Fiordland

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Hello! After spending 7 of the past 8 days hiking in the New Zealand bush, I arrived back in Queenstown this afternoon, which feels a bit jarring with its multiple streets (like 4...hahah) jammed with picture snapping tourists and neon signs designed to compel you to impulsively throw yourself out of a plane or off of a bridge.

Actually, I am quite glad to be here. Queenstown is definitely a hub for travelers, locals, and all sorts in between and vibrates with the excitement of people experiencing and seeing things for the first time. It is a busy town but you can easily jump in the lake or climb up a mountain and be away from it all in moments. Three other backpacking friends of mine are serendipitously here currently as well (as I discovered in a flurry of text messages just before loosing service and entering the woods). My friend Rachel bought me a ticket to a concert on Saturday night and I'm planning on a long day hike tomorrow which supposedly is the best in the area and has a great 360 view of the Remarkables and the southern alps.

The past 10 days have been some of the best so far and I am disappointed to say that my camera broke on day one of ten and so I have very little to show for my past week of adventures except for dozens of sand fly bites. Various other travelers have promised to send photos and I did take a disposable on my last hike so I think there will be pictures eventually.....

My day on the Milford Sound was spent sea sick and in a kayak. After three separate boating ventures since being in the country, I am giving up on water activities. I HATE being motion sick but I hate more wasting what would have been a perfectly good day on land, hoping I don't vomit on the next seal to swim by. The scenery was of course very beautiful and having never been in a fjord before, I was quite impressed by the narrow passages between enormous cliffs and their eventual opening up into the big blue ocean. The work of glaciers must be some of the most lasting and dynamic of the forces of the world.

Next came the Kepler Track. One of New Zealands Great Walks, it was indeed three nights and four days of great landscapes. Unfortunately, three of the days meander in and out of trees while only one above the tree line allows true alpine views. Alas, it was bright and sunny all the days EXCEPT for that one that we really needed. So this tramp really became more about the vegetation, the bird life and my own thoughts. Being my first multi day backpacking trip and also the first time to hike so many consecutive hours without conversation, I felt perfectly occupied.

The Great Walks are extremely well organized trails that push people on a woodland conveyor belt from one nights hut to the next (each well situated with bunks, running water and flush toilets) and the signage is explicate so I never feared (even with my completely inadequate sense of direction) that I might get lost. I passed or was passed by other trampers frequently enough to be confident that should I fall and twist an ankle, someone would march by before I perished on the track. And by mid afternoon, I would arrived at the next hut, ready to enjoy a cup of tea and conversation with whatever Kiwi, Israeli, or Australian tramper looked most interesting. Its all quite civilized really.

I had one day off after the Kepler and before the Routeburn that I spent in Te Anau furiously washing my two pairs of socks and other necessary hiking garments, checking email and tuning my camera on and off hoping it would miraculously work. Taaa DAAA! No such luck and so I began the Routeburn with new rations of trail mix, packets of two minute pasta and a lousy disposable camera.

Thankfully the weather on the Routeburn was brilliant and the views of Aspiring National Park made up for what I missed on the Kepler. The track itself was rockier and more what I have been used to in the states. More picking and hopping your way along than complacently placing one foot in front of the other. Day Two was the truly inspiring one, with an option (which I took) to leave your pack at a day shelter and hike up the small summit of Conical Cone for additional and superior views. There were tremendous waterfalls along the trail (Routeburn Falls being the largest at 80 meters), lovely meadows and flats and views all the way out to the sounds.

Today was only a short 2 hour hike out to the end of the track where the bus was picking me up but I was soooo tired of listening to the redundancy of my own thoughts that is felt like days. I resorted to listening to my ipod in hopes that it would drown out the repetitive and unanswerable questions....no luck. They merely chanted louder or in rhythm with the music. "what am I going to do when I get home? What am I going to do with my life? What should I eat for lunch? Hmmmm, what should I eat for DINNER? What am I going to do tomorrow?" And then back to...." what should I do when I get home?".

I prefer to think of myself as slightly less self consumed but I suppose its not a matter of preference.

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