July 10- From rain to snow on the Croesus Track

The crew woke up early to a drizzle and grey skies in Greymouth, a town on the west coast of New Zealand. Excited, nervous, and a little unsure of what was in store for the day, we all piled in the gatorwaka and headed to Maggie’s Kitchen, which the owners opened just for us. With the whole place to ourselves, we dined on some pancakes, Canadian bacon, hot chocolate, French fries (for the vegans) and omelets. 

A hot breakfast at Maggie’s

Maya’s joining the Saturday Brunch Bunch

We then began our journey to the Croesus Track trailhead. Once we arrived, we put on all our rain gear, covered our packs and prepared to see the rainforest and subalpine environments. Colin taught us about the Rimu, Rata, Kamahi forest, and mentioned how the top soil is dark and organic. This track was previously used as a historic mining route for coal! 

The beginning of the hike

We passed by 3 suspension bridges, several different types of ferns and other plants, waterfalls, and a very cute little Weka, that we named Colin!

Colin the Weka!

We also made plenty of stops to look at fungus, tree ferns, and birds. Something we learned about tree ferns is that the soft fronds belong to the genus Cyathea, and the hard fronds belong to the genus Dicksonia (can you tell I like tree ferns?)

Looking for robins

Hiking past tree ferns, lichens, and mosses. 

Finally, we made it to the hut, where there was a little bit of snow cover. We tried to start the fire, but realized there was no wood. Thankfully, Dr. H, Nico, and Ryan found an axe and chopped some construction wood which lasted us most of the night. 

Weka prints on the deck of the hut 

Wood chopping crew

After a long day, we settled in for a night of hot coco, freeze-dried food, and games. 

Playing games using candlelight

That’s all for today!

-Haiden