Te-Araroa Walk

I took this photo moments before the rain began, blissfully unaware of the challenges we were about to face.

- Josh Yates

Little did we know that this day was going to be the most physically and mentally challenging of the whole South Island Te-Araroa walk. My cousin and I had just made our way up Martha’s saddle, an hour’s climb from the tin hut we stayed in the night before. This was a bit of a slog, but nothing we weren't used to. At the top, a brisk wind started to pick up, so we put our jackets on and set off down the other side of the mountain--which is where I took this photo.

Rain began to fall, and it was getting pretty chilly, but once again, nothing we weren’t used to. We continued to descend until we reached Top Timaru Hut which marked our arrival at the bottom of the valley, where we stopped to eat lunch. The weather didn't improve. We kept on following the river which, because of the rain, had swelled, making it more risky to cross. This meant, among other things, that we spent more time finding the safest locations to cross. Each time we crossed, we would have to link arms to ensure we didn’t get swept away. We had fifteen or so of these to do. Each time we made it across the river, we had to climb up the steep, muddy bank and sidle for a time before descending back down for another river crossing. Sidling in this weather was very difficult. The track was already extremely narrow but with the weather, some parts of the track had slipped away or would give when we stepped on them.