Day 57 – Christopher Hut to Waiau Forks

Frost on the ground again this morning. As I set out a number of cattle and horses were grazing in the area around the hut, and I got a close look at some of the horses living here.  Evidently the St. James owners bred their own horses for years, and they were much prized at a biennial horse auction they held.

I scouted the Ada River near the hut, but found no place I could reasonably cross without getting my boots wet, so I reluctantly resigned myself to having cold, wet boots for the day.  It was a dark morning in the shadow of the hills as I followed the Ada downstream, but when I turned into the Waiau Valley, it was sunny and warm.  The broad cattle flats were easy to navigate, and I made great time up till Catherine Creek Hut.  I met a hunter along the way with a stag’s head, trying to cut off the bottom jaw to make it easier to carry.  It was the first time I’ve actually seen a hunter with a catch, and I half expected that as a vegetarian I would find the sight repulsive, but it just wasn’t that gory.  Evidently this hunter and his friends had had a great day.  After he bagged his catch, the three of them were walking back, talking and being loud, when they just stumbled across another stag, which one of his friends shot.  They were following common hunting practice here, which is to take the head for a trophy and hindquarters for meat, leaving the rest as the meat is tougher and less tasty.

There’s a hut at Catherine Creek, but I wanted to ensure I got over Waiau Pass before the weather could change, so I pushed on further to Waiau Forks.  There’s supposedly a nice campsite here, but I never found it – instead I found a patch of flat ground just big enough for my sleeping bag and cowboy camped under the cold stars.