Wednesday March 8, 2023 - Stony Bay to Akaroa

Deb here. This morning we ate our breakfast, sadly packed up our belongings, settled up our bill in the store's honesty box, and said goodbye to Stony Bay. What a special spot and very hard to leave! There was a beautiful rainbow as we were leaving, and no one was sure whether that was a good or a rainy weather sign.

The track climbed out of the bay and up the valley, starting for the first quarter of the day as a nicely graded track. We were climbing, but gradually, and a light rain actually kept us cool as we climbed. Somewhere along the way the terrain shifted, and next thing we knew we were climbing up steeply, going through a dense bush area. The trail reminded me of many New England hikes, when there are no switchbacks, just a steady and steep uphill ascent. The vegetation, however, is so different from anything we're accustomed to, with tree ferns, huge red beech trees, and all sorts of unidentifiable plants. We also had beautiful birdsong to accompany us.

After a long and (did I mention?) steep climb, we ultimately reached the saddle. At this point there were a bunch of other tracks crisscrossing ours, which made for interesting sign reading. The Banks Track signage is excellent, however, so we never had a problem finding our way. We crossed paths a few times with Anne, Brian, Rodney, and Michelle.

The first bit of downhill was lovely, with a wide grassy path heading down at a moderate grade. And of course the views were spectacular... by this time the rain had stopped and the day was turning hotter and sunnier. Eventually the trail turned narrower, steeper, and rockier, making for slower going. Poor Milo has real trouble with downhill, and this wasn't a good path for him. 

The end destination was the car park, not all the way down into the village, where we'd get into our car and DRIVE down to pick up our gear in Akaroa. Well, somewhere along the way Milo realized that he'd left the car key in the gear being transported to the village, meaning a car with no key at the car park. We decided I'd leave him and hurry down the trail to catch up with others and possibly get a ride into town. 

I hustled and could finally see Brian and Rodney in the distance, but saw that they were walking into town without a car (later learned that Rodney had made the same mistake as Milo). I made it to the locked luggage storage spot, grabbed the key, and started the mile-long slog back up to the car. I was a bit up the road when Rodney and Michelle saw me and offered me a ride to the car park. Once there, I waited for John to arrive. 

When I saw him amble toward the car I knew he was hurting. We drove into town, retrieved our bags, and picked up a couple of cold drinks to drink in the shade at the local Four Square (NZ grocery chain). We had a nice chat with two NZ women who were in town with a tramping group for a few days. After hydrating, we drove to our motel for the night, the Tresori Motor Lodge. Comfortable place and really welcome after the walk. Showers, laundry, a nap for Milo, and dinner at Bully Hayes Restaurant (burger sliders and a salad for me, whitebait omelet for John), and a walk along the Akaroa waterfront. On the way back to the motor lodge we ran into Anne and gave her a ride to her air bnb. 

All in all, a wonderful time on the Banks Track!