3RY Update Part:

5

Date:

4th March ‘19

Day:

41

Title:

Cicada Storm

KM Mark Start:

2268

Start Location:

Double Hut

KM Mark Finish:

2245

Finish Location:

A-Frame Hut via Comyns Hut

Actual KM today:

28

Weather:

Sunny and hot

General:

Followed the gnarly, tussock filled gullies up to Clent Hills Saddle.

After which it was a slow, difficult descent to Round Hill Creek. Going gets tough when the scree slopes are overgrown with Matagouri, Tussock & Spaniard Grass. Every step your foot can potentially (& often does) end up between the gaps in the rocks. It becomes more like feeling your way down the slope than walking it. River crossings all day (30+) until Comyns Hut, which is a few KM’s after Round Hill Creek meets the North Branch Ashburton River.

Maori Cicadas (that’s what they are called) in their thousands today (See photos). It’s like walking through a hail storm. They fly kamikaze styles at you & the ones that manage to land make a hell of a racket.

Most of the dark-coloured Maoricicada species live in alpine habitats or other bare, rocky sites. This one, Maoricicada mangu, is distributed east of the main divide from the Kaikōura mountains to Tekapo and the Mackenzie Pass area. Nowhere else in the world do cicadas live in such rocky, mountainous zones.

The spider in the image is known as a Vagrant/Prowling Spider.

A curious NZ falcon watched me as I left the hut in the morning too.

Body/Health:

Good, legs felt a little better today.

Outlook:

Positive, fingers crossed for weather and Rakia Crossing

Tune of the Day:

Kashmir – Led Zeppelin

Day 41 Images: