Wanaka

On top of Mt. IronLake Wanaka and the peaks of Mt. Aspiring at sunset
My worst enemy

Last night i climbed one of the peaks just outside of town and got nice 360 degree views of the lake and mountains around Wanaka. I also met some people and we walked back down together. I didn't do much today other than run errands and read some. The bad weather is supposed to start soon, so I'm planning on going to a local cinema called Paradiso that has a good reputation here. Instead of standard seats there are sofas and they serve fresh-baked cookies during an intermission I'm told!

I attempted a nap this afternoon but as soon as I set my head down I could hear a motor starting up and then within ten minutes I had no chance of sleeping. For about 20 minutes, the guy pictured above was doing loops around my tent and didn't stop despite numerous dirty glances. Tomorrow I'm off for Makorora and the following day I'm going to hike around Gillespie Pass as long as the water level is low enough to cross the river out of town; fortunately I can just stay in town if it is too high.

-Brian

Wanaka

Today's swimming hole
I left Queenstown early this morning and arrived here in Wanaka about 90 minutes later. Wanaka, like Queenstown, is situated on one of the Southern Lakes, but, unlike its big brother, has a very relaxed feel and isn't very commercialized. I didn't do much today other than organize things for later in the trip and sort out details for a tramp in the Wilkens and Young valleys which I will start on Monday, weather permitting.

We're having a very warm summery day here, so I had a very nice swim in the very cold lake. I'm now in the heart of the Southern Alps and some of the taller peaks, which are still snow-capped, surround the lake in the distance. The campground where I'm staying isn't crowded at all (especially compared to Queenstown) and I've met a few really friendly people there. That's all for today - just relaxing!

-Brian

Queenstown

Typical scenery around the Greenstone valley
View from the McKellar Saddle, linking the Greenstone and Caples valleys

Swimming hole in the Caples Valley which I swam in (I was subsequently bitten to pieces by sandflies)

Interior of the Mid-Caples hut

Cattle blocking the trail (and looking a bit angry?) in the Greenstone valley

Magical scene on Lake McKellar in the morning

Queenstown continues to be a town of coincidences for me. As I was setting my tent up in the holiday park for a third time I saw a bus painted with the "Flying Kiwi" logo (this is the tour bus I took for a week at the start of my trip). Then, as I started to write this, I saw Drew, the tour bus driver I had sitting across from me in the internet cafe!

The trip through the Greenstone and Caples valleys was amazing and not too demanding physically (with the exception of yesterday, which was a 9 hour day). It's the romanticized pastoral landscape come to life, and sure enough, there were cows too (a few too many actually). Much of the land in the valleys is leasehold farming (which I believe means that it's publicly owned and leased out to private farmers - but I'm not sure).

I had a slow morning at the hut because I didn't need to catch the boat out until 2:00 pm but didn't mind spending the time there because the view was phenomenal. I had a very pleasant and short walk out today and walked part the way with some other people I met along the trail. Waiting at the dock were the two Americans - who I will mention further down - and we went back together. After I write this I'm going to meet them at Fergburger, a local favorite here in Queenstown, and, having had it, I approve of it (I feel that I am more than qualified to judge hamburgers as an American).

Another front is moving in now, just in time for the end of my last trip. I'm starting to head north tomorrow, the next stop being Wanaka just an hour or so north. I'll then do the same thing I've been doing - wait out the foul weather for a day or two and then start another tramp. I can't seem to get enough of the scenery in this part of the island.

-Brian

February 23 - Greenstone Hut

I had a great night of sleep last night and ate a big pancake breakfast at a cafe in Glenorchy before the hike today. The rain continued to fall lightly all day, but the scenery was still awesome. Some of the clearnings in the Greenstone valley looked especially cool with all the mist.

I took a boat to the trailhead, and, although it was not as exciting at the ferry across the Foveaux Strait, it was still a fun (and bumpy) ride.

I saw few people on the trail today and really enjoyed the walk that more or less followed the river up the valley. There are plenty of people here at the hut and they are all young and quite friendly. I particularly enjoyed talking to Travis and Michael, two brothers from Colorado who are here to fish the Greenstone. Tonight, most of us at the hut played a game called "Yannive," taught to us by an Israeli couple staying here. I will see some of the same people at the next hut tomorrow.

February 24 - McKellar Hut

The weather was finally good today and the walk was splendid and easy on my feet. The track traversed a good deal of lease-hold farmland and I had to do a bit of hopscotch to avoid landing my feet in one of the many piles of cow poo. I also had a few face-to-face encounters with the cows - they were looking at me menacingly but always fled frantically when I got close. This is a beautiful area and it's been a peaceful few days.

The hut is crowded (17 people) and the bunks are very close. It will be difficult sleeping, but I've met more awesome people here and enjoy that aspect of the huts. It's pretty much impossible to crawl in bed without waking everyone else, however.

February 25 - Mid-Caples Hut

Today was a long day, but the weather was fantastic and there were some great views from the McKellar Saddle. The highlight of the day was certainly seeing Lake McKellar this morning with a light fog hovering above it; it was nothing short of magical. It was a boggy walk from there to the saddle and incredibly steep on the approach to the saddle. From there I descended into the Caples valley which is much more rugged (and thus, less used) than the Greenstone valley. The views here at the hut are great and it's not crowded - just the two Israelis who have walked the same route as me and another American.

Glenorchy

It seems that Queenstown is the city of coincidental meetings; last night at the holiday park I was walking to my tent and I saw Paulo, the Swiss guy from Arthur's Pass (you can see his picture on an earlier entry)! After talking about where we'd been for the past three weeks, we went out for a beer and then caught a movie at the theater in town. He's a really funny person and it was a good night. It was nice to run into him because it can get a bit overwhelming in a big town like Queenstown if you don't know anyone. I'll have to spend one more night in Queenstown in about 4 days (it's just about unavoidable with the way that the transportation works here), so I'm curious to see who will be the next old acquaintance to show up.

The poor weather continues here, so I'm counting myself lucky that I made it off Stewart Island! Things are forecasted to improve tomorrow so I'm hitting the trail again for the next 4 days. I had planned to do a track called the Rees-Dart, but decided against it because it has a number of river and stream crossings and the water levels are very high now. Instead I'm doing another circuit trip out of Glenorchy that goes through the Greenstone and Caples valleys. I had picked the Rees-Dart because it was more challenging than what I've been doing, but this new option should be just as good; there's a really steep alpine crossing on the Caples side of the track. And, with no tricky water crossings, it seemed like the better choice.

Glenorchy is a very nice small town which I'm sure has great views of the surrounding mountains, but there isn't much to see today. So, three nights on the trail, and I'll be back in Queenstown on Thursday.

-Brian

Queenstown

A night time visitor at Stewart IslandStewart Island as it typically feels - reserved, untouched, a bit mysterious
Another wonderful beach campsite, Stewart Island on a sunny day, with the South Island barely visible on the horizon
How I was feeling on the ferry ride across the Foveaux Strait :)

I'm back in the commercial mecca of the South Island and things were a bit rough to start. I had a hell of a time getting my tent up in the gusty winds and strong rain this afternoon, and it blew away as I was trying to get it up! Fortunately I was able to run it down. There's a guy from Michigan in the site next to mine and he's touring around on a bike, so we were able to commiserate a bit about the weather. None of the hostels I rang had any beds, so I was forced to stay at the holiday park again, which is really a rip-off. It's 18$/person for a tiny little tent site; there was a person in front of me who wanted a tent site for 4 people and had to pay 72$!!! Then they want you to pay a dollar for a shower. I suppose it's still the cheapest option in town though. I improvised a few extra guy lines to make sure it doesn't blow away while I'm in town.

Speaking of foul weather, the ferry ride this morning across the strait was ... harrowing. Of the 25 or so people on the boat, 3 adults and 3 children lost their breakfast. At one point the crew was just transporting vomit, going from person to person. By the end of the hour trip, the cabin reeked of - well, you know. I actually fared much better this time - I think because I made sure to get a good breakfast. I tried to watch the horizon as they suggest, but found this difficult because the waves were pounding constantly against the windows of the cabin. I suppose it's difficult to describe what it was like, but I will say there were plenty of white-caps and they had temporarily postponed all the services later in the day. I got some good videos from it.

Having little to do here in Queenstown, I decided to get a haircut, and the woman who cut my hair was nothing short of appalled at what she was looking at. By the end she said, "You look like a totally different person, and, trust me, that's a good thing." The nerve. Then again, she also seemed surprised that I didn't use any "product" in my hair. That's the vibe here in Queenstown though, if that helps describe it. Stewart Island was so much more friendly. For example, I got a pizza last night at one of the local restaurants (I've now been to them all), and the guy who cooked the pizza actually came out to check on it and we talked for a few minutes. Tomorrow I'm escaping again to Glenorchy, which is only a few miles up the road. There I'll take another rest day or two and wait out this weather before doing another tramp in the Mt. Aspiring region (that's where the Routeburn is).

-Brian

Oban

The walk around Stewart Island was great, although my body is starting to feel the 10 days of packing that I've done without much of a break. Last night I had the campsite to myself, although there were plenty of loud birds to keep my company. They must have been big birds too because I could hear them stomping through the bushes and pecking at my trash. I also heard quite a few tuis, which sound a lot like R2-D2 (they actually have multiple voice boxes I think). The walk was definitely worthwhile, and I saw lots of birds (but no kiwi). Today I walked back into town and am treating myself to a room in the hotel (although it's really more like a backpackers with shared bathrooms and the like). The weather is deteriorating rapidly and the outlook for the next few days looks bad. I'm booked to catch the 8:00AM ferry out of here tomorrow, but if the weather is too bad I don't think it will run, and if it does, I can expect an even bumpier ride than that which I experienced coming here. Assuming I make it off the island tomorrow, I'll head back up to Queenstown, though I'll have little to do there as well for the next few days because the weather doesn't look like it's going to clear up soon.

-Brian

February 18, Maori Beach
It was nice to be able to sleep in today, not have to wake up for anything, and take the day at my own pace.

After grabbing a coffee in town, I hit the trail and walked about 3.5 hours, arriving here at Maori beach by mid-afternoon. I've decided to spend the night here because it isn't next to the hut and I can still do the entire track in 3 days from here.

The beaches of Stewart Island are quiet, remote, and have a slow, peaceful feeling about them. This area sees few visitors - although I did manage to run into someone I met at the train station in Arthur's Pass (that was about 2 weeks ago!).

The weather cleared completely this afternoon, and, with the sun shining, it became pleasantly warm here - a nice break from the cold weather we've been having.

There are few people here, but I did meet a Swiss guy and there are two people here I met at the backpackers' last night - it's a very small world here on Stewart Island.

February 19, Sawdust Bay
Last night I met a friendly French girl and two kiwis who were good fun. We had a campfire and shared a few laughs.

Things are much less hospitable on this side of the island; the wind blows strongly and there isn't much of a beach (it's really more like a mud flat). The rainwater tap here at the campsite is dry and the only nearby freshwater is about a 40 minute return walk (at least I brought my filter).

The walk today was hilly and extremely muddy, although it was really quite nice. There are few people here and the birdlife is really active. At times the mud was almost a foot deep, but in most places they've installed boardwalks.

It looks like I will have the camp to myself tonight, although a young couple from the Czech Republic did stop by for a while. They really only talked to each other, and I think they were speaking about as fast as anyone I've ever heard before.

Oban, Stewart Island

I had to get up before the sun this morning to catch the bus down to Invercargill that connected with the ferry that I took to Stewart Island today. I was a bit concerned because my watch (which is also my alarm clock) stopped working last night, but I managed to get myself up in time to make the bus. Strangely, the watch is working again now.

The ferry took an hour to reach Oban, and it was an hour of hellishly choppy waves. A few girls weren't so lucky, but I made it without suffering too badly from seasickness. Stewart Island is strangely quiet after coming from Queenstown and it has an especially calm feeling because few people drive cars here (there's no vehicle ferry to the island). I plan on starting a 3 day walk tomorrow on the Raikura track. The DOC office staff were extremely helpful, a welcome change from the "we don't deal with that" attitude from the staff in Queenstown. I can walk to an from the circuit track from Oban, so I save some money on transport. The weather looks good, although Stewart Island seems to always have clouds hanging over it. The Maori called it "The Land of Glowing Skies" because of its lingering sunsets that I assume are intensified by the low hanging clouds.

I'll spend the night here again on Friday and then start heading slowly north towards Auckland.

-Brian