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Published: February 9th 2011
Hey Everybody!
It's been a little while since my last post, this mostly due to the latest amazing tramp we completed! Below the southern island of New Zealand is an even smaller and more remote island called, Steward Island. This is a unique destination because of the natural wild birds and plant-life which is much closer to how the main islands use to be. Also exciting about this track is the shear scale of it; in all it took us 10 days and nearly 100 kilometers to finish! Fortunately for us, the entire track featured back-country huts, saving us the need of carrying tents, but the weight was more then made up for in food alone. It's also quite mentally pleasing to know that at the end of a long day was a warm and dry hut waiting for us, and that in future adventures our packs would never be heavier. Each day of this track offered interesting scenery, most times being highlighted by awesome beaches. All in all, we walked along about 8 to 10 beaches, each one offering a different sight and style so to speak. Some of the beaches were completely calm and beautiful, while others comprised of rocks and small boulders to quick-step across. One beach in particular, Smokey Beach, was memorable with its giant waves crashing to shore and absurd wind blasting sand at us with seemingly enough force to remove flesh from faces and other such exposed skin. Still, the experience was reasonable and already a fond memory. The final beach, Mason Bay, was really an amazing sight, as it looked like your typical tourist attraction; long, fine, flat sand as far as the eye can see. What was remarkable was being the only ones within view in any direction, the isolation was intense. Another excellent feature from this track was meeting several cool people along the way, ranging from all over the world. One couple, from the north island of New Zealand, treated us to fresh fish they had caught, while another couple may meet up with us later this month for future tramping. After everything was said and done, 10 days of tramping (one rest day) definitely has an effect on the body, so a few days off were a requirement. Yesterday we traveled to Dunedin and enjoyed an awesome tour of the Speight's Beer Factory, which is one of the most unique breweries in the world, and delicious beer for that matter. Today we had a little wine tasting too, but tomorrow is back to our reality and another six days in the wilderness...not a bad thing. I think of you all often, and hope all is well. Until next time!
Actually a quick side note; I completed the final two books of the Dark Tower (AMAZING) and now have read over two thousands pages in New Zealand...I know, I'm scared too.
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Nick
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S. Hemispherical Envy
Great entry Andrew. I was listening to a re-mix of a Gorillaz song while I read it that further illuminated the words you wrote to bring about an image of summer tramping occurring in February somehow. I'm sure the landscape is unique with each route you embark on. Can't wait to see all the pictures.