Day 1 walking wasn’t far – just 5km to Clinton Hut. The first k or so was a wide path, with tractor trails along it – sings of the pampering the guided tourers pay for. Along our walk we three stopped fairly regularly to take a photo or a video of the gorgeous new scenery, mostly of the Clinton River and its water, as clear as crystal, and the bright greenery surrounding it.
Arriving at Clinton Hut without any stress, we found a whole lot of our fellow trampers decked out on the deck area between the buildings we were staying in. Clinton Hut consists of only a few buildings – two dorms, a kitchen/common room, and off the side the ranger’s hut and a small toilet block.
As we’d arrived fairly late, we were lucky to get three bunks near each other, and soon got stuck into making ourselves dinner. We had no trouble satisfying our hungers, with soup, instant dinners and even instant pudding for dessert. For some reason, perhaps to get into the outdoor vibe, we chose to sit outdoors for dinner, a move that wasn’t too bright, but turned out really entertaining for Bryce and I as we watched a very large swarm of sandflies swamp Steve – at one point they were so thick it was like looking at him through a screen, and the fit he threw was mad enough to keep Bryce and I amused for a while, even just remembering it later.
Later, over cards, we met a Kiwi contingent of the trek, mostly young blokes with a couple of girls and a top older guy called Ash Robson, who was both our chief antagonise and because also our primary antagonisee.
The sleep wasn’t bad – I got in a few hours more than what had become my norm, and soon enough we were up sorting out breakfast and being the last ones to leave the camp. Over breakfast we picked out the bananas we’d packed, only to find they’d gone terribly gooey and yuck. But everything you bring on the track you either eat or you carry out, so Robson took delight in watching us try and get these bananas down without reaching – alwas egging us “you Aussies – you don’t bring bananas in a backpack!”. The climax was the cheeky grin on his face when we caught him 5mins later sneaking a banana of his own (though his banana wasn’t at all mushy)!