TA Day 16

TA Day 16: Friday 3 January 2025

Bush Creek (Arrowtown) - Roses Hut

In the morning, as we silently packed down our tent, we heard voices. We tried to hurry while at the same time staying silent, not so keen on being seen stealth camping.

It was much cooler today with some gusts and some drizzles which we were extremely thankful for, since there was going to be some elevation.

On our way up the first ascent, we met two other NOBOs that had started a few days before us. We stopped for a short conversation, but since we were all going to Roses Hut, we would likely meet again later.

After the ascent followed some descent, and we reached an old small hut, Eight Mile Hut, that definitely had seen better days. Would have been interesting to read about its history, because it really felt like it had one. But we had no internet connection, so we couldn't. The air inside was stale, there was a mattress on the floor with bird poo on it, the table was covered in wet newspapers, there was a really worn sofa standing in front of the fireplace - that was actually beautifully built! And on the sink and kitchen bench there was waste all over...

After the hut we joined the 4WD-track. Pretty nice to walk on, but crossed the water maaaany times. Got quite cold after a while! We also had to stop several times to let cars pass us. Felt strange seeing the cars drive around on those roads, on their way to...? Macetown? Where there isn't really anything.

At the edge of Macetown we met a nice SOBO whom we talked to for a few minutes. Here there were also some signs where we could read about the history of Macetown. A small mining town in the late 19th Century, now long abandoned and only a few ruins remaining.

We passed Macetown and went down to the river and sat down to have a lunch break. Beef jerky and mashed potatoes, actually quite nice!

Then it was time to try the low water route. At first we just crossed the water back and forth a lot of times, we never had a chance to warm the water in our shoes at all before they were cold again. After a while, the crossings came so often that many times it was easier to just stay in, or at the edge of the water instead of trying to walk higher because of very thorny bushes and rose hip bushes. It was all very slow, but exciting and a bit sketchy (for Kim, in some places, at least). After a long, long while, it was finally over, and our feet could recover and lose their numbness.

When we stopped to wash our socks and shoes from sand and gravel, we noticed that the river had eaten our gear! Lukas shoes were worn, and socks too, as well as Kim's insoles. Kim's both socks had holes in them and so did the shoes on the sides! What!? Already!?

Then it was time for the real climb. The trail here was actually nice, but it was quite steep which made it tougher. In the end we were rewarded with beautiful views and this was the highest point of the trail so far. It was a bit windy at the top so we immediately walked down on the other side. It was a long and quite steep way down to the hut, and we could see it when we were still several kms away...

When we finally got there, we found it full of other TA hikers. Several SOBOs: a French man, a Czech couple and a Czech man. There were also the two NOBOs that passed us earlier today - Ryuya and Barry. Later in the evening, another SOBO arrived. An Australian woman called Ash, super chatty and energic but very nice. We talked a lot that evening and we just had a great time. Later, almost when we were about to head into our tent, another NOBO arrived. Caleb, from the US. Apparently he hadn't met so many people on the trail at all yet, so this crowded hut came as a bit of a shock for him.

Tonight, we were the only ones camping because it looked like it would be a bit chilly. We didn't mind.

Kim stayed awake quite long to try and catch up with the blog posts, and while doing so, she noticed strange sounds after a while. Like small feet running back and forth across the porch, and some weird animal noises. She couldn't help herself, but woke Lukas up, and had a look outside. It was possums! And they were big! A lot bigger than we'd imagined, like the size of cats. One was sitting on the rail of the porch, staring Kim in the eye as she shone her light on it. The other one was running around on the porch. Once she'd had a good look, she could finally relax and fall asleep. She'd seen possums!

Today's:

Distance: 24.10 km

Ascent: 1367 m

Descent: 1076 m

Tent nights: 9/16

Weather: Cloudy, some drizzles and sunny the last bit