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Published: October 4th 2009
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Arrival - Day 1&2: S&P arrive in NZ at Christchurch. Peter assures Sandra it's only a two hour drive to Te Anau in a hire car booked on an obscure website based in the Netherlands. Two hours later in an empty terminal and a number of telephone calls later (one to the Netherlands) we have a very little silver (cute) car! (it was a bargain). Two days later we arrived in Te Anau (after an overnighter in a wonderful coastal pub at Temaru with a wine list as long as your arm...and a fireplace to boot). It is (allegedly) spring so we are starting to wonder why the snow is so heavy and the clouds so dark..…. We arrive (after breathtaking scenery) in Queenstown to discover the road to Milford Track is snowed under with high avalanche risk. The Milford road and track are closed. “No problem” declares Peter , “we will walk the Kepler” (it climbs 1000 meters on day one!!). Sandra thanks Anaconda on numerous occasions for her long johns and weather defence gear😊.
Trekking - Day 3&4: We gear up for the Kepler. First stop the ranger’s station at the Department of Conservation who recommend NOT to Sandra tramping
Go the Gore_tex go past Luxmore Hut. There are nine avalanche locations with extreme warnings, high winds and snow. Hah!! We think - we shall see!!!. We arrive at the track control gates. It’s very cold. Sandra is decked out in Gore-Tex and Peter is decked out in bright yellow plastic!!!. We walk up and up and up. A fantastic track with green lichen on the forest floors, tall beech trees and an expansive deep blue lake. Four hours later we are above the tree line up high in the Alps and the snow is still there - lots of snow and wind. It starts to snow and snow and does not stop. We trudge across the mountain top to Luxmore Hut - following the orange poles above the snow. The hut sleeps 55 and it is empty (what other idiots would be here)? We scrounge for wood and set up to sleep near the stove. The snow beats at the hut - the ice is inside and outside the hut. It’s funny. We conclude we cannot go on - yes the rangers were right. We put all our clothes on, climb in our sleeping bags and sleep. 3AM and yes someone is
Luxmore Hut
Hiding from the blizzards.... beating the door down. Sandra (having watched Jason in Halloween once too often) is terrified and grabs the blunt wood axe. Who would be up here at 3AM? They break in upstairs and Peter is there - gruff and ready. It is two Swiss guys, slightly tipsy who decided it would be more fun to climb the mountain in the dark under the moon light. We relax and crash. The blizzard rolls in and the wind howls. Morning and the snow is thick and all is white and windy. The rangers (oddly enough) were right. The track is not passable. We walk back down into a winter wonderland - trees and ferns draped in new white snow. We wind down the track for a few hours, stopping by the lake for lunch. We return to the rangers and inform them they were spot on. Then into the local backpackers spa and sauna - ouch the legs!!!
Milford - Days 5&6: We awake to a perfect morning -still, crisp and sunny and wander into the small beautiful wooden and stone local church to celebrate St Francis of Assisi (800 years) day. The service is traditional and we meet some of Winter Wonderland
yes - this is spring!!! the locals for morning tea. All is good - the road to Milford opens that day!! (with avalanche warning- just keep driving) and we arrive at the Sound for a boat cruise. One word - SPECTACULAR. We head back to the YHA at Queenstown and crash.
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anonymous
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Wow guys! Looks all so amazing and beautiful - What a teriffic opportunity! xxx