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Published: April 29th 2008
I got two weeks off from work about a month ago. (lots of pics, be sure to go to the other pages!) So I decided to work my way up to
Golden Bay (the most northern part of the South Island). I had a few missions in mind that I wanted to do, but other than that I was open to anything. My preferred method of travel was hitchhiking (sorry mom!) which is really safe in NZ and a lot of backpackers do it. Also, it's free which is great on a budget! Plus you tend to meet lots of interesting people.
I started my trip off with an Irish girl named Danielle. She had posted a message looking for a ride up to the glaciers on the same day I wanted to go, so we decided that if we didn't find a ride we would be hitching partners. It worked out great because when I met her at the hostel, we began to write the "F" in FOX (as in Fox Glacier) and two Israeli girls immediately asked where we were going. They were heading the same way so we got a ride with them.
We drove up
the West Coast to
Fox Glacier where we booked a glacier hike for the next day. Weather reports said rain all morning into mid-afternoon but that didn't scare us off!
After a chilled out night of movies, we awoke the next morning to....yup, pouring rain! We packed up, put on our waterproofs and headed to the
Fox Glacier Guides building where we met up with our group and guides. We got outfitted for jackets, pants, boots, crampons, any warm clothing we needed, bigger packs if we wanted, etc. We took a bus to the start of the hike where we were divided into two groups. Then we walked for about 30 min on a lovely little track up to the ice. We were a little sheltered by the trees, but for the most part, we were getting wet. When we got to the ice, we strapped on our crampons and begun the walk! Danielle and I signed up for an all day walk which is the best one because you get off the track and explore more of the ice. Plus, you have more time on the ice (which I'm not sure is a good thing when it's cold and
rainy!! 😉 ).
The day progressed and our guide Andrew was awesome! He was really chilled and laid-back, easy-going, and really motivating! He stayed positive the whole time and really kept the group upbeat. One of the guys in our group dropped a pole into a hole in the ice and Andrew went down and got it! We saw beautiful ice structures, a cave, crevasses, etc. And the rain really wasn't that bad, it was only that you couldn't feel your fingers or toes! 😊 We passed the other group along the way and they looked miserable!! So we were happy with our group and guide. And the sun managed to come out for the last 30-45 minutes of the day! All in all it was a really fun (but cold) day! And Andrew even came over later to have beers with me and Danielle.
The next day Danielle and I got a ride to Franz Josef where we dropped her off and I continued on to Greymouth (I wanted to stay but had to keep moving, 2 weeks is not that much time!!). Greymouth is really just a stopover town, I thought. Not much to do there.
The next day I by chance and luck got a ride with the two Israeli girls that drove us to Fox! We drove to Punakaiki, or the
Pancake Rocks which are really cool-- they are rock formations and cliffs that are layered and look like pancakes stacked on top of each other, hence the name! From there we picked up a hitchhiker, Van, from Germany, and were dropped off by the Nelson Lakes turn-off on the way to
Nelson. Van and I then got a ride with a Kiwi couple on their way to Nelson for a party. They dropped us off right in front of our hostel!
Nelson was great-- I was happy to be back there after not getting to spend much time in Nelson when I went up for the tournament. We stayed at
Paradiso, a really chilled out, fun hostel. I was in a room with Van and two Israeli guys. We all quickly bonded, met some other people in the hostel, and had some really good times! I went to the
Centre of New Zealand and from there did a nice walk along the ridgeline to some Japanese Zen Gardens. We went to the markets
(Nelson is infamous for its Saturday market), bars, dancing, etc. I stayed there about 2 nights and made a last minute decision to stay a third because there was going to be a big party that night with the theme of "What the F". Basically you have to dress in something that will make people say: "What the F?!" It was classic-- there were some good costumes. I just put on leggings and tied a scarf around my waist, wore fingerless gloves, a visor backwards...and I think that's it. Had to make some sort of an effort! The night ended in an old, gutted out bus that they have in the back of the hostel, filled with chairs, seats, and tables. Three Chilean guys showed up with their guitars, drums, and other such instruments and started jamming out! It was amazing--and I even joined in with the maracas.
We left Nelson and headed to
Motueka. At this time I was with Jonathan (from Canada) and Nikita (from Holland) who were going to walk the [b[Abel Tasman Coastal Track, one of the Great Walks of New Zealand. I had really wanted to kayak for a day or two and then
walk a day or two, but I got along with Jonathan and Nikita, and as I didn't have all too much time, decided to walk with them. We planned it out- 3 nights, 2 days, campsites, water taxi, etc. We were later joined by Cody and Sarah, two girls who were working at the hostel.
Day 1: We took a bus to
Marahau the gateway to the Abel Tasman Track. We met up with Cody and Sarah who had come from Nelson. We took a water taxi from Marahau to
Totaranui, a northern point of the track. We decided to start north and head south. The taxi was really fun--gorgeous day, saw some fur seals, took in the scenery! We arrived at our destination in about an hour and a half and we all sat down for lunch. We were joined by an American woman and Outward Bound instructor, Katie, who was doing the track by herself. The track varied from beach to track to beach to rocks on the beach (we learned later it was because we took the wrong route, but still took us to the same place!). We had to time the tides right in order
to cross some points. I walked the first half of the day barefoot but couldn't take it once we started walking on rocks for an hour so slipped on my Chacos. But Nikita managed to do the whole track barefoot! Good on her. We stumbled into our campsite
Onetahuti about a half hour before it got dark. Cooked up some dinner, told some stories ate some chocolate, and headed to bed!
Day 2: Gorgeous morning to wake up to! We had breakfast on the beach! Katie parted ways and the 5 of us took to the trail. It was a long walk and we took our time. There were a lot of sidetracks and viewpoints to stop at. Breathtaking views, perfect weather, pristine beaches. I can't even explain! And the pictures never look the same. We camped at
Anchorage that night, a relatively large campsite (it even had flush toilets!!!). We cooked up some dinner and then went by the campsite fire where we met up with a group of Kiwis who were on break from college. We hung out with them for a bit and then headed to bed.
Day 3: Nikita and I were up early
so we decided to go to the lookout point-- a walk about 1hr return. When we got back, we made breakfast and packed up. We started with a side trip to
Cleopatra's Falls. It's about 45min off track, but well worth it. We sang and joked around on the walk there. The falls are a really peaceful area, but more importantly, they have a natural rock slide!! So, we stripped down to our bathing suits, worked our way into the freezing cold water, and hopped on the slide! It was so fun and refreshing, my legs felt so much better too! The rest of the day was really cruisy; because it's closer to town, a lot more people do day walks on it-- starting from Marahau and going to Anchorage and back. So the track was really matted down. Still gorgeous though! The tide was low so we could cross the bay and cut off about an hour or so from the end of the track. We hitched back to Marahau, made pizza, and relaxed in the hot tub!
Obviously a lot more happened, but that's a brief overview of the trip. It was a really good time and
such a beautiful place. Perfect weather, not too crowded.
From Marahau I went to
Takaka, a really chill, hippy town in Golden Bay. I got a ride with Roland, a Swiss guy. We checked into a hostel and then rode bikes about 6k down the road to
Pupu Springs, the world's biggest, clearest, freshwater springs. They were amazing!! You could see straight to the bottown through over 10 feet of water! We hung out in town and at the hostel later that day. Then we went into town to see a live band. The town has a really good vibe to it.
The next day me, Roland, and two German girls from the hostel went up north to the
Farewell Spit area and went to
Wharariki Beach, a remote and pristine beach. It was a 20 minute walk through emerald green farmland and then all of a sudden it just stops and sand dunes cover the area--really amazing to see! Hardly anyone was there and it was stunning! We spent the day relaxing, walking around, etc. I then got dropped off at
Shambahla, an eco-friendly meditation/yoga retreat/hostel in Golden Bay. It was immediately just what I needed to
end my trip. Incredible views of the ocean, really relaxed feeling. I stayed there two nights and three days. I walked on the beach, went to a morning group meditation, did yoga, read, explored glowworm caves, went to the infamous
Mussel Inn with people from the hostel for some homemade beer and cider! It was great. But then I needed to head back home to Wanaka so I started hitching back. I made it to Murchison the first night, then to Franz Josef the second night, then back to Wanaka!! From my rides I got invited to a hungi (a Maori tradition where they cook the food in the earth), got a NZ flora and fauna lesson, learned about the fault lines, learned about Maori tribes and traditions, practiced my French with a Belgian mother and son, and learned about a Christian community in NZ. Good fun! Thanks for all the rides!
As I entered back into Wanaka, the leaves had changed into magnificent reds, yellows, and oranges. I have yet to take pictures of it though...it's raining today so that kinda puts a damper on my plans...no pun intended. I had a really good trip, met a lot
of great people, and saw a lot of amazing places! It made me keep want to travel, but of course I had to get back to work.
I had a few days off last week and me, my friend Matt and his friend Bryan went into Mt Aspiring National Park. It was a really last minute trip, but definitely a good one! We walked two hours the first day (started at 4pm, gorgeous weather) and stayed at
Aspiring Hut, where there was a group of about 8 men who were spending a week there fishing. We hung out with them for the night then rested up for the next day. The weather started out ok, but you could quickly see the clouds rolling in. We walked on the flats for about 2 hrs and then the rain and wind came! The last part of the day was pretty epic. We had to walk 700 meters. No problem, right? NOPE. It took us 2 hours to walk 700 meters because it was straight uphill! We were grabbing roots, holding onto trees, etc. It pretty much felt like climbing! The only good thing was we were sheltered from the rain being
under the trees. We eventually hit above the tree line and became really exposed to the mountain and all her power. It was awesome! Not for the faint of heart. We made it to the hut in perfect time, just as the rain picked up and the wind started howling.
Liverpool Bivvy is a little tiny hut with 3 mats on the loft and 3 mat on the floor, a little counter, and two stools. Really back to basics- it was great! The toilet was about 20m away on almost the edge of the cliff it seemed. It was quite a mission going to the toilet-- had to get on different clothes, rain jacket, etc. so you weren't wearing your dry clothes out. There was no fireplace in the hut so it was rather cold. But we managed ok. The only downside was that there were clouds so we couldn't see anything and never had a view of the mountain.
But that all changed quickly when around 4am the wind and rain stopped and I was awoken by loud keas (those lovely crafty little birds). I went outside to shoo them away and I gasped-- the view was incredible!
The moon was full so it lit up the mountains-- Mt Aspiring, the glaciers, the valley. It was awesome. When the sun came up, we sat outside for a while and admired the view. We wandered around the area and then decided we had to make our way back, so we pretty much downclimbed for an hour and a half. It was good fun, the path wasn't too slippery from the rain, and it went by much faster than I thought. We had a gorgeous sunny day to guide us out of the park. We stopped along the way to talk to a few DOC workers, trampers, and the fishing men at the hut. But we finally made it out before dark and went as fast as we could to Amigos, the Mexican restaurant in town and filled up on chimichangas. My only injuries were two massive blisters I had on each heel. So all in all it was an amazing trip, really good weather, and a fun time!
That's as brief an overview as I could do. And I know there are a lot of pictures, but check them out.
Now it's a quiet time before the winter
season. So I'm gonna rest up, enjoy autumn (I missed it at home last year!!), run, bike, and play before it gets really cold. Hope everyone's healthy and happy!! Congrats to Jason and Ashley. 😊
books read:
The Devil's Picnic,
The Hobbit x
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ashley
non-member comment
on the road again...
You photography is fantastic dude! Wow! Thanks for the updates :)