Charlie and I were determined to reach the wilderness areas within Westland Tai Poutini National Park
A challenging enough trip mid-summer, we knew our equipment and bodies would be tested. After a good look at the avalanche forecast, we figured that the snow pack would settle over the coming days allowing us to drop off the more dangerous southern face of the range into remote country.
Anyone who has hunted with Charlie Floyd will know that keeping up with the whippet is the biggest challenge. I managed to hold on until we broke the scrubline when I could finally use the hunter’s excuse for a breather – glassing. The light was already fading on a stunning West Coast evening, so there was no time to waste. We threw the tent up and climbed to a vantage point to pick up a handful of chamois bucks strutting the ridgelines before darkness engulfed everything. It was a very promising start.
We were expecting a front to come through on the second day so waking to rain and snow on the tent was no surprise. I’d brought a fly as a backup for the trusty Olympus and we used it to store our gear, leaving the vestibule for cooking and melting snow. It was pitched only a short distance from the tent with our walking poles and it soon became clear that the resident kea quite fancied it as his shelter from the storm. Anyone who has
