Friday
A calm crossing of the Cook Strait, and a brief road trip to the Onamalutu Scenic Reserve had us at a great campsite, that regardless of our change of islands wasn't all that far from home in Wellington. The weather overnight was reasonable with sleep interupted for a few interludes hearing Morepork's swooping on their prey.
Saturday
There was no need for alarm clocks as we awoke at dawn to native bird chorus. Bronwyn kindly dropped the six of us off up the road a fraction. We were soon ascending upward to Mt Sunday where we were able to take in the views of the snow capped peaks of the Kaikoura's and Nelson Lakes before following the rocky, but bush-clad ridge across to Fosters Ridge Hut for a large dinner and kip. We had wondered if the trip leader had told us to bring a bit much food along, but we all obediently followed the trip leaders instructions. It is important to show your appreciation for the meal, so we all made sure we finished it. After all, there is no point carrying out extra weight.
Sunday
From Fosters Hut, the track was broad and groomed allowing for easy and quick travel, in fact, it would have been quite ideal for mountain biking. The fast travel allowed us plenty of time before we were due to be collected from the Wakamarina road-end so we made the slight detour to the old stone huts. There wasn't a lot left of the ruins so we made sure that we used our imagination before heading back to our packs and down to Devils Creek Hut for lunch. The older hut on the site certainly had more character, but the new hut would offer a lot more comfort to see out a storm. The last section out to the road-end gave us an opportunity to use our raincoats to ensure that we there was a reason for carrying those lumps of goretex and flexothane over the hill yesterday.