Sunday 29th March: Sunny then misty then sunny 8°C to 12°C
Mintaro to Dumpling Hut: 17k: 8.30am to 5.00pm: 8hrs 30mins
Accommodation: Dumpling Hut
Weka (not Kiwi) on the track
Blue ducks on the pond
Misty valley below Mackinnon Pass
Kea posing for camera
Mistly View Mackinnn Pass
Quinton Memorial Mackinnon Pass
Wonderful outlook Mackinnon Pass
Mackinnon pass 1154metres
Them and us lunch shelter
Looking down from Mackinnon Pass
Kea eat anything
Misty and cloudy
Pretty Falls
Suspension Bridge
Sutherland Falls
That's us at Sutherland Falls
And again
Washroom Dumpling Hut
Highlight of the day was reaching the Quinton Memorial at McKinnon Pass in clear weather to have a wonderful view in all directions. Then taking a detour to the 580 metre Sutherland Falls, the third highest falls in the world tumbling down in three tiers.
It's cold and dark at 6.45am when we're up and start to pack. Breakfast downstairs is a hot cup of tea followed by really nice hot creamy porridge. We're off at 8.30am but 5 minutes down the track there's two birds which we thought to be Kiwis fossicking on the track. We stop to take photos, but later discover they are weka birds , not kiwis. It's not raining but still overcast as we climb up towards McKinnon Pass.
Within an hour, we've worked up a sweat and need to strip off. The sun is out and we're up out of the rain forest into open scrub. In two hours we reach the Quinton Memorial. It's clear and beautiful. There's several kea posing for photos on the rocky ledge. It's getting colder. Now down to 7°C. Another 20 minutes, we're at McKinnon Pass but by now it's dropped to 5°C. Around the corner is the Mackinnon Shelter where we notice there's two sides to the hut - them (guided) and us (independent) walkers. There's already a hoard of hikers inside the "us" side. It's 11am and there's a gas burner which we make use of to have a hot cup of milky coffee and half an apple. That’s a nice touch to have a gas burner at the top of the pass. Thank you.
The section between Mackinnon Pass and the shelter is notorious for hurricane force winds, and this shelter is the fifth that has been built here in this exact same spot. The other four have been blown away off the mountain. People have died falling off this section of the track.
Leaving the warm shelter and out into the cold wind to start our long descent but within 10 minutes it’s instantly warm. It takes us 3hrs to zig zag our way down to the bottom to Quinton Lodge - down hundreds of steps beside the Roaring Burn. This is the guided walkers lodge, but there's a shelter for the independent walkers beside it. It's only 1pm and time for lunch - two eggs each, camembert, butter, rice cakes and peanut paste.
It's suggested we leave our packs at this shelter to take a 1hr 30min detour to the 580 metre Sutherland Falls. So we do and it was well worth the visit. They were noisy but spectacular, the third highest in the world dropping in three leaps and bounds. On return to Quinton Lodge shelter, we take advantage of the urn and tea provided to make a cup of milky tea made with our Aldi powdered milk.
When we head off, it's raining again, but it's only a 1hr pleasant downhill walk to Dumpling Hut where we promptly grab two low down bunks. The sandflies are bad outside and everyone is pedantic about keeping doors closed. A quick wash from our doggie bowl in the clean washroom and time to sit inside in the warm and cook dinner of Back Country Mince with all our left overs of onions, tomatoes, peas, and bacon thrown in. Very nice with the last of our Syrah wine. Our back packs should be much lighter now.
Ranger Jen gives us a brief talk and updates us on the New Zealand versus Australia World Cup Cricket Final. Not looking good for New Zealand who are all out for 188.