Auckland

Auckland is New Zealand's attempt at "the big metropolitan type city".  They've manged to pull it off quite well, I think!  With one third of the population of the country, skyscrapers, a vibrant city centre, and even a mini CN tower, it kinda *does* feel like a real city.  Which is not meant to be a snub at the other cities I've visited here at all - I quite enjoyed their 'small town' feel.  Apparently Auckland is also the city with the largest Polynesian population in the world..  but you could have fooled me - I only saw 6.  Judging by the ethnic makeup of downtown you'd really think that the city was 40% east Asian, 20% east Indian, 5% German, and the rest non-German Caucasian.

I arrived here yesterday afternoon, checked into my hostel..  which according to Lonely Planet was supposed to be "downtown Auckland's best hostel", but which quite clearly wasn't..  and went on a small tour of downtown and the surrounding areas.  I visited the University of Auckland and the adjacent Albert Park, St. Patrick Church, which was quite boring (damn you again, Lonely Planet!), dined on the trendy Vulcan Lane (Hooray for $13 beers), and eventually went up the Sky Tower.

At 328m it is the southern hemisphere's tallest structure...  but..  it really does not seem that high up on that observation deck.  Maybe I'm just spoiled by the CN tower...  which to be fair I've only been up once.  The one cool thing about the SkyTower is that you can jump off it!  They strap you to some safe-looking contraption and off you go..  Those crazy Kiwis will jump off just about anything, it seems.

Afterwards I went to the big movie theatre downtown and watched the worst movie of 2010 - Skyline.  I have no idea if this piece of crap made it to the theatres in Canada, but if it did..  DO NOT see it.  Trust me.  It is bad.

Today it was actually quite nice out (cloudy and rainy yesterday, like it's been for the last week or so), so I went on a bit of a longer walking tour of a city.  Lonely Planet advertised a "coast to coast" walk you could do, which took you by some of the things I've already seen, but also several of the extinct volcanoes..  so off I went.  I started off at the wharf, where I had a giant burrito for brunch..  Seriously, that thing was HUGE.

I walked over to a park known simply as "The Domain".  I'm not quite sure who'd domain it is, but I did not stick around long enough to find out.  It was pretty, but...  The Auckland Museum was nearby!  I'm not really big on museums, but this was apparently "must see", so I checked it out..  and ended up spending over 2 hours there!  There were 3 interesting floors, the first one being devoted to Maori & Polynesian culture, second one to flora, fauna, etc., and the third to wars that New Zealand has been involved in (ww1, ww2, boer, various nz wars, vietnam, etc.).  It was all very interesting!..  but next thing I knew it was 5pm and I realized that I probably wouldn't make it to the other coast (Auckland straddles an istmus)

Next on the walk was Eden park and Mount Eden, an extinct volcano.  I climbed that bitch and was rewarded with nice views of the city!  The volcano crater was quite clearly visible, but inaccessible..  due to its 'sacred' status (to the Maori).  It was all quite cool though - I took a lot of pictures.  After my descent I dined at a placed named CAC.  which amused me for maybe 25 seconds..  They served me an adequate steak..  maybe a bit too small.

So tomorrow I depart!..  My flight is at 7pm..  I'm checking out of the hostel at 10am and killing some time downtown..  (beers?  lunch?  souvenirs?), then catching a bus to the airport..  then waiting..  then flying!  I arrive in London Thursday at 6:30am or so.  Please don't bug me until at least Saturday, as I will be sleeping..  and attempting to celebrate Christmas on Friday.

It's been an incredible journey through New Zealand though, I've quite enjoyed it!  And to those who have actually read my rants - thanks!  It's much appreciated..  I hope all of you received postcards ;)

Rain rain rain

I'm sitting here in Rotorua and it's raining..  It's also raining in Taupo, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown..  It's pretty much raining EVERYWHERE.  Apparently there's some sort of a battle going on between low and high pressure systems and it's being waged all over the country..  This has been going on for about a week now and it's been getting worse and worse.. at least from my point of view.  The Tongariro Crossing was closed the day after I walked it and I wouldn't be surprised if it's been closed since.  My skydiving bookings have all been cancelled, both in Taupo and here in Rotorua..  I booked some white water rafting for today, but that got cancelled too..

You know what though?  I'm a bit vacationed out!  I know I will regret saying this later, but I am pretty much ready to fly home.  Tomorrow a bus takes me to Auckland, where I'll have two and a half days to kill before my flight back home.  This time is probably going to be spent exploring and very likely drinking - if the weather forecast is to be believed.

You know what else I have been doing while it's been raining?  Eating!  I have been really impressed with the food here in New Zealand..  It seems that no matter where you go or what kind of restaurant you go to the food is very tasty..  Now, at first, that was probably a case of me just really enjoying regular food after walking 85km through Fiordland National Park with 17kg strapped to my back..  But afterwards I realized that the people here really do put a lot of soul into everything they do..  Oh, and love!  The food is also infused with love.

I've tried local classics (Kiwi breakfast, Burger with fried egg & sweet beet, Fish and Chips, Hokey Pokey ice cream, etc.) as well as various other random restaurants (Turkish, Thai, Indian, German, whatever), and it's all been really really good.  I think I've only been slightly disappointed once and that's only after my standards were raised to unexpectantly high levels by previously awesome gastronomical creations.

I've been told that the food here is expensive, but that hasn't exactly been my experience..  Sure, it SEEMS expensive...  and yeah, certain things ARE more expensive, but overall I would have to disagree.  I have been eating VERY well and I rarely spend more than $35 for dinner.  Now, when I put it like that, you might say "Hey, that's a bit pricy!".  You've got to remember though that $35 in NZ dollars is about $26 in Canadian funds.

The most expensive meal so far was a porterhouse steak I had in Kaikoura.  The meal included an appetizer and one or two beers. The bill came to $52.  That might not seem cheap, but: 1. Taxes here are included in the price (on the menu and on the bill), 2. $52 nz = $39 cdn, 3. Waiters and waitresses get paid well here, so you don't have to pay their wages with tips - the restaurant does that by paying them a fair wage.  You can tip if you want, but it is generally not done..  You will also usually pay for your meal before being served anyway..  Either way, nobody tips, it's not done, etc.

So while you might be put off by some of the prices you see on the menu ($25 for a main??), it is really not that bad..  and in a lot of cases in the end comes out cheaper than what you would have paid in Canada..  AND the food, like I said, is for some reason always really really good.

So yes, when it rains, you drink, eat, and..  read!  I went shopping for a new book to read after finishing the somewhat entertaining "Winds of Dune" and stumbled upon "The Algebraist" by one Iain M. Banks.  Turns out it's quite the page turner!  Banks is a British author, which is maybe why I haven't been exposed to him before, but I've gotta say..  the man is a literary GENIUS!  I am loving the book and very glad I picked it up..

Now though I must depart to make my way through the rain to a yet undiscovered pub in hopes of being served a pint of fresh cold New Zealand lager.  Wish me luck!

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing ..

was a very interesting and unique experience!  But before I get into that, let me say this: There are far too many Germans in New Zealand.  Can we please limit (checks over the shoulder to make sure that no Germans are reading this) the number of Germans in this country to at most 500,000?  Please?  All I hear is German..  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Germans, but there's just way too many of you here!  It's starting to get crowded!  I've heard a LOT more Deutsch than Maori, and that just isn't right.

With that out of the way, let me tell you a bit about the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.  It's a 19.4 km alpine crossing that takes you by 2 active volcanoes through a very interesting landscape in Tongariro National Park, which is New Zealand's oldest national park and the world's second oldest (after Yellowstone, if I remember correctly)  It sort of looks like the moon, sort of like Mars, and sort of like downtown Detroit.  It takes about 6-8 hours to complete and is considered to be New Zealand's most popular day-long hike, as well as one of the 9 great walks.  On the map below you will see the crossing in red.

Oh yeah, the two volcanoes were used in the Lord of the Rings movies as Mount Doom.  So..  {insert ring-related joke here}

I arrived in Tongariro at 2pm or so via train (the park is one of the stops on the Wellington-Auckland line), found a hostel, made myself comfortable, and prepared my gear for the next day's hike.  The weather was very nice, in contrast to what I experienced in Wellington, so I was hoping for the same sort of thing for the next day.  I booked a shuttle to pick me up at the hostel at 7:15am to take me to the crossing..  I wanted to head to Taupo right after the hike, which I *thought* meant that I'd have to head back to the hostel, wait a day, and then arrange transportation..  but apparently shuttles run from Taupo to the crossing as well..  so I contacted the bus company in Taupo and arranged for them to pick up my backpack (big 17kg one; all my crossing gear was in a small day pack) at the start of the hike - and to take me to Taupo afterwards..  It would save me a day - and I got lucky..  the shuttles from Taupo *usually* arrive 5-10 minutes after the ones from the hostel by the train station..  so basically the plan was for me to take a bus to the start of the hike - wait for the shuttle from Taupo to arrive - load up my big backpack onto the Taupo bus - do the hike - and then catch that bus to Taupo when I was finished with the hike.

Whew!  I hope all of that made sense!  Before I get into anything else, let me say that the weather was NOT nearly as nice as it was the previous day..  It was very cloudy and looked like it would rain at some point in the near future.. We didn't even know if we'd be able to hike until shortly before the bus left.

While I was waiting for the Taupo bus to arrive I ran into somebody from the hostel - a German (surprise surprise) named Ruediger.  We made a blood pact to become hiking buddies for the day.  We agreed that it might make sense not to be walking alone in light of the bad weather..   and in hindsight it was a pretty good idea.  It was also good to be able to practice my English...  oh..  wait a second, nevermind, that's probably just what the German guy was thinking..

The hike starts with a steady climb upwards for about an hour and a half, at which point you end up..  in clouds!  At least on that day..  It was quite a bizarre experience.  Not only were we hiking through volcanic debris & terrain that might be best described as lunar..  or martian..  but our vision was limited to maybe 15 metres in either direction.  The best way I can think of to describe it is by comparing it to one of those old Star Trek rocky planet sets.  Does anybody know what I'm talking about?  I'm sure at least one of you do.

Walking through a cloud is not at all like walking through fog.  There was quite a bit of moisture all around us and every once in a while we'd walk through "sideways rain".  It was all quite bizarre and nothing I really expected when I signed up for this thing.  I'm glad I brought all the gear that I did, because I really did need all of it - a fleece top, waterproof jacket, wool hat, gloves, 2.5L of water, food, and my camera..  which I actually attempted to use - with interesting results.

We continued climbing until we reached 1,950 metres or so, at which point we hiked along a very strange and level plateau.  It caught us by surprise..  a pleasant surprise!  I really enjoyed this part of the hike..  It really seemed like we were on a movie set or something..  and not at all sure what was around us, especially in front of us.

Eventually we reached the emerald lakes, which usually look yellowish, light blueish, and greenish..  They looked quite strange under the cloud..  I took some pictures but I'm not sure how they'll turn out!  I'm not sure if ANY of the pictures I took will manage to convey the experience in any meaningful fashion..  The videos that I took of us walking should hopefully do that job a bit more effectively.

The hike continued with another plateau later on, a climb here and there, and a strange descent down volcanic sand of some sort that was a bit annoying.  The sandy descent only lasted a bit - but the last 3 hours of the hike was a descent as well - down stairs, rocks, and other such things.. I was forced to take some ibuprofin an hour and a half into the hike and then some more maybe 2 and a half hours before the finish (due to a painful left knee)...  but overall I found the hike somewhat easy.  The Routeburn Track was far more difficult - and not only because I happened to have 17kg of stuff on my back (and only 1-2kg now).  I was really expecting a bit more of a challenge from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing..

You might wonder whether the clouds (aka no good pictures of all the things people usually take pictures of when they complete this crossing) meant that I viewed the experience as a failed one..  but, not really!  It was a strange and unique experience that I will probably never forget.

Near the end of the hike (after we were low enough to no longer be covered by clouds) it started raining..  Twenty minutes later we were at the end - under a roof..  with 40-50 other people.  Somehow we were able to find room...  and we waited for the buses.  for an hour and a half.  See, usually it takes 8 hours to complete the hike.  It took us 6.  I suppose when it's nicer out people stop a lot more often to take in the views - as well as partaking in 1 or 2 of the 2 optional side hikes..  The buses were due to arrive at 4 - we arrived at the end before 2pm.  Luckily for us the buses arrived early..  and I was off, to Taupo!  Where there were more clouds and more rain.  so I didn't get to skydive :(  (it is the skydiving capital of the world - it is surprisingly cheap to skydive there)..  I was going to write more about Taupo here, but that will have to wait..

Tomorrow I am off to Rotorua.  I am hoping for sun!  And btw, usually I quickly go over my posts and do a rough spell and grammar check before publishing..  but I have no time for that right now.  So if any of the above made you cringe (I know that some of you are grammar nazis), my apologies!  My next post will be a lot more cleaner, I promise.

Goodbye to the South Island

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.  Ahead awaits the north island, which, judging by what I have been told by south island locals, really stinks. 

I spent my second last day on the south island in Abel Tasman National Park, where I had kayaked just a day before.  I really wanted to walk on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, which is one of New Zealand's 9 great walks.  It usually takes a couple days, but an aqua taxi can take you to anywhere on the track..  so I booked one!  I walked from Bark Bay to Anchorage Bay, the most popular stretch on the track.  It was a pretty enjoyable walk.. 12km, took just over 3 hours..  It takes you uphill quite a bit, which my left knee did not enjoy at all..  but you get some really nice beach shots from above.  All in all it was nothing compared to the Milford or the Routeburn, but it was pretty cool in its own way.

The next morning I was off on a bus to Picton, which is where I caught a ferry to Wellington.  The ferry was HUGE - very likely the largest boat I have ever been on.  The ride takes you through the Marlborough Sounds, which were advertised to me as 'amazing' and 'spectacular'..  which they kind of were, but it was quite cloudy, so I did not spend too much time on the observation deck above.  I went down to the bar and discovered that their pints were quite cheap!  The cheapest I have ever had the pleasure to consume anywhere in New Zealand so far!  Obviously this is where I spent the rest of the 4 hour long trip.  Along the way I met some friends..  2 Aussies and a German who were discussing the tv show The Wire, so I obviously had to chime in with my own views..  and observations..  and other such things.  By the way, if you haven't seen The Wire yet, you really should.

Wellington was really cloudy and slightly rainy.  I took the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, which were nifty, took a peek at the 'Beehive' (The NZ parliment - building looks like a beehive), checked out the hip Cuba Street, walked around downtown a bit, saw this and that, returned to my hostel, and booked a train ride to the National Park (I'm pretty sure this park has a longer name, but everyone just calls it National Park) where I would do the Tongariro crossing.  Exhausted, I crashed early.

So that's it for the south island..  I'll miss it!  I've now spent a couple days on the north, and it's pretty cool in itself..  but the south has been far superior..  so far

Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park

So where did I leave off last..  I was about to go eat lunch and check out the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, right?  It was sweet as! 

I had lunch close to where you see that blue i near the top of the map (a really good "Pud" Thai) and walked clockwise all the way around the peninsula.  It was supposed to take 3-4 hours, but it took me 5 or so.  My knee is still bugging me so I took my time..  and I took lots of picture breaks anyway.  The first hour or so of the walk isn't supposed to be that nice, but I found it pretty interesting anyway..  There's a plaque every once in a while with something interesting on it (history this, geology that), a park here and there, and a bunch of mountains all around you.  Eventually you reach a seal colony.  You are basically free to wander around the rocks, as long as you don't get 10m or closer to the seals..  You are also not allowed to touch or move them, which was all explained to me on a big billboard..  which I found amusing..  who's going to try to move a seal?  How *would* you move a seal, anyway?  The seal colony was cool, though.  There was a seal relaxing fairly close to the car park and several more in the distance.  I'm pretty sure I go closer than 10m - he didn't seem to care.  I continued the walk by climbing up a cliff and continued along the walkway to 2 other seal colonies, as well as a bird colony of some sort (mating place, maybe?).  It was a great walk overall - I took tons of pics.  (The grand total so far: 5,250+)

The next day I was on a train again - with an hour stopover in Blenheim (pronounced Blenhem for some reason), then a bus to Nelson (pronounced Nelson), an hour layover there, and then Motueka, the closest place to Abel Tasman National Park that nakedbus.com let me book transportation to.  As I said I had an hour to kill in Nelson - and the bus happened to drop us off right in front of the Nelson isite - so I walked in and I booked a bunch of stuff:  1. Bus to Kaiteriteri the next day, 2. A day-long sea kayaking trip in Abel Tasman National Park, 3. An aqua taxi excursion to Abel Tasman national park including a 3.5 hour walk, 4. hostel accomodation in both Motueka and Keiteriteri..  phew!  That was a lot of stuff!  The people working the isites are really good at what they do though.  Even though I took a lazy 25 hour lunch while waiting for my bus (meaning I only had 35 minutes to book stuff), the girl helping me was able to book everything with 5 minutes to spare..  not to mention showing me all the brochures and giving me time to decide what I wanted to do.  I wasn't even going to book anything there - I just wanted information..  but it turned out that the Motueka isite would have been closed by the time I got there - in my mind equaling a wasted day, so I went ahead and booked everything right there.

Anyway, onto the subject that this post was supposed to have been about in the first place: the sea kayaking trip through Abel Tasman National Park.  First of all, Kaiteriteri has a really really nice beach.  I found out about it months ago and planned to come here initially..  before altering my plans and scrapping the side-trip.  Kaiteriteri is very close to Abel Tasman though, and I have been hearing such great things about it from other travellers, that I just HAD to come here.

The bus dropped me off at the beach at 8:30am and I was introduced to a Kiwi named Brett, who surprisingly sounded a lot like The flight of the conchord's Jermaine.  He was our guide dude and was going to share a kayak with me (in the normal sort of way that two gentlemen might share a kayak).  The only other kayak in the group was an English couple - a Royal Navy captain and his seemingly significant other.  We were introduced to the gear, dressed for the occasion, and loaded onto an Aqua Taxi along with our kayaks.  We then headed out about 16km northwards towards maybe the half-way point on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track (one of the country's great 9 walks).

From there we climbed into our kayaks and off we went!  kayaking!  I was in the front and Brett was in the back, cracking Jermaine-like jokes as we went.  The first stop was a seal colony..  And you know what?  seal colonies are cool, but they STINK.  a lot.  From there we visited some sort of a bird sanctuary island, which was intresting enough, and then made a stop at New Zealand's most photographed beach.  We went for a 5 minute walk up a hill to get a better look, spent some time there, then returned to our kayaks.  On another beach we had lunch: REALLY good ham/egg/cheese/stuff sandwiches, weird NZ muffins (with spinach, cheese, and I think egg), and coffee (yes, Brett brewed us coffee).  We ran into 2 Australian girls, who were going to be camping there overnight.  They were going to start a fire, which is illegal.. and which Brett did not like one bit.  We befriended the Aussies though - Brett offered them free gas and coffee..  but was refused hugs.  They took pictures of us on the beach, and off we went again.

The next part of the trip was somewhat unexpected.  Earlier in the trip Brett informed us that he brought a sail and that we would sail across one of the larger bays instead of paddling across..  which I took as another one of his jokes..  but no!  Out came a large piece of fabric.  This was for real!  Two of the corners of the sail were attached to 2 paddles, each one held high by the 2 guys in the back of the kayaks (Brett and the English guy).  Me and the English lady (name already forgotten) held on to the other two corners by hand, with the other hand holding to the other kayak.  It was a bit weird, but it worked VERY well.  too well, almost!  As soon as we deployed the sail the wind just took a hold of it and pushed us forward with incredible force.  It was a real challenge to hold on to the sail and keep the kayaks close together at the same time..  plus I was at first a bit unsure about putting my hand so close to the English lady's groin, which was the only place I could really get a good hold of the kayak.. Her husband was in the Royal Navy!  You don't screw with that.  And while all that was going on, a LOT of water was making its way all over me, especially when the kayaks started getting seperated and we had to pull them back together..  a LOT of water.  I got pretty damn wet!  We ended up making it across the bay in record time, in only 21 minutes.  Usually it takes a half an hour, or so Brett claimed anyway.  If we had paddled it would have taken almost an hour..

There was one last stop - a "World famous beach", Brett said, "at least NZ world famous".  There was a large rock maybe 50m out in the water, spherical, and split in the middle.  Split Apple Rock beach.

We relaxed on the beach for a half an hour or so - enjoying some Brett-suppied cookies (or biscuits as the Kiwis call them), the sand, the sun, and all that.  Afterwards it was 40 or so minutes of more kayaking until we were back in Keriteriteri.  Once there, Brett and his kayaking associates were nice enough to drop me off at the hostel I was staying at (the ONLY hostel in town).  It's pretty damn nice, if a bit pricy, but I do believe I have the room for myself!  Which is awesome, cause I'm exhausted, and I need rest.

Tomorrow morning I am off on another expedition through Abel Tasman National Park - this time all the way north to the beginning of the great coastal walk.  And I even get to walk some of it!  Hopefully my knee doesn't complain.

How I spent a night in jail

This story begins in a little town called Greymouth, the largest on the west coast of the south island.  The city's metro population is 10,000, which should give you an idea of how sparsly the west coast is populated..  which is no wonder really, given how much rain they get here (200+ days a year).  There isn't really much here, aside from the Monteith's beer brewery, which the locals are very proud of.  I arrived into town at about 6pm and promptly booked a tour of the brewery, after checking into the extremely cool Noah's Ark hostel...  probably one of my favourite hostels so far!

The tour was very informative; the beer making process was explained to me (and 2 others - from Chicago) very thoroughly.  I don't really remember any of it, except that magnets and magic are involved and that the beer samples were delicious.  After the 7 samples (one of each kind of beer the company brews, plus a cider) we got to have a pint of our favourite beer..  (I got 2, because I'm Polish).  The tour comes with a meal, which you have at your choice of 3 restaurants - which was also very good by the way.  All that for just $30!  Pretty good deal if you ask me.

On the next day I had a tranzalpine train booked (across the alps, to Christchurch), which is supposed to be one of the world's best train rides.  Somehow I was able to get a $50 discount on the fare too..  possibly due to low demand?  I'm not sure..  Either way it was pretty damn scenic!

The train ride takes about 4 hours and takes you through Arthur's pass, which is only one of three ways to get from the west coast to the east.  The cars on the train have large windows, for your viewing pleasure, as well as two "observation cars", for picture taking.  The observation cars (they weren't called that..  but the name they used escapes me at the moment) don't have any windows..  Which is great for picture taking..  the only downside being that there are a LOT of tunnels on the ride..  which means that each time you go through a tunnel - a bunch of smoke makes it into your face..  and camera..  it's not really that bad, but it gets annoying when it happens every couple minutes.

I got into Christchurch at around 6pm.  Christchurch is a town similar in size to London, Ontario..  Just a bit smaller, maybe.  The main difference seems to be that their downtown is actually pretty damn cool!  The main town square is dominated by a cathedral and college, with parks nearby as well.  There is a tram that only seems to serve downtown, which adds something or other to the feel of the place.  All in all the downtown area seems very stylish and welcoming. 

So, about that jail.  The hostel I checked into in Christchurch used to be an old jail!

It also happens to be one of the only hostels close to the rail station (about a 30 minute walk from downtown), so it appealed to me for that reason as well..  It was a bit eerie in there at first..  the door to your room is thick and heavy, and when you lock it you totally get that "whoa, i'm in OZ" feeling.  They left one cell untouched; it has interesting scribblings and drawings from an inmate..  all in all a very cool place to spend a night!  Not very close to downtown, but what's a half an hour walk?

Next morning I jumped on a tranzcoastal scenic train to Kaikoura, home of whales, dolphins, and seals..  which is where I am right now!  I was going to go whale watching, but you need to go on a boat to do that..  and then you apparently only see the tail..  so forget that!  There is a 4 hour long trail in the area that is supposed to be quite amazing.  Lonely Planet has it listed as one of the 10 things you should see when you're on the south island..  so I'm going to check it out!  Tomorrow I am hopefully headed towards Abel Tasman National Park.  And now..  I must go eat lunch!

Franz Josef Glacier

Most people travelling through New Zealand are doing it in the opposite direction as me - They start in Auckland and make their way south. I flew into Queenstown right after arriving in Auckland and have been making my way north. One of the unexpected pros about that is that the more people I meet, the better of an idea I get of what to see on my way north. One of the things that was on my 'maybe' list was Abel Tasman Park - New Zealand's most visited national park. It's got spectacular beaches, a great walk, and is the best place for kayaking (maybe 2nd best.. Milford Sound might be better?)  During the planning phase of the trip I eventually decided that I wouldn't have time to go to Abel Tasman..  but..  Way too many people I'm meeting are telling me that it's "must see", so..  I'm going try to head that way!

As such, I got out of Queenstown as soon as I could. I took a 7 hour long bus to the Franz Josef Glacier, through Wanaka, and the Haast pass. I was quite tired - didn't get much sleep due to the fact that there were party-oriented Americans in my dorm room.. so you'd think that I'd sleep on the bus to the glacier.. but nope! The scenery was way too amazing.. I might have dozed off a bit on the west coast, but for a half an hour max.

The drive to Wanaka was just spectacular and the Haast pass was fairly impressive as well. We made a couple stops - Thunder Creek Falls (picture time!), Knight's point (on the Tasman Sea), and then lunch at a Salmon farm. I ate an interestingly constructed smoked salmon & cream cheese dark rye sandwich, which was pretty damn good. On the bus with me was a Dutch guy, a couple Germans (surprise surprise!), an Indian girl (I think), and a Brazilian girl, who I talked to briefly. All in all it was a pretty interesting bus ride.

The Franz Josef township is basically a tiny town 4km from the glacier car park (6km from the glacier face) with a population of somewhere between 300-400 or so. There's a road ("highway" 6) going south towards the Fox Glacier, Haast, Wanaka, etc. and the same "highway" going north towards Greymouth. It's not much of a highway, really.. It's a 2 lane road.. And ALL the bridges along the way have 1 lane only.. which was kinda weird at first. I remember seeing the same thing between Glenorchy and Queenstown, but didn't think the trend would continue.

My hostel - the Rainforest Retreat - was pretty damn cool. As soon as you enter, there's a hot tub, out in the open, for all to use. There's also a bar/restaurant, a kitchen, laundry, tv room, and other amenities. Overall a very nice place!  The bar's motto is "When it rains, we pour!".. It was raining, and there isn't really anything to do in town other than glacier-related stuff, so I took advantage of the pouring.

A giant "Kiwi Experience" bus pulled up right before I arrived, with lots and lots of what I call "idiots" booking rooms and being generally annoying. I made my way to my room and found.. a MESS! It was insane.. clothes, pamphlets, random junk, EVERYWHERE.. and who was I sharing the room with? Turns out it was two British lesbians. They were quite alright, in the end! Just a bit messy... There wasn't much to do since it was raining, so I grabbed dinner (bangers & mash) at the bar, read for a bit, went online, explored the town a bit (yeah, in the rain), and crashed early.

Tuesday I awoke to stupid clouds everywhere.. I went to book a scenic flight, which I had been planning to do, but was told that it might not happen.. They put me down for 3pm and told me to check back at 2:40 or so. I didn't have to pay yet, until the flight was finalized, so it was no big deal.. but I really wanted to do the flight.. and get the hell out of this place as soon as I could.. While I waited I saw some Kiwi birds at a Wildlife reserve type place.. It was a 5min walk to my hostel, was pretty cheap, let you check out kiwis, had stuff about glaciers, how they work, when they were discovered, etc. Unfortunately I was not able to take any pictures, but it was a good way to kill the time. Eventually I made my way back to the scenic flight place only to find out that my flight had been cancelled due to the previously mentioned stupid clouds :( They put me down for a potential flight the next day at 10am. I went online and booked a bus to Greymouth the same day at 2:20pm. The flight was going to happen, or it wasn't, I didn't care, I was getting out of there.

There were clouds, but it wasn't raining, so I decided to walk over to the glacier. My left knee was still bugging me a bit, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I walked 4km to the car park (there is a shuttle running between town centre and the car park, but I *just* missed it), and then 2.5km or so to the glacier face. It was actually somewhat disappointing! The only other glacier I've ever seen was Glaciar Grey in Chile, and that thing was just SPECTACULAR.. The face of Franz Josef glacier is grey and depressing.. there wasn't really much to see. I got some decent pictures, walked back to the car park, and then climbed sentinel rock - a 20min climb - which promised "spectacular" views of the glacier.. Again, I was a bit disappointed.. I went back to the hostel, had some beers, ate dinner (monsoon steak sandwich - very good!) and spent the rest of the day watching tv, screwing around online, and reading.

Woke up today to more clouds :( I walked over to the scenic flights office and was told that the flight was probably happening! And sure enough, it did!

We took a shuttle to "Franz Josef International Airport" and jumped on the plane.  The 50 minute long flight was SPECTACULAR.  I took way too many pictures.  The flight took us out to the Tasman Sea and both glaciers (Fox & Franz Josef).  Then we climbed a bit and flew around New Zealand's highest mountain - Mount Cook, as well as the surrounding mountains (including Mt. Tasman), and the 70 or so glaciers in the area.  I am pretty sure the pilot said there were 70 glaciers there!  It was beautiful.  Mountains and glaciers and snow oh my!  After a while I started getting a bit sick to my stomach, but it was really a flight I'll never forget.

That was about a half an hour ago.  Now I'm sitting at an internet cafe waiting for my bus to arrive.  Two hours and I'm off..  to more rain, if the forecast is to be believed.  No worries though, Greymouth is only a stopover - I don't have any significant things planned there.  I have been told there is a "must see" beer brewery there, and only 'must see' because they give you a lot of beer on the tour..  One girl I met claimed that it was "unlimited beer for an hour".  We'll see!  There's also famous pancake rocks about a half an hour north of the city, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to head there.  I am only really stopping in town because that's where my scenic train ride begins..  one that takes me through the Southern Alps again, through Arthur's pass - dropping me off in Christchurch.

I am having a really good time here.  I'll write more when I can!

Goodbye to Queenstown

Today is my last day in Queenstown :( I booked a bus to Franz Josef Glacier a couple hours ago, which leaves tomorrow at 7:30am..  as well as a hostel, which I hope is alright!  There are only 4 there, so it can't be that bad..  or that good..  we'll see.

Queenstown has really grown on me.  When I first arrived here it had this semi-annoying touristy fancy-shmancy almost full of itself feel..  but I quickly got over that..  even though I've only spent 3 days here total.  I'm not sure what it is.. maybe it's the people, they are awesome.  Case in point - the girl who is working here at this internet cafe is from Slovakia, and even though I've only been here 3 times, we're already pretty much friends.  Everyone is really friendly and ready to please..  Stuff does seem a bit overpriced, but that's probably a more a Kiwi thing than just a Queenstown thing..  Although I have a feeling that things will get a bit cheaper once I reach other parts of the country.


I forgot to mention something in yesterday's "Routeburn Track" entry.  I had one of the famous Fergburgers!  It is supposedly a MUST DO if you're in Queenstown..  The girl that helped me book a bunch of stuff before my hiking escapades began suggested that I have one right when I get off the Routeburn Track..  She even booked a hostel right beside the place for me so I wouldn't have far to go.  So after checking into my hostel yesterday, after the bus from the end of the track, I went to Fergburger..

It was PACKED.  There were people inside, there were people outside..  the whole place was buzzing with excitement..  So what's the big deal, anyway? Fergburgers are HUGE..  and tasty..  and.. everyone loves the Ferg..  It might seem a bit trendy, but once you go there, you just get sucked into Fergmania.  They serve beer too, which is cool..  and something I really wanted right after the Routeburn Track :)  My burger was GIANT..  two big patties, american bacon (I think that's just what they call bacon strips here), some sort of a good cheese, some sort of a weird sauce, bbq sauce, tomato, lettuce, onion.  Mmmm

After digesting the Fergburger I booked a couple "extreme" things to do the next day (today)  First I did the Shotover Canyon Swing..  Which was recommended to me by a couple people - including the "You should totally eat a Fergburger after the Routeburn Track" girl.  So like an idiot, I booked the thing.

What is it?  The world's highest cliff jump..

Did I mention that I'm afraid of heights?

I didn't quite realize how crazy this was going to be until I showed up at the Shotover Canyon Swing office, in downtown Queenstown.  I had to fill out a form (the "if I die, my family won't sue you guys" kind)  While I was filling this thing out, they turned on the TV right in front of me and showed me exactly what I was going to be doing..  Now..  I looked at the brochure before..  obviously.. and it seemed scary enough..  but not INSANE.  After looking at the TV for a couple seconds this incredible fear washed over my body..  How the hell was I going to do this!?!?  If there's one thing in life that I know for sure it's that I don't like jumping into a rocky canyon from a ledge 100m above

But I did!  Somehow..

What happens is a bus takes you about 15 minutes out of town..  While on the bus there is a big lcd tv right in front of you showing you, once again, what crazy shit you are about to do..  over and over.  I looked out the window.  You then walk 400m or so to the ledge, and on the way there decide how exactly you are going to jump.  There are 8 or so recommended jumpstyles, including forwards, backwards, doing a flip, etc.  For some reason the "sitting on a chair with the canyon behind you, and tipping over" one appealed to me the most..

These guys  really try to freak you out while you're on your way to the jump..   I wanted to jump first, so that they didn't have much of a chance to do that..  Plus I really didn't want to stand there watching people in front of me having second thoughts..   The less time I have to be afraid, the better, I thought!  I even recited the Litany against fear, from Dune..  (if you know what I'm talking about here, you WILL be amused)

So anyway, as I'm standing there, being strapped into stuff, they ask me if I have any medical conditions..  I look at the board that had a short list of medical conditions that I should be mentioning..  And the last one on the list?  CANADIAN.  That was just too amusing..  but..  yeah..  I told them about my "medical condition"

Then they strapped me to a chair and told me to hold on..  Right before this one of the guys "accidently" bumped into me and freaked the SHIT out of me.  Their job is apparently to scare the crap out of you..  and they do their job well!  Very well..  I was SCARED..  You're supposed to tip the chair backwards until it tips over and you fall down into the depths below..  but..  I wanted THEM to release me..  somehow..  but then just said "whatever", tipped backwards, and flew off the ledge!

And let me tell you..  It was an amazing feeling..  The scary part is just deciding to jump.  Once you've made that decision, it turns from HOLY CRAP I'M GOING TO DIE scary to HOLY CRAP THIS IS AMAZING awesome.  You get 60m of freefall and then the cable gets you and swings you across the canyon at 150kph  for 200-300 more metres.  It is CRAZY AWESOME.

I wouldn't do it again.

I bought the "Hoff special" (Yes, David Hasselhoff was somehow a big part of all this), which included a DVD video, pictures, etc., so I'll be able to show you guys the video of this when I get back home.  It can't be that flattering, but whatever.

If you want to see how the Shotover Canyon Swing works, you can visit their website here: http://www.canyonswing.co.nz - click on "See how it works" to get an idea of what stupid shit I did in Queenstown.

Next on my list was the Shotover Jet Boat Ride, which is supposed to be the "World's most exciting jetboat ride"

It's in the same general area as the Canyon swing, so that was pretty convenient..  A 5 minute bus ride dropped me off at the Shotover Jet station, and I was off!

And it is pretty crazy, but..  after doing the Canyon swing, I didn't think too much of it!  Don't get me wrong - I had a really good time..  but I didn't feel that RUSH that everybody else in the boat felt..  Ok, maybe a bit!

These boats basically have VERY powerful engines..  They pull in water and spray it out..  400L a second, per engine (there are two jet engines I believe).  The thing goes really really fast, through a very rocky and sometimes narrow canyon..  and SOMEHOW the drivers are able to keep the thing from smashing into the rocks, even though they do seem to try really hard to get as close to the rocks as possible..  which sometimes is VERY close..  The best part is when they do their 360 spins, which spins the whole boat around rapidly and splashes everyone with water..  This goes on for about 25 minutes.  It was pretty cool!

When I got back into town I had lunch at @Thai, the best Thai place in town, supposedly.  Their Pad Thai was magnificent (yes, magnificent).  Then I went to this little cafe called Patagonia, close to the harbourfront and my hostel, which is where I had some of the most amazing cheesecake I ever had.  Seriously!  There was a couple on the Milford Track that wouldn't shut up about how amazing this cheesecake was..  Naturally I had to have some..  I had it with a giant vanilla milkshake..  Good stuff!

So that's how I spent my last day in Queenstown!  After that I did some research and booked a 7 hour bus ride to Franz Josef Glacier.  I am heading there tomorrow at 7:30am, with short stops in Wanaka and Haast.  We are going through the Haast pass, which is supposed to be spectacular.  It's quite a small place, so I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to write nearly as much as I could here.  We'll see!

The Routeburn Track

Before I begin detailing my experiences on the Routeburn Track I wanted to compare it to the Milford Track a bit.  I'm having a really hard time finding good maps (elevation or not) of these tracks, so forget that.

The Milford Track mainly takes you through a valley, aside from the one alpine crossing, which takes you to 1069m.  The Routeburn Track on the other hand involves a lot of going up and down - and a large portion of it is a hike above the tree/bushline.  That's one thing I really liked about the Routeburn Track - On the second day you are hiking out in the open, on the side of a mountain, with spectacular sights of the Hollyford Valley (I think that's what it's called) just to the left.  There are also no sandflies!..  or at least not nearly as many as on the Milford Track.

Another obvious difference is that the Milford Track is 53km and takes 4 days (although day 1 is very short), while the Routeburn is 32km and takes 3 days.  Which is more challenging?  better?  more spectacular?  I am not prepared to answer these questions..  yet!

Below is a not to scale elevation map that attempts to compare both tracks..  It does a decent job of that..  but isn't entirely accurate (The Milford Track should be lifted a *bit* higher, I think.  The Routeburn Track does take you through alpine and sub-alpine areas, but the Harris Saddle is "only" 250m or so higher than the MacKinnon Pass)

Day 1

On Thursday, December 2nd I woke up at 7am, re-packed my backpack, and had breakfast at the Milford Sound Lodge (where I was staying) - a giant B.A.S.E. (bacon and scrambled eggs) bagel..  and it was huge.  Seriously!  I could barely finish it.  My bus picked me up at 9:40am and took me to the Divide, through the Homer tunnel.  It was a VERY spectacular ride, passing by some incredibly amazing scenery.

From the Divide the track forces you to start climbing right away.  I did not enjoy this one bit!  An hour into the hike you end up Near Lake Howden (20 mins away?), with an optional side-trip that takes about an hour - to the top of Key Summit.  I left my backpack at the forks and hiked up to the summit - which was well worth it!  It didn't really take long to get up there, and there was a half an hour 'loop' you could take, which had plaques here and there describing this and that..  which I didn't really pay attention to much, due to the amazing sights.  Up top I ran into an Australian couple I met at the Milford Sound Lodge and the three German girls who were staying with me in my dorm room!  On the way down though, my left knee started hurting..  I brushed it off and hoped the pain would go away.

I took another break at Lake Howden, which is basically a meeting point of 3 different tracks...  so you have a lot of hikers passing through there, from various directions.  I should note that the Routeburn Track is not nearly as tightly controlled as the Milford - which results in a different experience..  You'll have people walking both ways, day hikers, and in the case of Lake Howden hut, hikers coming from different tracks, and in different directions.

The hike to Lake MacKenzie Hut was VERY nice, but a bit tiring.  My left knee continued to give me some trouble, so I took some aspirin..  which didn't really do much.  The hike takes you higher and higher, with a bit of a descent near the end, towards the lake and the hut..  Most of the ascent is exciting - you see more and more of the mountains around you, and take more and more breaks to take pictures ;)  By the time I reached the hut it was 6pm - and I was fairly tired..  and my left knee HURT.  There weren't many people at the hut at all - a BIG contrast to my experiences on the Milford Track (where every bunk bed was taken).  There must have been 8-10 people there total, out of 50 that the hut could accomodate.   I didn't mind..  There were less people to talk to, less noise, I was tired, and so I went to bed early.

Day 2

On day one the weather was beautiful..  The sky was almost entirely blue and the sun was out in force.  The same was true on day 2 (Friday).  As such, I took my time getting ready and only left the hut at 10:30am.  I decided to take my time getting to Routeburn Falls Hut (It's not marked on the elevation map above, but it is sort of in between the Saddle and the Routeburn Flats (bit closer to the flats))  As I was getting my gear ready for the long hike ahead, a girl walked past me, and we started talking..  Her name was Mari - from Estonia, and she was going for a swim in Lake MacKenzie..  which seemed crazy to me!  The water must have been cooooold.  Sure enough, she jumped in there..  and I took off, towards the saddle.

An hour and a bit into my hike I was high above Lake MacKenzie Hut with some very scenic views of the surrounding area.  I put down my pack and had a break and a snack..  and wanted to give my left knee a bit of a break, since it was bugging me again.  And there again came Mari.  We started talking again, and next thing I know we are hiking buddies..  at least for that day.  It was actually pretty nice to have someone to walk with..  I *did* enjoy the solitary hike, but..  this was nice too.  Very nice actually!  We walked up to the saddle and ended up at the Harris Saddle Shelter..  and..  my knee just gave out.  I took off my backpack and could only limp and hop around..  It was even hard to get up the stairs.  All this in the middle of the track - at the highest point too...

Fortunately Mari had some Australian wonder drugs for me (she's on an extended vacation in Australia - the trip to New Zealand was her vacation away from her 'vacation')..  so I popped 2 of her magical pills, and we took a long break.  We met a cool German couple who had walked all the way to the saddle from the other end, and was walking back at some point in the near future.  We played a strange Kiwi game..  I want to call it a board game, but there was no board..  called Tantrix - you put down pieces and try to form lines and loops..  I'm not really doing a good job describing it, but it doesn't really matter.

An hour later the four of us were walking towards Routeburn Falls Hut, and..  my knee still hurt, especially when we got to parts where there was a bit of a descent..  It didn't even matter that it wasn't too steep - there was pain anyway..  So I had to change the way I walk..  Apparently I use my left leg a lot when I climb up or down.  I had no idea!  Who pays attention to the way they walk?  I tried to put as little pressure on that leg as possible, and let my right let/knee do most of the work..  which only slowed me down.  The German couple had to power ahead to get back to the car park (At Routeburn shelter) before it got dark, so again it was just me and Mari walking.

Eventually we made it to the Falls, and you have no idea how happy I was..  Man..  That was such a relief!  As soon as we got there, the Australian couple (who was already there) (I wish I could remember their names) told us of a great "swimming hole" right beside the falls..  So we changed into our respective swimming gear (me - skimpy bikini, Mari - swimtrunks) and..  well..  we found the directions somewhat confusing.  You turn where after the helipad?  We eventually made it down a steep descent towards the water and started looking for the hole..  but..  where was it?  Eventually we found the deepest acceptable spot (up to the waist) and jumped in..  Our 'swim' didn't last long..  it was basically a case of dip, stay under the water for a bit, and get out..  but it felt good!  There are no showers in the huts, so it was an amazing feeling to be able to dip in ice cold water like that.  My knee felt better too.  After that we had dinner, experienced some Jewish ceremony or something (Chanukah?  I really have no idea), checked out the stars (once they came out), and went to bed.

Day 3

On day 3 I woke up early to give myself time to make the hike to the Routeburn Shelter.  I woke up a couple times throughout the night with sharp pains in my left knee, so..  I figured I should leave early to make sure I could make it down in time.  My bus (and Mari's) was due to pick us up at 2pm..  and her plan was to start the hike at 10am..  I didn't think I could make that, with the state my knee was..  So I left at 9.

The hike down was PAINFUL..  I took aspirin but it didn't help at all..  I powered on though, and after an hour found myself by Routeburn Flats Hut..  Not bad!  I took a break, kept going, and..  after an uneventful hike ended up at the Routeburn Shelter, with 45 minutes to spare.  In hindsight I could have probably left a lot later, but..  I really didn't trust my knee to behave.  Day 3 hurt a lot and I really didn't know how many breaks I was going to have to take..  or if I was going to make it at all.

The bus took us to Glenorchy, a cool little town with stunning views of the surrounding mountains..  in a bit of a tradition, I bought an orange fanta and a white chocolate ice cream bar..  Apparently I must have mentioned this to some of the other people who were there at some point in the hike, cause the fanta in my hand was well received by all..  (but it was mine..  alll mine)  A half an hour break in Glenorchy, and we were back on the road.  I think we arrived in Queenstown at 4pm or so?

I already had a hostel booked, so I checked in..  There are 6 beds, 3 of them taken..  I haven't met any of my bunkmates yet..  Hope they're cool!  We'll see soon, I'm about to head back there after I publish this.  Oh yeah!  I also booked several 'extreme' activities for tomorrow..  but I'm not going to tell you what they are, until my next entry..  cause I gotta run!

All in all though the Routeburn Track was an amazing experience - I probably enjoyed it more than the Milford Track!..  and that's keeping in mind all the knee troubles.  (By the way, my knee is feeling okay now, and is very thankful that there isn't a 17kg bag on my back and we're not hiking through mountains)

Alright, I'm off..  more updates soon

More on the Milford Track

So I'm here in Queenstown, resting after my 9 day excursion to Fiordland National Park, sitting in a really cheap internet cafe (with great equipment though), so I thought I'd include some maps of The Milford Track before I start writing about the Routeburn Track..  I don't mind re-visiting it at all, cause it's still fresh in my mind..  and probably will be for quite some time!  It is also interesting to compare both tracks (Milford & Routeburn)

This map is for the guided walks, so the huts they highlight are NOT the ones I stayed at.  Look for the triangles to find the huts I stayed at (Clinton, Mintaro, and Dumpling).  Mintaro and Dumpling might seem really close together, but looks are deceiving - there was an alpine crossing in between (elevation - 1075m or so).  The Mitre Peak Lodge was the fancy place the guided walkers stayed at after the Track was complete - I stayed at the excellent Milford Sound Lodge (it really was that great, I can't stop raving about it)

I will post an elevation map of both tracks in the next post to really illustrate how different they were.

Oh, and where it says 'Milford Sound' on the map, that should be coloured in blue.  That jagged blue line going from Sandfly point to 'Mitre Peak Lodge' is the boat we took to Milford Sound after the Track was complete.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is really quite an amazing place.  Incredibly remote, beautiful sights, lots of German and Japanese tourists..  what else could you ask for?

I woke up early, had yet another amazing shower (I would not usually be mentioning my showers, but after you don't shower for 4 days..  and sweat a lot..  the first couple showers you have are incredible.  If Shakespeare walked the Milford Track he would likely write a sonnet or two about his first shower afterwards..  or maybe a poem?  or a tragedy?  or whatever the hell Shakespeare wrote..  either way, my two showers in Milford Sound were AMAZING)

I had a scenic cruise booked for 1pm so I made my way towards the cafe (which is close to the dock), and ate a GIANT lunch..  Seriously..  that was just way too much food..  I was hungry, but I could not devour the amount of food that was put in front of me by the cute Spanish girl who thought I was way younger than I am..  What?  I am getting a bit off track here, sorry, I am still a bit out of it after all that walking.

The scenic cruise was great.  There were WAY TOO MANY Japanese tourists on the boat with me, and after a penguin was spotted (just ONE penguin) on the shore they all went apeshit..  and one of them had GIANT binoculars..  seriously, those things must have been at least half a metre in length.  And here I am getting off track again.  The boat takes you to the Tasman sea (across which are a bunch of Australians or something), and back.  It takes about an hour and 40 minutes, passes by Mitre peak (highest peak in the area), a couple waterfalls, a couple seals, and a bunch of other cool stuff.  I took a LOT of pictures.

After the cruise I took a walk on the lakeside trail - I think that's what it was called anyway.  It takes you from the harbour to the airport, and passes by a lot of great spots from which you can take pictures of Milford Sound and Mitre peak.  So I did!  I wish I could show them to you now.  Later!

Ok, I'm getting a bit incoherent here, so I will depart you for now.  Tomorrow (Thursday the 2nd of dec.) I am taking an early bus to the Divide (through the Homer tunnel), to the start of the Routeburn Track.  On december 4th another bus picks me up at the end of the track and takes me to Queenstown (look at the map I posted way back if you want to get a better idea of what I'm talking about here)

The Routeburn track is quite different from the Milford Track.  While the Milford Track takes you through a valley (aside from the 1 alpine pass), the Routeburn track is a steady climb on day 1, and then a day and a half or so of hiking ON mountains, as opposed to beside them.  It's about 33km long, and its lowest elevation is about 500m - the highest being 1255m (Harris Saddle).  Most people also do this track the opposite direction of what I'm doing - so I can forget having cool hiking buddies this time around..  It should be a totally different experience from the Milford Track, but one likely equally amazing in scenery and adventure.

I will write again from Queenstown, on December 4th or 5th!

The Milford Track

Alright, so I just bought 20MB of internet usage here at the Milford Sound Lodge..  That's right - they charge by the amount of data you transfer instead of charging by time..  which is good news for me and you, cause I've got a couple hours to kill..  meaning I can sit here and type away until it's time to go get a beer and a burger at the pub down the road.

The Milford Track might or might not be the "finest walk in the world", but it is spectacular and quite an amazing experience!  55km in length, it is walked from the Glade Wharf, over 4 days, to Sandfly point, through Fiordland National Park - a World Heritage area.  This is New Zealand's most popular hike, so it has to be booked months in advance.  It is also heavily regulated, so you *have to* spend your first night at Clinton hut, your second night at Mintaro hut, and your third night at Dumpling hut.  There is only room for 40 people at each of the huts, which basically means that the people that get off the boat with you at Glade Wharf are the same 39 people you are going to be walking with for the next 4 days, the same 39 people who are going to be sharing the huts with you, and the same 39 people who finish the walk with you on day 4. 

The huts are very simple - there is a kitchen, dorm rooms with bunk beds, a bathroom, and a private area for the ranger.  Each dorm room has anywhere between 4-10 bunk beds, so you can expect to not get much sleep - due to snoring..  and very squeaky mattresses..  which we all sleep on - in our sleeping bags.  The kitchen is basically just a couple sinks, stoves, and benches.  The bathrooms are co-ed - and are not lit.  This isn't an issue though, as the sun goes up really early here this time of year, and goes down fairly late (we're pretty far south).  If you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you bring a flashlight with you.  Oh yeah, there are also NO showers.

There are also 3 fancy lodges on the track for up to 50 hikers who opted to do a "guided hike" as opposed to hiking independently.  Their gear is provided for, as well as their food, they have a guide who walks with them and points out this and that, and they probably sleep in comfortable beds in private rooms.  They probably look down on us the same way we look down on them ;)  For some reason 90%+ of them are usually Japanese..  They also pay $1,300+ for all of this, while we paid $50 per hut, plus about $150 for transportation to the track and to Milford Sound at the end (20 minute boat ride from Sandfly Point)

On the issue of food - we had to bring our own.  I bought magical pouches that turn into wonderful dinners once you add hot water.  You basically need one of those per hut - even though the packet quite clearly states that it has "2 servings".  This lead to me not having enough food..  sort of.  I had to bring enough food for 2 hikes (Milford and Routeburn), and bought 4 of the pouches (5 huts = 5 dinners, plus 3 emergency rations).  Turns out I should have bought at least 5.  You also need something for breakfast - and Uncle Toby comes to the rescue here with amazing porridge pouches, which a lot of us ended up buying.  On top of all that you also need lunch, which is basically the food you're going to eat each time you stop for a break on the hike.  I brought a decently sized salami sausage, a couple mini smoked sausages (saved those for the Routeburn!), a bit of cheddar cheese (saved, too), 2 bars of chocolate (half of the big one survived), 2 pouches of dried fruit (good for hiking), a bunch of roasted almonds, and 3 soup pouches.  You might think that's a lot of food, but I had to bring enough for 7 days of hiking..  plus emergency rations.  All of that is HEAVY..  it really adds to the weight.  Maybe it's a psychological effect, I'm not sure, but my backpack felt lighter after each meal.

On to the actual hike.  The first day is fairly simple.  I woke up at 7:30am at Te Anau, got my backpack sorted out, ate a quick breakfast, and made my way to the DOC (dept. of conservation) office, where the bus was going to pick us up.  I picked up my hut tickets, asked about the weather for the next couple days, and bought a hiking stick made by some local Maori dude.  It has served me well so far!  The bus ride to Te Anau Downs was pretty short, a half an hour maybe..  From there we got on a boat, and half an hour later were at Glade Wharf - the beginning of the Milford Track!

Day 1

Like I said, the first day is very short.  It is only 5km to Clinton hut from Glade Wharf, so you get to the hut fairly quick (an hour and a half?).  The day was very nice though, so I took my time.  The Milford Track is located in a place that's supposed to be "one of the wettest on the planet", and here I was in shorts and a tshirt.  I obviously took my time.  At this point on the track you are basically walking through a jungle, at the bottom of a valley (carved out by glaciers), with high mountains on either side.  There wasn't much to look at for the first 45 minutes or so.  Every once in a while a mountain or two would peek out through the trees and you got a glimpse of the beautiful scenery you were walking through.  The vegetation was also something I wasn't used to (the place seemed a bit alien at first) - another reason I took my time, there was lots of stuff to look at.

There was a 15 minute side trip to a wetland area about a half an hour before Clinton hut, which I read about, and which was recommended, so I checked it out..  and WOW..  I came out onto a clearing, with amazing views of the mountains on all sides..  it was breathtaking.  The marsh looked a bit odd, maybe a bit alien, and really added to the scenery.  I wish I could show you guys pictures!  It will have to wait :/

I arrived at Clinton hut at around 2:30pm.  At that point in time I did not understand why the hut was built where it was..  what were we supposed to do for the next 8 or so hours?  Why couldn't the hut have been built further down the track?  The next day's walk covered 16.5km - going uphill, so it didn't seem to make sense at the time..  but in hindsight, that first day achieved several things: it introduced me to walking around with a big 17kg backpack on my back...  I didn't quite get used to that feeling that first day, but it gave me time to adjust the straps and gave me an idea of what to expect.  It also gave everyone time to meet their new hiking buddies - the people they were going to be hiking with for the next couple days.  Who was I hiking with, anyway?  There were 6 Czechs, at least 5 Canadians, 1 American, 6+ Germans, 4 Kiwis, 4 Aussies, and 2 Spaniards.  That doesn't quite add up to 40, but I did not talk to everyone.

At 5pm we met Peter the ranger.  He was hilarious..  and knew his stuff.  He took us on a VERY informative nature hike, which lasted about a half an hour.  I learned a lot about the history of the place (how it was carved by glaciers, the Maori aspect of it, European, etc.) and even more about the different forms of life found in the area.  At 8pm Peter the ranger had us gather in the kitchen/dining area and gave us a half an hour long speech about this and that, mostly what to expect on our next day, the weather forecast, more about the flora and fauna, and a LOT of jokes.  He also claimed that his last name was Jackson, but I really don't know if to believe that or not.

This Day 1 thing is getting pretty long, but I have time!..  and I have to mention this.  I met a couple from Australia, who were just way too nice.  Hearing that I might not have enough food for both hikes, they gave me most of the mashed potatoes they were eating that day.. (the magical just-add-water kind)..  Sure, they said they were full, but I think they are just really really nice..  or probably both.  On days 2 3 and 4 they also gave me a Lamb n Mashed Potatoes meal, and yet another pouch of mashed potatoes.. oh, and powdered milk, a soup, and trail mix.  The mashed potatoes were actually pretty good, considering that they came in a pouch.  So..Tristan and Kirst, thanks a lot!  I'll miss you guys.

I also met a German woman who came from..  ESENS..  which is very weird, because Esens is the closest town to the village we lived in 20+ years ago after we left Poland.  It's an obscure town, in an obscure part of Germany, so we were both kind of amazed that we both lived in the same area..  I was naming off other villages in the area, and her eyes were lighting up each time..  Utarp!  Schweindorf!  Westerholt!  Ahh, the memories..

Day 2

Did I forget to mention the sand flies?  They SUCK.  They are everywhere on the Milford Track, and they bite everyone..  everywhere..  even if you use bug spray.  I have a lot of bites all over my hands and legs.  Peter Jackson told us tha the Maori name for the buggers translates to "keep moving", which might very well be true..  (but probably isn't)

On day two of the hike you walk for 16.5km over less and less jungly landscape, slowly making your way from an elevation of 200m to 600m.  The brochure claims that this takes 6 hours, but that is a bunch of crap.  I woke up at 6:15am (due to the sun coming up, other people in the hut waking up and making lots of noise, etc.), had breakfast (thank you uncle Toby!), and left the Clinton Hut at 8:20am or so.  It was a bit cooler than the previous day, and the surrounding mountains had suspicious looking clouds around them, so I put on my merino wool base layer stuff, with polyester stuff on the outside..  which was a bit of a mistake, as a couple hours after I left it got VERY nice.  The sun came out, the clouds were gone, and..  well, I couldn't really believe it..  This was supposed to be "one of the wettest parts of the planet"..  200+ days of rain a year! 

I REALLY enjoyed day two - the sights of the surrounding mountains were just amazing.  We were still walking in that valley (carved out by glaciers) I described earlier, making our way up (slowly but surely) in preparation for the crazyness of day 3 - an alpine pass.  I enjoyed the hike, but for the last 2 hours or so my body started really complaining.  The slope was getting steeper and steeper, and I was taking a lot of breaks.  At one point I put my pack on some moss, whipped out some snacks, and lied down beside my pack for 10-15 minutes while I munched on some nuts and dried fruit.  I believe there is a video of this event..  I'll have to post it later.

In any case, I arrived at Mintaro hut at 3:40pm or so..  and it was STILL really nice.  The sun was shining, it was beautiful, etc.  According to the brochure everyone got before the trek began, if it ever IS that nice on day two and you get to Mintaro hut early enough, it makes sense to make your way up to the MacKinnon Pass (which you walk up to on day 3 - Mintaro Hut is just at the base)  That's because the weather in the area is very unpredictable..  and it tends to rain a LOT..  So if the weather is nice, get the hell up there, because the view is spectacular, and if it's cloudy the next day, you won't see a thing.  My back was hurting though..  and my feet were complaining..  I didn't go.  Charlie and a bunch of the others did and returned several hours later with tales of awesomeness.  I was too tired to care ;)  I hung out with Tristan and Kirsty, ate dinner (beef curry and soup!) and read some of my book (Winds of Dune).  Went to bed early again, bit worried about the next morning's alpine pass.

Day 3

Day three began at roughly the same time as day two.  When the sun comes up (6:30ish?) everyone starts waking up (there are no blinds on the windows) and you are pretty much forced to wake up.  By the time you finally get out of your sleeping bag, eat breakfast (thank you uncle toby!), do your morning stuff, re-pack your backpack, and get everything ready for the day ahead, it ends up being around 8 or 8:30, and 8:30am is a good time to leave because that's when the hut ranger posts the weather forecast for the day on the blackboard in the dining area.  Day 3 was supposed to bring light rain coming in from the west (where we were headed) at some point, which was then supposed to turn into really annoying rain. :(

Naturally I was not expecting a very pleasant day and wanted to get up to the pass (brochure estimate - 2 hours) as soon as possible...  before the rainclouds..  so that I could get *some* decent pictures of the sights.  Mintaro hut is situated at around 600 metres while MacKinnon pass is at 1069m, so it's not an incredibly crazy climb, but I HATE going up, so I wasn't looking forward to it.  I was told by the ranger that the climb down was much worse than the climb up, but I just did not listen to her..  More on the dreadful climb down later...

Somehow I was able to get up to the pass in an hour and 45 minutes.  It could have something to do with my awesome new expedition style watch (thanks Mom!  thanks Dad!), which has a nifty 'altitude' button.  I was pressing that thing way too much..  but it kept me motivated.  By the time I got up to the pass, it got REALLY windy..  and cold.  I put on my jacket, merino wool hat, and gloves..  and took a lot of pictures, because it was really not that bad.  It was actually pretty awesome!  Almost NO clouds..  maybe some in the distance.  I had lunch in the MacKinnon pass hut, took some more pictures, and started the descent.

Now, the brochure claims that the hike from Mintaro hut to Dumpling hut (14km) should take 6-7 hours.  As I was making my descent, I knew that I still had at least 4-5 hours of hiking ahead of me..  and most of it was downhill.  At first I didn't think that it would be so bad, but soon enough all the downhill walking took its toll on my legs.  On one hand I wanted to get to the hut before the rain reached me (I had all my waterproof gear near the top of my pack and ready, but still), but no the other I couldn't exactly speed up..  I was slowing down and taking a lot of breaks.  The descent was pretty spectacular sight-wise, though.  There were a lot of picture opportunities.

Eventually I made it to a place I totally forgot about..  Quintin public shelter (right by the fancy lodge that all the Japanese hikers stay at), a place where you leave your backpack and make a 1.5 hour long side-hike to the highest waterfall in New Zealand - Sutherland Falls.  CRAP!  I did not have much energy left and I really wanted to make it to Dumpling hut before the rain got to me!  But..  I also wanted to see the falls!  I went inside the shelter and found it PACKED with backpacks and several of my independent hiker friends.  There was very little room to move around..  and..  a big container with hot water..  and tea pouches..  and sugar!  NICE!  I sat down, got out my cup, and made myself a nice hot cup of tea.  It was delicious.  It seemed to give me the motivation required to walk to the falls..  so I did!  I got there in a half an hour - 15 minutes earlier than the estimated time.  The hike was worth it - the falls are spectacular..  I hung around for 5 minutes and made my way back to the shelter, where I had another cup of tea...  Then I grabbed my backpack and powered ahead to Dumpling hut, which was supposed to be an hour away.  I got there in just under an hour..  changed into dry clothes (I sweat a LOT), tended to my blisters (good thing I brought that blister kit!), made some soup, read a bit, then had some lamb and veggies from a magical pouch (that I got from Tristan and Kirsty).  Boy were they annoyed when there was a surprise mashed potato pouch inside ;)  I didn't sleep well that night at all - my room had 2 snorers and a stupid bitch right above me who moved around WAY TOO MUCH..  that mattress is sooo squeaky..  seriously.  I hope you're reading this.  I'm glad I didn't get your name, cause you suck.

Day 4

The thing about day 4 is that you have to make it to Sandfly point by 2pm or 3:15pm, depending on which boat you booked.  Most people had booked the 2pm boat, because of a connecting bus ride to Queenstown (or Te Anau) that they wouldn't have been able to catch otherwise.  The hike for day 4 is 18km long - estimated by the brochure at 5.5 - 6 hours.  We all of course knew by that point that the estimate was a bunch of crap.  As such, people were waking up as early as 5:30am..  including me..  just because it was impossible not to wake up when everybody else was.

I took my time though, and ended up leaving the hut at 8:30am.  Oh yeah, did I mention that it was raining?  The first rain on the Milford Track!  Quite amazing that it took until day 4, but there it was..  I put on my waterproof gear (or as Peter Jackson from day 1called it "what you THINK is your waterproof gear") and headed off towards Sandfly point.  After 2 hours or so the rain stopped and I was able to take off my waterproof pants and jacket..  the result of walking in that stuff for 2 hours?  LOTS of sweat..  which made its way into my boots..  Fortunately I had merino wool socks on, which are very good for that sort of thing..  but it wasn't really that pleasant either.

Once the rain clouds cleared up it actually got quite nice.  THe sun was shining again, it was warm, and every once in a while  I got nice views of the mountains around me.  (We were back in a valley again, carved by glaciers, etc.  Actually, aside from the MacKinnon pass, the entire Milford Track is in a valley)  I arrived at Sandfly point at 2:45, a half an hour before the boat was to depart.  Man..  did that ever feel good!  It felt AMAZING.  You know why it's called the Sandfly Point though?  Yeah, lots of sand flies..  but I did not really care.

The boat took us to Milford Sound (8th wonder of the world, world heritage area, etc.), which took about 20 minutes. Milford Sound itself is a pretty small town, if you can call it that.  There is a visitor centre, which is basically where all the boats dock.  There is also a pub/cafe, an airport, and a lodge.  That's it.  Up until 1991 the only way to get to Milford sound was via the Milford Track, via boat, or via plane/helicopter.  Then they built the Homer tunnel and a road to Te Anau.  Hooray! 

A free shuttle took me to the lodge, which I had a reservation at (for 2 nights).  The lodge is basically part hostel, part hotel, part whatever.  There is a kitchen, the town's only mini-store (with overpriced fanta and white chocolate and such), a laundry room, a drying room (for sweaty hiking gear) - VERY useful, a lounge, and hmm..  I think that's about it.  It's a pretty cool place, really, and only a 20 minute walk or so from the pub (which is close to all the sights.  plus it has beer!)

I got set up in my room, which was empty at the time..  but soon enough 3 German girls arrived and we got acquainted (yeah, there are a LOT of Germans here).  I took a well deserved shower, threw some stuff into the drying room, and ran into a couple people from the hike!  A couple from Montreal.  We made plans to have dinner together @ the pub later on.  We were joined by another couple from the hike - from the Czech republic.  It was a pretty fun night, with lots of jokes, accents, and conversations about the Milford Track and New Zealand in general.  The beer was very good by the way!

More on Te Anau

I'm sitting in a cafe in Milford Sound, waiting for the lunch buffet to start, using a dial-up internet booth..  so yes, I've finished the Milford Track, and it was AMAZING, but I don't really have the time to get into that now..  or maybe I will, after lunch!

For now I'm going to write a bit more about Te Anau, which turned out to be a pretty cool place..  After I checked into my room and got set up, I took another walk around town.  It's situated on a lake, beyond which Fiordland National Park begins.  It's a pretty small town, if you can call it that, mostly there as an entry point to the park.  Most of the buildings are situated right on the lake, along with a "downtown" with shops, cafes, a restaurant, hostels, hotels, etc.

It turns out that I was sharing my dorm hostel room with an American from Washington DC named Charlie - who was going to be walking the Milford Track too..  and the way the track is set up and controlled, the 39 people you start walking with is the 39 people you share the huts with along the way, and the same 39 people you finish the track with 4 days later.  He did not have much experience in the way of the hike, so I took him on as my padawan.  We spent some of that day re-packing our packs together, along with a British guy named..  something..  Peter, maybe.  He was quite pleasant and shared stories of his travels through Asia, and tips for the upcoming hike (he was a seasoned hiker, or some such thing).  The fourth guy staying in our room was another British chap - not nearly as pleasant as the other two..  quite annoying, actually.

Anyway, I had a whole day to kill, so I booked a trip to the local glow worm caves.  You get on a boat, which takes you across the lake, to caves in which..  there are glow worms!  You spend maybe 10-15 minutes walking into the cave, then get into another boat, which then takes you to a grotto with a bunch of the glow worms up on the walls.  It was a pretty interesting experience.  Along the way the rangers just can't shut up about the local history, fauna, flora, etc. which was actually pretty cool, no matter how I've worded this sentence.

After the glow worm cave experience, I walked along the lakefront until I reached the bird sanctuary, which contains local birds such as the Kea (a pretty damn smart, comical, and annoying animal).  It's a small free zoo, pretty much.  There's maybe 8-10 cages with various native birds, some of which I saw in the wild on the Milford Track.

Alright, so the lunch buffet seems to have opened up.  I have a scenic cruise booked for about 2 hours from now, so I'm gonna leave you all in suspense while I eat and take in the sights.  I *might* have time to write a bit about the Milford Track from the lodge (a hostel, pretty much), but who knows..  Tomorrow a bus picks me up at 9:30am and takes me to the Divide, where I begin a 32km hike through Fiordland National Park & Mount Aspiring National Park - The Routeburn Track!

Te Anau

I'm in Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park!  I'm sitting in a hostel, waiting for my room to free up.  I'm supposed to be sharing it with 2 people, so.. here's hoping for twins!

I didn't really get much sleep last night - I was up late reorganizing my backpack and trying to squeeze everything in there somehow..  and it worked!  All of the food somehow fit in one pocket - I'm not quite sure how, but it's somehow all in there.  If you're wondering what I'm going to be eating for the next week, it's backpacker friendly food pouch thingies that you add boiling water to..  and they magically turn into beef flavoured curry..  and spaghetti!  I also have dried apricot and bluberries, a big bag of roasted almonds, 12 granola bars, a block of cheddar cheese, several small smoked sausages, a giant bar of chocolate, a smaller bar of chocolate, 3 soup pouches, 6 pouches of honey flavoured porridge for breakfast, and a 12 pack of fine Kiwi lager.  ok..  just kidding about that last part..  but I really hope the Milford Lodge (where I will be staying in betewen the 2 hikes) has something on tap!

My bus picks me up at 9:30am tomorrow, which takes me to some sort of a boat, that takes me to the beginning of the track.  I visited the DOC (department of conservation) office eariler and got all my tickets, so I'm all set!  I think.  It was supposed to be raining (as it often does round these parts), but according to the weather forecast it's going to be sunny for the next couple days!  So..  who knows..  I might not even need any of this waterproof gear *knock on wood*

Humorous anecdote:  The pen I brought from Canada really sucks..  so I went to buy one here in Te Anau..  I walked into a store and asked if they have any pens, and they guy started showing me pans..  for cooking.  I told him that I wanted a pen for writing.  "Oh", he said, "You are looking for a peen, not a pen".  "Sure"

So now I have a pen - meaning some of you might get postcards.  Talk to you again in a couple days

I made it!

Didn't somebody once say that you have to go through hell to get to paradise?  I'm sure someone has.. My flight from Detroit to San Francisco took a bit longer than expected, landing only 50 minutes before my flight to Auckland was due to take off...  Naturally I was anxious to make it to the other gate..  and I did - 20 minutes later I was waiting in line..  only to be told that they didn't have my bag yet, and that it might not make it through screening in time..  So I waited there, until 10 minutes or so before the plane was to take off..  still, no bag..  frustrated I got on, and went to my seat, wondering what I was going to do if my bag got stuck in San Fran.

Beside me was sitting an older guy, who turns out designs hard drives..  before I knew that though, and right after the plane took off, he put on a movie..  He leaned back, put on his headphones, and started watching..  Right away, I see tits.  This is some sort of soft core porn, I thought!  NICE!  It was 'Chloe', some movie about a woman and her husband..  and all the people they were fucking.  This went on for about 3 hours, I swear.  Lots of tits and lots of fucking, and me sitting there playing Tetris, every once in a while peeking over to catch a glimplse of the debauchery on the other screen.  The funniest part must have been when a butt naked couple was going at it hardcore - one of her legs was up in the air, head pressed against some piece of furniture, and ..  well..  it's really hard to describe.  but it was then that the stewardess came up and asked us if we want anything to drink.

Watching the pacific ocean from the plane was surreal.  It was dark and the moon was out - illuminating the clouds, and the ocean.  I got bits and pieces of sleep here and there, still thinking about my bag, but eventually I didn't really care.  I was too tired.  When we landed..  and i was standing there looking at all the other pieces of luggage making their way down..  I really didn't expect to see my bag there..  but then..  when I saw it..  I can't quite put into words how I felt  (and I was sure it was my bag, it's pretty unique looking), but..  well..  yeah, I can't put this into words at all!  Next paragraph

On the flight to Queenstown (and I was really really REALLY tired by then) I met two older ladies who gave me all sorts of advice on what to see..  We basically passed through all the landmarks I was going to see, backwards.  The flight only took 2 and a half hours or so, and the landing was spectacular.  You basically enter a valley - with moutnains all around.

And speaking of Queenstown, it is spectacular..  and so is my hotel room!  Queenstown is apparently FULL of luxury hotels..  Mine is a 10 minute walk from fancy/trendy downtown..  and you can tell that it used to be able to charge a lot more, but now there are far more luxurious options downtown..  which is probably why I was able to get such a great deal.

I left all my stuff in my room and walked around town.  The scenery is really breathtaking..  and the downtown area seemed a bit too trendy-looking at first, but I quickly got over that.  It has some sort of aura that just makes it seem awesome, regardless.  Maybe it's due to the people - who are just wonderful.  I went to an information booth type place, to get some information on my upcoming walks, how to book transportation, where to buy hiking food, etc..  And the girl there was not only great, but also cute.. and also very helpful!  She booked the transportation to and from the Routeburn track for me, a night at a hostel in Te Anau, and then 1night at a hostel here in Queenstown for when I return from my walks.  So that's all done!  And, she directed me to "the supermarket to go to, that has all the good hiking food and stuff", which was great.  I'm still not sure how I'm going to fit it all in my backpack, but it has to be done..  tonight!

Tomorrow a bus picks me up at 6:50am and takes me to Te Anau, where I might be visiting glow worm caves..  a day after that - the 4 day Milford Track begins.

I walked around Queenstown today, got pizza at Winnie's (some of the best pizza I've ever had, seriously), hokey pokey ice cream, went up the Gondola and did the loop track there..  the views are PHENOMENAL..  just amazing.  I wish I could post some pictures, but my time here is running out.  I also walked around the Queenstown gardens, which I really liked.  They kinda reminded me of the Lazienki park in Warsaw - except that you're surrounded by beautiful mountains.

I apologize for the grammar..  it can't be that great - I'm still really tired.  I won't be able to update this for at least 10 days - unless the hostel in Te Anau has internet..  which it might..  or the Milford Sound lodge, where I'm spending 2 nights (in between the 2 walks)  Either way, I'm having a blast.  I will write more when I can