Edwards-Hawdon via Tarn Col

I walked the 5km from the village down the river to the start of the tramp, partly on the road, partly on the river bed and along a nice open stretch of the railway line - but with the film River's Edge in mind decided not to spend too long doing the latter. I then headed up the Edwards River with views back to Mt Bealey:

I soon caught up with Jörg who was doing the same tramp. And we followed the valley ahead:

Some wildlife along the way:


Reached Edwards hut (alt. c. 1000m) at about 3pm. Here I am in stripey thermals:


2 dorms in the hut with beds fitted in wherever possible:

Quite cold by the time we went to bed. No-one else in hut. There was frost on the ground in the morning, but the sun soon warmed us up and cast shadows:


This is Falling Mountain, named for huge landslides caused by an earthquake in 1929:


Here I am at the Taruahuna Pass 1252m:


From there we had a steep climb to Tarn Col with dramatic views behind:


Looking ahead across the tarn:


A New Zealand grasshopper:


Crystal clear water in the Otehake River:


Then a gentle downhill stroll to the new Hawdon Hut with this view from the deck:


On the third day glorious sunshine again:


The last couple of hours was out in the baking sun and across the Bealey River:


We spent about 20 minutes trying for a lift with cars passing every minute before an Aussie beekeeper stopped and took us the 25km back to Arthur's Pass. A non-stop talker who already had his mate and another hitch hiker on board!
After a nice shower finished the day with a nice meal and drinks at the local restuarant under the watchful eye of a kea!