bNovember 8, 2009 Things worked out well for us today, as we had no trouble getting to the trailhead, 15 miles from where we stayed last night. The owner of the motorcamp offered to drive us right to the start for a mere $20. Any transport company would have easily charged $30 per person. With enough food to last three days, we set off into the Tararua mountain range to do the Southern Crossing. These are the same mountains that gave us trouble during our last trip, and they are known to frequently take the lives of trampers. The last two deaths were only a month ago, and they were two locals. So we came prepared to be on top of our game. The track started with a brutal climb from the river in the jungle-looking ... read more

Trip Summary Where to begin. I’ve waited a couple of days since arriving back home to write out a summary of the trek in hopes that it would all have begun to set in and I would know what to say about the whole thing. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I think it may end up taking quite a while for the experience to fully set in. What I can say is that it was great, without a doubt the most fun and excitement I’ve ever had in my life so far. It was three months of living completely different from anything I’ve known, and it was strangely addictive. Eric and I set out with the goal of walking in a continuous north-south line across the country, but found ourselves changing the plan many ... read more

January 3, 2008 Today marks a radical shift in our journey. Eric and I have essentially run out of good tracks along our north-south route, but have found out about many great places to see and walks we’d like to visit that are in the general southern region. We were prepared to hitchhike to get to some of these places, but since Betti has joined us for awhile we realized that hitchhiking with three of us would be a near impossibility. So, we chose to rent a car that the three of us will use to see the south of the South Island, as well as take it north along the west coast to see areas we missed over there. Then we will take it across Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch, where Eric and I will fly ... read more

December 22, 2007 Djuke had already left earlier in the morning, but Bart, Betti, Eric, and I had breakfast together before all piling into Bart’s car once more. We dropped Betti off at a good place to hitchhike and then Bart drove us the hour and a half up the lake to the trailhead near the mouth of the Rees River. So, the walking began again and took us through a farmland valley towards the headwaters of the river. Many places were boggy, and it was unavoidable to get my feet wet. The bogs were due to the large number of streams coming down from the mountains that would cross our path and settle in the valley before joining the Rees River. The streams were also obstacles: some were easy enough to cross on the rocks ... read more

December 12, 2007 Today began with us being just as far from the trail, and actually possibly farther than yesterday, despite having spent hours on the road yesterday. But today would be different. Hitchhiking at first produced nothing until the owner of the motor park arranged for us to ride twenty-five kilometers with a delivery truck. The truck driver left us in Reefton and we stuck our thumbs out again. Within half an hour a guy drove up in a crappy red car, which he said cost him $300. I mention the price and the crappiness because it is overwhelmingly the case that people with crappy cars and noticeably lower economic situations are the ones who nine times out of ten will give us hitchhikers a ride. We have yet to get a ride from someone ... read more