After spending a few nights at the Pelion Hut, it was time to continue on our journey to Kia Ora, an 8.6 km, 3-4-hour hike. Pelion Hut was one of the larger, nicer huts with unusual toilet facilities. At each hut, the toilets were elevated so park rangers could collect the deposits below them and fly them out in capsules by helicopter to keep the environment pristine.
You would occasionally hear these helicopters flying off in the valleys with their collected toilet waste. The helicopters were also used to visit huts, check on hikers, and evacuate those who were injured or had just decided they weren’t up for the rest of the hike. We did see someone with leg issues flown out while we were at Pelion Hut.
We headed off along the Douglas Creek on our way south to Pelion Gap and the Kia Ora Hut.
