Monday 8 June 2020
Cape Brett 2020
This weekend I walked to Cape Brett Hut for the third time, with some friends and family. It's a tough hike but once again we had great weather, especially for a winter tramp.
Getting to and from the start at Rawhiti was quite exciting, but once we were on the track the walk was straightforward — but arduous. There is no especially difficult terrain, just endless up-and-down steep hills. The bush is beautiful; there are consistently spectacular views of the Bay of Islands to the north and the Tutukaka coast to the south, with steep cliffs, rocks, and sheltered bays; and the ocean looks appropriately vast. We took our time and got to the hut after about eight hours, at 4pm. One of our group went down to the rocks to fish, and caught a snapper which we had for dinner along with sausages and bread. There were a dozen seals on the rocks across the channel that were fun to watch.
The DoC website has a permanent warning that the hut water is salty. Last year it seemed fine, but this time it was certainly not fit for human consumption, so we had to conserve water carefully.
The next day we watched the sun rise over the ocean and had a good bacon-and-egg breakfast. The return walk was again both arduous and glorious. We ran a little late and finished right as the sun was setting over the Bay of Islands, which was very beautiful. Everyone was pretty tired and some were quite sore, but over time I think the good memories will last!
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