The Tararuas

Long time between blogs sorry again!  Often we get to camp late and am too tired to blog or there is no battery left on phone or no coverage.
After Shannon we did 4 days in the Tararuas which was the most challenging and exhausting tramping we had done. The first day was a 9 hour hike climbing 900metres to the Te Matawai Hut. The bush was lovely and we met and spent the night at the hut with Phil and Rob from Wellington doing the TA Trail in sections.
The next day was 13 Dec and we climbed up to Nichols Knob at 1400metres. The track was pretty scary wind exposed cold and foggy and we got misplaced a couple of times and learned we needed better maps than we had as the tracks were not well marked in places where they needed to be.
Every time there is somewhere with spectacular views we have had rain and /or fog! We had difficulty finding the hut and eventually got there at dark after 14 hours hiking cold tired and scared shit less! Threw some food down our throats and went to bed within 30 minutes.
The following day we new was also going to be long what we thought would be 9 to 10 hours ended up taking us 12 hours as there had been a major slip on the old track and a new part formed which was really difficult and a lot longer so reached Parawai Hut at 7pm again cold and tired. We lit the fire and opened firebox door and had dinner by firelight.
We also got misplaced after a river crossing realized after  about 150metres and went back and got on right path. Again the track was not clearly marked over the river. About 3 days later an Austrian tramper got lost we think in exactly the same place. He was found ok 2 days later.
The final day in the Tararuas was technically an easier day. The track was called the  Puketea Track and should have taken about 6 to 7 hours but we were so exhausted from the previous days we had to keep stopping for rests and took us about 8 hours. Then we walked around 7km halfway to Waikanae and a lovely local farmer picked us up and took us to town.
We stayed at pub in Waikanae exhausted and desperate for a shower.
The two most important things we treasure on this journey are water and showers!!!