January 10, 2026
Mt Rintoul Hut to Upper Wairoa Hut
TA km marker 1921.5 to 1943.3
Hiked today: 21.8 km

Another early start, another steep ascent and we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves once again on a ridge with spectacular views.

Then we were back on forest paths taking us up over each hill and treating us to vistas on either side. By mid morning we had reached Tarn Lake and the hut was close to the water. We stopped for a snack and to use the toilet,  then headed on to Mid Wairoa hut.

We had a short climb, followed by a long, slow, steep descent on slippery gravel.  I had a couple of slides and will have added a few more bruises to my collection, but no real damage. Finally, we crossed a swing bridge and reached the hut. We stopped there for lunch but the sand flies were also hungry,  so we retreated inside the hut to eat.

Since we had arrived in good time,  we decided to push on to the next hut. This was in order to try to complete the river crossings before the next rain comes. The last prediction we saw was for heavy rain tomorrow night.

We headed off along the river bank on a very narrow, partly formed track with lots of deadfall to navigate around. At many points the track required hands for scrambling up steep riverside, with potential for a nasty fall.

Also, we had to make our way across the river about 8 times,  sometimes at points when the current seemed quite strong. I had one half dunking due to a misplaced foot onto a slippery rock. No damage was done and we finally made it to the Upper Wairoa  hut, both very weary after a long and extremely exhausting day.