From Waiau hut the river banks open up to more and wider grassland on the banks with smaller mountains behind them.
Between the huts I only went down a couple hundred meters over about 25k, so it was mostly flat, but it was warm and the sun was strong. Originally I was trying to get to Anne hut for lunch, but I got hungry and it was taking longer than I expected, so I found a nice tree for shade near a stream and just had lunch there. There was just enough wind to keep away the sand flies.
When I made it to the hut it was still early, but I was tired and it was a lovely place in a big field with a nice breeze which kept away the sandflies. Stephan was able to check the weather forecast, which now said only 10% chance of rain, so the urgency to move on was now much less. Both groups ended up there at that hut that night except for Steady Eddie who camped somewhere before the hut.
