In the New Zealand trail system you can stay in minimal huts or you can camp. When we did the Routeburn Track Sean and I wanted to camp so we took along all of our backpacking gear. When we reached the Mckenzie hut we saw a few people on the porch of the hut and after chatting for a bit we hiked ten minutes further until we reached the campsites. Since it was the off season, we were the only people there and had the pick of whatever site we wanted. After setting up camp and getting water we made dinner (cous cous with vegetables and sausage) and then got into bed as it was dark, cold and we were dead tired.
We were both looking forward to a peaceful night full of deep sleep but sadly this was not to be. Literally seconds after we turned out the light we were invaded by vermin. It was terrifying and reminded me of the experience with the giant crabs in the Philippines. Normally I'm fine with camping - I like being outside and sleeping in a tent except when it involves a wild rodent invasion. It felt like every possum, rat, ferret, and mouse was trying to get into our sleeping bags. There were so many mice that they were not only running around and next to our tent but also on top of our tent as well. We had taken precautions and put all of our food and kitchen supplies hanging under the picnic shelter but this didn't seem to matter. My theory is that the wild animals had been conditioned over the summer by careless campers and knew where to find food. While I watched the mice run in and around my backpack, boots and burrow in and under our tent I told Sean, "That's it - we're moving to the hut." So we packed up all of our stuff and moved to the bunks in the hut. Not a great start to the night.
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