I do understand why it is considered dangerous though - narrow paths on rocky mountain ridges and scree slopes for hours. It would be so easy to break an ankle, and there goes the trip. So I took it nice and slow.
Bethany had a rough day though, still feeling weak from the day before and probably frustrated because of that. I got really annoyed with her for saying, on top of a mountain with 360 degree view of the surrounding wilderness and distant ocean, that the Richmond Ranges felt 'pointless' because they curved around so much and we hadn't made much progress south. In the end, though, it brought our different attitudes about the hike to a head (although it took another 24 hours). She has the approach of an athlete, competing with herself and the trail, if not with other hikers. I see the trail as a good excuse to walk around New Zealand for a couple months. That was disparity of intention was certainly something that needed to be addressed directly for the good of our relationship.
Talking things through helped, but even better was renewing our friendship with good ole fashioned fun. We went skinnydipping in a waterfall pool after lunch, cannon-balling off rock faces into the icy teal depths of the river. Actually, I wasn't going to get all the way in, but Bethany pulled me under, and I enjoyed the water for all of 30 seconds. Then we spent the evening reading aloud The Professor and the Siren, a beautifully written book someone had left at the hut. Bethany liked the part with the Siren best, I suspect, but I particularly loved the descriptions of the crochety old professor and his cutting criticisms of society and all its inmates.