Today I made a half arsed attempt to walk to Big Hut, in the Rock and Pillar ranges, about an hour north west of Dunedin. I slept in, had a lazy breakfast, and managed to start the walk around 12:30 pm. I’d originally hoped to ride my bike up, but New Zealand has just had its first taste of winter, with a heap of rain and snow. Highway 87, which I drove between Outram and Middlemarch, had actually been closed 2 days before because of snow. I made it to Leaning Lodge, and, despite Big Hut being only an hour further, decided to turn back, as I wasn’t too keen on the idea of walking back in the dark through the snow. The weather was beautiful above 1000 metres; blue skies and not a breath of wind.