Day 3: Monday, December 25 1933
At 6am when we arose to view our stockings which we found full of - holes! Breakfast rice & tea. And then the labour of packing, which was some job. Charcoaled on outside of hut TE WHAREKURA in memory of ourselves and then off along the line. Time 8:30am Clear, sunny day.
Extract from M.Townsend's Report
"Cross Mt. White Bridge, follow road past Riversdale Huts to Andrews
Stream which is next stream to Hawdon on left side of Waimakariri.
Andrews Stream to Hallelujah Flat about 4 hours"
In the interview with Mr. Thomson, he had suggested that we should make up Hawdon Stream, over ridge, up stream, climbing on to ridge again and following deer tracks, finally come above Poulter near Minchin. We decided against this as we had no need to hurry and did not want too hard a first day.
We made along the line, across the bridge and took the Mt. White road for Riversdale Huts. Near the huts, on the tussocky slopes and fields literally hundreds of hares, offering easy targets for a rifle. We soon entered stream and made our first crossing. From then on till 1:30pm we crossed and recrossed the stream, making though bush when convenient and flat, but for the most part keeping close to the river and easier travelling. Stopped 10 mins at end of first 2 hours to eat a few biscuits. Saw here N.Z. mistletoe. We soon struck up an easy gorge, which offered thrills but twice, when we were forced to cross where water rushed between rocks. Arrived at an open patch 1:30pm where we dried our clothes and had a meal of bread, butter, cold (tinned) mutton, tinned peaches and tea.
We stayed here quite a while and sun was much lower in the sky when we finally made up the stream again, soon to reach the more open bed which led into Hallelujah Flat. Half-way up this flat we decided to camp and so dumping packs we began, amidst sand and blowflies, to string up the tents, having first, however, a seventh each of a 4lb cake I had carried in my billy. It was a a bit damp but some said they preferred it so and eulogised it the rest of the trop. We had tea at 6:45pm of stew, plum duff, and tea. On entering the flat we had seen a deer about ½ a mile away and as we ate we saw it , still there, drinking peacefully and looking up every now and again. It was there until darkness blotted it out.
I must have got a cold in my hip while sleeping in the railway hut for as the day had progressed, my thigh had become very sore, the soreness seeming to be deep in the groin. My heel had blistered also, and as I took off my sock, the skin came away with it leaving a red hole. The soreness in the leg wore off in about 3 days, but I had to put up with the heel throughout the trip. After tea Cliff rubbed methylated spirits and iodine on shoulders and hip and put plaster on the heel. While we were attending to our various hurts, Bob, Ted and Huia went for a walk up the flat to reconnoitre and reported easy going and deer. Trifle cloudy, moonlight night, Air fresh.
Mileage for day: 11 miles. We took it easy and did it in 6 hours. The ground seemed soft and we slept like logs.