On the morning of the 15th of September 4 keen and eager hikers meet up at 7am in the morning to set off to do the 70km St james walkway through Lewis Pass to Boyle Village.
It was around 2 hours before we reached the Boyle Village, where we left 1 car and loaded the 4 of us and our heavy packs into the other car, we drove to the Lewis car park. Ready to go we set off on foot at 9.30am. With a 24.3km walk ahead of us to the Christopher hut. Below are photo's of that journey:
Below: And they're off.
Below: Cannibal Gorge bridge.
Below: A bit of hard ice to cross.
Below: Approaching cannibal gorge hut
Below: 15.7km left for today
Below: Inbetween Cannibal Gorge & Ada hut
Below: Approaching Ada Pass Hut
Below: The last break before it got dark, we had to complete the last 1 & a half hours of the day with head torches on as it got dark at 6.30pm.
DAY 2:
I woke up early on day 2 due to the rain on the roof being heavy overnight it was hard to sleep. The morning wasn't much better, still a lot of rain. We had decided the night before that we wouldn't set off until midday as it was only a short day (13.2km). The afternoon started off with a bit of drizzle and the St James Horses and soon turned into more persistent rain and a cold, wet & miserable afternoon.
Below: Me beside the Ada river
Below: The swing bridge across the Henry river just short of the Anne hut.
We arrived at the Anne hut just before 5pm, wet, cold and lucky that our mate had gone ahead and got the fire started. Within in no time we were dry and warm, food in our bellys and wine in our cups. We settled down for a nice warm evening.
DAY 3:
Below: Beautiful morning at the Anne hut, this hut was built in 2011 replacing the old Anne Cullers hut it is double glazed with 2 bunk rooms and a large shared living area.
Below: Not far from the Anne Saddle, this is a gradual climb over a fairly easy gradient.
Below: Lunch stop at the Saddle, this is the highest point on the St James walkway
Below: Rokeby hut, cosy little 3 bed hut. This hut is 1hr short of the Boyle Flat hut.
Below: 2nd line was myself and Brad signing in a year ago (I did the St James but from the opposite direction)
Below: Me at the sign just 5 minutes from our accomodation for the night, the Boyle hut (this would be my 3rd night i have stayed at this hut)
DAY 4:
Below: The Boyle hut, one of the older huts on the St James but still a goodie.
Below: Looking back at the Boyle hut as we set off to our final destination, the Boyle village carpark.
Below: Only around a km or so to go before we reach the carpark.
Below: My wife & I at the end of our 4 day journey, this is an excellent 4 day hike through the South Island backcountry and a great alternative to the great walks. I would highly recommend this walk to all, yes it can be quite challenging at times but it is a walk that most people with average fitness levels can do and can be done within 3 to 5 days depending on your fitness level and the time off you have to complete it.
For more information check out the attachment: http://www.doc.govt.nz/stjameswalkway
