brother of Beth who I teach with at Menzies. I was l asked to get to the carpark and washed asuch mud as I could off my boots and gaiters. I had lunch, a wrap with Nutella and pretzels. I then did the 6 km road walk to Colac bay. Had a cold drink at the pub then booked into a cabin. The camp ground is tired but we'll set up. I had a rest and chilled. Met up with others who said the mud in the Longwoods after Martin hut was really bad, above there knees. These were tall people and we haven't had rain for a couple of weeks. I will cross that but off my list. I had a beer and a huge burger at the pub

Again up early and I tried not to wake Jorge. Straight after the hut you cross a swing bridge. I started to follow a 4 wheel drive track which was wrong. I almost left my poles behind so had to go back. The first part of the day involved sidling round on alpine terrain with bogs and streem crossings. The big flowers were beautiful. The contour was quite undulating. The next part was through tussock with matagauri and wild rose. Some of the valley is grazed. On Far Out app it stays clamber under the fence and that's what I had to do. In the middle of nowhere there is a seat so I had a sit down. I arrived at Boundary hut for lunch. Had seen and spoke with at least 11 people going north. You cross a swing bridge to get to Boundary hut and see the hut well before you get to it. It was then a 6 km walk on a 4 wheel drive track to Careys hut. Careys was a delightful old school hut on the lake shore. Cheryl and Malcom were there and Malcom had caught a few fish. Pablo called in on his way...