Eric planned an early morning run but awakening to the sound of rain on the roof at 6.30 was more than enough to nix that. So we slept in again. Holidays are great.
After breakfast the sky was still overcast but showing promise of clearing up. So we elected to take on the 11km Roberts Point track. This was an "advanced tramping track" which proved to be not a major issue fitness wise, even with the steep climb, and navigationally simple, but it was extremely slippery for anyone (Elise and Sam) in runners. Mind you trail shoes (Eric) were only marginally better.
The first few kilometers were pretty easy, although there were some interesting creek and chasm crossings. Some were a simple hop from stone to stone across small streams, then there were the elaborate bridges including one enormous span to dodge a big cliff that dropped straight down onto the galcier moraine.
After the big bridge the track became a rocky scramble uphill with a few concerned thoughts about the return down walk/climb to come later. As we got higher we could enjoy some great views back down the valley.
The last 2kms took around one hour of rock hopping and climbing before we arrived at the glorious lookout high above the valley. The clouds had lifted enough that we could see the terminal face of the glacier up the valley and the many waterfalls along the opposite wall of the Waiho river valley.
The scramble down was as bad as expected and both Elise and Sam had falls that took some skin and gave Elise a bloody nose. Thankfully the climb wasn't exposed, it was just really hard to stay upright!
The afternoon was a quiet one back at the hotel. Eric went for a short jog, Elise did the washing and Samuel sat around. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant followed by a dusk walk where the clouds had lifted enough that we finally saw the snow capped peaks (at least a few of them anyway).
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