The warning sign at the start of the Pyke Route... and they're absolutely right
Not wasting a great deal of time after finishing the Kepler Track, I got back on the road and headed up the Milford Road, past Lake Te Anau, to Gunn's Camp at Hollyford. I'd decided on my next plan: to conquer the Hollyford Track. The Hollyford Track is a step up from the Kepler Track, being a 56km track from the road end to the sea... and another 56km back again. The track is much harder and the return distance considerable, but I was feeling pretty confident after the Kepler, and not at all tired, so the Hollyford it was. I'd already stocked up with ten days' worth of food just in case, so after a night at Gunn's camp, I headed for the start of the track.
You might be wondering what a tramper has to carry on his or her back; well, for a long walk like the Hollyford, it's a hell of a lot. For a start, this is Fiordland, so you need clothes for all types of weather, from boiling sun to freezing hail, so the clothes take up a fair amount of weight, with waterproof tops and bottoms, long trousers, shorts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, plenty of socks, swimming trunks... and more. Then there's the food for ten days (always take a spare day or two, just in case you get stranded), which in my case included 1kg of muesli, powdered milk, 40 Ryvita, cheese, meat paste, seven packets of rice, four tins of tuna, tomato paste, spices, coffee, sugar... need I elaborate? Throw in my Trangia cooker and half a litre of meths, and it's getting heavier. Add in a sleeping bag and inflatable pillow, a toiletries/first aid bag, things like torches, candles, compass, map, book and so on, and you have your survival pack for over a week.
I could hardly lift the bugger as I set off for the track, but it gets lighter as you go on, and you get fitter, which can't be a bad thing.
