Nelson

Trine and Jens, the two Danish travellers with whom I'll be doing the Abel Tasman trek with.
Endless vineyards in the North of the South Island

First view of the South Island from the ferry

I'm finally to the South Island, and, after getting off the ferry, I took a bus a little bit west to Nelson, one of the bigger towns in the South Island. It's still quite small by American standards and the whole town more or less shut down around 6pm (even Starbucks closed!). The bus ride took me through the Marlborough region which seemed to be just one vineyard after another. Haven't tried the wine yet though.

I sat across from a couple from Denmark on the train I took a couple of days ago, and seemed to run into them over and over again during my short visit in Wellington. Then, sure enough, they showed up on the same ferry I was taking. We got to talking, I told them of my plans in Abel Tasman, and they asked to join. So I helped them book everything and now they will be joining me for the next three days in Abel Tasman. It should be great to have some companions for a while. They're really friendly people and we just got back from getting groceries for the trip. Interesting how you meet people when you're travelling. Reminds me of something I forgot to mention about the train journey. People liked to wave as the train went by every day (and only one train runs a day). Some guys working on a farm, however, had a better idea and mooned the train! It made me think of my dad :)

I was wandering the streets of Nelson tonight looking for an ice cream and heard some live music so I followed my ears to a pub that had some live jazz going on (old-time stuff). Not the greatest band I've ever heard, but it was still enjoyable to be around music for once in three weeks! I really do miss it. From what I've gathered so far, it seems that New Zealand really doesn't have an arts scene that can compare to what we have in the US, but I suppose that's really no surprise considering how small the population is (~4 million). Auckland had a few things going on, but nothing like what is around Washington.

So tomorrow we take a water taxi to about halfway down the Abel Tasman coastal walk, and then we'll walk to the end. The track goes along the beach for much of the way and is a pretty flat and easy trek, so we've packed a lot of good food and wine and our packs will be a bit heavy. I think both the campsites are on the beach, so I'm really excited. That said, I won't be able to write until Saturday here, so goodbye until then.

-Brian

Wellington

Trains are definitely somewhat of a joke in NZ. We arrived over an hour late to Wellington last night, and, from talking to a local at National Park, it sounded like this was a normal thing! I suppose that explains why the train wasn't too crowded. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant ride and I was able to walk outside the carriage and stand outside while the train was moving which was sweet (and I'm not sure that they'd let you do that in the states). Good scenery, but mostly just farms and a few volcanoes in this part of the North Island.

I'm staying at a big backpackers in downtown Wellington, but it's bearable because I have a single room with a TV!! It also has a desk, a chair, and a sink! And I only share a bathroom with one other person. I'm living extravagently and in luxury in the big city. You can't really get away from American television and Hollywood on the TV though.

It's a very rainy day here in Wellington, which I was actually pleased about because I planned on spending the day at the museum. It was a very interesting museum with a lot of geology exhibits plus an art gallery (although New Zealand's artistic output is pretty limited). I might see a concert in the botanical garden tonight if the weather improves; otherwise, I might just treat myself to some more tv.

I'm leaving the city and the North Island tomorrow morning and heading over to Nelson. The ferry goes through the sounds of the Marlborough region and I'm told is a great sightseeing trip in addition to being the only sea transport between the two islands. The following day I'm planning on doing part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Walk, which should be a relaxing tramp before I do the Milford and Routeburn in two weeks. The area is supposed to enjoy great weather this time of year and I can pitch a tent real close to the beach.

No pictures today because I didn't really take any.

-Brian

National Park - Wellington

Mountain biking around TongariroView of Ngauruhoe from the Hostel in the evening (this is Mount Doom)

The mountain bike ride yesterday was hot but a good time. I ended up riding much of the way with Leslie and Dennis, some people from Hamilton. I had to wait up a lot for everyone to catch up, but I suppose that's better than being left behind. Good views, great downhills, and some really hard uphills (including some that I had difficulty pushing the bike up).

The hostel here has a good atmosphere, I think mostly because there's really nothing to do here other than tramping and biking. So I've met some cool people here, and played cards with some Americans (my count is up to 7) and a Swiss guy. One of the Americans actually grew up near Bowie - most that I meet are from California. It's great to hang out here because the view of the mountains is incredible (reminds me of the American West a bit). But like I said, there really isn't much to do in the town itself. I walked around this morning and it was like walking through a ghost town. I think National Park is more of a ski town, and they get by during the summer with trampers. The ski posters here all have warnings about volcanic eruptions and give instructions on what to do if the volcano erupts while you're skiing! Mt. Ruapehu, the tallest in the North Island, is still active, and there are minor eruptions every few years.

I'm catching the train down to Wellington today, and I'm excited about travelling on something other than a bus. Trains are a rare in New Zealand, and as far as I know, this train is the only passenger train on the North Island other than limited city trains in Auckland (I think they're on their way to building a bigger subway).

-Brian

National Park

Pictures from Taranaki first:


The view from Lake Dive Hut

The mountain from a riverbed

One of the huts and the hut warden



Today I got up early to catch my bus out of New Plymouth and arrived in National Park at around 2:00pm. It took a while because of a long transfer wait. It's the hottest it's been so far here in National Park (I suppose because I'm away from the coast), so I'm taking it easy right now. Tomorrow I'm hiring a mountain bike to ride a trail in the area - I think it's 42 km, but relatively easy going, so it should be fun. There are other people from the hostel doing the same thing, so maybe I will ride with them.

The next day I'll take the train to Wellington, spend a day or two, then catch the ferry to the South Island. At this point, I think I'm going to walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Walk when I get to the S. Island. An easy beach walk to give me time to rest before doing the Milford and Routeburn.

Brian

New Plymouth

Still can't upload pictures - but I will put up pictures of Taranaki as soon as I can.

Today was a rest day at the beach, although I had to walk 12k RT to get there so I suppose it wasn't completely a rest day. Awesome beach here that is surprisingly not crowded given that New Plymouth is a city of 10,000 (this makes it one of the bigger cities in NZ). The sand is black and the water of the Tasman Sea is extremely cold, so I didn't do any swimming. Also ran a few errands and spent an hour or so with coffee and the paper which was nice. Tonight I'm planning on going out for a drink and pool with an Australian guy I met at the hostel who is also doing a lot of tramping around NZ. He taught me about cricket today :) There's a big bike race tomorrow around Taranaki (150k I think), but I won't be here to see it.

Off to National Park tomorrow for just about 2 nights I think. I will do some more hiking if I feel up to it, and then off to Wellington for a night or two.

-Brian

New Plymouth

I'm back in New Plymouth, a day earlier than expected on account of cancelling my attempt at the summit. I was simply too exhausted to consider spending another day on the mountain. The AMC (around the mountain circuit) took me through about 50km of incredible wilderness but was extremely challenging. Recent storm damage caused severe erosion to the trails and it was tough-going most of the way. Poor weather made the first two days even harder. Still, the views on the last two days were incredible and made the journey worthwhile. And it truly felt like wilderness because I only saw a handful of people on the trail, and not a single person on the third day. I had an entire hut to myself last night, right up against Lake Dive with a phenomenal view of the mountain (pictures will come when I can upload them). Truly amazing. I've copied my notes from the last three days below. Incidentally, the equipment that I have brought along has served me very well.

Today saw good weather and I decided to hurry through the last section of trail so that I could make the 4:30 shuttle. After a relaxing (and beautiful) morning at the Lake Dive Hut, I hit the trail and saw people for the first time in about 36 hours when I arrived at the Dawson Falls Visitor Center. I grabbed a quick bite of real food there and then carried on. About an hour and thirty from the end of the loop I met a man from Hamilton who said he would show me the "local's route" back to the visitor center where I started. This route, along "the Razorback" was essentially straight down and was extremely hard on my already sore knees. Plus he was going incredibly fast. I started to get some of the worst pain I've ever felt in my knees and told him that I would need to slow. He offered my some ibuprofen, took my pack along with his daypack, and gave me his walking pole. By the time that we reached the VC my knee was feeling almost back to normal. I think it was just a bit of overuse, nothing torn. It feels fine now, just a bit sore. At any rate, I've decided to change my itinerary slightly and take some more days for rest. Instead of doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit (a 3 day alpine trip), I'm just going to head to National Park (that's the name of a town) and relax and maybe hire a bike for a day. Additionally, I will have another day in New Plymouth, which I'm going to spend at the beach along the Tasman Sea :) I'll be in Wellington by the 25th or so and on the South Island by the 27th.

Tonight was pleasant. I wandered around looking for food until I found a bar that sold food (it was Texas-themed which was funny). I was the only person there so I talked to the bartender for an hour which was good fun. He did a lot of fishing (for fish that I had never heard of) and a lot of hunting (for rabbits). Back at the hostel I've been talking a lot with a guy from Wellington who is spending a month in New Plymouth for work. We met on Monday when I first arrived. So beach tomorrow plus a few errand including the post office.

-Brian

January 19 - Holly Hut

Although the forecast predicted that the rain would be clearing from the area, the rain has persisted, quite heavy at times, throughout the day.

I was picked up from the hostel at 7:30 by Ian, a very friendly Kiwi driver. We talked some about the Taranaki region and he mentioned that dairy farming and oil drilling made it a very profitatable region. I talked to the staff at the North Egmont Visitor Center for about 30 minutes and then fueled up with a pancake breakfast at the cafe there. All the while, rain was coming down in rather heavy spurts.

I managed to hike an hour without rain and was treated to some views of the area at the base of the mountain, but to date have not seen the peak of Taranaki since I arrived in New Plymouth. I only walked 8 km of stream -- er, trail -- today, but it was quite exhausting and the weather is terrible so I have to decided to wait it out here at Holly Hut. The rain persists and the wind gusts are strong.

There was only the hut warden here when I arrived and 4 high school girls from New Plymouth arrived about 2 hours later. The hut warden is a volunteer and is friendly enough, but is a bit strange and really doesn't know much about the trails! The high school girls are -- well, they're high school girls. There is a woodstove here along with coal which is very nice -- it would be no fun to be in a tent right now.

Tomorrow will be a long day and I'm a bit concerned about the condition of the trails ahead. Today was slow going because of slippery rocks and deep puddles everywhere and I fear tomorrow will be the same. Some of the stream crossings are difficult, so I will have to be careful. Hopefully the weather will improve at least.


January 20, Waiaua Gorge Hut

I think today was the most difficult and most miserable day of backpacking I've ever had. The clouds and rain haven't cleared as forecasted and I arrived at the hut completely soaked. The hut is quite nice and I have it to myself so far. It's right at the edge of an enormous gorge (very impressive) and is also supposed to have a view of the mountain. I still haven't even caught a glimpse of Taranaki in two days. Hopefully I will be able to see it tomorrow morning. I'm even considering staying here an extra day and skipping the summit because I'm so sore and demoralized. I only covered about 15 km of trail today, but I don't think there was an easy stretch on it and it took me over 7 hours. Everything is dangerously slippery and my feet often sink a foot or so into the mud that's all around. Much of the walk was along a riverbed which was very impressive (and would have been more impressive if the peak wasn't in the clouds), but very tough-going. The stream crossings were difficult and the rocks large and difficult to move between. Erosion made for some very challenging ascents and downed trees were a pain. The worst part was the approach to Kahui Hut where I had lunch -- the bush was so overgrown that I couldn't see the ground and the ground was uneven and slippery. Just as I arrived at that hut, four New Zealanders (boys + 1 man) arrived from the other direction -- they had no interest in talking.

I haven't seen a soul other than those four at the hut all day, and I suspect I will enjoy my first quiet sleep of the trip. The girls last night were very noisy and kept slamming the doors in the hut. I did enjoy a game of Euchre with them and the warden earlier in the night which was very nice.

On the upside, the sun does seem to be tring to peek through. And I have a dry set of clothes on. I can only hope the weather will improve.

January 21 -- Lake Dive Hut

I ended up sharing the hut last night with two older men from Palmerston North -- one was Maori [I ended up seeing him at the other end of the circuit today]. I had such a hard time understanding their English, so we didn't converse too much.

After getting some excellent rest and sleeping in to 8:30, I was finally greeted with beautiful weather this morning. Not a cloud in the sky and the view was spine-tingling. It almost made the past two days worthwhile.

I had two routes to choose from today, a higher and a lower one, and since the weather was so nice I opted for the higher one. Two people had warned me about bad erosion on this route, but the lower route is known to be the worst on the mountain -- a big bog with no views. Of course, neither of the people who warned me had walked the trail, and I found it to be safer than the trail I walked yesterday. Plus, the views were incredible, especially as I climbed above the bushline. The trail was exceedingly steep [they don't really have switchbacks in NZ], but at least it wasn't slippery or covered in trees. I did run out of water for a bit, but I was able to filter some up soon enough.

Lake Dive Hut has sweet views and it's finally warm outside. I didn't see a single person today after I left the hut, so maybe I'll have this hut to myself.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Maketawa Hut [This later changed]. From there I can attempt the summit on Friday, or it's only about an hour walk to the visitor center where I'm getting picked up. Even if the weather is good, I'm not sure that I'll attempt the summit as I really don't have that much strength left. I will decide later -- for now, just relaxing with excellent views of the top of the mountain and Lake Dive.

New Plymouth

Today I woke up just as it started to rain and packed up quickly. It was then a 30 minute walk through the rain to the bus station in Auckland (I couldn't take the city transport there because it was too early). It took 6 hours to get to New Plymouth by bus, and fortunately most of the rain went through while we were driving. I didn't get much sleep last night because there was a loud party just down the street from the hostel, and I'm feeling rather down today (I'm guessing because of the sleep - fortunately I have a room to myself tonight)

New Plymouth is right on the shore of the Tasman Sea and the rain seems to start and stop unexpectedly. It's a nice small city of about 10,000 and I'm going in a bit to walk through the park where they're supposed to have a very nice lights display and live music every night during summer. There was a New Zealander at the hostel so I talked to him for a while -- mostly he was talking about New Zealand's drinking problem.

Tomorrow I'm getting picked up at 7:30 to go to Mt. Taranaki and I will spend 4 nights there and return to this hostel on Friday. So no blog entries until then! I was able to lock up my tent and a few other things at this hostel, so my pack will be a little lighter.

Back on Friday,
Brian