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Published: February 21st 2007
This is why you trek
The view from Luxmore Hut on the Kepler. A lot of people would ask why someone would want to strap a 40lbs pack to your back and go walk 12-20km a day in the hot sun, rain, mud, bugs, etc. I found myself asking that question more than once while I was out trekking around, but then I would walk around a corner, come to the top of a hill, or come out of the trees to see the amazing wild beauty of the real New Zealand and my questions would be answered. During most of January I did three treks, two of which are considered "Great Walks", and visited some of the most amazing areas on the south island and really got to know the reason why everybody loves this country so much. The pictures I have here don't really do any of these walks justice, but I will try to show you some of the beauty that I witnessed on my wanderings.
Before the real fun could begin I spent a few days relaxing in beautiful, but not so sunny, Dunedin. They aren't kidding when they say that Dunedin is the wettest city in New Zealand. I stayed there 5 days and had rain for
Dunedin Surf
St. Claire Beach I think 4 of them. I wanted to get some surfing in while I was there but the weather and swell didn't see it that way so I only got to surf one day of ok, somewhat blow out surf at St. Claire beach. The place has a lot of potential though and I know that there were plenty of other areas around that could be surfed as well. The water was nice and chilly though.
After Dunedin I headed over to Te Anau with Christian, one of the gazillion Germans I have met traveling (they're everywhere I tell you). Te Anau was our launching point for the Kepler Trek and is a great little town located on the shores of Lake Te Anau. We stayed the night in a great little hostel just outside of town called Barnyard Backpackers. It overlooked sheep and deer farms and had a great view of the hills and mountains around. It was here that we put ourselves to the difficult task of getting all of things consolidated so that our packs were manageable while making sure we had enough food for the 4 day, 60km trek.
We started the walk the
next day at around 10am or so at the flood control gates for the river. From here we walked along the edge of Lake Te Anau in a quiet beach and fern lined forest. Around noon we reached the part in the trail where we would start the big climb up to our first hut 1050m or so above. This is where the trail became not so much fun. We walked to about 3-4 hours up switchback after switchback until we finally came out above the tree line. Once above the trees we had an amazing view (I'll be using that phrase a lot) of the lake and surrounding hills and mountains. We walked (more like staggered) for another hour or so to our first hut, Luxmore Hut, where we enjoyed a much needed break from our packs.
Here at the hut we had our first introduction to the Keas, an alpine parrot, of the area. They were brave little buggers and always looking to steal anything you didn't have on you. They would walk right up to you and were ready to bite you at any time. You really had to keep an eye on everything as they
would dismantle it and/ or fly off with it in an instant.
After battling it out with the birds for a while we made the short walk over to Luxmore Caves. It was good to move my sore legs around some and they caves were an interesting adventure. After some tight squeezes and a few shots to the head from the low hanging roof we managed to get down fairly deep and see some cool rooms and rock formations. Hunger and a desire to limit the damage to my head kept our journey in the caves short and we headed back to the hut for some great backpacker fare of instant noodles and tuna (good stuff!).
The second day of the trek had us walking up another 400m in elevation. We walked for an hour or so past the hut to just below the top of Mt. Luxmore. Here we ditched our packs and made the 10 minute walk to the top in 40-50 mph winds. The next three hours were spent above the tree line along ridge lines or in saddles between peaks battling the wind and hills. Fortunately we had mostly clear skies and the sun
helped to keep us warm against the cool wind. About the time I was really getting sick of going up-hill we finally descended into the trees. After about the 50th switchback down the hill I was begging for some uphill sections, but we finally made it down into the valley and our second hut- Iris Burn.
We were greeted at Iris Burn by the much loved sand fly. These things decimated my legs in no time and sent me into itching fits for days. I did brave the sand flies long enough to walk down to the Iris Burn falls. After I couldn't take the sand flies any more I retreated back to the hut for some more noodles and tuna.
The third day was a much easier walk through the bush and along the Iris Burn River. Along the way we passed through an area where a large land slide had cleared out part of the forest. Further down the track the river flowed into Lake Manapouri. The last bit of the hike was then along the shores of Lake Manapouri and on to the Moturau Hut. The hut sits on a nice little beach on the
lake where I went for a quick and very cold dip in the lake to wash off some of the last 3 days worth of stench.
The last day of the trek was a nice easy walk through the bush along the Waiau River and back to the Lake Te Anau control gates where we started the trip. We walked through some wetland areas and along the river in great weather and had a great end to the trip. After the walk we got a ride back to our hostel, took much needed showers, and had a great feast to celebrate the finish of the trek.
The next day I did an all day kayak trip over to Milford Sound. I met the shuttle at 6am and we made the hour and a half drive over to Milford Sound from Te Anau. Once at the fjord we were got into our gear and headed out in the kayaks. Within minutes of being out on the water we saw a Fjordland Crested Penguin swimming around which was a somewhat rare site this time of year. The little guy saw our and under our kayaks and hung around for 5
minutes or so. It was really cool to see him swimming below our kayak in the crystal clear water.
After the penguin encounter we headed over to a great waterfall and then up the fjord. Throughout the day we saw New Zealand Fur Seals and Bottle Nose Dolphins. The dolphins were playing all throughout the day and there were several times where they were doing flips out of the water and jumping several meters out of the water.
As we worked our way up the fjord it was amazing to take in the immense beauty of the granite walls and huge waterfalls all around you. We paddled about half way out of the fjord before the wind picked up and made it difficult to make headway so we turned around and rafted the kayaks together and sailed downwind. After we sailed for a while we separated the group and had a go at surfing the kayaks down the waves coming into the fjord. We surfed the kayaks to a beach where we had lunch and relaxed for a while. After lunch we paddled around the back waters and then headed in for the day. On the way back
to Te Anau we stopped off at several areas to enjoy the glacier-carved valleys that lead up to the fjord.
When I got back to Te Anau I drove down to Invercargill which is on the southern tip of the south island. I stayed here for two days waiting out some heavy rain storms before taking the ferry from Bluff, which is just south of Invercargill, over to Stewart Island.
Stewart Island is the third largest island in New Zealand and is mostly covered in native bush. There is only one town, Oban, on the island and the rest is native bush. Most of the island is incorporated in the Rakiura National Park which is where I was heading for.
The ferry ride from Bluff to Oban is supposed to be a rough one but I was lucky and had a wet but smooth hour ride over. When I got to Oban I made a quick stop at the Department of Conservation (DOC) office to book my hut passes and then walked the 5km through the town to the start of the Rakiura trek. The trail started along the coast and meandered in and out of the bush along
the coast. I walked along beaches and in among the tree ferns of the temperate rainforest for 10km in the heat and humidity before finally coming to the Port William Hut. I managed to get to the hut just before it started raining. The rain kept me in the hut the rest of the evening and didn’t let up until early the next morning.
The next day was a walk across to the other side of the peninsula I was on through native bush. The track was made up of long sections mud and tree roots that had me dancing from one side of the trail to the other to keep out of the ankle deep mud. These sections were broken up by areas of boardwalk (wood with chicken wire on top) where the hills were too steep or difficult to navigate otherwise. These quickly became like walking up and down long stairways so they were not much of a break from the mud. The whole day was a real leg burner but had some great views of the island and bush. I got to the North Arm Hut late in the afternoon and relaxed a little. The rains came
in again in the afternoon and lasted all night which killed any chance of going out and finding kiwis.
The third day I got up somewhat early and quickly gathered my things so that I could head back to Oban. As I was leaving the hut I was lucky enough to hear a kiwi but did not get a chance to see it. I had a nice walk through the bush but still had plenty of mud patches to dodge. It was about lunch time when I got to town so I sat down and had a quick bite of lunch before booking a short boat ride over to Ulva Island.
Ulva Island was set aside as a pest free zone so that several rare birds would have a safe place to live. Stoats, rats, and weasels have really decimated the native bird population around NZ so it was nice to get to a place where you could see some of the rare birds. I spent a couple hours walking the trails and beaches seeing bellbirds, parakeets, parrots, wekas, tui, and saddlebacks. There were only 10-15 people on the island while I was there and it was nice to sit
alone on some of the benches along the trail and let the birds come to you.
I made it back to Oban in time to grab the 4pm ferry. I quickly grabbed my stuff from the hostel in Invercargill and drove up to Dunedin. I stayed in Dunedin for a day and then headed up the road to Christchurch. While in Christchurch I made a stop at the Orana Wild Animal Park. This is like mini version of the San Diego Wild Animal Park and was cool to walk around for the afternoon.
The highlight of the park was the chance to watch the daily feedings of the different animals. I started the feedings by getting a ticket for the lion feeds. It was an extra $15 but well worth it! We were loaded into a cage in the back of an old pick-up and then driven into the lion enclosure. As soon as we were in the enclosure the lions were all over the cage looking for food. From within the cage the girl from the park fed the lions raw meat. The whole time the lions were either right beside or on top of the cage and were
no further than 3-4 feet from you. When one was being fed the others would get really mad a start growling at us in the cage which was a little unnerving. It was quite an experience.
In addition to this they had a set up where the cheetahs would run the length of their enclosure at close to full speed chasing a decoy on a cable. You don’t really realize how fast those things can run until you see it in person. Amazing! They fed them after the run. Next they fed the wild African dogs which was also to cool to see. I was also finally able to see a Kiwi in their exhibit. It took me 3 times to finally see the little guy but he finally stuck his head out of his shelter and walked around some. I guess they’re blind as bats and really skittish so the don’t wander around a whole lot. Funky looking little birds!
From Christchurch I headed up the east coast and over towards Nelson which was my launching point for the Abel Tasman trek. I stayed in Nelson one night and then drove over to the small town of Marahau which
Iris Burn Hut
The end of day 2 was my starting point for the 52km Abel Tasman Coastal Trek. From here I walked up the coastal track to a beach on Tinline Bay and had some lunch. While there on the beach I saw a blue penguin in the water just off the beach. Evidently when you see a blue penguin swimming in the water off the beach it means that rain is soon to fall because as soon as I started back on the trail I was greeted with drizzle which quickly turned into thunderstorms. Needless to say, the rest of the 20km I walked that day was not the best part of the trip. I managed to get into Bark Bay Hut in the evening looking like a drown rat.
The next day I tried to dry my cloths and shoes as best as possible before heading out for the next hut. I walked most of the way with Ryan who is from Texas. We saw a little rain on the way but managed to stay dry this time. We walked through bush and along some nice gold sand beaches and arrived at the Awaroa Hut in the early afternoon. This left us enough time
to wander back along the beach to the Awaroa Lodge and Café. It was rather odd to see a somewhat upscale Lodge and Café in the middle of a national park, but after a wade across the inlet and walk down a trail we found ourselves sitting at a table having some rather nice food and drinks which provided us with a nice break from the trail.
Unfortunately we had to eventually walk back to our hut where we fixed our less than gourmet dinners of instant noodle, cheese and crackers. After dinner we got everybody from the hut together and played some cards. Late in the evening we all walked just outside the hut for a great view of the McNought comet. It had a great tail that arced across the sky for quite a ways and was clearly visible with the naked eye.
The third day we had a late start to the day because we had to wait for the tide to drop before we cross the tidal flats to the rest of the trail. Once the tide was low enough we got or sandals on and crossed over to the other side. We continued up the
track to the Totaranui campsite. We had a quick bite of lunch here and waited out some rain that came through. Once the rain finished we continued up the track to some of the nicest beaches on the trail- Anapai Bay and Mutton Cove. We unfortunately only stayed here for a short period of time because we were worried about more rain. We worked our way up to the Whariwharangi Hut and got there about 30 minutes before the shies really let loose. The hut was a great little place that had been built 100 years or so earlier. We all huddled around the fire and played cards that evening.
The next day I got up at 6am so that I could head out early to make sure I made it back to Totaranui to meet my water taxi back to Marahau. I was on the trail by 7am and had a nasty hike up over Gibbs Hill. I made the long walk up the hill and over to the beach to meet the water taxi in plenty of time. I grabbed my water taxi and enjoyed the ride down the coast back to the start of the track.
Once
back in Marahau I had finished my last trek on the south island. That day I grabbed my stuff in Nelson and then drove over to Picton where I grabbed the evening ferry over to the north island, but I’ll have to fill you all in on my north island travels in another blog. Hope you enjoyed the read and keep an eye out for more to come soon.
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Christine Danielson
non-member comment
Awesome pictures
Very cool blog. Beautiful pictures!