Got up
at 7:00, started at8:00. Just like yesterday, had a gentle and fine day with no
wind today. Saw cow's droppings on the grass lands I walked. Didn't see them at
all, but there should be cattle around here.
Arrived at Hope Kiwi Lodge after
2 hours walk. Unusually as a DOC hut, it was named as lodge not hut. Was solidly
built like a log house. Had a good talk with Rob, a hunter and an ex-NZ Forest
Service (former DOC) ranger who was having an extended stay there. Stayed at
the lodge unexpectedly long and left the lodge 45 minutes later at 11:00.
Walked
over Kiwi Saddle (677m) and had lunch at a look-out down looking Lake Sumner. The area was covered by overgrown trees and didn't get a good view. Walked through beech forests around
Lake Sumner. Track was damaged everywhere by numerous windfalls, looking
ruined... must've been caused by the very unusual cyclones hit the South Island in last
February. Hoped it will be fixed shortly.
There was no one there when arriving at
Hurunui Hut at 16:15, and after the dark at 18:30, a Kiwi father and kids from
Christchurch arrived. They made a bonfire and had dinner outside, and came into
the hut to sleep at 21:00 so we didn't talk much at all.
When walking in the
forest, heard a number of bird calls of Kakariki (not only yellow fronted but
rare orange fronted parakeets as well), bellbirds, etc. - made me wondered why
birdlife was such abundant in this area. The interpretation panel explained the
area to Harper Pass was under DOC's Mainland Island project where conservation
activities like pest control have been taken place on a large scale. Went to
bed earlier at 22:00 in order to get up early tomorrow. Walked 8 hours, 24km.
7:00に起き8:15に出発。今日もまた風もなく穏やかな好天に恵まれた。姿は見かけなかったが牛が放牧されているらしく、フンが散らばる草地を歩き2時間ほどでホープ・キーウィ・ロッジに到着。
DOCの山小屋では珍しく、hut（山小屋）ではなくlodge（ロッジ）と名付けれらている通り、ログハウス風のしっかりとした造りの立派な建物。15分ほど休憩するつもりが、そこに長期滞在中の猟師で元フォレストサービス（DOCの前身）のレンジャーだったというロブと話し込んでしまい、45分後の11:00に出発。
それから標高677mのキーウィ峠を越え、サムナー湖を見下ろす展望台で昼食。しかし木が生い茂っていて景色は期待外れだった。その後、サムナー湖畔のブナの森を3時間近く歩いたが、あちこちひどい倒木で道が寸断されていて荒れた印象。2月に相次いで南島に上陸したサイクロンの被害だろうか、早急な復旧が望まれる。
16:15にフルヌイ小屋到着時は無人だったが、真っ暗になった18:30過ぎにクライストチャーチ在住の父子3人が到着。しかし外で焚き火をしながら食事をし、21:00頃中に入ってくるとすぐ寝てしまったので、ほとんど交流はなかった。
今日も森の中を歩いている時は、ベルバードやカカリキ（インコの一種。この辺にはキガシラに加え希少なダイダイガシラもいるらしい）等の鳴き声が降ってくるようにずっと聞こえていた。なぜこんなにも野鳥が多いのか不思議に思っていたが、山小屋の案内板でこの先ハーパー峠までの一帯が、DOCの陸の孤島プロジェクトの対象地域として、大規模に害獣駆除などの保護活動が展開されている場所だと知り納得がいった。明日は少し早起きすることにして22:00就寝。本日の歩行8時間、24km。
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