Harper Pass Track

We hitched back to Lewis Pass and began walking again.  We walked a section of the Tui track which was scrubby and ugly before we reached the much nicer Harper Pass track. 

This trail was a combination of forests and grassy flats following the Harper River.  Along the trail somehow I turned 40!! 

There were some natural hot springs that we soaked in but we were eaten alive by sand flies as soon as we got out.  Sand flies are the curse of New Zealand and they are worse on the South Island than the North.  In some places as soon as you stop walking they land on your skin and start biting so the only thing to do is keep walking...

We had just one day of rain and although it was constant we didn't have any problems crossing the streams.  On the last day of the Harper Pass trail I started to count how many times we waded through water which went over the top our boots, I stopped counting at 30.  Our feet are always wet and our boots seldom dry.

Waking up at 40