It's a long way to the top,
So watch out for rocks that roll.

The first section for the day began steeply and later undulated for a while before the track headed across the contours on the face of the range. Here in the lower forest it was suffieciently dense that when the sun was obscured I could lean up against a tree and take a time exposure long enough to blur Peter and Vicki as they made their way uphill.

When the sun came out it penetrated the forest in magical ways. I found it hard to capture the full intensity of the temperate rainforest on camera: a single photo cannot capture its multiple layers upwards and depthwards, its rich greens, the smells and birdcalls, the leafy humus on the track, the gnarled roots that become steps for feet as you clamber up and down.

Although we'd had some glimpses of Lake Waikaremoana on the way up, it was nice to reach Panekiri Hut, which is virtually at the summit of the range, and which afforded great views of the lake below us (a view which will be shown shortly). However, with vegetation growing right up to the cliff edge, it was sometimes hard to get a good angle for a photograph, necessitating some altitude-seeking balancing acts (Ann, Lynn, Sally, Vicki and Peter).

Next to the hut there is a trig marker and so it was time for a group photo.
That's Peter, Sally and Lynn on the top, then Dianne, Tony, Ann, Elizabeth,
Victoria, Vicki, and Helen with the ubiquitous hat.

Our early afternoon arrival at the hut provided us with an opportunity to dry our boots.

Ann, Victoria and I decided to make the most of the good weather, and went for a late afternoon walk along the track we will follow tomorrow, in the hope of finding a better view of the lake and range.

Victoria and Ann on our afternoon view-finding jaunt.

And find a good viewing point we did. This is me (with a bad case of "hat hair") above Lake Waikaremoana, with one of the bluffs of the Panekiri Range visible to the upper mid-right. The little "island" of blue water above and to the left of the main body of the lake is actually part of a huge inlet or "arm" of the lake that continues behind the hills to the left of the photo. It was mostly that section of lake shore that we traversed on the three preceding days.

View of the lake in the late afternoon light.