Hananui, Mt Anglem and Sausages.

Hananui, Mt Anglem and Sausages.

I completed part of the Northern Circuit of Rakiura, Stewart Island. I spent four days tramping in the hills and beaches of Rakiura. It was a fantastic time with magic weather.

One day I went from Christmas Village Hut to the summit of Hananui, Mt Anglem. Above the bush line the summit can be seen in this photo. The weather was incredible – clear sky, no wind, and even some warmth in the April sun. Hananui has some unique alpine flora that is only found on the slopes of this environment. I saw skinks sunning themselves on the rocks. They know to take advantage of the sun when it is out, but how they survive in a harsh winter above the bush line shows they are tough little critters. It was an amazing day to be on the tops and seeing across Rakiura to the many bays and mountain ranges of the island.

A tarn is below the summit, near the far range of hills is where Oban is located. Oban is the only settlement on Rakiura.

On a rock near the summit I found two sausages. Tasty morsels of meat were greatly appreciated after my climb to the summit.

The sausage on the left is a Woody’s sausage. Woody’s are a quality butcher based in Levin. This apple, sage and rosemary sausage is another good Woody’s sausage. The medium grind pork is primarily flavoured with the musty tang of sage, with secondary flavours of rosemary and smaller chunks of sweet apple. I consider that Woody’s do make better sausages, and this was not my favourite. However, this does not mean that it is a poor sausage, just not my favourite of their range. You can read other reviews of Woody’s here and here.

The sausage on the right is a beef steak sausage from L’Authentique who make small sausages that use high quality ingredients. These beef steak sausages are a dense meaty sausage. They are coarsely ground and the name of the sausage indicated what you are getting, hearty beef steak packed in a sausage skin. L’Authentique don’t make the cheapest sausages, but they craft quality meaty morsels. Another great L’Authenique sausage is reviewed here.

As I descended Hananui I paused and sat on rocks, admiring the view, thinking about life and savouring the snarlers I had consumed on the summit. Very day is a good day in the hills, and this day had been an exceptional one.