The St James Walkway is a long tramp of 66km and is designed to be walked over 4 or 5 days. The path follows
several interconnecting river valleys and is well-formed and pretty flat,
making the walking easy and unlike almost everything else I have walked here so
far. I plan to try and complete the walk in 4 days, depending on the weather
(which is due to deteriorate in a couple of days) and how things go, but I have
enough provisions for 5 days, just in case. As I am reading the information
board by a small tarn at the start of the track, I meet up with two young
German girls, Ella and Sarah, who are also about to start walking. We have
exactly the same walking plans as each other, so we will probably be companions
along the route and in the huts.
Day 1
It is a beautiful sunny day and the path sets out on boardwalks across boggy across heath land; between small trees which are festooned with the best lichen display that I have seen so far. Over the next few hours I pass Ella and Sarah and they pass me, as the path winds pleasantly through beech forest following a small river.
Start of the Walkway
Lichen on the Trees
Path through the Beech Forest
A swing bridge crosses Cannibal Gorge and an information
board here explains that the name derives from a number of human bones found
here, which are likely to be the remains of a victory feast following Maori
warfare between tribes, in which the winners got to eat the losers.
Cannibal Gorge
The forest opens out into a wide grassy clearing where Cannibal
Gorge Hut is located. The 3 of us arrive at about the same time as each other
and here we meet Ondrey, from the Czech Republic, who is in New Zealand
travelling and picking fruit. He has walked in this far today and will walk out
again tomorrow, as the fruit-picking calls. We have our lunch together in a
sunny spot on the grass outside the hut.
Cannibal Gorge Hut
Soon after the hut, a wooden bridge crosses a small stream.
The name ‘Billy Goats Gruff Bridge’ is written on the handrail. I approve of
this, as every time I walk across a bridge like this I think, ‘Who’s that
trip-trapping over my bridge?’
Billy Goats Gruff Bridge
Crossing the River
The path continues to follow the river, but now crosses more
open clearings, which allow views along the river and up to the bare-topped
mountains on either side of the valley. In the early afternoon the 3 of us
arrive at Ada Pass Hut, which is where we will stay tonight. A bit later on
another woman of about my age arrives. This is Chris, who is originally from
Scotland, but who moved here with her husband about 8 years ago, buying a farm
and leaving their 3 grown-up children in the UK. She secretly hopes that they
might eventually follow them out here. Chris is a champion walker; what it has
taken me and the German girls to walk in 4 ½ hours, she has just done in 3 ½
hours. She thinks she might do the whole walk in just 3 days. I have now met
all the people there are to meet on this walk, which is in sharp contrast to
last weekend’s busy walk. We light a fire in the stove and make ourselves cosy
for the evening, cooking our evening meals by candle and torch-light. Tomorrow will be the longest leg of the walk
at 25km, if we are going to complete it in 4 days and we are all tucked up in
our sleeping bags by 8 o’clock.
Ada Pass Hut
Day 2
We start getting up before it is properly light and as I stand at the outside sink cleaning my teeth, I think this is not a bad view from my bathroom.
View from the Hut
Grassland
Clouds on the Montain Tops
In various places the top layer of grass has been scuffed
back in rough circles and Ella and I speculate that this is the work of wild
pigs. As I climb over a small ridge, I hear some movement among some small
scrubby trees below me and there are 3 little black pigs, rootling around. They
catch sight, or sound of me and trot off into the undergrowth.
I stop at Christopher Hut for lunch with the German girls.
Chris has been here and already gone on. This is where we would stay for our
second night, if we are to take 5 days on the trail, but we are all feeling
good and the weather looks to be set fair for the rest of the day, so we all
decide to carry n to the next hut.
Christopher Hut
The afternoon’s walk continues in the same vein as this
morning. I am loving the scenery and although there is a fair amount of ground
to cover today, the path is incredibly well-formed and flat, so that I don’t
have to watch every footstep and can stride along, taking in the scenery and
the feeling of space, light and air. Maybe this walk is shaping up to be my
favourite so far.
Path by the River
A gateway of thorny trees leads to the last open terrace
where tonight’s hut stands in the middle of a vast open grassland and a herd of
horses grazes further up the valley. Smoke is already rising from chimney, as presumably
Chris has already been here for hours.
Gateway of Thorny Trees
St James Horses
Anne River Hut
This hut is brand new and lovely, having been built only
last year, after the old hut burned down. Apparently a tramper cleaned out the
embers of fire and left them in a plastic bucket on the wooden veranda. Unfortunately
they were not completely dead, but the hut soon was.
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