Tramping on the Westcoast - Buckland Hut

The Westcoast of New Zealand is quite different compared to the rest of the country. It is pretty rough, steep and not a lot of people live here. I hiked in this area when I was in NZ 8 years ago so I thought I should come back ...

First we had to go through a bit of farmland.

The "trail" started pretty soon steep up the hill.

New Zealand's bush at its best.

Quite the strange tree.

The lady train going strong. Again, I had a hard time to keep up.

The plants were pretty amazing.

After 3 hours we reached the Halfway House.

I don't know what those plants are but they look cool.

The higher we got the thicker got the bush.

Part of the trail: This area doesn't see lots of traffic otherwise the moss would not stay on the trees and the trail.

Hiking into the clouds.

Kerstin having a good time.

Hmmmm, where is the trail.

After about 5 hours we reached the tree line which was nice.

We gained 1200 m but it was pretty foggy so we couldn't enjoy the view.

We couldn't see the hut until the last minute. Seeing a hut after a long day is always a pleasant feeling.

After dinner we hiked up the ridge behind the hut to enjoy the view.

It cleared up a bit so we could look down to Westport and the ocean. We also met a local ranger who explained us a bit about the area.

Naomi enjoying the inside of the hut.

The hut system in New Zealand is great. The cost is only between 5 and 15 bucks and they are well maintained.

next day, hiking down again and checking out the pan cake rocks ...

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