Day 66 - Mavora Lakes Campground to Kiwi Bern Hut

I remember waking up early, maybe 5am. It was still dark. but the early morning dawn was not far away. There was no rain. Then I remember waking up around 8am - just before I was about to leave my tent, and the rain started up. It was soon windy and unpleasant outside. Good news was I got an updated forcast from Brooke that let me know the rain would settle down by the afternoon. I was only planning to do 19km to Kiwi Bern Hut so starting a bit later wasn't really a big deal.

By 10pm the wind picked up but the rain died down. Enough to dry my tent off a bit before I made a scramble to pack everything up and hit the trail before it started again.

Right as I left the campground, I passed a swing bridge, and continued on through a beautiful forest track running parallel with the Mavora River. Because it was overcast and just stopped raining the forest shone its best light. My favorite light. This made for what I thought was going to be a cold damp day for one of my favorite days for the past few weeks. Their was mud at times, and some nasty bits, but all and all I was happy.

Just before I made it to Kiwi Bern hut - while jumping across a river - my walking stick got caught on a rock and I heard a carbon fiber crack. After inspection, I cracked my pole on the top half of my stick where it calapses. I managed to slide the cracked bit back down into the pole, and extend the top to sort of protect the weak point I made. Breaking my trekking pole at this point does not only mean I'm down a walking stick, but I also need two of them to pitch my tent, which I'll be doing for most of my nights nearer to bluff.

I made it to Kiwi Bern Hut and was greeted by Stef and Heiner and two other hunters. The hunters were very friendly and energetic. Kiwi Bern hut was probably one of the best huts I've stayed in over the past few months. I was also very happy to finally see a fireplace, even though I'd be fording the Mavora River first thing In the morning.

Cooking dinner with Stef and Heiner can be quite funny. They are both Vegetarian, and also damn good at backcountry cooking. I've been with them every day through this section, and Im constantly asking them questions like "whats that you're making? What's that you're drinking? What powder is this for?". They're packing ultralight weight packs but they still manage to have extremely interesting diets out on the trail. Here I am  eating cheese by the block, Nutella by the spoon, and breakfast by the bar.

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