Adventures in the Mt Aspiring Range & Heading North

To tell the story of my first night (and some of the second day) in the Mt Aspiring Range I'm now going to turn to a journal that I felt the urge to write the night after my arrival. Here is word for word, the account I wrote while sitting in a massive valley with no other human in sight!

Arrival Night (1st Nov)

"I put my thumb up by the sign, 'road ends', civilisation ends perhaps. Only the odd hut and track is scattered through the otherwise wild countryside. Huts with only cold water, no electricity, no anger.

30 minutes later (it's already about 4:30pm by now) a guy from Wisconsin named Steve picks me up and conversation begins with our love of American Football. Both of us have become armchair fans due to injury but our passion for the game was still there. Steve talked of his life in the states, his 4 kids, his divorce and his move to Wanaka, NZ. He talked of his vineyard which had just gone bust, leaving him with no home but his old car and it was the car park at the end of the road here where he splept many of his nights.

The road was windy, slowly turning to gravel. No bridges anymore, the car had to battle through streams often sinking to below door height. Some time later there it was, two huts announced the arrival at the car park at the end of the road. Our conversation continued & Steve offered me some wine, I accepted. The conversation drifted on with no boundaries, wild as the wind. I told him how he probably had a more breathtaking view than anyone in the world out their bedroom window and Steve laughed, 'you're right you know' he said. It was beginning to get dark. I told Steve I'd best head off now if I was to make it to the first hut (apparently a 2 hour hike away) which I had planned to camp near on the first night. Steve seemed worried and I reassured him all would be fine, he suggested I camp in the car park for the night and then head off in daylight but I told him I wanted to press on, I was feeling slightly drunk as Steve had given me a fair amount of wine at this point! I thanked Steve for the ride and his great company and told him we may well meet in this very place when I come back out. Steve had no phone.

Off I went and it was at this point I realised I'd taken far too many things, far too many heavy tins off food. My food bag dug painfully into my right shoulder, my guitar swung awkwardly on the back of my big pack (which I'd borrowed from Alex) and the handle of the tent bag was no more comfortable on my left hand. Within minutes I forgot all the pain, taken in by my freedom in this breathtaking new world. The mountains towered up ahead and the landscape looked very moody as I traveled through at dusk. I tramped on as darkness came closer and closer until finally it was upon me. I was lucky however as tonight was full-moon and so the moon lead the way. As the sky grew more cloudy however the moon would be hidden by the clouds for extended periods of time leaving in complete darkness. I took out my torch but it was only small and helped only illuminate what was immediatey in front of me. My load was beginning to weigh me, I dread to think how much weight I was carrying but it was a lot. It was not only the weight but the dark had led to me taking various wrong paths and everytime there was a river crossing I had to cross it at least twice to get all my gear across as it would have been dangerous to cross them with all my gear, leaving no hands free for balance. I found a beautiful spot by the river and as the temperature was fairly mild and I didn't feel much like putting my tent up only to take it down again in the morning I decided to sleep on the grass by the river in my sleeping bag. I took out my sleeping bag and just slept in it fully clothed under the stars as the Kea (native bird) cried away in the background. I must have slept for around an hour when I was awoken by the sensation of rain on my face and temperatures much colder than before. I could sense heavy rain, possibly even as storm coming. So I got up, still weary and decided I would battle on and try to find the hut as there was no way Alex's tent (which was apparently broken but fixed to some extent with duct-tape) was going to hold up in a storm. For what seemed like hours I struggled on, continuously wondering if I'd gone the wrong way as the dark mislead me more and more. The river crossings were becoming more and more tricky and I was now pretty lost. Many times I thought I sw the hut but as I got closer it became a tree, or a bush, or even just dissapeared. My mind was beginning to play tricks and the rain was coming down heavier than before now, and the driving wind was smashing it towards me as I battled on in to the night, I checked my phone for the time to see if daylight was nearing. 2 am it announced.

Eventually I found a falt section by the stream and decided I could go no further, I'd have to find a sheltered spot and set up the tent to stop mysef from getting badly ill from the damp and cold. I could easily have walked past the hut in the dark and so continuing to search for it was quite possibly a thankless task. I found what felt like a sheltered spot and began pitching this tent but as I had it partially pitched the wind changed and seemed determined to blow my tent into the nearby stream. I'd never put up this tent before and putting it up in this heavy wind and rain with nothing but a small torch for light was not an easy task. Eventually I got the inner-tent pegged down and put the poles throught to erect it. The wind was thrashing it but the tent was secure in the ground. I threw over the external sheet and pegged at as best I could. The tent continued to thrash about in the wind and the external cover was not on properly at all and there was no space for me to put up the porch. All my stuff was getting soaked and so I had to make do with how it was. I trhew everything I had into the tent, dived in, got out my sleeping bag and felt alive. I had never been so happy to be in a tent. The tent was a spectacle in itself, misshaped due to the duct taped pole and flapping furiously in the wind. At times the entire tent would be almost horizontal with the ground as the wind forced it down before letting it back up to it's normal position. Everytime the wind increased and the tent was blown horizontally I would get squashed by it inside and soaked by the now wet inner lining. I felt completely exposed, completely free, completely alive.

DAY 1 (2nd November)

I took me a while to sleep but eventually I somehow did but I kept waking in the night. Eventually I woke to daylight and exited my tent. It was still raining, I let out a cry, delighted to see my surroundings in the light for the first time. Last night had taken it's toll, I felt ill and the sun had still not risen entirely from behind the mountains, it was cold. I packed up my tent and decided to leave all my gear where it was as I had no idea if I'd gone past the hut or not. I jogged around the area to keep warm in hope of finding the hut and around an hour later I found it. It was another 20 minute walk from where I'd set up camp the night before. I'd not walked past it after all. I grabbed all my gear, exhausted but for some reason dtermined to make it to the hut despite the fact it meant very little now, the storm was over. I battled on determined. The final river crossing was the hardest and I had to throw my stuff to the other side (except my guitar) as there was no way I'd make the large jump while being weighed down by any of my gear. After I threw my backpack across it teetered on the edge, threatening to fall into the stream (which would have been disastorous) but it stayed put. I got to the hut and found that it cost $25 to stay in it for a night, I only had $15 on me so I wouldn't have afforded it anyway. It cost only $5 to pitch the tent near the hut and be able to use the water and toilet facilities however, so I decided to do this and hopefully recover from my illness. I dropped al my stuff and realised I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. This was likely to be a big reason as to why I felt so ill. I ate some tinned peaches and corn as well as two peanut butter sandwiches. I met another camper, Luke, who kindly offered me a coffee and told me of a great spot 45 minutes walk away. I felt much better now and reall excited about this tramping experience. I put my tent up and it made a loud 'snap noise', a pole had partially broken again. I managed to fix it but for how long, I don't know"

And there ends my journal entry...

I decided to go and check out this spot that Luke spoke of and so I set off carrying my guitar, a book and a pen. It tooke me about 30 minutes to get there and it was absolutely breathtaking. A massive valley, heaps of waterfalls either side, a river running through it, amazing native bush, and this all completely to myself. Coming out into that valley is one of those moments I will never forget. I spent many hours there reading, looking up often at the wonders which surrounded me. Then I wrote the above journal entry and played guitar to the wind. I perfected a song which I had written in Wanaka and the lyrics are as follows;

'Shipwreck' by Clive Fischer

I looked into your eyes last night,
And I saw calm seas,
I looked into your eyes tonight,
and I saw a breeze,

(Chorus)
Are we drifting on sheets of glass,
Or are we rolling through waves,
Are we sailing through clear water,
Or is something hidden from the compass?

If I look into your eyes again
Will I see a storm?

If I look into your eyes again,
Will I see a shipwreck?

(Chorus)
Are we drifting on sheets of glass,
Or are we rolling through waves,
Are we sailing through clear water,
Or is something hidden from the compass?

Having been there for many hours I began to feel very hungry and headed back to my tent for food. On my return I found my tent broken again. Bits of it were everywhere and I couldn't fix it. The only way round the problem was to use the pole for the porch on the main tent. It was far too small and the tent looked lopsided and flapped around even mor in the wind. But it seemed to be holding to some extent. There I met a nice German couple who asked me to play them some guitar so I played my guitar to them as the sun set behind the mountains. It was beauttiful to be performing in this wonderful, mysterious place. As darkness set we headed off to our tents. No lights within miles meant it would be a waste of torch battery to stay up through the darkness.

Day 2 (3rd November)

I decided I'd move my tent away from the campsite and try to find a sheltered spot near a river in the valley which I'd found. On my arrival in the valley I dropped my stuff and tried to find a spot sheltered from the wind, this was tough, it was incredibly windy and there was no spot next to the river where the broken tent would even stand a chance. Eventually I found a sheltered spot about 5 minutes walk from the river. I put the tent up and it made it look like there was a storm passing through despite the fact there was barely any wind. The tent collapsed a couple of times but I made it stand to some extent. I ecided I'd go for a wash in the river and see if th tent had held up when I came back. If it hadn't then there was no way it was going to hold up for the night and so I'd have to abort mission and head back to the car-park.

I went to the river and washed myself, it was invigorating as the water was freezing cold and the wind was very strong. I ran into the stream, washed myself using only the water (I didn't want to contaminate the water with shampoo!) and then ran back out, dried myself and put on my windproof jacket. I sat there for a while immersed in the moment, the freedom of now. I was enjoying this tramp immensely but as I headed back to the tent it was already falling apart and parts had come loose. The clouds in the distance gave hint of another storm and although it was now probably too late to get a lift back from the car-park (51km from town) as it would take 3 hours of walking to get there (to the car park) and it was by now already 4:30 pm and I hadn't even packed anything yet. However the car park had a hut with 2 walls and a table where there were display boards giving information about local plants. I decided although this hut was only half-walled and largely open it would still be better to sleep there than in the broken tent which would be a sitting duck in a storm.

I packed up, this time I managed to fit my depleted lunch bag into my backpack and attach my tent to the top of it. With this heavy and uncomfortable set-up (the tent dug into my shoulders rather painfully I set off with the guitar in my right hand. I made good speed and thoroughly enjoyed the walk back. It was good to see all the spots in the light that I'd walked past in the dark the other night. It was especially good to see the spot which I had first slept on in just my sleeping bag as it was even more beautiful in the light than it had been in the dark, amazing. After around three hours of hard trecking I saw the car park and was surprised to see 4 cars in it. On average proably about 6 cars arrive and leave in 1 day at this remote spot, and they usuall all leave by 7pm as nobody plans to hike in the dark. I got to the hut and got out my guitar and started to cook some noodles on the table there. I decided I would sleep the night on the table in my sleeping bag as the hut gave at least partiall shelter from the wind. I'd then ask for a lift back into Wanaka off the first people to appear in the morning. I assumed at this point that all the cars here belonged to people staying overnight in the various huts scattered throughout the wilderness. However around an hour l;ater I heard footsteps and 2 guys arrived. They'd apparently taken longer than expected and after I asked they agreed to take me back to Wanaka! I wouldn't have to sleep out the storm in a hut with only 2 walls after all! They were both medical students at Dunedin University and after 51km of bumpy gravel and stream crossings we were back in Wanaka where I got out at the hostel they were staying at and made my way back to Alex's led by the streetlights. It was weird to be back where there was lights and cars having spent a couple of days in the middle of nowhere!

On my arrival back at Alex's I found that Alex, Becky and Liz had all returned from Te Anau, I enthusiastically told them all what had happened and they loved the story, they told me how I'd become really brown and we laughed the night away before I joined Lisa and Alex (who were now an item, good for them:-)) to watch Zohan in Alex's room.




BACK IN WANAKA

In the morning (4th November) we headed out to the playing field to fly Alex's new 4.5m kite (it was big). It was awesome to fly and it'd quite often drag you across the grass! After a while I got the hang of it and drew some nice shapes in the sky and caught some nice air off it a couple of times. After a while Lisa joined us and she struggled to control it and injured her knee while being dragged across the grass and letting go of the kite! Thankfully she was ok and so was the kite :-). We tried to kite-surf using a skateboard with no wheels but that plan failed! Afterwards me and Alex went to check out this guitar and it was decent! She was asking $300 (150 pounds) for it with a hard case and everything which was pretty good. We headed off to check trade-me (NZ ebay) and found no better deals on there and so Alex decided he'd get it! In the afternoon we (Lisa, Alex and Me) headed to the lake front and knocked up a barbecue and drank some wine. It was yet again a glorious sunny day, (it had been sunny for all of the last 7 days!) We had a nice trio going on, we all got on fantastically and costantly had a great laugh! Afterwards we took the guitars to fantastic beach spot and went for a swin and played guitar! It was awesome.

On the 5th of November Alex's friend Steve wanted to show us a nice spot 90km away in a village called St Bathans (population 6). It was a nice little spot and we (Sarah, Lisa, Alex and me) relaxed there for a while drinking coffee in the sun before we drove back. We got back just in time to catch the viewing of 'Inglorious Basterds' at the local Paradiso cinema. I'd already seen the film but was not against seeing it again. The cinema was awesome. It had sofas and stuff instead of normal seats and you could even sit in a Volkswagen Beetle to watch the film if you wanted to! On our return Steve set off some fireworks back at Alex's and we headed off to sleep.

The 6th of November was my leaving day. I packed everything up . I was very sad to be leaving. I'd had an awesome time in Wanaka and Alex,Lisa and me had a great friendship group going. I would miss them both for sure. I swapped my capo for Alex's guitar strap (which I love) and I decided I'd head to Christchurch where I could get a new capo and also stock up on books for the rest of my trip. The drive to Christchurch was a good 5 hours so it would take a while to hitch-hike it.

Alex and the family were heading South to the Caitlins but dropepd me off at the roundabout out of Wanaka, me and Alex had an extended hug and he said many a kind word to me which would later turn to tears. Mainly he just told me to keep doing what I was doing and not to let anyone change me because I was a 'rare breed'. It was so nice of him to say that and as this trip goes on I'm becoing more and more comfortable in my own skin. As they drove off I shed a few tears as I put my thumb up! I got a ride to the next junction within minutes where a nice lady picked me up and dropped me off at the next junction. I was still around 4 and a half hours drive from Christchurch by now when after about 30 minutes I struck gold. 2 guys pulled over who were heading to Christchurch, easy!! They were two really nice guys from Bangkok at university in Christchurch. We stopped at Lake Tekapo where they asked me to join them for a meal at a Japanese restaurant. I'd never had japanese food before and it was very nice! Lake Tekapo was beautiful, it was so blue it was unbelievable, I could have sat there looking at it all day but we had to press on. We arived in Christchurch at about 6pm where I strolled across town to the hostel I was planning to stay at. Unfortunately it was full but I got into one just across the road and dropped my stuff. I decided I'd spend the morning tomorrow buying al the stuff I was after and then I'd head to Kaikoura, an apparently beautiful town on a Peninusla about 3 hours north of Christchurch! Christchurch was quite nice, plenty of parks littered about as to not make it feel too industrial and it didn't have to many high rise buildings which in my eyes is bonus.

The next morning (7th November) I headed out to town and bought a capo as well as 2 books. 'Into The Wild' which I was desperate to read again and 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac. I went back to the hostel grabbed my gear and headed out of Christchurch. I talked to a nice doorman who tole me it was about an hours walk to get to the main road from the town centre but I could get a bus for $7. I opted to walk out carrying all my gear. Having walked for about 40 minutes a fantastic couple (Soloman and his wife who's name I've forgot) pulled over and offered to take me to the main road (I was not walking with my thumb up, just walking) and they told me how they'd met in Malaysia and had lived together for 25 years. They were the kind of people who just shine like stars. There aren't many of these people around but you know it as soon as you meet them. They make you feel confortable, happy and at peace as soon as they talk to you. This couple were exactly like that.

Once on the road I waited for a good while before a postman picked me up and took me past the dreaded motorway to a small town about 30 minutes out of Christchurch. From there I got a lift off a nice lady named Mary who took me to the next junction 40 minutes up the road. It was around 4pm by now and it took a while for my next ride to come. It was a nice chap called Dave who was driving a huge and ancient camper-bus type thing. It could only go 70kmph maximum but the lack of speed mattered not as we had a great conversation! He dropped me off about 1 and a half hours from Kaikoura in the middle of nowhere. It was getting dark now and there was very few cars coming down this road. I begun to have thoughts of sleeping at the side of the road with no tent or sleeping bag but as usual someone pulled over eventually. A nice Kiwi surfer named Faughn picked me up and took me all the way to Kaikoura. He was hoping to check out a sur-break up there. He told me of his travels through Europe! Once we arrived in Kaikoura we found a nice hostel and Faughn went off to watch the rugby. Some sort of final was going on apparently. I told him I'd head off to buy some food and then possibly meet him in the pub. I walked for a good 30 minutes to the nearest supermarket. Kaikoura is breathtaking, a wonderful town on a peninsula with mountains very close to the sea! Apparently there is an abundance of wildlife such as dolphins and seals around here too. Having got to the supermarket it was closed so I headed back and bumped into Faughn who was peering out the windo of the pub. I sat with him and watched the game and he kindly bought me a beer! After the game we headed off to sleep and Faughn suggested we head out for a surf tomorrow. I agreed that this was a great idea!

This morning (8th November) I rang up the local surf-guru who informed me the tide was too high for beginners this morning (smashing waves into rocks) and offered to hire me some gear and take me out in the afternoon. I agreed and am looking forward to this. Faughn having surfed for 20 odd years headed out and we said our goodbyes.

Bring on the waves this afternoon...

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