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?
Tuesday 28 March 2017
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.
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