I'm sure there are better ways to spend ones 67th birthday but I don't need to find them. What a wonderful day.
We were up at 6:30 and had our coffee and oatmeal. We made our final pack adjustments, checked out and headed to the Takaka Airport. We arrived at 7:45 and met our pilot, Mit, shortly after that. Mit has a four seat Cessna and would be taking us to a grass airstrip just short of Brown Hut and the start of the Heaphy Track.
We were on the trail at 8:45 heading to the Perry Saddle Hut which was 17.5 km away and nearly 900 meters above us. Almost every step of today's hike was uphill but most of the grade was quite gentle. We took a half hour break for lunch and arrived at the hut at 2:45. We were the first ones here but the peace and quiet didn't last long. The Hut sleeps 24 and will be full tonight.
There was a sign for a "Mountain Spa" so I hiked down for a look. It is just a wide spot in the creek but I figured I'd give it a try. No one was there so I stripped downloaded to my underwear and went in. Very refreshing but very cold. I lasted about two minutes.
The Hut comes with propane stoves so fixing our dinners will be a snap. It is a clear day with temperatures in the mid 60s. We'll have dinner in an hour or so and then just continue to relax.
From the plane on the way to Brown Hut
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