With the name of my first hostel
and a plan to travel around the world I landed in New Zealand full of
excitement, nervous as hell, but convinced that I had made the best choice of
my life. After crashing in Christchurch I awoke with same energy and eagerness
to start my nine months of adventure. I took a bus up to Aurthers Pass and
hiked for two days. Climbing Aicken Mountain and Avalanche Peak I found steep
trails with almost no approach and after summiting, both descents led to some questionably
safe glissading.
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| A view of a neighboring mountain while climbing Avalanche Peak |
I moved on to Murchison, a small town in center of the south
island, where I worked construction trading time for the use of kayak gear
and a place to say. I lived in a shed with another novice kayaker who had just
taken the job as the "boat slave" for the kayak school. Murchison has
4 rivers flowing into it and for the next week we paddled every day on some
most beautiful rivers I have every seen.
HEAPHY TRACK-----
I took a bus headed toward the Heaphy track, an 82 km hike
across the northern part of the
South Island. The first day I was dropped off in
pouring rain at the first of 3 fords because the van could not make it across.
The first ford proved simple, but as I walked toward the second it
continued to rain as hard as I have ever seen (~25 ml an hour) and the rivers kept
rising. The second crossing could have killed me. Half way I slipped and
took petrifying swim with my 40 lb back and rain gear weighing me down. This
was my first, of many, realization of how stupid tourists die. The rain
continued as I fearfully approached the third and final ford. With my new
respect for the NZ rivers there was no chance I was ready to make the crossing.
Although not as difficult as the previous, right below the only possible
location to cross was a class V rapid that continued for a ¼ mile into a much
larger river. I kept myself busy as it rained by building a shelter from ferns,
a stout walking staff, and planning to spend the night if I didn’t
make to the hut. After about 3 hours the rain slowed and stopped. I marked the
river’s level and waited as the flow to decrease. It reached a level where I
started to gain confidence I could get across and at that point the rain started again. I decided cross and not get stuck between two rivers for the
night. With my new staff I successfully make it across the raging stream. It
rained continuously all night and was still coming down as I put my wet clothes
back on and started up the to the next hut which waited 10 km and 700m above. After trudging/swimming for five hours the
worm hut was a welcoming sight. That night it hailed, rained, and blew making
the morning departure daunting.
After some instant oatmeal I meandered across a
beautiful grassy plateau with a constant hope of catching a glimpse of the
infamous flightless bird, the Kiwi. I had no such luck, but the walk was full
of stunning landscapes of mist blowing through fields full of tall grass and
bright green moss. From the hut that
night you could see the beach 27km away and 600m below. The hut was lively with
13 other hikers cooking, playing cards, and sharing stories. With wet gear hung
in every possible corner I struggled to imagine the 28 people the hut could
apparently hold. It would have been the next level of mayhem. The next day,
waking up to snow was frustrating, but proved gratifying when I was able to
walk barefoot on the beach in 70 degree weather a few hours later. The Heaphy Hut
was simply amazing; it sits 200 m away from the ocean and at the mouth of the
Heaphy River surrounded with sod like grass. The final day was a 17 km walk
along the beach, a great finish to memorable trek.
After some instant oatmeal I meandered across a
beautiful grassy plateau with a constant hope of catching a glimpse of the
infamous flightless bird, the Kiwi. I had no such luck, but the walk was full
of stunning landscapes of mist blowing through fields full of tall grass and
bright green moss. From the hut that
night you could see the beach 27km away and 600m below. The hut was lively with
13 other hikers cooking, playing cards, and sharing stories. With wet gear hung
in every possible corner I struggled to imagine the 28 people the hut could
apparently hold. It would have been the next level of mayhem. The next day,
waking up to snow was frustrating, but proved gratifying when I was able to
walk barefoot on the beach in 70 degree weather a few hours later. The Heaphy Hut
was simply amazing; it sits 200 m away from the ocean and at the mouth of the
Heaphy River surrounded with sod like grass. The final day was a 17 km walk
along the beach, a great finish to memorable trek.
West Coast-------
I caught a ride with John, Stephenie an older couple I had
met on the trek, and found myself at the base of the Frans Joseph Glacier a day
later. Here I hiked the Alex Knob track, up the side of a mountain
opposite the glacier that let you see entire glacier and its humbling magnitude.
At 2 AM that I woke up and watched the Rugby world cup. At great New Zealand passion that led to a fun
night out and watching the sun come up with other newly inspired rugby fans.
Wanaka and Queenstown--------
From Frans Joseph I met 5 new locals as I hitch-hiked the
285 km down to Wanaka. I left about the same time as John and Stephenie, who took
a buss, and was blown away when I saw their bus pull up in Wanaka 6 hours later
only minutes after I had been dropped off. In Wanaka I was able to go Skydiving which was an incredible
experience that left me with a natural high for the rest of the day. A bucket
list must for anyone who enjoys adrenaline. Watching one of the instructors
barrel out of the plane and flip toward the ground left me ready to feel the
same freedom 30 seconds later.
From Wanaka I hitch-hiked onto Queenstown for few days of hiking, drinking, and relaxing before sticking my thumb out to return to Christchurch where my adventure would move to a new country. A solid month learning the nomadic ways I would live by for the next 8.
More Pictures from the Trip:
From Wanaka I hitch-hiked onto Queenstown for few days of hiking, drinking, and relaxing before sticking my thumb out to return to Christchurch where my adventure would move to a new country. A solid month learning the nomadic ways I would live by for the next 8.
More Pictures from the Trip:
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| Heaphy Hut |
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| One of them any wobbly bridges along the hike |
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| Pancake Rocks Northern West Coast of South Island |
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| Mountain parrot known as a Kea |
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| Moss at the base of Frans Joseph Glacier |
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