Smythe Hut- Packrafting, three wire bridges, river crossings, cableways, rock climbing.

This last mission was a bit of a learning curve for me. Swift river crossings are well out of my comfort zone, but they quickly became our safest option while we were aiming for Smythe Hut over the weekend...

The walk started with a hiss and a roar, our spirits were high and looking forward to a few nights out of service. I'd been up this track a few weeks ago so I knew to avoid the ongaonga (stinging nettle) on the track. This is quickly becoming one of the most poisonous plants in New Zealand, having taken a few casualties in the North Island.

A few hours in the packs started to get heavy, loaded up with hunting gear, packrafting gear, sleeping gear and four days worth of food. By hour five we were very quiet, and I started counting how many steps to the hut. Chocolate didn't fix the problem, so we needed to get there fast. Finally we made it to the cable car and I got to sit down for an entire 60 seconds while I was wound to the other side. Then it was my turn for an arm workout.

We made it to the hut with plenty of daylight to spare, and snuggled into our sleeping bags for a good nights sleep before the next part of the trip tomorrow, reading up on the hut book to see what obstacles we were in for.

The next morning we set off by 8am, and immediately ended up climbing a huge slip before heading up and over a bluff where the river cut in. What a start! Puffing, we almost made it back to the river floor when suddenly we encountered a 10 metre steep drop off the side of a rock, with only a chain for safety. This was a hard no from both of us, neither of us planned on dying that day. We tried to climb up and over the bluff but quickly gave up and decided crossing the river was our only option. We paced the river until eventually finding a safe enough spot, deep but not swift. Sandra crossed first, and when she got to the other side quickly pointed out a whio standing there. They're extremely rare in New Zealand and most people are never lucky enough to spot one. While this was happening I forgot to watch where she had crossed, and while I was crossing the rocks disappeared from underneath my feet and suddenly I was swimming! Sandra thought this was hilarious, struggling to get her phone out to take a quick photo (see if you can spot the whio, plus the drowned rat in the background struggling to find land).

Another swim across the river had us and our packs both soaked, but slightly refreshed. If you are heading away for multi day trips then a pack liner is a MUST. This keeps your gear dry when you have unexpected river crossings or rain, and also it will help your pack to float, acting as a life jacket while crossing. Then it was a relatively straightforward walk to the hut after an hour of avoiding the scary chain. It was a six hour trip altogether. Smythe hut is beautiful, sitting just beside the river with snow covered peaks towering around it. I could live here!

That night we soaked in the hot pools near the hut, which was nearly impossible to get out of and even harder to make the walk back to the hut. The next morning I went for a walk with my camera, taking in more off the beaten track country and appreciating its beauty. What a place we get to have right on our doorstep!

After I got back to the hut we packed up and headed back out, aiming for Hunter's Hut again to break up the trip out to the road-end. This walk back out only took four hours as we opted to climb the dodgy ten metre rock climb and cross the river to avoid all the bluff climbing. It was a huge relief to make it back to Hunter's Hut and I immediately got back into the climbing book I had started reading the day before.

The next day was a nice sleep in while we waited for the day to warm up for packrafting. Eventually we got ready by the river. I was feeling the nerves as I didn't know what I was in for halfway down through the harder stuff. Once we set off it got fun pretty fast. Being in the front, I took the brunt of the waves as they hit me in the face through every rapid, and Sandra steered from the back. Eventually we got to the grade 3/4 rapid and decided we would need a safety person standing on the rocks just in case she fell out. Take a look at my instagram reel to watch Sandra absolutely nail it in the double by herself! The rest of the rapids were windy, bumpy and extra fun as we made record time from the hut.

A quick stop at hot springs hot pools to warm up, and then one more very spicy rapid before the end had us right back to the car.

What an epic adventure! This has to be up there with one of my favourite missions to date, with plenty of technicalities and learning curves along the way. Experience in the outdoors often comes from getting right out of your comfort zone, trying new things and often failing and learning from this. As long as you try things that are within your ability level, always have somebody there to help if needed, and getting out of your comfort zone means also staying safe then you'll have a great time. I learnt lots about river crossings and river paddling, as well as how little upper body strength I had for climbing rock walls. Time to get back to the gym!

So get out there, try new things, learn something new every time and very slowly your experience and confidence will grow. You can't get much more rugged than the West Coast, so learn from a mentor if needed or jump into my Adventure Coaching package to grow that confidence safely! Most importantly, always come home with a grin on your face and a promise to plan another adventure soon. Type two fun is addictive.

Kirsten x