Four wonderful days in Kahurangi National Park. Six hour hike in to Stone hut on day one, wet and mushy and tiring. Established base camp in the hut for the next two nights. Had the hut to myself on night one - the only "disturbance" in the supremely idyllic spot surrounded by podocarp-carpeted ranges were the Whio (whistling blue ducks - endangered) who were being rather amorous overnight. Day hike (5 hours) up to the biggest of Biggs's tops on day two. Stunning beautiful day with clear tops all around - the Arthur range, Mt Owen (the one that still eludes me), Mt Kendall still sporting snow on his sides, and so many other peaks and ranges stretching away as far as the eye could see (and the eye could see dozens of miles on this ... read more

So Monday dawned and I dragged my weary bones into the car to navigate the 2-hour drive to the road-end below Mt Holdsworth. Battling some Wellington-bound commuter traffic for the first half hour, then queuing up to get past the results of the guy who decided to start his week by plowing his truck into a concrete electricity post, dropping the post and the lines skillfully across the road. Eventually managed to start heading in the right direction (i.e. away from Wellington) and made it to Featherston to stop for a decent coffee and a spot of light breakfast (at the Everest cafe...). Then onwards to the road-end, final re-packing of the pack, some cunning hiding of important things in places within the car where a thief might not think to look beyond the obvious bag ... read more

The wanderer is grasping another opportunity to escape the grind. Flight to Bangkok boarding any minute now - from there to Auckland, from there to Wellington, from there to a very welcome December tour of some of his beloved New Zealand. P.S. All together now Rush fans: "we're on the plane to Bangkok..."... read more

Long bus rides all worked smoothly despite the usual confused border crossings (out one, in the other, exit here, enter there, scan there, don't bother there, fill in these forms but you don't need that one, give that one there, this one here, that one's just for decoration etc etc). Evening arrival in PA leaves little chance for anything beyond a wee stroll around town before a good night's rest in a decent bed. Another sunny morning is with me as I type, the last bits being packed up, the short trip out to the airport and then three flights north, north east, north north east will land me back under the grey skies of Heathrow. Feels like a bit of a short dipping of the toe into South American trekking but it's been wonderful. The ... read more

Long but pleasant bus ride brings the wanderer under the snow-patched peaks and icy coastal waters of Puerto Natales. Much booking means the (slightly amended) plan is now lined up for an exit from the park the evening before originally planned and then onwards into Argentina and to El Calafate, gaining access to the Perito Moreno glacier. Many, many more hours on many more buses lie in this wanderer's near future but much, much beauty lies at either end of every one of them. Tomorrow begins six nights in tents under the grandeur of the Torres del Paine. A long standing plan rolling into sight.... read more