...I wake up in the empty hut as Mark&Kelly slowly clamber from their tent into my humble abode to make some tea and breakfast...I set out with them towards the Gillespie Pass and after an hour our ways part as they turn towards Lake Crucible and I soldier on...weather becomes wetter and wetter as I climb the relentless pass. Visibility is ok-ish but foggy and merciless drizzle combined with brutal wind makes me completely wet. Despite everything gore Tex and ski...

...I learn that the river I'm supposed to ford to start my trail in the Mt Aspiring National Park is high due to heavy rains so I opt for the swanky option of taking a helicopter to take me to the first hut...the 25m scenic flight over glaciers, valleys, rainforests and lakes leaves me speechless - I don't have the best seat but it is still superb...I leave my stuff at the hut and try to do a day hike to a nearby lake but the first big stream I meet seems...