The forecast for the day suggested a little light rain in the morning clearing up a little afterwards. We can stand a little rain and we have only the one full day here so we went ahead with our planned hike around the nearby Ruapani Circuit.
This hike was listed as taking 5-6 hours. The first hour was a continuous but gentle ascent along a well made track, something now very familiar to us. The vegetation was lush. At the top we reached Lake Waikareiti which was shrouded in mist. We stopped to eat a packet of crisps in a day shelter – the only one we would find on the whole circuit. While there we saw raindrops forming on the lake and a few fall around us. Well, the forecast had suggested there would be some rain in the morning.
We trudged on. The small spatters of rain turned into a continuous drizzle that decided it was there to stay. Once we were off the Waikareiti Track and onto the loop that completes the Ruapani Circuit the path became less well maintained. Frequently we would have to wade through fern glades full of grasses containing seeds that clung to our leg hairs although not leaving the plant without a struggle. The ferns were soaking wet so each time we went through a new glade the water from the ferns would run down our legs and into our boots. My waterproof boots proved their worth by retaining all the water that dripped into them making for a sloshy walk. The grasses made us feel as though our legs were being waxed. Not fun. There are solutions to these problems but we don’t have them.
The hike took five and a half hours all in. Helen’s kneed and thigh played up and with the rain she ended up not having too great a time. The views would have been spectacular bar for the rain which obscured them all.
When we got back to the tent we found that the sleeping area had flooded a little. The air vents which had held rain at bay in the past did not do so this time. One had drained in. The bottom end of our sleeping bags was now all wet and so were some of our previously left for dry clothes. The joys of camping.
We were able to make do and spent much of the remainder of the day in our sleeping bags warming up and reading. We had a brief respite from the rain while eating dinner but now it’s back. We dread packing up in the morning. Even if it stops raining soon the ground is sodden. We’ll deal with it if we have to but we may not be happy. Onwards to Napier tomorrow.
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