Once again we woke to a beautifully clear, sunny morning; we couldn’t quite believe our good luck. Knowing that we had a much easier day, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hut before making our way out to the track. After a short distance the track left the forest and took us to the rocky shore of Lake McKerrow.
The track continued along the beach for a while before reaching a wide, shallow river. Despite carefully picking our way across, we ended up with pretty wet feet, although we were glad we weren’t balancing across any more three-wire bridges!
Just before we left the shores of Lake McKerrow we passed the site of the settlement of Jamestown. The settlement was surveyed in 1870 and although several families initially settled in the area, the isolation and inaccessibility meant that Jamestown never really established as community.
We followed the track back into the forest and continued to make our way out towards the ocean. After a couple of false alarms, perhaps wishful thinking, we eventually started to hear the sound of the waves and after a while we got our first glimpse of the Hollyford River estuary and the ocean beyond it.
We followed the coast for a while, paralleling a large lagoon full of ducks and other birds. As we crossed yet another small river we decided to sit for a while and watch the wildlife and enjoy our lunch in the sunshine.
After lunch we continued along the coast, crossing several more rivers. When we got to a break in the trees we were able to look back at the wooded hillsides that make up this section of Fiordland. The entire region is a UNESCO World Heritage Area, recognised for the biodiversity here which was easy to believe after spending the last few days walking through the lush forests.
We arrived at Martins Bay Hut by early afternoon and once we put our rucksacks down and got settled we set about exploring the area. The hut itself is on the bank of the Hollyford River giving us great views up the Hollyford Valley.
Looking in the opposite direction we had sweeping views of the coastline to the south and the May Hills which separate this Bay from Milford Sound. We decided to have a snack back at the hut before heading off to explore the area around the coast.
From my bunk next to the window, I had the perfect view of the Hollyford Valley and the mouth of the river. Enjoying the view from the comfort of the hut made the crazy trek along the Demon Trail seem worthwhile.