Trust me that’s deeper than it looks. And dubiously murkier than the Sucker-Punch pit on Wipe-Out… Don’t fall in Nicky! :P
We passed a German guy coming the other way who called these ‘mud holes’. I like the name, straight to the point, they are indeed a hole of mud..
Our ‘path’ had become rather on the swampy side during the night. There were some gymnastic leaps and heroic saves throughout the morning. ( Both mostly performed by Cookie ;) ). I’m slightly less agile. But learning my lessons quickly!
This boggy bit is up by Cashmore Clearing, where we found this signpost opposite recommending the safer route during ‘flood conditions’ was out Eastwards to Lindemann Road. Adding up the unbridged river crossings to be about 7 if we carried on, we decided to bail out via the safe route..
It’s just awesome to watch. Mud that moves and plops about is endlessly mesmerising. I don’t know why :D Each mud hole has it’s own personality. Some aggressive, some pathetic, and a few comedians on there as well.
Can I get one for my garden please?
This bridge fell a little short of our expectations this morning! Meaning there was a bit of bog big wading to be done shortly after breakfast. Cookie dove in first, quickly to discover that the mushy layer of floating mud masked quite a deep pool of suspiciously smelling water.. Ergh! It’s a bit early in the morning for squishy boots!
About an hour from Hope-Kiwi Lodge at the marshy headwaters of the Kiwi River, there appears the be half-a-bridge missing. It only looked about a foot deep, so I decided to run across employing the ‘less time my feet are in the water, the less wet my boots will get’ method, the amusing video clip I was filming at the time is testament to how surprised I was to find myself knee deep in mud shortly after.. Going to need some bleeping-out on that clip!