My partner and I had planned a whole five day trip to tackle Round the Mountain (Ruapehu), planning to stay at Blyth Hut on New Year’s Eve. We even took some wine in cans (yes, it exists, and no, it’s not too bad!)

We started from Whakapapa Village all set up and carrying all our food and gear. Great start, beautiful weather.

But as it happens in the Mountains, weather changed and some rain came in. No worries, we put our rain jackets on and carried through.

However, at some point in the 15km mark, ~8 hours in, my partner started slipping and falling regularly and eventually twisted his ankle. The ground was slippery after the rain and his choice of footwear was, to put it simply, terrible. Running shoes with no grip.

(I’m the ‘knowledgeable’ in the couple. Should have I realised that wearing those was a terrible idea? Yea. Did I? No. At all. Big learning for me here when taking someone else to a more advanced track!).

We did have a tent and could have stopped to rest for the night but, we ‘only had 5km to go’ to Maungaturuturu hut. So we pressed on. Twisted ankle and all.

At the alarming rate of 1km/hour.

We had started early, but by 8pm we had less than 1 hour of sunlight left and we still had a bit to go. My legs were shaking from the long effort after 12 hours walking, and my partner was completely and utterly exhausted, and frustration kept taking the best of him.

The terrain was finally consistent downhill, mixing between steep stairs and rock scrambling (and at some points climbing), which with a bad ankle meant super slow advancing.

Finally I can see Maungaturuturu river. The sun was setting and we hurried through the boardwalk till we got to the river, which fortunately wasn’t running too high after the rain. The steep bank on the other side had me wondering for a bit where to cross, but after 13 hours my mind had gone to strict practicality - “just cross and make it work”. So I led the way and found a short climbing wall which had a couple of great handholds and climbed the bank.

It was 8:45 and the sun had set.

I hurried back to the track, and in between the trees I could make out the hut. “The hut, the hut!”

I said back to my partner, and my legs felt lighter for a second. Probably the greatest relief I’ve felt in many years - the walk was over and we had shelter.

Not. So. Fast.

As soon as we got closer, I could see everyone had already gone to bed (like, really?). 

And that there were no free bunks.

We silently came out of our wet gear and had some tuna and crackers outside, resting and trying not to wake anyone (though I probably did) while thinking what to do next.

Considering the options, tiredness and rain, the answer to that question was easy.

Sleeping on the floor it was.

Two people who had been out watching sunset came back to the hut, and offered us some good conversation and supporting words. We finally made some room inside, close to the already extinguishing fireplace, and laid on our very tiny camping mat and just dozed off intermittently, waking up to swap sides and warm up the close-to-frozen side.

We spent the next day in the hut, appreciating the luxury of cover and sleeping on a mattress, and in the company of our new friends, with whom we spent the day playing cards, contemplating the rain and greeting the newcomers.

Our new hut friends offered to walk towards Ohakune Mountain Road with us the following day and drive us back to the village. Considering the rain, the inappropriate footwear and the difficulty of the terrain (exacerbated by the rain), we didn’t take long to weigh our options. We chose wisely and accepted the offer.

We spent New Year’s Eve with everyone who arrived at the hut, playing cards and sharing stories, keeping the fire going and drying clothes.

Call it destiny, a physiotherapist arrived that day and patched my partner's ankle (which was thankfully doing quite alright).

The following day we headed off towards Cascade Falls (the crux of the route, some steep rocky falls which can be super tricky) and got through it with the guidance from our new friends.

We then finally made it back to the road, extremely happy we had not ended up in a terrible situation out in the wilderness.

So, yes, we had made some big plans.

And yes, as a team we were not fully prepared for it.

But, when things turned, we knew we had to rethink our plans. We fully supported each other, and we weren’t shy to accept help.

All in all - a fantastic experience, cut a bit short, but with huge learnings and honesty, I think it is a good story to tell.