Day 35 and 36 (814 to 840 kms)
Day started with a cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast and another latte style coffee. I am sure this will be my last coffee for a few days, as today I head up to Pāhautea Hut and tomorrow I head back down. The up and down is termed the Pirongia Traverse. The most notable event of this traverse is the considerable mud on the way up and the even more considerable mud on the way down. The trick is not to slip.
At the top I stayed at DOC Hut, which was quite modest. I think they need to add a fire place, as the overnight temperatures got down to freezing. Since there was only three of us, I managed to get own bunk room. The other two bunked in together in the other room.
After the traverse, there was a few hours of road walking with the night at Jo’s Funny Farm. A place to sleep, hot shower, dinner and breakfast for a very reasonable $40. And a very cozy setup for walkers. Jo told us only 10 people have been through so far this year, so we really are at the front of the pack.
