@Ian_H: It sounds as though you are doing the NW circuit clockwise rather than anticlockwise? The clockwise i.e. going from Mason Bay to Hellfire Pass is 7 hours I think and this direction is harder than the other way because the days are longer and the hills are higher. Of course with 9 days up your sleeve, you could camp at Little Hellfire on the first day instead of going all the way to Hellfire Pass. There is a bivvy at Little Hellfire with one widish mattress when we stayed there last April. There's camping at the official DoC campsite among the mutton bird scrub nearby.
It's a long day from Hellfire Pass to East Ruggedy too. There's a cave at the north end of West Ruggedy beach to check out.
If you go anticlockwise, you have 3 or 4 hour days to start off with and build up your fitness. I first did the circuit clockwise... and now do it either direction depending on tides. The Mason Bay beach has some high tide diversions on to higher land as at times little headlands become impassable due to incoming waves.
For folks using the Freshwater hut as a pick up/drop off point the tides have to be considered as at some times of the year low tide would be in the dark. But December won't be an issue of course. People can kill time by going up Mt Rocky if need be.
If there's been too much rain to walk from Mason Bay to Freshwater or vice versa, DoC have wooden posts with marked levels that indicate whether one should continue on the track as the adjoining river has been known to flow onto the track in places. The Freshwater hut has been flooded up to the first bunks a couple of times. Unbelievable.
So there are a few things to consider but the circuit is very flexible with pick up/drop off points along the way.
Thanks for the advice Honora. Yes, going clockwise and a couple of bigger days to start. We have 9 tramping days so a couple of days up our sleeve. I will take a tent so it will be possible to break up either or both of those first two days by camping at Little Hellfire and or West Ruggedy beach. We should be able to manage those 7 hour days if the weather is good for that part, long daylight hours at that time of year. If the weather starts off atrocious, we'll stay put at Masons Bay, explore that area. We have bale out options at both ends - coming over to freshwater and water taxi out from there if we don't get around the top end. If we get around the top but have taken too many days off due to weather, we can always call in a water taxi to one of those beaches on the east coast - I think you can get a water taxi in to any of Yankee River, Christmas Village, Bungaree or Port William. I believe there is cell phone coverage from that north east coast.
Will work on the fitness of the youngest - up Queenstown Hill or the Fernhill loop track every weekend from now on / as much as possible. Need to also hit the upper body weights myself so I can carry her for a couple of hours if need be.
If the weather cooperates for the first couple of days on the west coast it should go well, and we'll be able to relax a little the last bit, otherwise we'll take it easy and go with one of the bale out options.
@Honora:
"bivvy at Little Hellfire with one widish mattress"
Is that a rock bivi or one of the little forest service style dog boxes?
@Ian_H; the bivvy is a classic hunters biv made from framing from salvaged 4 x 2's and planks from the beach plus fishing nets and overlain with blue tarps in successive layer. Last time we were there it was in good repair. It is open to the north but a bit gloomy on an overcast day.
There is a fireplace by the biv but of course this is open to the rain. I think there's a fair amount of stuff there e.g. plates and maybe a folding chair or too and places to sit and a narrow short framed but saggy bed that would suit one of the smaller folk in your party.
When I was a nipper, my Mum and Dad spent the holidays making several sleeping bags from an old quilt and taffeta. We went camping at Pelorus Bridge. The bags were a bit wider than usual and us littlies were able to top and tail in them on lilos.
