This was the first of two shorter tramps combined to make the flight to the South Island more economical. Ian Bardsley, John Barrell, Cathy Thompson and myself (Keith Blayney) flew to Martin's Bay via Queenstown. Landing a small plane on a grass strip in a cross-wind was a bit dicey, even for the experienced pilot!

We headed along a well maitained track onto the shore of Lake McKerrow, past the Jamestown "settlement" to arrive at the tidy Hokuri Hut. Never saw any lost Moa on the far shore, or dolphins in the lake, but we did have a visitor from Jamestown.

From Hokuri on the track becomes rough and difficult going, particularly as it got rather wet. The DOC guide calls it "undulating", which is a euphemism for arduous or rugged. It was rather clever to name it the "Demon Trail" to provide a challenge to trampers, which is a lot cheaper than an upgrade. Those who can't face the challege go by jetboat! I spent quite a while thinking of suitably challenging names for the arduous south-western section of Taranaki's RTM track.

After the Demon Trail Hut, the track improves a bit, but by the time one reaches the top of the lake it has become quite pleasant.