Day 3: Fordy’s hut, Muzzle Station

What with delayed ferries and all of us catching up it was a late night for me and an early night for Dave Mac. As Bernie put it we are threading the eye of the needle in the weather context but the call was made to enter the Clarence valley. It takes a bit of careful thought as we need to cross the Clarence river to get out of the southern end of the the valley and the track that we follow through initially the Bluff and then Muzzle stations becomes impassable in the wet. So the wrong call can lead to an extended stay and one square meals only go so far as a calorie source. As we entered the valley it started to spit and with high humidity and high heat the real possibility of convection storms were on our minds   And when I say our I mean my mind of course   I like these guys but there is only so much time I want to spend with them. To be fair, if it got that bad, I think there is good eating to be had on Bernie. Dave Lear not so much   It would be like having a vegetarian casserole and Dave Mac would be no good at all. Tough steak but sim much titanium in him he would be better use as cutlery. 

I didn’t mention Daniel. Bernie’s older brother has joined us for the overnight trip. He knows the area well and is acting as guide. Considering he is actually useful we will keep him. 

As it turns out the weather side is looking good   Baking hot but the humidity is dropping and considering I am writing this at the delightful Fordies hut so far conditions have been just fine. 

The river is too high to cross by bike  it we believe O or Guy, the owners of Muzzle will take us across on a flatbed truck. That is tomorrow’s story. 

Today consisted of easy riding for the most part. It is farm tracks and big mountain country so ruts, rocks hill climbs and descents are the order of the day. So maybe not so easy but a fun level of challenge. 

Feeding into the Clarence are several side creeks that create thier own rock fans and crossing those is a little more complex. Much energy was burnt but we all got through intact. No bikes ended up under water which is a good thing. Obviously I forgot to take photos at those points so you’ll have to take my word. 

What a joy to be here. We are surrounded by massive mountains, the inland Kaikōura ranges on the west and perhaps not too surprisingly the seaward Kaikōura range to the east. These are stark and beautiful mountains that tell a clear story of snow and ice in the winter and baking sun in the summer and sometimes they mix that up. Large scars are evidence that it’s not just weather that moulds this land, but also the shift of tectonic plates with the huge Culverdon earthquake in 2016 leaving its imprint on the land. 

Today it is peaceful though. With the exception of a psychotic pheasant who is possessed or something. Pretty much the moment we pulled up he popped out of the bush and played the cute card. My crew fell for it hook, line and sinker and within moments the bird was gorging himself on nuts and whatever selection of trail food. Of course his appetite was bigger than the scraps he was offered and when the food ran out the nasty side came out. First he attacked Dave Lear, leaving him with a nice hole in his calf. Dave is a gentle soul but not after that. The broom came out but the bird didn’t seem fazed at all. Shortly afterwards the boys went exploring on the bikes. Nifty was chasing Daniel down the track, much to Dave Macs amusement who spent too much time watching the bird and not enough watching the track. Result was an upside down Dave and sn upside down bike. 2 nil to the bird. It may not survive the night. I’ll let you know tomorrow.