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Published: August 6th 2007
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Hiking the Kepler Track
Knowing that we didn’t have far to drive from Queenstown to our next destination to the west, Te Anau, we took our time getting up and getting out of Queenstown. We stopped and got some breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and then took Route 6 west.
The drive consisted mostly of large plains surrounded by huge mountains. New Zealand’s southern Alps are truly some of the greatest mountains in the world. They are every bit as tall and beautiful as the Alps in Europe and in some cases may even be taller.
New Zealand is famous for its livestock which is used to create gourmet cuisine around the world. While NZ has a population of around 4 million people, there are close to ten million cows and around 18 million sheep. Wherever you go you see sheep in fields sometimes next to herds of cows and other times mixed in with the cows. Cows are no odd site for people from America but the sheep, for some reason, are absolutely intriguing.
The only thing more foreign than the large herds of normal livestock are the deer farms. While not as
common, the deer farms are still seen pretty frequently. With tall fences and green grass, these deer are bred for venison which is found in many of the restaurants we’ve eaten in. I’ve had tons of opportunities to see deer in my life but never had I seen as many in one group as I’ve seen in these farms. It tends to make you take a second look when you are driving due to the sheer numbers of animals all together.
As we drove to Te Anau we had ample opportunity to gawk at sheep, cows and deer stretched out in huge green fields which are bordered by gigantic mountains. Most of the time we drove the weather was crystal clear but as we approached Te Anau the clouds rolled in.
Te Anau is the last major town before entering the western fiordland region. The fiordland is famous for its huge mountains and sounds on the coast. Due to its location and the mountains this area of NZ gets tons of rain so we weren’t really surprised to see the clouds as we arrived.
We checked into our next hotel right on the edge of Lake Te
Anau. We have pretty much stopped making reservations in NZ because of the timing. Since this is low season here we are having no problems finding cheap/nice accommodation at a moments notice. Between the availability of rooms and the plethora of information about accommodation at the tourist information centers, we come into each town with a few ideas and pretty much end up with the first place we go in. It’s been really nice not having to plan in advance.
After checking into our nice but somewhat dated room, I set off to do some hiking. Kel was feeling a little tired due to a fitful nights sleep so she decided to stay around the hotel and take a nap while I went off to commune with nature.
NZ has tons of three to four day planned hikes which are some of the best hikes in the world. Right across the river from our hotel was the beginning of the four day Kepler Track. After getting some information from the tourist center, I decided to take on a three hour stretch of the track .
The stretch of the Kelper track I chose starts just south of
town and is accessed by crossing a huge suspension bridge across a river. From there I hiked for an hour and a half through shady green rain forest which contains huge ferns and tons of moss. I was amazed by how lush and green everything was with such a dense cover of trees above. This is mostly due to the large amount of rain and the fact that most of the green is moss which can survive with very little light.
My final destination on the track was the Otago hut which is one of the acceptable camp grounds for people who hike the track for real. The hut is located on a lake which overlooks the nearby mountains. By time I got there the clouds had lifted some giving me a great view of the surrounding mountains with just a few cloud remnants hanging around.
I stopped and ate a granola bar before heading back. I would have stuck around longer but I was attacked by a cloud of sand flies while I ate. These ubiquitous biting insects are incredibly pesky and can be found anywhere there is sun and water. Kel and I have both been
bitten numerous times and even though I was covered with clothes the flies have a pesky way of finding any exposed flesh including your scalp. I pretty much high tailed it back to the trail beating a hasty retreat.
My walk back was much quicker than my walk out due to the fact that I wasn’t stopping to take pictures. All in all, my total time on the track was about 2 and a half hours of brisk hiking. I definitely got my exercise for the day but in a way that was really enjoyable. It’s too bad we don’t have such nice accessible walking tracks back home.
After returning to the hotel we watched a bit of TV before dinner and are now, obviously, working on the blog. Hope you guys are enjoying spring back home!
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