If you’re going on a 4 night, 5 day walk, how many tea bags do you need to pack? It’s not a joke where the punchline involves an Irishman or a priest or an Ayrshire duck. It’s a very serious contemplation when heading off into the bush / forest / hills for a leg stretch before Christmas.

The fantastic news to report is, I packed enough. We finished the Old Ghost Road yesterday, Christmas Eve. (Today is Christmas Day so make sure you have a good one please).(Update….It’s not anymore, time has ticked on, but I sincerely hope you had a good one.😀)  

It’s an 85 kilometre trail from Lyall to Seddonville, all either rediscovered or built afresh and finished in late 2015. This was a big gold mining area back in the late 1800’s and a long forgotten map from that era seemed to suggest there was a trail link over the tops and down a river between these two outposts. 

On investigation, meagre trail evidence for the first 8km’s had returned to the bush and after that, a massive clearing, construction and blasting job lay ahead. I find it hard to comprehend the motivation and determination of the small team of 4 volunteer guys who led the project, raised funds, worked with many interested parties, recruited volunteers, braved the weather and sandflies, built huts and bridges and stayed the course over 10 years to make it all happen. Hats off to you. A monumental effort with an amazing output. 

We avoided blisters, endured Hamish, the snorer in one of the huts, ate enough oats and pasta and rice for a month, had darned good weather with some stunning views, met a mix of folks and enjoyed scoffing the venison pie and hot chocolate when our friend Debs took us to a café on exiting the trail. 

Tramping, as this kind of walking is called in New Zealand, is very popular. Huts abound, some serviced, some not. It’s one of the welcome attractions here if you like getting out and about. Families will walk to a hut for a night then walk back the next day. Dads will bribe their kids to carry beer in for them. We know this to be true because we met a kiwi dad doing this very thing. 

Our friend Debs told us about a remote 30 day hike she did when the group got supplies dropped off by helicopter part way along their walk. That’s quite an undertaking. Kiwis are hardy people.