Day 67 - Kiwi Bern Hut to Lower Princhester Hut

I was happy to see the hunters had lit the fire when I woke up this morning, making it much easier to get ready to go with some warmth and dry boots. This didn't last long as the long grass outside Kiwi Bern was soaking wet with condinsation.

After 1km of leaving Kiwi Bern I crossed the Mavora River. This was one of, if not, my last big river crossings in the South Island, and I felt a large relief after reaching the other side.

Now began my 15km walk through farmland, following the fence line, that followed the true left of the Mavora River until I reached a dirt road. The track was wet, muddy and unpleasant, but not as slow going as I thought it would be.

After 15 more km on dirt road I reached the Davaar station, where I shipped a box with 8 days of food that would take me to the coast. I walked up the driveway to a magnificent stone house that was practically a mansion. I felt strange knocking on the door in my hiker trash state. A extremely friendly lady named Fiona answered the door (who I'd talked on the phone with and told I was coming) and welcoming me inside her home. I left my shoes outside.

After Fiona gave me my food package she kindly offered me a shower, fresh coffee, a banana, 4 eggs, and some charge for my cell phone. I am always surprised by the kindness of kiwis. With Internet, I got a chance to check the weather. I was in for 2 very cold wet days with snow as low as 300 meters.

After spending a good hour and a half at Davaar with Fiona I made my final 5km walk to lower Princhester Hut where I would spend the night. I could see a thick cloud of rain and a clear layer of snow already settled on the mountains I was heading for, and as I got closer I realized that the thick cloud of rain was slowly moving my way. I suited up in my full rain just before the rain started up, and I soon found myself fighting extremely powerful winds and I was soaked to the core. To think I was 15 minutes away from arriving at the hut dry!

When I reached the hut their were 3 other hunter already there, and this was no big surprise. This is the biggest month for hunting in New Zealand, as the male deer are roaring. They were all quite friendly and welcoming, and I was happy to see they had a fire going. It was a comfortable night even though I didn't have the hut to myself.

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