January 19, 2026
near Waiau Hut to south of Anne Hut
TA km marker 2053.3 to 2084.2
Hiked today: 30.9 km

It turned out that we were quite close to Waiau Hut and after packing up our tent we headed there for breakfast. At the hut, we heard that there were 2 families who had stayed at the hut. One is a family of six hiking the TA. The 4 children ranged in age from 7 to 15 yrs and their mum said that even the youngest one handled the Waiau Pass really well.

The path then followed beside a river and remained fairly flat, crossing creeks and rivers quite frequently, and often wound through muddy marshlands. We generally struck mud just after fording a lovely clear river or creek! The morning started cold and clear and it was after 8.30 when the first rays of sun appeared from above the mountains to warm us.

The next hut – Anne Hut – was about 26 km from Waiau Hut, so our lunch spot was on some flat grass near a couple of trees in a meadow. We have enjoyed the views of mountains as we wended our way along the river valley. 

We enjoyed lovely cool weather, and made good progress, allowing us to push on a few kms beyond Ann Hut. It was a shame to leave the hut which was quite new and had plenty of room, but we want to get along a bit further so that we can get to the road tomorrow afternoon in time to hitch a ride into Hanmer Springs.

As it turned out, Pete, who was leading the way, pointed out 2 deer by the creek, and a little further on, a wild pig, all of which were startled and moved quickly away.