There is a reason thru-hikers talk about a trail family. Your in with a bunch of other people who have all decided to do this crazy thing. You hike together, you walk and eat together and achieve the same goals. But then I wondered, does trail family only live on the trail?
On the 21st October 2016, I started my hike. Just me and Luke with our backpacks (and about half a dozen other hikers dotted a few miles in front or a few miles back) on the long slog that is the beautiful 90 Mile Beach. A year to that day, I had four friends visit me at my home in Bristol -Friends I had made on the Te Araroa and friends that will forever be some of my closest.
It took me all of three days to realise that the greatest wonder of my hike would be the people I met along the way. Whether that meant the lady who stopped her car on the highway from Whanganui to Bulls and handed us an orange each, or the couple that opened up their house and fed us wine and home-cooked stew, or just another hiker with the same damp socks and sweaty shirt. Each and every person came to us as themselves; no obligation to like one another, no obligation to stay in touch or take us in, and we went to them as us; not the filtered, socialised people we are in our 'civvies' at home.
When the date was set for my four friends to visit, I wondered whether things would be the same. Out of our hiking boots, would we have anything in common?
The first to arrive was Renee. Our Australian gem with more punch than any woman I've ever met. We spent the majority of our time on the trail side by side; sharing washing-up duties, splitting dorms, cheering at each other on mountain tops. She made our trail another kind of magic; not about where we were and what we were doing but about who we were with too. Saying goodbye the first time was like losing a limb - our first and longest lasting trail friend going to hike in the US was something we didn't want to miss - who would bail us out when our credit card packed in if not her!
Second was Benjamin (who if my mum had her way, would still be here!) Ben, also known as 'legs,' didn't come into our story until mid-South island. We passed him in the Nelson Lakes National Park where he hiked alone with Hamilton playing in his ears. It wasn't until a week or so later that we, coincidentally, met him in Hamilton hut over a communal game of Cards against Humanity. I am in ore of his unfailing optimism.
Eleri, I fellow Englishman but current resident of Australia, just so happened to also be home for the week and so popped by for a day visit. Eleri, another of Hamilton's extreme fanatics, began her trail on the same day as Luke and I. She too was another of the many women hiking alone and soon enough proved her point in wanting to do something big by herself. She shot ahead after a lazy day in Tidesong B and B where Luke and I decided to stay put with Renee for another zero and we followed her in the trail books from there on. We may not have hiked a large part of the trail together, but she certainly left her mark in my trail stories.
Last, but by no means least, was Brian; the American. My lovely Brian who swung me around like a child when he saw me, first crossed our path in Palmerston North. He was holding still for a week to help with animal trapping in the area and didn't catch us again until a little later on the trail. Brian has a mind like no other I know, clever, analytical, and oh so honest - I fell in love with his competitive enthusiasm to Code Names (a board game he later donated to Luke and I) and will forever crave his company to spice up the bland days.
All six of us together after an hour in a trampolining park was almost disastrous - from jokes I can't repeat to stories only we could follow, we laughed the whole evening. We met as adults from different parts of the world with no obligation to ever see each other again - we met again because, for that very reason, we'd formed a friendship that will exist in any part of the world. The question now is, where will we meet next?
Monday 30 October 2017
Tuesday 18 July 2017
Being a Female Hiker - Menstrual Products and Getting Over It
Lets face it, the general sanitation of a hiker isn't great. We operate to efficiency and convenience above all. From the overpriced travel soaps in mega heavy bottles to sanitary products that just don't cut it, I travelled the length of New Zealand battling with the laws of sanitation and having a period in the wild.
Before I went away, it was the problem that bothered me most; what would I do if I had a period? It was my first long hike so I hadn't any friends to ask, and it was hardly the question I wanted to ask on a Facebook page. I did the research I could in private, spoke to my doctor about possible solutions and watched some rather precarious YouTube videos before making my first and last purchase of a menstrual cup.
The big rule for anyone in the outdoors is to carry out what you carry in so the idea was to reduce weight, minimise rubbish, and make my experience as pleasant as it could possible be. The menstrual cup is essentially, as you'd assume, a cup that fits up inside and catches any blood throughout the day. It is removed, emptied, and reinserted with zero rubbish or extra weight so its a win, win.
I had a trial run before committing fully. I sat on the toilet with the cup in one hand and the instruction manual in the other. Okay, I thought, I do not like the word 'suction.'
I proceeded to pinch the sides together, in the hope the word was not as literal as it was technical, and inserted the cup. I stood up. I bent my knees, and lunged as though taking a big step over a rock or something of that nature. I squatted. I tensed my pelvic floor muscles as best I knew how. The cup was still there. It hadn't moved or fallen out. Success. I pinched the cup again as instructed to 'break the suction' and pulled. It certainly wasn't the most comfortable of exercises but it would be better with practice, so I packed the cup in my bag.
A month into my trip, I was coopied between two trees when I realised I was going to have to use the cup for the first time while hiking. It wasn't so much putting it in that made me nervous, but rather, the taking it out when it was full. How would I clean it with no running water? How would I clean my hands!?
Lucky for me, I came across a public toilet that same afternoon. Luke waited outside with two of our friends while I tried my very best to be quick. 'Breaking the suction' isn't the easiest of tasks while hovering over a public toilet with no seat. I held it between my fingers, pulled and twisted round to tip the contents into the loo. I seem to remember making it just before catching my foot in the leg of my shorts and saving myself with both hands on the toilet basin as I heard Luke outside make a crude joke about me being a long time in the bathroom. I stood back up, scrubbed my hands, and stared at the cup sitting upside down in the corner on the bathroom on top the little square drain. I eventually emerged, my friends with their bags ready to go on their backs, and with a mound of folded tissue balanced in my knickers, I made my way hastily to the first pharmacy I could find and bought a large pack of sanitary towels - I'll carry the bloody rubbish!
After that, my pill kicked in. I didn't have another period for the whole time I was away which was a miracle if you don't mind submerging your bodies natural hormones with artificial ones for some time. It saved me a lot of misery and while my friends found the cup worked for them, I would always stick with my normal products in the future, or find a smaller cup perhaps. I carried a dark rubbish bag with me and stuffed it in the back pocket of my bag out of the way with some hand sanitiser close by. There's no lying, it's not a pleasant thing, but its doable, and if I know anything, we girls will get over it.
Before I went away, it was the problem that bothered me most; what would I do if I had a period? It was my first long hike so I hadn't any friends to ask, and it was hardly the question I wanted to ask on a Facebook page. I did the research I could in private, spoke to my doctor about possible solutions and watched some rather precarious YouTube videos before making my first and last purchase of a menstrual cup.
The big rule for anyone in the outdoors is to carry out what you carry in so the idea was to reduce weight, minimise rubbish, and make my experience as pleasant as it could possible be. The menstrual cup is essentially, as you'd assume, a cup that fits up inside and catches any blood throughout the day. It is removed, emptied, and reinserted with zero rubbish or extra weight so its a win, win.
I had a trial run before committing fully. I sat on the toilet with the cup in one hand and the instruction manual in the other. Okay, I thought, I do not like the word 'suction.'
I proceeded to pinch the sides together, in the hope the word was not as literal as it was technical, and inserted the cup. I stood up. I bent my knees, and lunged as though taking a big step over a rock or something of that nature. I squatted. I tensed my pelvic floor muscles as best I knew how. The cup was still there. It hadn't moved or fallen out. Success. I pinched the cup again as instructed to 'break the suction' and pulled. It certainly wasn't the most comfortable of exercises but it would be better with practice, so I packed the cup in my bag.
A month into my trip, I was coopied between two trees when I realised I was going to have to use the cup for the first time while hiking. It wasn't so much putting it in that made me nervous, but rather, the taking it out when it was full. How would I clean it with no running water? How would I clean my hands!?
Lucky for me, I came across a public toilet that same afternoon. Luke waited outside with two of our friends while I tried my very best to be quick. 'Breaking the suction' isn't the easiest of tasks while hovering over a public toilet with no seat. I held it between my fingers, pulled and twisted round to tip the contents into the loo. I seem to remember making it just before catching my foot in the leg of my shorts and saving myself with both hands on the toilet basin as I heard Luke outside make a crude joke about me being a long time in the bathroom. I stood back up, scrubbed my hands, and stared at the cup sitting upside down in the corner on the bathroom on top the little square drain. I eventually emerged, my friends with their bags ready to go on their backs, and with a mound of folded tissue balanced in my knickers, I made my way hastily to the first pharmacy I could find and bought a large pack of sanitary towels - I'll carry the bloody rubbish!
After that, my pill kicked in. I didn't have another period for the whole time I was away which was a miracle if you don't mind submerging your bodies natural hormones with artificial ones for some time. It saved me a lot of misery and while my friends found the cup worked for them, I would always stick with my normal products in the future, or find a smaller cup perhaps. I carried a dark rubbish bag with me and stuffed it in the back pocket of my bag out of the way with some hand sanitiser close by. There's no lying, it's not a pleasant thing, but its doable, and if I know anything, we girls will get over it.
The All Important Kit List
When I look at the kit written down, it seems like we carried a lot. We could have skimped on some things and maybe invested more money on others to improve weight, but for a budget kit, we did pretty well. I have written our kit list below and have added some notes about whether it lasted to the end in our packs or broke or got left behind etc.
1 x Osprey 68 Bag
1 x Osprey 48 Bag
1 x Tent - Wild Country Zephyros 2
2 x Sleeping bags - Cumulus 600 Lite
2 x Air mats - Thermorest Prolite 3/4 Length
1 x Pen Knife - No 7 Opinel
1 x Multitool - Victorinox Climber
1 x Camping Stove - Jet Boil Flash Cooking system
1 x Jet Boil Pot support
1 x Camping cup
1 x Cooking Pot - Sea to Summit
1 x Water Filtration - Sawyer Straw mini
1 x Medical Kit
1 x Emergency Kit
2 x Head Torch
1 x Microfibre body towel
1 x Microfibre hand towel
1 x Spot Locater
1 x Garmin eTrex 20x
1 x Walking Poles each
Clothes
Luke:
2 x Pants
2 x Socks
1 x Camp socks - Merino Wool
1 x Zip off trousers
1 x Shorts
1 x Camp top
1 x Hiking top - Merino Wool
1 x Fleece
1 x Thermoball Jacket
1 x Rain coat
1 x Rain trousers
1 x Fingerless Gloves
1 x Buff
1 x Sun hat
1 x Flip flops
1 x Gaters - Dirty Girl
1 x Hiking Shoes - Barghaus/North Face
Daisy:
3 x Pants
2 x Socks
1 x Camp socks
1 x Camp leggings - Merino Wool
1 x Long trousers
1 x Shorts
1 x Hiking top - Merino Wool
1 x Camp top
1 x Fleece
1 x Thermoball Jacket
1 x Rain Coat
1 x Rain Trousers
1 x Waterproof gloves
1 x Glove liners
1 x Buff
1 x Sun hat
1 x Sandals - Teva
1 x Gaters - Long
1 x Hiking Boots - Scarpa Delta GTX Activ WMN
Tent - It was a squeeze inside that so called '2 person' tent, but with 3/4 mats and a small pocket between the outer and inner structures at either end, we could leave our bags outside of the sleeping area and maximise space. Wild Country have just brought out a two door version of our tent and that would save a lot of rolling over each other in the night for any unplanned midnight wees and, we think, would really help with airing/drying when condensation kicks in (and it does kick in - the tent is small for two people and in any situation, condensation would be a problem. We tried to avoid camping near large bodies of water or on long grass as much as possible.)
The tent has one pole for the overhead loop and two short, structural poles for either end of the tent. We removed the smaller poles and stored them on the outside of the bag with the pegs, and stuffed the tent into a dry sack instead of its original bag. This made it easy to store but also a lot easier to pack.
My main recommendation if your interested in this tent is to purchase the lighter, narrower pegs. We managed okay with the normal ones supplied but they can be difficult to get into hard ground sometimes as well as carrying a bit more weight - we did find ourselves borrowing a friends pegs one night under a forest of squeaky Eucalyptus.
Sleeping Bags - One of my favourite bits of kit for their comfort and easy packing. We went for the Cumulus 600 which was mainly for its weight. Cumulus specialise in lighter bags and have a 'Lite Line' range that carry good temperature ratings as well as being easy to stuff, and can be zipped together if you can brave it after a days hike. Being down, we purchased extra thick dry bags for storing these - while it made them a bit more bulky for packing, we never once had a problem with a wet bag.
In hindsight, these bags were way too hot. With two people in a small tent, it is warm enough, so having extra warm bags was often too much (we also felt they were hot in busy huts too). However, they were cosy, and still one of my favourite bits of kit so maybe next time I'll go somewhere cooler or string a bit of cash for a cooler bag...
Bags - Next time, I think we'll stretch for two of 48s. Luke's was great but he always had wasted space. I caught him sneaking things out of my pack to fill his up, so I'd have to steal them back or else it felt like I was carrying nothing. My 48 was the favourite of so many people we met on the trail. It was light, airy, had all the relevant pockets, stretchy mesh and looked ace too. My only complaint would by the mesh is fairly fragile and might need some emergency stitching, and I had to add some Axeman padders to the shoulder straps to stop the rubbing on the collar bone. Other than that, the sixe was perfect and two of them would have been just right (or perhaps a 48 and a 58 if we wanted to be safe.)
Shoes vs Boots- I took the risk. Against everyone's advice, I went for a pair of heavy duty leather boots. I had some bad blisters for the first stretch on 90 mile but once my heels had toughened up, I stomped through the mud easily and freely with mostly dry feet. Luke stuck with hiking shoes, he had zero blisters (a rarity, I know, but he did it), and found he may have gotten wet feet twice as quickly as me, but he also dried out in a fifth of the time my heavy boots took.
I switched to shoes for a short while but found I appreciated the ankle support and hardness of the boots so switched back again once I'd met the bounce box further along the trail. The main thing when choosing the shoes was to know what it was both Luke and I specifically wanted in a shoe. Luke didn't mind buying replacement pairs (he had three in total) and was also happy to jump into the rivers in his shoes. I, however, wanted something durable and often switched my boots for my Tevas when I wanted to keep a dry boot. Be aware, though, New Zealand may be beautiful but there are one hell of a lot of rivers to cross. Not to mention the hidden puddles, run off from your rain pants, and the countless times I slipped into a bog I thought I could avoid - I did get wet feet, you will too. So if you don't want the problem of roasting them over a fire for three days to dry them because you don't like them soggy, I'd go for shoes.
Jet Boil - The jet boil is an awesome invention. We were cooking in half the time some of our friends were and it was easy enough to work. For two people, we found cooking in the jet boil cup was too restricting. We purchased the pot stand and went for a Sea to Summit pot so we could extend our meal options. This however, reduced the effectiveness of the Jet Boil because we didn't want to fork out for the specific Jet Boil pan. While it worked, and it was quick, Id recommend either splurging on the Jet Boil stuff, or going for a standard stove. I find the standard ones fold up tiny and just cook a little more slowly - a little patience never killed anyone!
Cooking pan - It got eaten by mice! The Sea to Summit ones are great. They weight a bit more but they're foldable and easy to clean. We did leave our out one night (clean!) and the mice got to it. We didn't realise until we went to cook out next meal and discovered three chewed holes in the side of it. We sprung for a metal one after that - it was heavy because we couldn't afford any of that glorious titanium stuff, but the mice at least couldn't get it!
Water Filtration - We used the Sawyer straw Minis. We started with one each screwed to the top of a plastic bottle (we used old recyclable water bottles - lightweight!). Eventually, though, we ended up with one between us. The water in NZ is beautiful and we only ever needed to filter if we were down low or on farmland.
Our friend had a large Sawyer and it made the world of difference. It was quicker and way more efficient - in hindsight, we'd take one large one.
Rain Gear? Further to the wet weather comment, New Zealand is a wet place. We had a lot of rain, even during the summer months, BUT, New Zealand also has a fantastic sun. Our gear got wet often, but we also only had to put on wet gear a number of times. You can't count on the weather, but it is safe to say you can dry out quickly if your prepared to wear your wet stuff for an hour when the sun does come out.
We both carried rain coats, rain trousers, and waterproof gloves. When I think about it, I only used my rain trousers once or twice and I did wonder mid-trip, should I bother carrying these? But, one climb up into horrific winds and rain that stung your face as it slammed into you at a 45degree angle was enough to remind me that the wind proof factor, if not the rain proof, was important to have.
Fleeces and Coats - We both had a fleece and a coat. It was always too hot to walk in either of these - we'd use our waterproof coat if we needed to keep a particularly cold wind off - but we did have them for any cold nights in camp. Luke probably could have stuck with just a coat. He rarely used his fleece, and when he did, it was usually because he couldn't find his coat. I however, loved both. I like my fleece sometimes to sleep in if it was a cold night in a hut. Our coat also doubled as a pillow at night - we stuffed them into the thermorest bags and pulled our buff over the top for a softer finish - everything doubles as something!
Air Mats - Thermorest because they're great, 3/4 length because why carry more? We did have to stuff some clothes down by our feet to stop the condensation but other than that they worked for us.
Pants and Socks - Fact is, we're smelly all the time. We're hiking after all! Two pairs of pants was enough for Luke- usually one for camp and one for hiking with river washes as frequently as we could get them. I stuck to three - for womanly reasons - though I often only needed two; one wearing; one washing/drying.
Gaters - Unlike the UK, ticks aren't really a thing in NZ. I took a long pair and used them in the beginning when I didn't understand the ins and outs of hiking. Fact is, they don't keep you dry. They keep the bits out of your shoes and the spear grass away from your legs. So, eventually, I ditched my long ones and used Luke's Dirty Girls (a fantastic invention I'll have you know) - Luke could empty his shoes of any bits quite easily but keeping the bits out of my boots and reducing the number of times I had to take them off was key. Neither of us bothered with gaters unless it was for this reason - keeping pebbles out! We never truly toughened up to the spear grass but got used to bracing ourselves when we saw the path disappeared into a field of it.
Glove Liners - If you get cold hands like me, glove liners are an awesome alternative to heavy gloves that make you too hot. I got mine online for a couple of pounds and kept them in my bag pocket for any cold moments - made all the difference.
Buff - No question - take one. The usages are endless.
Towels - Your washing in a river, how clean can you be anyway? We shared a big towel and used the small one for things like drying feet after river crossings (it became a coffee filter at one point too!)
SPOT Locator - The Spot was great. We linked it up with our families phones and friends emails so they could follow us the whole way down. They had a map up in the kitchen and moved a red pin to our new camp each time we set it off. Thankfully, we didn't have to use the SOS button so I can't tell you about how efficient that was, but I can promise that it is so fulfilling to look back at the map and see where you've been, how far you've come, and where you're going next. It was a cheep buy compared with some of the PLBs and while it doesn't have the same promises as a PLB, it did offer a continuous tracker for our friends, and an emergency SOS should we have needed it.
GPS - We invested in the Garmin eTrex 20x. It did its job once we'd worked out how to download the maps, but the maps provided don't really correlate with the device and only plot the first few points of each one. This meant we were left to work it out our selves - which wasn't a problem given we knew how to, but people should check their maps before going, practice using the Garmin and ensure they can identify where they are without the plots. That said, it was great to see things like elevation as we were trekking - we didn't have to use it for much else since the track is pretty well marked.
Walking Poles - Luke broke his during a particularly dramatic falls through Herekino forest - we didn't invest in heavy duty ones. Mine lasted until the south island but I found I wanted to use my hands a bit more and ditched them somewhere around Hanmer Springs.
They are definitely important for savings knees in steep declines and gave me huge control on 90 Mile in terms in rhythm and pace. If I were to walk again, which I bloody well hope I do soon, I'd invest in a good one but only take one. That way you've got it for any spooky river crossings, you've got the support for any climbs or descents, but you've also got the freedom to use your other hand.
Hopefully my notes on what and what not to get for a long trek are helpful. I am no professional or pro-lite hiker, but I can promise you, what we took we used, and what ever we used helped us finish our trek and that's good enough for me.
1 x Osprey 48 Bag
1 x Tent - Wild Country Zephyros 2
2 x Sleeping bags - Cumulus 600 Lite
2 x Air mats - Thermorest Prolite 3/4 Length
1 x Pen Knife - No 7 Opinel
1 x Multitool - Victorinox Climber
1 x Camping Stove - Jet Boil Flash Cooking system
1 x Jet Boil Pot support
1 x Camping cup
1 x Cooking Pot - Sea to Summit
1 x Water Filtration - Sawyer Straw mini
1 x Medical Kit
1 x Emergency Kit
2 x Head Torch
1 x Microfibre body towel
1 x Microfibre hand towel
1 x Spot Locater
1 x Garmin eTrex 20x
1 x Walking Poles each
Clothes
Luke:
2 x Pants
2 x Socks
1 x Camp socks - Merino Wool
1 x Zip off trousers
1 x Shorts
1 x Camp top
1 x Hiking top - Merino Wool
1 x Fleece
1 x Thermoball Jacket
1 x Rain coat
1 x Rain trousers
1 x Fingerless Gloves
1 x Buff
1 x Sun hat
1 x Flip flops
1 x Gaters - Dirty Girl
1 x Hiking Shoes - Barghaus/North Face
Daisy:
3 x Pants
2 x Socks
1 x Camp socks
1 x Camp leggings - Merino Wool
1 x Long trousers
1 x Shorts
1 x Hiking top - Merino Wool
1 x Camp top
1 x Fleece
1 x Thermoball Jacket
1 x Rain Coat
1 x Rain Trousers
1 x Waterproof gloves
1 x Glove liners
1 x Buff
1 x Sun hat
1 x Sandals - Teva
1 x Gaters - Long
1 x Hiking Boots - Scarpa Delta GTX Activ WMN
Tent - It was a squeeze inside that so called '2 person' tent, but with 3/4 mats and a small pocket between the outer and inner structures at either end, we could leave our bags outside of the sleeping area and maximise space. Wild Country have just brought out a two door version of our tent and that would save a lot of rolling over each other in the night for any unplanned midnight wees and, we think, would really help with airing/drying when condensation kicks in (and it does kick in - the tent is small for two people and in any situation, condensation would be a problem. We tried to avoid camping near large bodies of water or on long grass as much as possible.)
The tent has one pole for the overhead loop and two short, structural poles for either end of the tent. We removed the smaller poles and stored them on the outside of the bag with the pegs, and stuffed the tent into a dry sack instead of its original bag. This made it easy to store but also a lot easier to pack.
My main recommendation if your interested in this tent is to purchase the lighter, narrower pegs. We managed okay with the normal ones supplied but they can be difficult to get into hard ground sometimes as well as carrying a bit more weight - we did find ourselves borrowing a friends pegs one night under a forest of squeaky Eucalyptus.
Sleeping Bags - One of my favourite bits of kit for their comfort and easy packing. We went for the Cumulus 600 which was mainly for its weight. Cumulus specialise in lighter bags and have a 'Lite Line' range that carry good temperature ratings as well as being easy to stuff, and can be zipped together if you can brave it after a days hike. Being down, we purchased extra thick dry bags for storing these - while it made them a bit more bulky for packing, we never once had a problem with a wet bag.
In hindsight, these bags were way too hot. With two people in a small tent, it is warm enough, so having extra warm bags was often too much (we also felt they were hot in busy huts too). However, they were cosy, and still one of my favourite bits of kit so maybe next time I'll go somewhere cooler or string a bit of cash for a cooler bag...
Bags - Next time, I think we'll stretch for two of 48s. Luke's was great but he always had wasted space. I caught him sneaking things out of my pack to fill his up, so I'd have to steal them back or else it felt like I was carrying nothing. My 48 was the favourite of so many people we met on the trail. It was light, airy, had all the relevant pockets, stretchy mesh and looked ace too. My only complaint would by the mesh is fairly fragile and might need some emergency stitching, and I had to add some Axeman padders to the shoulder straps to stop the rubbing on the collar bone. Other than that, the sixe was perfect and two of them would have been just right (or perhaps a 48 and a 58 if we wanted to be safe.)
Shoes vs Boots- I took the risk. Against everyone's advice, I went for a pair of heavy duty leather boots. I had some bad blisters for the first stretch on 90 mile but once my heels had toughened up, I stomped through the mud easily and freely with mostly dry feet. Luke stuck with hiking shoes, he had zero blisters (a rarity, I know, but he did it), and found he may have gotten wet feet twice as quickly as me, but he also dried out in a fifth of the time my heavy boots took.
I switched to shoes for a short while but found I appreciated the ankle support and hardness of the boots so switched back again once I'd met the bounce box further along the trail. The main thing when choosing the shoes was to know what it was both Luke and I specifically wanted in a shoe. Luke didn't mind buying replacement pairs (he had three in total) and was also happy to jump into the rivers in his shoes. I, however, wanted something durable and often switched my boots for my Tevas when I wanted to keep a dry boot. Be aware, though, New Zealand may be beautiful but there are one hell of a lot of rivers to cross. Not to mention the hidden puddles, run off from your rain pants, and the countless times I slipped into a bog I thought I could avoid - I did get wet feet, you will too. So if you don't want the problem of roasting them over a fire for three days to dry them because you don't like them soggy, I'd go for shoes.
Jet Boil - The jet boil is an awesome invention. We were cooking in half the time some of our friends were and it was easy enough to work. For two people, we found cooking in the jet boil cup was too restricting. We purchased the pot stand and went for a Sea to Summit pot so we could extend our meal options. This however, reduced the effectiveness of the Jet Boil because we didn't want to fork out for the specific Jet Boil pan. While it worked, and it was quick, Id recommend either splurging on the Jet Boil stuff, or going for a standard stove. I find the standard ones fold up tiny and just cook a little more slowly - a little patience never killed anyone!
Cooking pan - It got eaten by mice! The Sea to Summit ones are great. They weight a bit more but they're foldable and easy to clean. We did leave our out one night (clean!) and the mice got to it. We didn't realise until we went to cook out next meal and discovered three chewed holes in the side of it. We sprung for a metal one after that - it was heavy because we couldn't afford any of that glorious titanium stuff, but the mice at least couldn't get it!
Water Filtration - We used the Sawyer straw Minis. We started with one each screwed to the top of a plastic bottle (we used old recyclable water bottles - lightweight!). Eventually, though, we ended up with one between us. The water in NZ is beautiful and we only ever needed to filter if we were down low or on farmland.
Our friend had a large Sawyer and it made the world of difference. It was quicker and way more efficient - in hindsight, we'd take one large one.
Rain Gear? Further to the wet weather comment, New Zealand is a wet place. We had a lot of rain, even during the summer months, BUT, New Zealand also has a fantastic sun. Our gear got wet often, but we also only had to put on wet gear a number of times. You can't count on the weather, but it is safe to say you can dry out quickly if your prepared to wear your wet stuff for an hour when the sun does come out.
We both carried rain coats, rain trousers, and waterproof gloves. When I think about it, I only used my rain trousers once or twice and I did wonder mid-trip, should I bother carrying these? But, one climb up into horrific winds and rain that stung your face as it slammed into you at a 45degree angle was enough to remind me that the wind proof factor, if not the rain proof, was important to have.
Fleeces and Coats - We both had a fleece and a coat. It was always too hot to walk in either of these - we'd use our waterproof coat if we needed to keep a particularly cold wind off - but we did have them for any cold nights in camp. Luke probably could have stuck with just a coat. He rarely used his fleece, and when he did, it was usually because he couldn't find his coat. I however, loved both. I like my fleece sometimes to sleep in if it was a cold night in a hut. Our coat also doubled as a pillow at night - we stuffed them into the thermorest bags and pulled our buff over the top for a softer finish - everything doubles as something!
Air Mats - Thermorest because they're great, 3/4 length because why carry more? We did have to stuff some clothes down by our feet to stop the condensation but other than that they worked for us.
Pants and Socks - Fact is, we're smelly all the time. We're hiking after all! Two pairs of pants was enough for Luke- usually one for camp and one for hiking with river washes as frequently as we could get them. I stuck to three - for womanly reasons - though I often only needed two; one wearing; one washing/drying.
Gaters - Unlike the UK, ticks aren't really a thing in NZ. I took a long pair and used them in the beginning when I didn't understand the ins and outs of hiking. Fact is, they don't keep you dry. They keep the bits out of your shoes and the spear grass away from your legs. So, eventually, I ditched my long ones and used Luke's Dirty Girls (a fantastic invention I'll have you know) - Luke could empty his shoes of any bits quite easily but keeping the bits out of my boots and reducing the number of times I had to take them off was key. Neither of us bothered with gaters unless it was for this reason - keeping pebbles out! We never truly toughened up to the spear grass but got used to bracing ourselves when we saw the path disappeared into a field of it.
Glove Liners - If you get cold hands like me, glove liners are an awesome alternative to heavy gloves that make you too hot. I got mine online for a couple of pounds and kept them in my bag pocket for any cold moments - made all the difference.
Buff - No question - take one. The usages are endless.
Towels - Your washing in a river, how clean can you be anyway? We shared a big towel and used the small one for things like drying feet after river crossings (it became a coffee filter at one point too!)
SPOT Locator - The Spot was great. We linked it up with our families phones and friends emails so they could follow us the whole way down. They had a map up in the kitchen and moved a red pin to our new camp each time we set it off. Thankfully, we didn't have to use the SOS button so I can't tell you about how efficient that was, but I can promise that it is so fulfilling to look back at the map and see where you've been, how far you've come, and where you're going next. It was a cheep buy compared with some of the PLBs and while it doesn't have the same promises as a PLB, it did offer a continuous tracker for our friends, and an emergency SOS should we have needed it.
GPS - We invested in the Garmin eTrex 20x. It did its job once we'd worked out how to download the maps, but the maps provided don't really correlate with the device and only plot the first few points of each one. This meant we were left to work it out our selves - which wasn't a problem given we knew how to, but people should check their maps before going, practice using the Garmin and ensure they can identify where they are without the plots. That said, it was great to see things like elevation as we were trekking - we didn't have to use it for much else since the track is pretty well marked.
Walking Poles - Luke broke his during a particularly dramatic falls through Herekino forest - we didn't invest in heavy duty ones. Mine lasted until the south island but I found I wanted to use my hands a bit more and ditched them somewhere around Hanmer Springs.
They are definitely important for savings knees in steep declines and gave me huge control on 90 Mile in terms in rhythm and pace. If I were to walk again, which I bloody well hope I do soon, I'd invest in a good one but only take one. That way you've got it for any spooky river crossings, you've got the support for any climbs or descents, but you've also got the freedom to use your other hand.
Hopefully my notes on what and what not to get for a long trek are helpful. I am no professional or pro-lite hiker, but I can promise you, what we took we used, and what ever we used helped us finish our trek and that's good enough for me.
Sunday 16 July 2017
Three weeks since...
It took two weeks for my legs to stop cramping and seizing in the middle of the night. My hiker hunger has only just passed, though the cravings for fresh fruit and veg still continues, and we finally said the last of our goodbyes just a few days ago.
We had two weeks to kill between finishing the hike and picking up our car. We got 'stuck' in Invercargill for the first chunk of that; catching up with other hikers in the cinema, going for coffee, and using countless megabites of cafe internet usage to upload pictures and spread the news that we'd finally finished our venture.
The lull of what-to-do-next syndrome was taxing. Mostly, we didn't want to leave our friends; most of whom were from parts of the world that we wouldn't be in a position to visit for a very long time. A second contributing factor to the ongoing lack of drive and will to move on was monetary. Putting ourselves up in a city camping ground, and spoiling ourselves with celebratory all-you-can-eat chinese and the largest of breakfasts we could find had put us somewhat over budget (though we still felt underfed). But when we eventually wrote our destination of Te Anau on our empty pizza box, we found ourselves making hasty progress to another cafe destination where we set to planning our two week drive to the airport.
More breakfasts, a nacho pie (yes, they have nacho pies in Te Anau), and a few screwed up leaflets later, we'd hitchhiked with Renee to a nearby trail where we hoped to rekindle our love for hiking New Zealand trails. The Hollyford was a couple hours drive. We managed it in one hitch to the start of the track where a well maintained swing bridge crossed another of those crystal clear rivers unique to the fiordlands. We hiked to the first hut and settled in with a few other hikers for the evening where we enjoyed our 'luxury' foods that we only had to carry for the one day.
We skipped the next hut but made it no further than the third. We spent a full day reading infront of the gorgeous lake under the sun and headed back out the following morning. Stopping for one last night in the first hut again, we were met by a group of Welsh Army boys - little did I know, I was a lot more determined, and a lot more hard-working than them all.
We hitched back from the Hollyford to Te Anau and took a converted van to Queenstown to pick up our car. I slept for most of the journey before waking in busy Queenstown realising I'd been sleeping in a young lads bed in the back of his van - not sure it was my wisest of moves.
Setting up in an Air B and B for a few nights, we re-walked some of the TA trail in Queenstown and finally, filled the back of our hire car up with the heaviest of foods we could afford (though we were still cooking on a camping stove so we suddenly realised we still had to stick to pastas and easy cooks.)
We drove to Milford Sound through the mountain tunnel (a must see if in the Fiords), we picked up Ollie and his two friends from Invercargill and travelled the coast to Dunedin to see the penguins (didn't see any). We travelled back up via Renee's aunts house in Christchurch where we stayed and caught sunsets over Diamond Harbour. We picked up our 'missing' parcel from Snow Denn Lodge in Methven that was full of sweets and chocolate from Donna and Mark for my birthday. We traversed back to the West to see the incredible glaciers and Mount Cook. We saw almost everything we possibly could have seen in those two weeks before reaching Auckland.
New Zealand had become ours. Our home. We wanted to see every nook and every mountain. We collected things to take home with us so we might just remember what the pebbles were like on one beach or what the food was like in a particular town. It had become the place that Luke and I had grown even closer and stronger. It was, and always will be, one of the most beautifully ruthless places I know, and I will never forget its lessons.
We had two weeks to kill between finishing the hike and picking up our car. We got 'stuck' in Invercargill for the first chunk of that; catching up with other hikers in the cinema, going for coffee, and using countless megabites of cafe internet usage to upload pictures and spread the news that we'd finally finished our venture.
The lull of what-to-do-next syndrome was taxing. Mostly, we didn't want to leave our friends; most of whom were from parts of the world that we wouldn't be in a position to visit for a very long time. A second contributing factor to the ongoing lack of drive and will to move on was monetary. Putting ourselves up in a city camping ground, and spoiling ourselves with celebratory all-you-can-eat chinese and the largest of breakfasts we could find had put us somewhat over budget (though we still felt underfed). But when we eventually wrote our destination of Te Anau on our empty pizza box, we found ourselves making hasty progress to another cafe destination where we set to planning our two week drive to the airport.
More breakfasts, a nacho pie (yes, they have nacho pies in Te Anau), and a few screwed up leaflets later, we'd hitchhiked with Renee to a nearby trail where we hoped to rekindle our love for hiking New Zealand trails. The Hollyford was a couple hours drive. We managed it in one hitch to the start of the track where a well maintained swing bridge crossed another of those crystal clear rivers unique to the fiordlands. We hiked to the first hut and settled in with a few other hikers for the evening where we enjoyed our 'luxury' foods that we only had to carry for the one day.
We skipped the next hut but made it no further than the third. We spent a full day reading infront of the gorgeous lake under the sun and headed back out the following morning. Stopping for one last night in the first hut again, we were met by a group of Welsh Army boys - little did I know, I was a lot more determined, and a lot more hard-working than them all.
We hitched back from the Hollyford to Te Anau and took a converted van to Queenstown to pick up our car. I slept for most of the journey before waking in busy Queenstown realising I'd been sleeping in a young lads bed in the back of his van - not sure it was my wisest of moves.
Setting up in an Air B and B for a few nights, we re-walked some of the TA trail in Queenstown and finally, filled the back of our hire car up with the heaviest of foods we could afford (though we were still cooking on a camping stove so we suddenly realised we still had to stick to pastas and easy cooks.)
We drove to Milford Sound through the mountain tunnel (a must see if in the Fiords), we picked up Ollie and his two friends from Invercargill and travelled the coast to Dunedin to see the penguins (didn't see any). We travelled back up via Renee's aunts house in Christchurch where we stayed and caught sunsets over Diamond Harbour. We picked up our 'missing' parcel from Snow Denn Lodge in Methven that was full of sweets and chocolate from Donna and Mark for my birthday. We traversed back to the West to see the incredible glaciers and Mount Cook. We saw almost everything we possibly could have seen in those two weeks before reaching Auckland.
New Zealand had become ours. Our home. We wanted to see every nook and every mountain. We collected things to take home with us so we might just remember what the pebbles were like on one beach or what the food was like in a particular town. It had become the place that Luke and I had grown even closer and stronger. It was, and always will be, one of the most beautifully ruthless places I know, and I will never forget its lessons.
Tuesday 28 March 2017
Invercargill - Bluff (Our Finale)
1st March 2017 - The day we finished our Te Araroa.
We were in bed the night before by 9.30pm, sure that we'd be ready and roaring to go early for that last day to the end, but we didn't wake until 8am. We went for coffee, we lingered around the shops, met Renee, and slowly made our way to the bridge to meet the rest of the group. We were late so they had gone ahead but we could see them not far in front along the estuary walk way. The three of us were excited. We had come full circle, as our group of three- eager to make it to the end of another day. To pitch our tents, wash in a river or under a water tank if we were lucky, stuff our faces with high calorie meals and treats, and get to bed early ready for the day that followed. But today felt different. We didn't really want to make it to the end. We wanted to stretch every minute out as long as we could and push the big finish as far away as possible, because for the first time in 131 days, we didn't know where or which direction we were going tomorrow.
When we eventually caught up with the others (it didn't take long - most had already had two beers and walking had turned to lolloping) the excitement really hit. Everyone was laughing and telling stories from the trail. To anybody passing, we must have looked like the absolute pits. Those drinking beer built beer staff style walking poles as they went while Renee and I decided to settle for gin and tonic in plastic cups. I only had three throughout the day - I wanted to remember every second of that last day.
Unfortunately, that last day is only about 13km on board walk and the final 17km or so is all on highway 1. Since my experience of road walking in the past hasn't been the most joyous, I was grateful to have so many people around. We sang musicals, of course, and chatted nonsensically all the way, but mostly, Luke, Josh, Ben and I waited for everyone else to catch up! We had wanted to stretch this day out as much as possible, but the closer we got to the finish, the more we wanted to be there and each time the beer staff got longer, the group got slower.
We four were the first to the Bluff sign. Its a big sign that spells 'Bluff' about 4km before the end. 4km or not, it felt liberating to see it. We ran to it and jumped up onto the letters while we waited for everyone to catch up. We probably spent about an hour there taking pictures and waving at the cars that cheered us as they drove past - but eventually, the novelty wore off and everyone just wanted to see that last sign post - the one at the very end.
Again, we got nearly to the sign before everyone else. We decided to wait so we could all finish that last bit together but we sat there for a good half an hour with no sign of the group. We tried calling and texting but nothing. So Ben walked back to suss that situation and eventually returned with the rabble trailing behind him - they'd been in the liquor store buying cheep champagne!
So we finally rejoined and I led an eleven person conga line to the sign post. It felt so good to see the sea! Someone else who had finished earlier that day handed out beer to everyone, we popped the champagne open and all ran around hugging each other like lunatics. Each of us had our own story and our experiences of the trail, but each of us had done it. We all understood what it was like to have spent the last four months depending so desperately on the most basic of things and putting ourselves through hell just to get to this point - something none of us were sure other people would understand.
Once we had spent over an hour taking pictures and celebrating, we went for fish and chips. It had taken us nine hours to walk this last track when it should have only been six but it had been the easiest days walking on the whole trail but we were tired nonetheless.
We went to the Bluff Lodge (which isn't a lodge at all - its a backpackers) and checked into our 14 bed dorm which was like something from Annie. The beds all faced eachother with just a small walkway down the middle. The bedding was all different as though it had been carefully selected from second hand shops - most of it salmon pink with frills on the edges and padded throws.
We sat on the edges of our beds drinking wine from the bottle like teenagers and decided not to let the fact that we're no longer hiking get in the way of our bad manners and hiker-trash habits.
And then, to top everything off in true hiker style, Kilt Brian ceremoniously lit his Kilt on fire with the last of his meth spirits which was great in every way aside for the fact it left him with nothing besides his pants to wear until he managed to hitch back up to Invercargill.
It was so bizarre that for the first time in so long, it didn't really matter what time we woke up in the morning. We didn't need to know the exact time the sun rose and set again, or where our next water source or camping spot would be. We just needed to shower, eat some real vegetables, and, as much as we might not want to, face real life again. So we all eventually fell asleep in our Annie beds pondering our next move - where next?
We were in bed the night before by 9.30pm, sure that we'd be ready and roaring to go early for that last day to the end, but we didn't wake until 8am. We went for coffee, we lingered around the shops, met Renee, and slowly made our way to the bridge to meet the rest of the group. We were late so they had gone ahead but we could see them not far in front along the estuary walk way. The three of us were excited. We had come full circle, as our group of three- eager to make it to the end of another day. To pitch our tents, wash in a river or under a water tank if we were lucky, stuff our faces with high calorie meals and treats, and get to bed early ready for the day that followed. But today felt different. We didn't really want to make it to the end. We wanted to stretch every minute out as long as we could and push the big finish as far away as possible, because for the first time in 131 days, we didn't know where or which direction we were going tomorrow.
When we eventually caught up with the others (it didn't take long - most had already had two beers and walking had turned to lolloping) the excitement really hit. Everyone was laughing and telling stories from the trail. To anybody passing, we must have looked like the absolute pits. Those drinking beer built beer staff style walking poles as they went while Renee and I decided to settle for gin and tonic in plastic cups. I only had three throughout the day - I wanted to remember every second of that last day.
Unfortunately, that last day is only about 13km on board walk and the final 17km or so is all on highway 1. Since my experience of road walking in the past hasn't been the most joyous, I was grateful to have so many people around. We sang musicals, of course, and chatted nonsensically all the way, but mostly, Luke, Josh, Ben and I waited for everyone else to catch up! We had wanted to stretch this day out as much as possible, but the closer we got to the finish, the more we wanted to be there and each time the beer staff got longer, the group got slower.
We four were the first to the Bluff sign. Its a big sign that spells 'Bluff' about 4km before the end. 4km or not, it felt liberating to see it. We ran to it and jumped up onto the letters while we waited for everyone to catch up. We probably spent about an hour there taking pictures and waving at the cars that cheered us as they drove past - but eventually, the novelty wore off and everyone just wanted to see that last sign post - the one at the very end.
Again, we got nearly to the sign before everyone else. We decided to wait so we could all finish that last bit together but we sat there for a good half an hour with no sign of the group. We tried calling and texting but nothing. So Ben walked back to suss that situation and eventually returned with the rabble trailing behind him - they'd been in the liquor store buying cheep champagne!
So we finally rejoined and I led an eleven person conga line to the sign post. It felt so good to see the sea! Someone else who had finished earlier that day handed out beer to everyone, we popped the champagne open and all ran around hugging each other like lunatics. Each of us had our own story and our experiences of the trail, but each of us had done it. We all understood what it was like to have spent the last four months depending so desperately on the most basic of things and putting ourselves through hell just to get to this point - something none of us were sure other people would understand.
Once we had spent over an hour taking pictures and celebrating, we went for fish and chips. It had taken us nine hours to walk this last track when it should have only been six but it had been the easiest days walking on the whole trail but we were tired nonetheless.
We went to the Bluff Lodge (which isn't a lodge at all - its a backpackers) and checked into our 14 bed dorm which was like something from Annie. The beds all faced eachother with just a small walkway down the middle. The bedding was all different as though it had been carefully selected from second hand shops - most of it salmon pink with frills on the edges and padded throws.
We sat on the edges of our beds drinking wine from the bottle like teenagers and decided not to let the fact that we're no longer hiking get in the way of our bad manners and hiker-trash habits.
And then, to top everything off in true hiker style, Kilt Brian ceremoniously lit his Kilt on fire with the last of his meth spirits which was great in every way aside for the fact it left him with nothing besides his pants to wear until he managed to hitch back up to Invercargill.
It was so bizarre that for the first time in so long, it didn't really matter what time we woke up in the morning. We didn't need to know the exact time the sun rose and set again, or where our next water source or camping spot would be. We just needed to shower, eat some real vegetables, and, as much as we might not want to, face real life again. So we all eventually fell asleep in our Annie beds pondering our next move - where next?
Tuesday 14 March 2017
Te Anau - Invercargill
From Te Anau the route takes us through farm land mostly. There are a few steeper climbs but not much to rant and rave about. There is however, a story that I'm sure Luke will get tired of being reminded of.
On the second day, we stayed in a place called Birchwood Lodge. It's basically an old out house king of thing that some farmers have in their garden. They charge $20 each per night and you get a bed, kitchen, shower and bathroom, and a washing machine which is quite a good deal compared with what the price and facilities at the holiday parks!
It was the sort of place that made me feel a bit of a snob. While everyone else was just pleased to have a roof over their head, I wondered what my mother would say if she saw where I was staying. I imagined probably something along the lines of 'wear your flipflops in the shower and use your own cutlery.' Ah- it was a wicked place really.. just needed a lick of paint and a bit of bleach to the ceilings...
The owner gave the boys a lift to the shop (now with Renee, Kilt Brian, Benjamin from Sweden, Ben and Josh from NZ) and they all came back with a few beers and a bottle of wine for Renee and I to share. It was the last stretch and we wanted to celebrate! So we all had a drink and were playing a game of Code Names when Luke asked everyone if they wanted a fire. Of course, everyone did because we had marshmallows to roast! So, Luke set about collecting wood and starting the fire up.
About twenty minutes after Luke had got the fire roaring and we battled furiously in an intense game of Code Names, I smelled something strange. I looked to the fire and noticed an old pair of shorts had been left on top. They were on fire. Renee grabbed them and carried them outside before dumping a bottle of water on them but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the burning shorts had reminded Ben and Josh about where they had left their mobile phones charging. Panic struck - Ben and Josh's phones had melted to the fire place. Ben's was off, obviously, while Josh's simply displayed a helpful message on the screen, 'Your iPhone is too hot. Please cool down.'
We plucked them from the fire place watching not to burn our fingers n the metal casings and put them out on the deck to cool down. Ben's battery had melted to the outer so we used a knife to pull it away from the rest of the phone and let it cool while Josh's, bar a half melted screen, was actually working!
We spent the rest of the night awkwardly trying to avoid the topic of mobile phones and soon headed for bed in the prison style bunk beds which had mattresses too big for them and rolled its occupant to one side or the other each time they tried to get comfortable.
The morning after, Ben and Josh left pretty sharpish and the rest of us followed around nine-ish once the sun had decided to grace us with another fine day.
From there, it took another two days to reach our 32nd and final hut of the entire trail, Martins Huts in the Longwood Forest. The track up to Martins was a perfect round up of the trail. Hiking through knee high mud, being drenched by a stubborn low hanging cloud, having a relentless hammer of Southern wind against our faces, and a severe lack of hope that we'd ever actually make it to the hut - it was everything, believe it or not, that had made this trail so bloody cool! If it was easy, if we weren't challenged and made to face everything that New Zealand has to offer from its completely unpredictable weather system, it wouldn't have been worth doing and certainly wouldn't be worth telling you about.
When we got to Martins, a four bed shack with no windows and a dirt floor, there were already seven people staying there. Benjamin, Rowan and Rosie had beds, Dylan and Lutz were sharing, Ben and Josh were on the floor and the whole hut was covered in wet gear that smelled of old waterproofs and muddy socks.
Luke and I, Renee, Martin, Kilt Brian and Pawel all pitched our tents in the limited space outside and took turns to squeeze into the hut and have our share of heat from the fire. We may not have got to spend the night in the final hut, but we did have one hell of an experience. We all sat around in the tiny, dark room and reminisced about the trail and about our next few days to come and, aside for the absence of a few others, we had our 'trail family' all in one space.
The morning after was a solemn one for the fact we had to put on all of our wet gear and mud-sodden boots for another day in the forest. We headed off nice and early because we thought it was going to be another rainy, muddy day but it turned out to be a beautifully easy day following an old mining water run all the way to Colac Bay pretty much.
As we came over the brow of the hill and caught our first sights of Colac Bay, it almost felt like the end - we could see the sea and beyond that was Stewart Island - I could have cried right there and then (but I didn't because I am the new kick ass Bear Grylls come Wolverine come Dora the Awesomest Explorer Ever.)
From Colac Bay we walked along the coast all the way to Riverton for a lunch stop and then again all the way to Invercargill (almost).
Not quite ready to finish, Luke and I decided to walk that last beach by ourselves. We stopped three or four times to read. We pitched our tent to have dinner (which was like eating in a cape in a sand storm) and just relaxed and talked until it turned dark. We packed the tent up, and we hiked the remainder of the beach with nothing but the incredible South Island sky to light our way.
It sounds romantic and nice but in fact, there were bad boy racers on mopeds driving up and down all the way and when it came to finding somewhere to pitch up once we'd left the beach, it was so bloody dark that we didn't really know where we were and whether in the morning we'd be on someones front porch!
Nonetheless, we woke the morning after on the Lifeguard Club's front lawn and left pretty sharpish to walk into Invercargill. When we got there at 9am, all we wanted to do was carry on to Bluff but we'd decided to walk with our friends and that's what we were going to do so we fought the urge and spent the rest of the day in Invercargill gearing up for the very last day of our trail. We arranged to meet the team by the bridge at 9.30am sharp the morning after.
On the second day, we stayed in a place called Birchwood Lodge. It's basically an old out house king of thing that some farmers have in their garden. They charge $20 each per night and you get a bed, kitchen, shower and bathroom, and a washing machine which is quite a good deal compared with what the price and facilities at the holiday parks!
It was the sort of place that made me feel a bit of a snob. While everyone else was just pleased to have a roof over their head, I wondered what my mother would say if she saw where I was staying. I imagined probably something along the lines of 'wear your flipflops in the shower and use your own cutlery.' Ah- it was a wicked place really.. just needed a lick of paint and a bit of bleach to the ceilings...
The owner gave the boys a lift to the shop (now with Renee, Kilt Brian, Benjamin from Sweden, Ben and Josh from NZ) and they all came back with a few beers and a bottle of wine for Renee and I to share. It was the last stretch and we wanted to celebrate! So we all had a drink and were playing a game of Code Names when Luke asked everyone if they wanted a fire. Of course, everyone did because we had marshmallows to roast! So, Luke set about collecting wood and starting the fire up.
About twenty minutes after Luke had got the fire roaring and we battled furiously in an intense game of Code Names, I smelled something strange. I looked to the fire and noticed an old pair of shorts had been left on top. They were on fire. Renee grabbed them and carried them outside before dumping a bottle of water on them but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the burning shorts had reminded Ben and Josh about where they had left their mobile phones charging. Panic struck - Ben and Josh's phones had melted to the fire place. Ben's was off, obviously, while Josh's simply displayed a helpful message on the screen, 'Your iPhone is too hot. Please cool down.'
We plucked them from the fire place watching not to burn our fingers n the metal casings and put them out on the deck to cool down. Ben's battery had melted to the outer so we used a knife to pull it away from the rest of the phone and let it cool while Josh's, bar a half melted screen, was actually working!
We spent the rest of the night awkwardly trying to avoid the topic of mobile phones and soon headed for bed in the prison style bunk beds which had mattresses too big for them and rolled its occupant to one side or the other each time they tried to get comfortable.
The morning after, Ben and Josh left pretty sharpish and the rest of us followed around nine-ish once the sun had decided to grace us with another fine day.
From there, it took another two days to reach our 32nd and final hut of the entire trail, Martins Huts in the Longwood Forest. The track up to Martins was a perfect round up of the trail. Hiking through knee high mud, being drenched by a stubborn low hanging cloud, having a relentless hammer of Southern wind against our faces, and a severe lack of hope that we'd ever actually make it to the hut - it was everything, believe it or not, that had made this trail so bloody cool! If it was easy, if we weren't challenged and made to face everything that New Zealand has to offer from its completely unpredictable weather system, it wouldn't have been worth doing and certainly wouldn't be worth telling you about.
When we got to Martins, a four bed shack with no windows and a dirt floor, there were already seven people staying there. Benjamin, Rowan and Rosie had beds, Dylan and Lutz were sharing, Ben and Josh were on the floor and the whole hut was covered in wet gear that smelled of old waterproofs and muddy socks.
Luke and I, Renee, Martin, Kilt Brian and Pawel all pitched our tents in the limited space outside and took turns to squeeze into the hut and have our share of heat from the fire. We may not have got to spend the night in the final hut, but we did have one hell of an experience. We all sat around in the tiny, dark room and reminisced about the trail and about our next few days to come and, aside for the absence of a few others, we had our 'trail family' all in one space.
The morning after was a solemn one for the fact we had to put on all of our wet gear and mud-sodden boots for another day in the forest. We headed off nice and early because we thought it was going to be another rainy, muddy day but it turned out to be a beautifully easy day following an old mining water run all the way to Colac Bay pretty much.
As we came over the brow of the hill and caught our first sights of Colac Bay, it almost felt like the end - we could see the sea and beyond that was Stewart Island - I could have cried right there and then (but I didn't because I am the new kick ass Bear Grylls come Wolverine come Dora the Awesomest Explorer Ever.)
From Colac Bay we walked along the coast all the way to Riverton for a lunch stop and then again all the way to Invercargill (almost).
Not quite ready to finish, Luke and I decided to walk that last beach by ourselves. We stopped three or four times to read. We pitched our tent to have dinner (which was like eating in a cape in a sand storm) and just relaxed and talked until it turned dark. We packed the tent up, and we hiked the remainder of the beach with nothing but the incredible South Island sky to light our way.
It sounds romantic and nice but in fact, there were bad boy racers on mopeds driving up and down all the way and when it came to finding somewhere to pitch up once we'd left the beach, it was so bloody dark that we didn't really know where we were and whether in the morning we'd be on someones front porch!
Nonetheless, we woke the morning after on the Lifeguard Club's front lawn and left pretty sharpish to walk into Invercargill. When we got there at 9am, all we wanted to do was carry on to Bluff but we'd decided to walk with our friends and that's what we were going to do so we fought the urge and spent the rest of the day in Invercargill gearing up for the very last day of our trail. We arranged to meet the team by the bridge at 9.30am sharp the morning after.
GreenstoneQueenstown - Te Anau
We had a bad start to the Greenstone. We walked from our camp the night before to Greenstone hut where we arrived to a group of drunk Russian tourists sitting on the decking outside. We did our best to introduce ourselves and make small talk but in the end resigned to claiming our bunks for the night and then minding our own business.
We had a long afternoon in the sunshine since we'd only walked a short way and so wound up in bed fairly early. We read for a bit until it was a sensible time to try and sleep and then instantly regretted not sleeping sooner. Snorers in huts should be banned! We slept maybe for four hours that night.. and that's probably a generous rounding up. At four in the morning we were both bolt upright trying to fathom how any human could possibly make that much noise! Luke tried fluffing, very loudly, and I giggling, very loudly, but nothing would wake them and stop that awful noise.
The morning after, we woke grumpily, ate breakfast grumpily, and left the hut hoping the snorers didn't follow behind.
The walk from there to Carey's Hut was all along the Greenstone flats. There was little to gain in height but a lot to gain in weight since our shoes were slowly filling all day with the water from the boggy ground we hiked through all day.
When we got to Carey's Hut, we washed in the lake and prayed the night ahead would be an improvement on the last. It wasn't.
At nine o'clock that evening, a load of fire wood was dropped off to the hut and so, as man does, our American friend, Dylan built a fire. By the time we went to bed, we were sweating so much in our sleeping bags that Luke went outside and pitched the tent instead of sleeping inside! I braved the heat but I can't say it was a comfortable nights sleep!
The day after leads you beside the two Mavora lakes along a really nice, well looked after track through forest until you reach the part that just Te Araroa hikers use and it turns to utter shit. Sorry, Parents, but it was bad!
The grass was taller than both me and Luke, if tussucks weren't tripping us then we were falling into bog that we couldn't see. If we weren't trying to navigate around slips, we were trying to find our way over and under barb wire fences that had just randomly been placed in the middle of the track. It was awful! And little did we realise that we were some of the only people on the whole trail to actually walk this part. Apparently everyone else was sensible enough just to walk on the road or hitch there way to a better track.
Although it was tough and slow, Luke and I did have a really good day trying to find our way along it. Laughing at each other every time the other fell down and making fun of the trail has become half of the fun of the Te Araroa and we've learned to just take it in our stride.
We camped on the river that night and prayed the remaining three km the next day would be easier.
They weren't easier but they did go quickly and we had a full day to resupply in Te Anau for the final eight days! Just eight more days!!
We had a long afternoon in the sunshine since we'd only walked a short way and so wound up in bed fairly early. We read for a bit until it was a sensible time to try and sleep and then instantly regretted not sleeping sooner. Snorers in huts should be banned! We slept maybe for four hours that night.. and that's probably a generous rounding up. At four in the morning we were both bolt upright trying to fathom how any human could possibly make that much noise! Luke tried fluffing, very loudly, and I giggling, very loudly, but nothing would wake them and stop that awful noise.
The morning after, we woke grumpily, ate breakfast grumpily, and left the hut hoping the snorers didn't follow behind.
The walk from there to Carey's Hut was all along the Greenstone flats. There was little to gain in height but a lot to gain in weight since our shoes were slowly filling all day with the water from the boggy ground we hiked through all day.
When we got to Carey's Hut, we washed in the lake and prayed the night ahead would be an improvement on the last. It wasn't.
At nine o'clock that evening, a load of fire wood was dropped off to the hut and so, as man does, our American friend, Dylan built a fire. By the time we went to bed, we were sweating so much in our sleeping bags that Luke went outside and pitched the tent instead of sleeping inside! I braved the heat but I can't say it was a comfortable nights sleep!
The day after leads you beside the two Mavora lakes along a really nice, well looked after track through forest until you reach the part that just Te Araroa hikers use and it turns to utter shit. Sorry, Parents, but it was bad!
The grass was taller than both me and Luke, if tussucks weren't tripping us then we were falling into bog that we couldn't see. If we weren't trying to navigate around slips, we were trying to find our way over and under barb wire fences that had just randomly been placed in the middle of the track. It was awful! And little did we realise that we were some of the only people on the whole trail to actually walk this part. Apparently everyone else was sensible enough just to walk on the road or hitch there way to a better track.
Although it was tough and slow, Luke and I did have a really good day trying to find our way along it. Laughing at each other every time the other fell down and making fun of the trail has become half of the fun of the Te Araroa and we've learned to just take it in our stride.
We camped on the river that night and prayed the remaining three km the next day would be easier.
They weren't easier but they did go quickly and we had a full day to resupply in Te Anau for the final eight days! Just eight more days!!
The Routeburn!
The official track stops at Queenstown and picks back up at Greenstone so involves either hitching or a ferry to get you there. Sick and tired of having to hitch, Luke and I decided to pay for a shuttle to the Routeburn which is a great walk track that fishes at Greenstone so we figured we may aswell do it as an extra.
My god - we were so glad we did it! The walk, supposed to be done over three-four days, we did in one. It starts with a gentle climb up through forest. There's not too much to see on the first part but the river is of that lovely green-blue colour I keep telling you about and it was nice to walk effortlessly for a short while after working so hard on the Wanaka-Queenstown section.
Once we'd passed the groups of casual hikers moving at what seemed to be 1km an hour, we were able to pick up pace a bit and, eventually, pop out from the tree line where the 'Routeburn Falls Lodge' had been erected on huge wooden stilts upon the alpine terrain which seemed rather too permanent for my liking - NZlanders are very good at preserving and looking after its bush and yet in the middle of one of the most beautiful sections I've laid eyes on, there stands this huge 50 bed hut with flushable toilets!
Beyond the dauntingly huge and unnecessary building, however, were the Routeburn falls. Cascading down from the mountains above, the water washed down passed our track that guided us upward toward the saddle and high point of the Routeburn track. The lake from which the waterfalls came from was crazy! It was literally glittering like something out of a Disney film! I couldn't help thinking about how much Zoe would have loved it and said just the same about it being like something from Disney.
We ate our lunch at the top with views over the river before making the descent through bush to Greenstone Saddle where we would camp for the night. We passed a 150mwaterfall on the way down that was amazing! The water splashed down between all the rocks and sprayed everyone who stood at the bottom of it - I wished I had William's camera to have got a proper shot of it. Sometimes the IPhones just don't do it justice!
We camped, as planned, at Greenstone just 7.5hours after starting the Routeburn so goodness knows while DOC say you need 4 days to complete it! If anyone every asks me about the TA I will tell them to add this track on. Of course, it might not have been the same without the gorgeous blue skies we had!
My god - we were so glad we did it! The walk, supposed to be done over three-four days, we did in one. It starts with a gentle climb up through forest. There's not too much to see on the first part but the river is of that lovely green-blue colour I keep telling you about and it was nice to walk effortlessly for a short while after working so hard on the Wanaka-Queenstown section.
Once we'd passed the groups of casual hikers moving at what seemed to be 1km an hour, we were able to pick up pace a bit and, eventually, pop out from the tree line where the 'Routeburn Falls Lodge' had been erected on huge wooden stilts upon the alpine terrain which seemed rather too permanent for my liking - NZlanders are very good at preserving and looking after its bush and yet in the middle of one of the most beautiful sections I've laid eyes on, there stands this huge 50 bed hut with flushable toilets!
Beyond the dauntingly huge and unnecessary building, however, were the Routeburn falls. Cascading down from the mountains above, the water washed down passed our track that guided us upward toward the saddle and high point of the Routeburn track. The lake from which the waterfalls came from was crazy! It was literally glittering like something out of a Disney film! I couldn't help thinking about how much Zoe would have loved it and said just the same about it being like something from Disney.
We ate our lunch at the top with views over the river before making the descent through bush to Greenstone Saddle where we would camp for the night. We passed a 150mwaterfall on the way down that was amazing! The water splashed down between all the rocks and sprayed everyone who stood at the bottom of it - I wished I had William's camera to have got a proper shot of it. Sometimes the IPhones just don't do it justice!
We camped, as planned, at Greenstone just 7.5hours after starting the Routeburn so goodness knows while DOC say you need 4 days to complete it! If anyone every asks me about the TA I will tell them to add this track on. Of course, it might not have been the same without the gorgeous blue skies we had!
Monday 13 March 2017
Tekapo - Queenstown
We had a day off in Tekapo reading books and not much else - we had a long cycle ahead of us for the following day.
The track from Tekapo to Lake Ohau is all beside canals so Luke and I decided to cycle the full 90km in one day to get it done with and we were glad we did! It was pretty much all flat with a few down hills to it but the wind was so much that even going down hill we had to peddle hard or else we'd stop dead - I've never in my life known that possible!
When we got to the end, the guy who collected our bikes was so surprised that we'd managed to cycle the whole way in the wind that he gave us a whole pack of bacon and a beer each - heaven! (Although we had to ask him to come back and collect the bottles because we were too stubborn to carry them).
The day after, our bottoms were very sore and we were grateful not to have split the cycling between two days. We headed, on foot this time, towards Wanaka. It took us four days in total to get there. We had a crazy climb of 300m in only 2km on the penultimate day and Luke practically ran it he was so excited to feel his body work hard. From there we carried on up and over Breast Hill where we had some awesome views of Lake Huwae and Wanaka - it felt amazing to be so close to Queenstown having had that as our 'next destination' for so long.
We had a day off in Wanaka before making the four day journey to Queenstown. This section was soo good! It was full of ups and downs and views of mountains all around. On the second day to a hut called Roses Hut we had sunshine all day until the final few kms. We had just reached the top of the final hill and could see the hut in the distance when the wind picked up and the rain started coming down hard. We raced our way to the hut and one we were inside and full of hot tea, we turned around to look at where we'd come from and all the mountains we had just come along were covered in a layer of white snow. We spent the remainder of the evening with four Americans, Rosie, Dylan, Rowan and James and somehow found ourselves in a room full of people doing situps and pushups as if hiking the entire length of New Zealand wasn't enough!
We had a game of cards, in which I remained the 'ass hole' for the entirety of the numerous rounds (which means I was rubbish!) and then had a reasonably late night, all things considered!
From Roses hut, we walked through an old abandoned mining town called Macetown. There are lots of old cottages and things which was pretty cool but we spent most of the way wading through the river so didn't spend much time stopping to read the information boards for fear of numbing toes!
We followed a four wheel drive track all the way down to Arrowtown, another old mining town, that looked just like a quaint little village on the Cornish seaside. We stayed in the holiday park for a night before making the final walk along golf courses and cycle track to Queenstown.
The track from Tekapo to Lake Ohau is all beside canals so Luke and I decided to cycle the full 90km in one day to get it done with and we were glad we did! It was pretty much all flat with a few down hills to it but the wind was so much that even going down hill we had to peddle hard or else we'd stop dead - I've never in my life known that possible!
When we got to the end, the guy who collected our bikes was so surprised that we'd managed to cycle the whole way in the wind that he gave us a whole pack of bacon and a beer each - heaven! (Although we had to ask him to come back and collect the bottles because we were too stubborn to carry them).
The day after, our bottoms were very sore and we were grateful not to have split the cycling between two days. We headed, on foot this time, towards Wanaka. It took us four days in total to get there. We had a crazy climb of 300m in only 2km on the penultimate day and Luke practically ran it he was so excited to feel his body work hard. From there we carried on up and over Breast Hill where we had some awesome views of Lake Huwae and Wanaka - it felt amazing to be so close to Queenstown having had that as our 'next destination' for so long.
We had a day off in Wanaka before making the four day journey to Queenstown. This section was soo good! It was full of ups and downs and views of mountains all around. On the second day to a hut called Roses Hut we had sunshine all day until the final few kms. We had just reached the top of the final hill and could see the hut in the distance when the wind picked up and the rain started coming down hard. We raced our way to the hut and one we were inside and full of hot tea, we turned around to look at where we'd come from and all the mountains we had just come along were covered in a layer of white snow. We spent the remainder of the evening with four Americans, Rosie, Dylan, Rowan and James and somehow found ourselves in a room full of people doing situps and pushups as if hiking the entire length of New Zealand wasn't enough!
We had a game of cards, in which I remained the 'ass hole' for the entirety of the numerous rounds (which means I was rubbish!) and then had a reasonably late night, all things considered!
From Roses hut, we walked through an old abandoned mining town called Macetown. There are lots of old cottages and things which was pretty cool but we spent most of the way wading through the river so didn't spend much time stopping to read the information boards for fear of numbing toes!
We followed a four wheel drive track all the way down to Arrowtown, another old mining town, that looked just like a quaint little village on the Cornish seaside. We stayed in the holiday park for a night before making the final walk along golf courses and cycle track to Queenstown.
Arthurs Pass - Tekapo
I suppose I should explain my lack of blogging over the past few weeks. I was actually fairly diligent with note keeping for the section from Arthurs Pass to Rakaia but it was the events that took place on the following section from the Rakaia to the Rangiatata that interfered with my keeping you up to date.
See, after hitching to the start of the Harper Valley track from Arthurs Pass, we followed a really nice track to Hamilton Hut where we were spoiled with supplies of deodorant and the game 'Cards Against Humanity' which kept spirits high until Luke and I went to cook and discovered our silicone cooking pot had been eaten through by mice. Luckily we were in a hut that also spoiled us for pans and cooking utensils so for the time being the pot, now rendered totally useless, was but another thing for us to carry.
Nonetheless, we continued to have a lovely evening in a busy hut with lots of other TA-ers and made the most of the sunshine the day after. As usual, we started day two with many river crossings - the river we followed was almost Cheddar Gorge esque but with its usual trumping factors of turquoise blue waters and towering snow capped mountains - the norm here in New Zealand as I'm sure you've gathered from my prior posts.
We continued to follow the river which soon flowed gently beside fields and rocky flats all the way into Harper Village where we struck luck. The walk from here goes along gravel road for 20km where, at the Rakaia River, hikers are forced to hitch to avoid the crossing by foot - we weren't looking forward to either of these two parts. We stepped out of the gate from the river track, into Harpers Village and there he was - our lift! A Search and Rescue Volunteer stuck his head out of his truck and asked us where we were going, and funnily enough, he was going there too!
It was an hours drive all the way to Methven where we were wanting to resupply for the next section and arrange transport to the start of the trailhead on the opposite side of the Rakaia. On the way to Methven, we found out that the Rakaia is usually crossable at about 250 Cumecs (tons of water moving per second) but after the recent rainfall, it was flowing at 3500 Cumecs! We were glad to arrive in Methven and book ourselves onto the school bus the morning after for our lift to the trailhead.
Who would have thought it possible? We actually caught a primary school bus from Methvan to our trail! Allbeit, the children weren't on the bus yet since it was only 6am but I'm still sure it wouldn't happen in the UK - Health (and Safety gone mad and all that. And not only was it a school bus carrying four stinky hikers (Jan and Jasmin from Germany were with us), it was also a school bus that had to ford streams and avoid wondering cows on its journey!
When we arrived at the trailhead, the sun had just come up. We had the whole day ahead of us to be leisurely about the section ahead.
It started with a gradual, but steepening, climb up to a saddle. The weather was pretty much perfect and the views were ace. We dropped down to a river where our trail notes describe a 'vague track' where hikers must 'pick their way up the river.' We literally ended up walking up the river in knee-thigh deep water because any land that was passable was either covered in those god forsaken spikey bushes or only remained for 200 meters.
This, my lovely readers, is where we come to my reasons for not blogging for the past four weeks.
We all stopped once we were sure the river wading had come to an end to empty our shoes of sand and gravel. Luke sat down beside the river and washed his trainers in the river since they were wet anyway while Jan and Jasmin pushed on to climb the second saddle we had to climb that day.
Luke and I basked in the sun and ate lunch, filled water bottles etc etc. and then Luke turned to me and said 'Hey Dais, you've got your phone haven't you?' As you might have already guessed, I didn't. He rushed to the river where he had been washing his shoes out and there, sitting at the bottom of a baby plunge pool, was my beloved phone with all of my notes, our photos, telephone numbers and addresses for contacts.
I thought I'd done a pretty good job at staying calm... until we'd climbed maybe half way up to the saddle and I broke out with some kind of stress incurred nose bleed. I was walking in front of Luke at the time and had turned to ask for his help when the wind shooting up into the valley caught the blood dripping from my nose and splashed Luke in the face and coated his bag before I could even really say anything. He stared at me in horror for a bit but sat me down on the side of the river and helped me wash up anyway.
When we reached the hut, we had walked a fair distance but both felt more tired from the days disasters than the walking itself. We cooked as best we could in our new budget cooking pot and hit the hay hoping tomorrow would bring fewer problems.
The day after was much less harrowing. Mostly flat, we managed to walk all the way to the road where we had to hitch a ride around the second of the two uncrossable rivers, the Rangiatata.
We got a lift with a DOC guy who stopped on the way so we could grab an ice cream and then dropped us off to resupply in Geraldine.
We did out bit of shopping and then found a little burger place to have coffee while we decided what to do - stay in Geraldine a night or try and hitch to the trailhead?
What we ended up doing was stupid and to put it bluntly, this whole part of the trail was starting to drive me crazy. I didn't want to hitchhike or pay $200 for a lift, I wanted to walk like we had been for the past three months! A guy in the burger shop who was familiar with the TA offered to take us to Peel Forest where there is a camp ground on the way to the trailhead. We thought we'd hit the jack pot but actually just ended up spending an entire day in Peel Forest not being able to get a lift to the trailhead, not having enough food just to walk there ourselves, and having to turn back around to get to Geraldine again. It was the first time on trail that Luke and I just decided 'forget it.'
We got into Geraldine and decided that we'd hitch around to Lake Tekapo (about a three hour drive) and walk the trail backwards instead. We got a hitch within five minutes and were in Tekapo just in time to find a free (and slightly illegal) camping spot underneath some pine trees before sundown.
The day after, we caught a lift in the front of a big transporter lorry and started the Two Thumb Track backwards. It just meant we just had to walk it twice in order to get back to Tekapo and carry on with the trail!
We were so glad we didn't skip this section all together because it was the one of the most fun and beautiful section of the whole trail. We hiked along the ridgeline up to Stag Saddle which is the highest part of the trail at 1925m and then scrambled up a scree slope to the closest peek at 2075m. On the climb up, I did stop a few times to decide if it was wise since every step shifted piles and piles of loose scree down towards whoever might have been climbing up behind. (We hadn't realized there was a nice path up to the peak from the other side until we reached the top.) From the peak, we could see all the mountains surrounding us including Mt Cook - the highest mountain in NZ. It was amazing! The skies were blue, the mountains were covered in snow and the lakes reflected everything in its perfectly still water even though it wasn't quite so wind free up on the peak.
See, after hitching to the start of the Harper Valley track from Arthurs Pass, we followed a really nice track to Hamilton Hut where we were spoiled with supplies of deodorant and the game 'Cards Against Humanity' which kept spirits high until Luke and I went to cook and discovered our silicone cooking pot had been eaten through by mice. Luckily we were in a hut that also spoiled us for pans and cooking utensils so for the time being the pot, now rendered totally useless, was but another thing for us to carry.
Nonetheless, we continued to have a lovely evening in a busy hut with lots of other TA-ers and made the most of the sunshine the day after. As usual, we started day two with many river crossings - the river we followed was almost Cheddar Gorge esque but with its usual trumping factors of turquoise blue waters and towering snow capped mountains - the norm here in New Zealand as I'm sure you've gathered from my prior posts.
We continued to follow the river which soon flowed gently beside fields and rocky flats all the way into Harper Village where we struck luck. The walk from here goes along gravel road for 20km where, at the Rakaia River, hikers are forced to hitch to avoid the crossing by foot - we weren't looking forward to either of these two parts. We stepped out of the gate from the river track, into Harpers Village and there he was - our lift! A Search and Rescue Volunteer stuck his head out of his truck and asked us where we were going, and funnily enough, he was going there too!
It was an hours drive all the way to Methven where we were wanting to resupply for the next section and arrange transport to the start of the trailhead on the opposite side of the Rakaia. On the way to Methven, we found out that the Rakaia is usually crossable at about 250 Cumecs (tons of water moving per second) but after the recent rainfall, it was flowing at 3500 Cumecs! We were glad to arrive in Methven and book ourselves onto the school bus the morning after for our lift to the trailhead.
Who would have thought it possible? We actually caught a primary school bus from Methvan to our trail! Allbeit, the children weren't on the bus yet since it was only 6am but I'm still sure it wouldn't happen in the UK - Health (and Safety gone mad and all that. And not only was it a school bus carrying four stinky hikers (Jan and Jasmin from Germany were with us), it was also a school bus that had to ford streams and avoid wondering cows on its journey!
When we arrived at the trailhead, the sun had just come up. We had the whole day ahead of us to be leisurely about the section ahead.
It started with a gradual, but steepening, climb up to a saddle. The weather was pretty much perfect and the views were ace. We dropped down to a river where our trail notes describe a 'vague track' where hikers must 'pick their way up the river.' We literally ended up walking up the river in knee-thigh deep water because any land that was passable was either covered in those god forsaken spikey bushes or only remained for 200 meters.
This, my lovely readers, is where we come to my reasons for not blogging for the past four weeks.
We all stopped once we were sure the river wading had come to an end to empty our shoes of sand and gravel. Luke sat down beside the river and washed his trainers in the river since they were wet anyway while Jan and Jasmin pushed on to climb the second saddle we had to climb that day.
Luke and I basked in the sun and ate lunch, filled water bottles etc etc. and then Luke turned to me and said 'Hey Dais, you've got your phone haven't you?' As you might have already guessed, I didn't. He rushed to the river where he had been washing his shoes out and there, sitting at the bottom of a baby plunge pool, was my beloved phone with all of my notes, our photos, telephone numbers and addresses for contacts.
I thought I'd done a pretty good job at staying calm... until we'd climbed maybe half way up to the saddle and I broke out with some kind of stress incurred nose bleed. I was walking in front of Luke at the time and had turned to ask for his help when the wind shooting up into the valley caught the blood dripping from my nose and splashed Luke in the face and coated his bag before I could even really say anything. He stared at me in horror for a bit but sat me down on the side of the river and helped me wash up anyway.
When we reached the hut, we had walked a fair distance but both felt more tired from the days disasters than the walking itself. We cooked as best we could in our new budget cooking pot and hit the hay hoping tomorrow would bring fewer problems.
The day after was much less harrowing. Mostly flat, we managed to walk all the way to the road where we had to hitch a ride around the second of the two uncrossable rivers, the Rangiatata.
We got a lift with a DOC guy who stopped on the way so we could grab an ice cream and then dropped us off to resupply in Geraldine.
We did out bit of shopping and then found a little burger place to have coffee while we decided what to do - stay in Geraldine a night or try and hitch to the trailhead?
What we ended up doing was stupid and to put it bluntly, this whole part of the trail was starting to drive me crazy. I didn't want to hitchhike or pay $200 for a lift, I wanted to walk like we had been for the past three months! A guy in the burger shop who was familiar with the TA offered to take us to Peel Forest where there is a camp ground on the way to the trailhead. We thought we'd hit the jack pot but actually just ended up spending an entire day in Peel Forest not being able to get a lift to the trailhead, not having enough food just to walk there ourselves, and having to turn back around to get to Geraldine again. It was the first time on trail that Luke and I just decided 'forget it.'
We got into Geraldine and decided that we'd hitch around to Lake Tekapo (about a three hour drive) and walk the trail backwards instead. We got a hitch within five minutes and were in Tekapo just in time to find a free (and slightly illegal) camping spot underneath some pine trees before sundown.
The day after, we caught a lift in the front of a big transporter lorry and started the Two Thumb Track backwards. It just meant we just had to walk it twice in order to get back to Tekapo and carry on with the trail!
We were so glad we didn't skip this section all together because it was the one of the most fun and beautiful section of the whole trail. We hiked along the ridgeline up to Stag Saddle which is the highest part of the trail at 1925m and then scrambled up a scree slope to the closest peek at 2075m. On the climb up, I did stop a few times to decide if it was wise since every step shifted piles and piles of loose scree down towards whoever might have been climbing up behind. (We hadn't realized there was a nice path up to the peak from the other side until we reached the top.) From the peak, we could see all the mountains surrounding us including Mt Cook - the highest mountain in NZ. It was amazing! The skies were blue, the mountains were covered in snow and the lakes reflected everything in its perfectly still water even though it wasn't quite so wind free up on the peak.
Saturday 4 February 2017
Arthurs Pass
Arthur's Pass
Windy Point - Hope Kiwi Lodge (15km)
I didn't think we were ever going to get out of Hanmer - Luke and I kept exchanging possible delay tactics that would mean we could validate another day in the little tourist village but in the end we decided both budget and deadlines called for a day of walking as opposed to lounging in a hostel drinking coffee.
Our parcel from Donna and Mark hadn't yet arrived so we arranged with the hostel to post it on to our next accommodation in Methven once they receive it. We checked the track notes, triple checked we had ALL of our kit, and then finally started hitching out of Hanmer to Windy Point. The track is supposed to start a few km on from Windy Point at Boyle Village but to avoid river crossings we decided this was a more sensible start point considering the weather the past few days.
We waited almost an hour for a hitch but eventually got picked up by a DOC ranger so we could ask him about the tracks which was handy! He said the Arthur's Pass section should be all good aside for a few fallen trees but did warn us about a few more days rain on the way - music to our ears!
The track was, as he said, mostly good. It was boggy in parts from where the track had been flooded by the swell of the river and small sections had been washed out but it was easily walkable - it was strange to see just how much damage had been done by just rainfall! The track markers were right up on the bank at least a meter and a half above the river but it had obviously risen as high as half way up the poles because there were branches and debris all wrapped around them and the grass had all been flattened down.
As we approached the hut we were walking through fields of huge Mountain Daisys- they were everywhere and there were butterflies flying around and landing on us like something off of The Little House On the Prairie or something.
The hut was like a little ski chalet with separate bedrooms and a big kitchen-dining area with a fire in the middle as opposed to the others that are just one room for everything.
Luke and I had saved some spaghetti bolognese from the night before so we had the best tea (everyone was very jealous!) and then we played code names with everyone before bed (Brian, Renee, Dakota, Brandon, Pia, Byron - New addition from Sweden).
Hope Kiwi Lodge - Huranui Hut (17km)
Landslides, landslides, landslides! Landslides are horrible and make me feel wimpy!
Really steady climb to saddle
Steeper down on scree and under overhangs
Huranui - No 3 Hut (10km)
Could have walked further but Code Names was on the table.
This section has been a surprise considering I expected the South to be really tough going. We are walking mostly on grassy river flats and in Beech forest which is beautiful and very well pathed actually.
About an hour and a half in we reached a natural hot spring - it smelled of disgusting egg but the water was amazing! Luke got in up to his knees and said it was hotter than bath water- I put my hand in to confirm but there was no way I was sitting in it since when luke got out he had lines of dirt up to his knees. I was amazed to hear Renee and the team had actually got in and sat in it for half an hour!
When we arrived at No 3 it was just starting to rain so we started a fire up to make Cassadias on the fire place for lunch and decided to stay put.
We had an evening of reading/drinking tea/playing code names, of course! And ended up having another late night - good company makes for bad habits it seems!
No 3 - Lock Stream Hut
It rained all night, surprise surprise! I bet you're all having less rain in England than we are having here! We held off until mid morning before setting off when the rain eased off.
Our first crossing of the day was over Cameron Stream on a 3 wire bridge - our first 3 wire of the trip and hopefully the last! It was cool and I felt kind of like an acrobat but also kind of like I was going to fall off at any moment. It was also completely pointless given the number of bridgeless rivers we had to cross over the following few hours. I knew it was only a matter of time until my boots got wet and stayed wet and I today was that day - I've had wet feet before but the weather has been good enough to dry them. With the weather we've got at the moment I'm not sure they'll dry at all!
So aside for the crossings, it was another beautiful day, though very slightly more difficult and irritating popping in and out of the bush onto boggy flats. The rain held off for us until we arrived at the hut early afternoon - we were first in so we chose the top bunk of the three tier bunk beds and started a fire to dry our stuff and for everyone on their way.
Not long after, everyone had arrived and eaten and would you believe it if I told you we had a movie night? Because we did! Byron is only section hiking so he's carrying his iPad- we propped it up against the wall and put our mattresses on the floor and huddled in so we could hear it. We watched 'Hunt for the Wilder People' which is a New Zealand film - it was a bit shitty but it was fitting nonetheless.
Lock Stream - Arthur's Pass
What on earth even happened today? We left Lock Stream Hut at 8.30 and didn't arrive in Arthur's Pass until 5pm because each and every time we thought we'd found the track it would come to an abrupt stop where it had been washed away into the river or there had been a huge landslide right over the top of it. We spent probably 50% of the day bush bashing our way through horrible spikey bushes that jab into your thighs and spear grass that pulls on all your leg hairs as you walk through it, and the other 50% crossing rivers that were so cold and so fast you came out the other side with pins and needles. And when neither of the above were bothering you it was the rocks that we spent the entire day walking over that would turn under your feet so you couldn't walk straight.
All that aside, it was a stunning walk through the valley. There were snow capped mountains either side of us and braided rivers covering the entire valley floor- you could see how in flood the whole valley would probably be submerged entirely.
It took us about 5 hours to get to the track junction where you could walk 1.5km to the road or take a longer route to a swing bridge. We though we'd go for the shorter route not realising the extent of the river we'd have had to cross. When we arrived at the crossing point we spent about an hour assessing whether we could make it but giving the crashing waves and random pits of doom we decided to back track and do the longer route instead. HOWEVER! The alternative track made me wonder whether I'd have just preferred chancing my life crossing the river. It basically ended with me straddling a giant fallen tree on my tummy unable to reach the floor with either foot and unable to move while crying and shouting 'I hate his track!'
When we had eventually bush bashed our way over fallen trees, land slides and bogs up to my knees we met a nice family on the swing bridge over the river. They offered to take us in their camper van to Arthur's Pass so we didn't have to walk on the highway another 22km - thank god! We were both tired and fed up and just wanted to be there!
They dropped us off outside the cafe/bar - luke had a beer and I had a hot chocolate with marshmallows before we set up our tent. It's nice to be back in the tent again all cosy while it's cold outside!
Sunday 22 January 2017
Birthday Weekend
Birthday Weekend
Blue Lake - St Arnaud
So, we woke up to blue skies, of course. We toyed with the idea of going over the Pass instead of turning back but we decided we had no choice- if anything went wrong on the other side, we wouldn't have enough food to last us to wait a day or to back track. We had to go back to St Arnaud whether we liked it or not.
A few of the guys we'd stayed with in Blue Lake decided to go over so we said goodbye nice and early and headed back along the same track we'd walked along two days before. It was astounding. The huge waterfalls, the streams that we couldn't cross, the flooded tracks had shrunk so much it wasn't recognisable as the same track at all.
We made the three hour journey from Blue Lake to West-Sabine in two hours and then from West-Sabine to Sabine in only four so we decided if we pushed really hard we'd be able to make it to St Arnaud all in one day.
Having already done 26km though, we took a quick break for lunch inside Sabine. It was a really big 30 bed hut with big windows out onto Lake Rotoroa. We'd just unloaded our bags onto the table to make our Peanut butter and honey on Weetabix (all the shop had left) when a speed boat pulled up in the lake outside. A man stood up and waved at us offering us a lift to the other side of the lake. Of course, we threw the weetabix in the bag and jumped on the boat as quickly as we could!
On the way to the jetty, the man and his wife explained that the track we were planning to walk was closed due to flooding and landslides. When we arrived at the campsite that we'd planned to camp at, we realised why the paths were closed- the picnic bench was underwater past the seat and the lake had risen over a meter so the jetty was completely submerged.
Luckily, the guys who picked us up on the boat had a 4x4 and could take the four of us (me, Luke, Ned from London and Felix from Germany) 20 minutes out of their way to St Arnaud. We were very very thankful!
Relieved to have arrived in St Arnaud sooner than we planned, we booked a night in the hostel, cooked fish n chips and planned a new route for the next few days.
St Arnaud - Hanmer Springs
New plan : to hitch to Hanmer Springs in time for my birthday and pick up the TA from there (only section missed will be the second half of the Waiau Pass)
There was no way we were going back into the Nelson Lakes to redo five days we'd already done just for the sake of one part, and we'd already booked accommodation in Hanmer for my birthday so the only option was to get to Hanmer by Sunday (today is Saturday). Only problem is, Hanmer Springs is over 300km from St Arnaud.
We got up bright and early, grabbed a coffee from the overpriced cafe, and then searched for the most prime hitch hiking spot in St Arnaud.
It was definitely prime spot because this time we were picked up within 20 minutes rather than 2.5 hours!
The guy who picked us up had been on holiday in the Sounds and, thankfully, this was the only road open leading all he way to Christchurch (via Hanmer!!)
We were in the car for maybe half an hour when Luke turned around and just said 'shit.'
We'd forgotten our hiking boots!!!!! How do two people who are hiking the length of a bloody country just forget their most compulsory piece of kit!?
The guy pulled over and let us out of the car. We shamefully crossed the road while cursing ourselves for being so thick, and then desperately held our thumbs out at the few cars that were passing us. We had no idea where we were and we're in the middle of nowhere!
Aside for being so stupid the first time, our luck must have been in because we were only there for ten minutes before an old man drove past us and then turned back around to get us because he was worried we wouldn't get a lift otherwise!
He dropped us back into the centre of St Arnaud- a place I hope I do not end up again for the sheer fact that I keep ending up there by default! And then we started hitching for a lift again WITH our boots!
Within ten minutes we were picked up again and unbelievably the 18year old driving was going straight through Hanmer!
It took just over three hours to get here. We had to find somewhere to stay because our accommodation wasn't booked until Sunday and we'd got here way quicker than expected so we went to the iSite to find somewhere.
It was the last weekend of Summer holidays so everything was booked besides for the 'ForestCamp' 3km out of the city so we walked the 3km and arrived at the camp by about 4pm.
The camp was a school camp (like Barton Hall) but it opens over he summer to the public. There were rows and rows of little tiny cabins all the same with just two single beds in each. It reminded us so much of school camp that it was actually quite fun staying there!
We went out for dinner in the evening and ate real food!! Then had a few drinks with Renee, Dakota, Brandon, Pia and Brian.
We also bumped into Steve and Immile (who were with us at Blue Lake and decided to go over the pass instead of coming back) and they told us they couldn't cross some of the rivers and only managed to get here because someone managed to drive them over. So Luke and I definitely made the right decision to not go!
Day off - Hanmer Springs
("I'm feeling 22..")
Had a lovely birthday weekend! We moved from the school camp to our hostel, Kakapo Lodge, which is really nice! On the Sunday morning, we went to the hot springs with everyone from the night before. It was really nice to just relax and not be in a hurry to get anywhere but he best part was my birthday treat that Luke booked for me - my hour long full body massage at the spring's spa! I got to wear towel slippers, a robe, and got to drink green tea and read magazines in a special relaxation room and everything!
The massage was so good- I found it hard not to fall asleep! The masseuse did point out that there was 'a lot of tightness' in my legs which was not unexpected given the last few months activities.
Luke met me outside once I'd made full use of every single moisturiser, lip balm, skin toner etc etc that was available and we went back to the hostel to cook steak! We had a bottle of red like sophisticated people and then met everyone for birthday drinks and drank some less sophisticated sounding 'shooters' (shots that don't really taste like shots because they have loads of sugary liquors in them) over a few games of pool.
The worst thing about New Zealand is that everywhere shuts before 10pm but we managed to find the only place that stayed open until midnight (even though we were the only people there).
On the way home, while I don't know why, I suggested we try and see how many people we could fit in the telephone box- apparently 7 people but we think a few more weeks on trail and we'll fit 8. It was probably a sign that it was time for home!
The day after we had a reaaaaally relaxed day not really doing anything! We resupplied for the next section in the morning and then just spent the rest of the day eating and wondering around the little shops.
I am still waiting for my card to arrive from Donna and Mark but I did receive a card from Grandma and Grandad, a card from everyone at home including a little message from Nanny, two drawings from Rosanna and some little gifts that I am VERY happy to receive! (I'm wearing my hair ties now and will be using my body scrub this evening) - feeling very very thankful:)!
My birthday meal of request was a Spaghetti Bolognese so we cooked the biggest one ever with garlic bread and cheese and it was LUSH! We even have spare for tomorrow's tea which will be a real treat since we'll be back on the trail.
Now, Luke is reading an actual book (Agatha Christie - Poirot) and I am updating all my blog entries since I'm almost two weeks behind! Think I am just about done!
So all in all, I have had a lovely weekend with phone calls from home and voicemails of everyone singing happy birthday that I keep listening to and am feeling very very spoilt and loved and miss everyone at home so much but am having a ball.
P.s - looked at map today. We're so far down the South Island already!
Waiau Pass
Waiau Pass
St Arnaud - John Tait Hut (24.5km)
First things first, we went to the isite to check the current norovirus situation. Thankfully, we were reassured there had been no cases for a week and they'd confirmed it wasn't in the water - woohoo!
The water started at Lake Rotoiti which is a gorgeous lake set infront of the Traverse valley so there are mountains all in the background. The walk takes you beside the river on Lakehead track for about 10km on a really well tramped track up to the first hut where we stopped for lunch. Aside for the ten of thousands of sandflies and the bubbling mud, it was quite a nice day with the sun shining!
From that hut to the next was just as easy following the river through long grassy plains. The river was like glass - I'm not sure how many times I've mentioned the water but it is still so unbelievable that water could be so clear! It may have something to do with how quickly it flows down from the snowy mountains all around us. Yes- snowy! The snow level is above 1500m but so are most of the mountains either side of us so they all have little chunks of snow left on them.
On the way to John Tait Hut where we stayed for the night, we walked through several 'Avalanche Zones' - there's no where near enough snow on them at the moment and the Avalanche risk only applies from May to November but it's still scary to see the huge slides and debris left from past Avalanches and John Tait hut is IN an Avalanche path- why!?
Because John Tait hut is on a popular route, wardens often visit to check up on things and tonight it just so happened we were staying with one of them. He gave us a five day weather forecast that predicted winds of 100km for the Traverse Saddle where we were walking the day after - we contemplated the bad news over a huge bowl of couscous with our very own home-dried bacon and then resorted to a game of cards. We have started a championship whereby we record every win and at the end of the walk the wins will be counted to determine the almighty card game champion - I don't know what the prize will be yet, probably a whole tub of butter and a loaf of bread for toast or something. Toast 💔
John Tait - West Sabine
A rainy start to the day.
We packed up bags and ate breakfast but hung around for the DOC warden to radio out for his updated weather report - rain for today, torrential rain for tomorrow, snow as low as 1200m the day after. Oh dear - so we have rain for our climb over the saddle at 1700m and SNOW for our climb over the pass at 1800m and if what they say is right, we will not be climbing the pass in snow.
Since the weather had cleared though, we decided we'd better get over the saddle today at least.
We made it to the next hut in good time and the weather had mostly cleared for the climb up to the saddle so when we reached the top we had some wicked views of the mountains in front of us. We climbed the whole way up pretty much in one go which neither of us would have been able to do two months ago - it's really nice to notice we've actually got fitter from walking every day!
The descent from the saddle was on rock to start with but turned to mud once we dropped into forest.
It was fairly new track here so nothing was properly tramped and we slid most of the way down. Luke fell 6 times - of course I counted! He'd look up at me each time as though he might have got away without me seeing it.
As we dropped down slightly and the mud gradually became a little less slippery, we came to a bridge over this huge crack between the mountains maybe 20m deep with water just crashing down through it. We tried to get a picture but it was too dark and the camera hut wouldn't do it justice.
We carried on to the hut and arrived just as it started raining so decided to stay put for the night.
We spent the evening with an American called JD who told us about outside play at school only being cancelled in -28C!!, an Australian called Tarli, a guy from the UK, and a kiwi called Colin - we call him Rope because he carries 30m of rope with him and uses it at every opportunity. It was a good night in the hut chatting away but I did spend an awful lot of time scrubbing my hands since there were notes in the book about the dreaded noro.
Upper Traverse - Blue Lakes
Amongst all the mountain ranges, the volcanoes, and other incredible places I've mentioned, today has been probably my favourite day of all.
It had rained all night. We mooched around in he morning hoping the rain that still hadn't stopped would eventually ease but it just kept coming and the mountains around us were no more visible than when we first woke up.
By 9.30am we had seen two five minute gaps in rain fall so we decided now or never since our rations were already stretched. We suited up in coats and rain covers and set off across the swig bridge for Blue Lake Hut - the original plan for the day was to go over the Waiau Pass but weather, obviously, was not permitting.
The track on a sunny day would have been fairly easy but since Luke and I keep complaining about 'easy,' the rain threw in a few extra challenges for us.
First of all, the river we were due to follow alongside for the next three hours was completely swollen - it was deeper, faster, and flooding over the banks in places so we knew we had our work cut out for us from the word go. We crossed the swing bridge over it and took the path left to follow the river upstream.
We'd asked Tarli and Mike from West-Sabine Hut if the path involved any river crossings and they explained there were just a few side streams to ford but when we reached said 'side streams' we realised just how much rain must have fallen over night. There were a few to rock-hop over, and one or two that Luke carried both bags over and then piggy backed me across so I didn't get my boots wet, but we came to one that just seemed to be a never ending cascade of water falling a meter at a time. I looked at Luke, he looked at me and for a second I thought we were turning back.
Luke being Luke, however, told me to change into my sandals, took his bag across, took my bag across, came back for my boots and then linked my arm to help me across too! The water was up to our thighs and freezing! But we made it across safely and I dried my feet on the other side. Luke, on the other hand, went back AGAIN to help Colin cross over - his shoes are currently upside down steaming on top of the fire.
There weren't any more crossings quite like that one but there were a few more for us to balance or jump our way over.
Not long after the big crossing, we came across these huge boulders, some even as big as vans, that had just torn through the trees around them. We'd been told by someone a few days before that they had come down in the Kaikora earthquake and we hadn't quite believed hen until now. There was one huge one sitting in amongst a bundle of broken up trees and you could see where it had fallen from the mountain on the opposite side of the river, torn through the river bed and rolled back up the bank on this side. Very scary actually- glad we missed that one!
From there we followed a completely flooded footpath. We were constantly stopping to look around because there were so many streams and waterfalls coming down from the mountains that it was too amazing to miss.
We stopped for a moment to look around at the river but instead we spotted the huge waterfall shooting down behind the trees. We dropped our packs and walked as closely as we could to it - we were probably still 10m from it but we were soaked through from the spray - I can't imagine it is normally as impressive without the rainfall we had had.
We were soaked through and decided it was probably about time to stop dillydallying around and so picked up pace a bit to get to the hut for lunch. Thankfully, some other people who had planned to walk over the Pass had too decided today wasn't the best day and so had already started a fire! We quickly detoured to the Blue lakes to catch a glimpse of the clearest water in New Zealand (which we decided probably look way better in sunshine) before returning to the hut. We took all of our wet stuff off and dried it above the fire while we drank tea and worked out a way to continue moving tomorrow should there be snow!
While I think snow is great, I am really hoping we don't wake up to white mountains tomorrow.
For now though, it is absolutely torrential and there are 9 of us all in one hut staring out of the window at it.
**have just been woken up by three hikers who left here this morning to go over the Waiau. They climbed the whole way over and then the streams and rivers had filled so much they couldn't go any further and had to climb the whole thing back the other way in torrential rain and have just got here in dark. Will not be hiking the Waiau tomorrow as a further 100mm of rain expected over night. So heading back through all the flooded track to St Arnaud.**
Blue Lakes Hut (Rained In)
We hadn't really realised the severity of the rain until those guys turned up soaked through last night. They'd walked for almost 10hours straight with no food and nothing but solid rain. Luke jumped out of bed and boosted the fire for them and they sat in the dark huddled in front of it eating their tea and feeling quite relieved they'd actually managed it back to the hut.
I couldn't sleep after they arrived- I was either listening out for any of them shivering in their sleep or half dreaming of flash floods and terrible river crossings. It didn't help that the rain was STILL pounding against the roof and continued to do so throughout the night and all through the morning.
It was a weird feeling once everyone was awake- we started the fire back up and everyone just kind of looked around wandering whether or not we were really stuck here. The rain didn't give until about midday when two of the guys tried to hike out back towards St Arnaud but within an hour they were back again because the track had been swallowed up by the river and the crossing we had made the day before was not even an option today. And of course, the Waiau pass was not a possible route either! So instead we drank tea, warmed by the fire, and played 'code names' (a board game of sorts) all day long.
It is now 9pm and still raining and everyone's stuff is hanging from rope because there are mice everywhere!! - wondering how long it takes for mum to notice my 'Spot' hasn't moved...
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