Days 99, 100, 101, 102 – bad weather – Feb 01-04

Day 99 was a nice day, but I knew weather was coming in, although I hadn’t seen an updated forecast (no reception), so I wasn’t sure of the timing or magnitude, so I hitched into Arthur’s pass. Once there I bumped into Stefan and Ocean, the DOC had advised them to get past the rivers in the next section that day before the rain came in, the next three days were forecast for rain and high wind with the third being the heaviest. I thought about joining them, but I needed to get my resupply box sorted and a shower and to sort an issue with my feet (the tops of two of my toes got rubbed raw from my socks being wet, I taped them up, but that became a mess in all the rover crossings). Arthur’s Pass is tiny, they have just one restaurant and one cafe/store, so the thought of being there for four days waiting for the storm to pass was very uninteresting. I grabbed a bed at the Sanctuary so at least I had a place that night. I don’t mind hiking in the rain, but these river crossings worry me after my last crossing experience.

Around dinner time Holger made it into town, by then I’d had a chance to look at the forecast for nearby areas. I thought about bouncing further down the trail and maybe hiking the trail between the big rivers, which are usually impassable and you have to hitch around, then going back to Arthur’s pass and picking the trail back up there, that way I could just hitch out from one of the rivers and hitch back into the other side of the second, but the weather was bad there too. Christchurch has a great forecast, just some rain Tuesday (the third day), but otherwise nice.

Day 100 – the rain and wind started overnight, when Holger and I asked Bill (the owner of the Sanctuary and an all around great guy) about the shuttle to Christchurch he told us he was going there and if we could be ready by 10 AM he would just take us, so we packed up in a hurry and we were off!

It’s about 150 km to Christchurch, as soon as we left the mountains the weather got better and better, until what started as a cold, wet, windy day where we were wearing down jackets under our rain gear became a hot sunny summer day with temperatures around 30 C (86 F)!

Bill dropped us on the outskirts of town so he didn’t have to drive in and deal with traffic, from there we took the bus to the center of town and walked around a bit before checking into our room. The last time I visited Christchurch it was honestly a little depressing, it was five years after the big earthquake and there were tons of abandoned buildings, not too many shops were open, and there was a lot of construction. Now 10 years after the big earthquake, Christchurch is in much better shape, lots of people and shops, outdoor cafes and restaurants, it was really nice to see how much the city has recovered!

We found a microbrewery called Two Thumbs near the backpackers we stayed at and went for a couple beers, which hit me hard as I hadn’t had much for lunch. The place we wanted to go for dinner was unexpectedly closed, but there was an Italian place two doors down with a $20 pizza and beer special, so we gave that a shot and it was the best pizza I’ve had in New Zealand! Ok that’s not saying a lot, but it was really delicious. Then picked up some beer and headed back to the backpackers and did some planning.

Day 101 – we walked around the botanic gardens a bit, met an older couple who we had breakfast with randomly, they saw our packs and struck up a conversation, it turns out he wants to do the TA.

Shortly after that we ran into Betty who I haven’t seen since Whanganui! Did a little more walking and grabbed lunch before grabbing a bus to the beach in New Brighton. We checked in and headed to the shore. I didn’t realize how much I missed the ocean, they rhythmic crashing, the smell of the salt air, I’ve been land locked since my detour to the Heaphy track. The waves were crap, but I kept watching them and wishing I had my surf board.

Day 102 – I headed back into Christchurch and met Betty for lunch, then we walked around town a bit.

I totally forgot to buy new shoes, so I tried to repair mine by sewing them and reinforcing that with shoe goo… we’ll see how well that works.

Then Holger and I grabbed a few beers and got ready to head back to the trail, hoping the river levels are low enough. The rain has stopped, but it can take time for it to all run off.