Going over the Harper Pass, we met another Nobo couple. We aimed at reaching the Hurinui No. 3 Hut today but then decided to carry on for a soak in natural hot springs at night!
We said goodbye to our little bird friend and continued hiking towards Harpers Pass ?
We met another Nobo couple just before we got to the pass. We had a nice chat and carried on together. At Harpers pass we took a small break before decending to Harper Biviouac. Caroline and Remy wanted to have a swim in the river. Timo and me carried on alone as we thought it is too cold for a swim ❄
At the next lunch spot, Caroline and Remy passed us and later on we met them again at Hurinui Hut No. 3. It was already 5pm and we thought we just stay with them in the hut. But the sky was nearly clear and it looked like it would be a good star gazing night today ?. Hot springs are supposed to be just another 4km down the trail. So what about soaking in some hot springs while star gazing!? Perfect plan, so we went for it!
After about 1.5 hours we reached the hot springs. We didn’t stick to the trail but walked through the river bed as we thought that this would probably be our fastest option to get there. It was fast but we had some difficulties to find the hot springs. We checked every creek coming from the right side of the river for its temperature. Finally we found a hot stream ?. The hot springs were located right on the TA, a little bit hidden in the forest.
We pitched our tent close to the river bed and went for the hot springs ♨! The temperature was just perfect ?. We saw a lot of stars and luckily the sandflies disappeared with the sunset. So we could fully enjoy our bath ?! The moon was really beautiful too. It just came up behind a mountain and looked really stunning.
After a good long soak in the hot springs we jumped in the cold river and then crawled in out sleeping bags. That was a great night!