Olivia's Boyle River scribbles

Written by Olivia on Day 28 at Boyle River. Posted by Sarah.

And so time moves on and I place one foot in front of the other. Amazingly, my feet are still moving and I'm continually inspired to travel by foot across this amazing landscape.

I think last time I wrote it was in the Cobb Valley. I then crossed a high grassy area, the Arthur Tablelands and dropped into the Leslie River, followed the watershed of the Karamea River up and the Wangepeka down. Five days of walking in the beech forest valley floors. Some amazing goblin forests.

From the Wangapeka, I climbed high to the Mt Owen mastiff, a huge karst plateau, 7 x 4 km wide. Just an extraordinary place. A land of sculpted rock and rock crevasses. I'd been pretty excited about coming to this area and it did not dissapoint me. Christmas day was spent wandering around the tops, I was lost in my happy land out there. Being just so pleased and feeling so joyful that I just simply was where I wanted to be, doing just what I wanted to be doing, here and now. It's an amazing feeling when I realise that it actually means to attempt a traverse of the South Island. I'm discovering its a great thing to do.

I walked into Lake Rotoroa and met up with my beautiful friend SJ. And we've just spent the last 9 days travelling through Nelson Lakes NP and onto Lewis Pass road through St James walkway. It's been lovely to share the journey for a little while.

It's been a fun section. Three days travelling up one valley and then a quick succession of three passes with steep ascents, descents and traverses. We followed the Matakitaki River and then crossed a high pass again and dropped onto St James walkway with cows grazing contentedlyunder the towering mountains. It's been a diverse section and the land is starting to get wilder.

I'm having lots of beautiful times out here and this land just fills me with wonder. I still look forward to what I'll find in the future.

I'm due in Arthur's pass around 13/14 January.