The Ankh-Morpork Times

We wanted to do a multi-day hike in the Fjordland. Unfortunately, Milford Track was fully booked within two days and we were too late. Some research pointed us to the Routeburn Track which is a bit shorter but just as beautiful.

From Queenstown we drove to the Northern end of the track at the Routeburn Shelter. Since this track ends in a different place, we hired Trackhopper to take our car to the finishing point while we were walking. This was a great decision, it saved us a lot of time as we had plans to visit Milford Sound which was very close to the end of the track, but about 4.5 hours from Queenstown.

We started off with beautiful weather and the path led through a dense forest.hill.

After a while, we reached the Routeburn Flats, which is a long flat valley which looks like they had filmed part of Lord of the Rings here.

Then came the most strenuous part of the day, one-hour steep uphill brought us to the Routeburn Falls, where our first hut was located.

Since we arrived quite early, we had time to get settled, relax for a bit and then take another walk to a lookout. The climb was way steeper than imagined, but without the heavy backpacks it was manageable and at the top we had a beautiful moor landscape and terrific views of the Routeburn Flats.

The weather forecast for the next day wasn’t too good. Showers in the morning turning to rain in the afternoon, so we decided to get an early start. After a steep climb we reached Harris Saddle, the highest point of the walk. From there it was a long and easy walk along the side of the mountains with beautiful views into Hollyford Valley and all the way to the ocean at Martins Bay. So far the weather was very kind with us, cloudy but dry.

After getting a first glimpse of Lake Mackenzie and our destination for the day, we considered a lunch break, but since it started to drizzle, we continued for the last hour of steep descent.

Close to the hut we had to add a detour as Lake Mackanzie was so full, that it had flooded the path we wanted to take!

After a long lunch break and a nap, the weather was still dry and so we added another short walk to the impressive Split Rock.

The weather forecast for the last day was simple: rain. However, after the good luck on the day before we were optimistic until we got up in the morning and saw the rain.

No worries, we were prepared for this and got all our rain gear out. And again, the weather was much better than the forecast, because the rain stopped after half an hour and apart from some very fine drizzle didn’t start again for the rest of the day.

Our walk led us through a beautiful forest full of moss-overgrown trees. With the rain and fog it was even more impressive. At one point we saw a Kea, the only mountain parrot in the world, flying over us and stopping for a rest in a tree above the path (too far away for pictures).

Around lunchtime we reached Lake Howden and since the sun started shining, we stopped for lunch. We had great fun with a South Island Robin and a female Chaffinch. Which were staying very close to us, probably hoping for crumbs.

Since the weather had further improved, we added a detour to Key Summit, a hill with stunning views and beautiful moorland.

The highlight, however, was the Kea that was digging up roots and wasn’t bothered by our presence at all.

One and a half hours later we were at The Divide, the end of the track where our car waited for us.

We had a great time on the Routburn Track and can highly recommend doing it.

P.S. As Fe protested, that there are no Waterfalls featured in the text (and we encountered quite a lot due to the rain), here a picture of her most favorite one: Earland Falls with 174m height.

Labels: hiking, new zealand, pictures, traveling

No Whales but Stars

After completing the Abel-Tasman-Track, our original plan was to travel Southwards along the West Coast. But once we checked the weather forecast (three days of straight rain), we decided to change our plans and traveled along the East Coast instead, where the weather was much better.

On the way to Kaikoura we passed another large Fur Seal Colony. Close-by was also a large group of young Shags which were just starting to fly. They looked very inexperienced but did manage short stretches already.

At Kaikoura we booked a Whale Safari, hoping to spot Sperm Whales, which frequent this Coast. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough, and all trips were cancelled. So, we headed farther South to Geraldine where we stayed in Oldfields, a charming Bed and Breakfast.

Our next stop was Lake Tekapo, which is famous for its turquois water and for being in the heart of a Dark Sky Reserve with an active observatory on Mount John.

We used the day for a long walk up to Mount John and back down along the lakeshore.

However, the main reason for our rush to get here was at night. At 1:15am we started our stargazing tour with Earth & Sky, which brought us up to the observatory where we had a 95% clear sky (the best conditions they had in days) and very good views of the stars. After learning a lot about the constellations, we could also look through three telescopes to get a closer look at Alpha Centauri, the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, Mars, and The Jewel Box (NGC 4755).

Those that brought a DSLR camera along, could leave them with an astrophotographer who took pictures of the milky way. Since we had a system camera along, we didn’t qualify. Nevertheless, the tour was well worth the high price of admission.

Once back in town we weren’t too tired yet, so we headed to the famous Church of the Good Shepherd, to try our luck at astrophotography. And considering it was our first time and we didn’t have a tripod the results did really amaze us.

Further South we stayed in Cromwell and Arrowtown, which is famous for its historic main street with many buildings dating back to the gold rush in that region.

And that is where the bad weather caught up with us again. But all in all we were very lucky with our detour. (Later we met someone taking the west route, ending up with two days delay due to a landslide, so it was definitely the right decision)

Labels: new zealand, pictures, traveling

Friday, November 09, 2018

Abel Tasman Coast Track

Like many others we were drawn to the Abel Tasman Coast because of its wildlife and beautiful scenery. Unlike most visitors, we wanted a full immersion and opted for the five-day hike along the whole track. Since we had to carry our own food and gas we opted to stay at the official huts. Even though they were more expensive than the campgrounds, it meant less to carry and a warm shelter in case of bad weather. The track can be walked in both directions with either a water taxi transport on the first or the last day. To be a bit more flexible and less stressed we opted to take the water taxi all the way to the North (or as far as it would go) and then walk down.
This meant that on the first day the water taxi should have brought us up to Totaranui, from where we would have walked past Gibbs Hill to Wharawharangi, the first hut on the track. However, a visit by Prince Harry and Meghan meant that the whole bay was completely off limits. Fortunately, the water taxi took us to Mutton Cove, the next bay (where they normally don’t stop).

From Mutton Cove the path led past Separation Point, the Northwesternmost corner of the National Park. It is well known for its small New Zealand Fur Seal Colony and we were lucky enough to see a couple on the rocks and in the water. Another interesting fact is that they are trying to establish a new Gannet Colony, for this purpose they placed fake birds and installed a loud speaker with Gannet noises to attract others to settle here. When we were there, we only saw the fake ones.

At Whariwharangi Hut we discovered that there were only five of us, so we had a lot of space and a room to ourselves! The hut dates to 1896 and was originally used by a farmer and his family. It was in a derelict state before it was taken over and restored by the DOC in 1980. Now it is a very charming place to stay.

We were warned of the Kea, a very intelligent parrot who is known to steal things that hikers leave lying around. However, no one warned us about the Weka and so it was with dismay that I discovered that a Weka stole our washing sponge!

The second day started off with mixed weather. After initial rain the sun came out and we used this for a long stroll along the beach.

The reason for our delayed departure was a river crossing that waited for us at the end of the day and this is only possible within 1.5 hours before to 2 hours after low tide. Unfortunately, for us, low tide was scheduled for 8:12pm. To prevent waiting for the tide for hours we didn’t start hiking until 1:30pm.

Climbing up Gibbs Hill it started to rain a bit but got better after a while. Once we were on the summit, however, it really started to rain and didn’t stop till we arrived. We were so glad for our rain gear!

The river crossing was an adventure, but fortunately our timing was good, and water only reached up to our knees. Once at Awaroa Hut we first got into some dry clothes before making a well-earned dinner.

The third day started with nice and dry weather and around noon even the sun made an appearance. That was a much more pleasant way to walk.

At Onetahuti beach we had a real highlight. We encountered a Weka with three chicks nearby. Since we were on a walkway a bit above the beach, we could observe them without them getting disturbed.

Our walk ended at Bark Bay. A very nice bay with a waterfall and lots of birds (Shags and Seagulls) and a Cache on a small island in the middle of the bay! At low tide it was supposed to be possible to walk there, but again, low tide was too late, so I did a bit of wading and finally found the right approach to get onto the island and to the Cache. Another real highlight.

The fourth day took us from Bark Bay to Anchorage, probably the most walked part of the track and we encountered many day tourists throughout the day.

At Torrent Bay we disregarded the low tide shortcut, because we wanted to take a detour to Cleopatras Pool. A beautiful little spot which in summer is probably overcrowded by bathing tourists, but we had it almost to ourselves.

Once we had settled in Anchorage Hut, the most modern of all the huts (it even had a USB charging station), we went for another walk to Pitt Head, where we had a nice view back into the bay.

The last day brought us back to Marahau. Shortly after leaving Anchorage we spotted another Weka with a couple of chicks (unfortunately they were too fast for our camera). However, after many false starts we finally did catch a Silvereye on camera.

The first part of the walk was very nice, leading along the edges of the hills, covered in trees with great views down to the beaches.

The last part was less interesting. It was much wider than most of the track and there was not too much to see.

Once we were back in Marahau, we headed directly to The Fat Tui for a well-earned big and delicious burger.

In summary, we did about 60 kilometers in five days, one was extremely wet, one was a bit wet and the other three were nice. We were very glad that the weather got better and so we got to see some of the famous views and could really enjoy the walk.

Labels: geocaching, hiking, new zealand, pictures, traveling

South of the North

Our next stop was the Southernmost part of the North Island. The first thing that drew us here were the Putangirua Pinnacles, a fantastic landscape that was also used to film part of the Paths of the Dead sequence in Lord of the Rings.

The second thing that drew us there was the Southernmost point of the North Island, which of course also had a Geocache.

Driving to that Geocache we saw many cars next to a bay and so stopped as well. When we got there, we saw that there was a large New Zealand Fur Seal Colony. We spent a long time observing them and marveling at the strange way they moved on land.

However, this wasn’t the Southernmost corner, so we continued a bit to Cape Palliser lighthouse, which sits atop a cliff and can be reached after climbing 253 steps. From up there we had spectacular views all along the coast.

And of course, we also found the Southernmost Cache ;).

Labels: geocaching, new zealand, pictures, traveling

Sunday, November 04, 2018

Lost and Forgotten Worlds

We added a detour to our schedule to head to Waitomo Caves, which are world-famous for their glowworm displays. However, thanks to an insider tip, I didn’t join one of the tours that shuttle hundreds of tourists through the caves per day, but rather a more intimate and exciting option, the Lost Worlds Tour by Waitomo Adventures.

After a 20-minute bus ride into the countryside we were equipped with coveralls, gum boots and an abseiling kit. We then hiked through the bush to a huge hole in the ground. At the bottom we saw a flat surface through which a small stream was running. We were hooked up and could abseil 100 meters down to the bottom. That was a very cool experience, especially because the landscape was simply stunning.

Once at the bottom we realized that the “flat” surface was not flat at all, but we faced a small hill going up 30 meters, before it vanished inside a cave. We continued along the path into the cave, over many rocks, crossing the stream a couple of times, to settle in a quiet corner where we could enjoy a fair number of glowworms just for us.

To get back out we had to climb a 30 meter vertical ladder, which was quite strenuous (but they say, they have a pully system to help ;) ). After some further walking uphill and climbing shorter stairs we were back in the daylight.

From the four hours of the tour we were almost three hours actively doing something, which is, in my oppinion, a very good ratio. The tours are limited to 8 people and I was lucky enough that we were only a group of 3. I can highly recommend this tour!

Our next destination was Mount Taranaki on the West Coast. To get there we added another detour to travel the Forgotten World Highway. A scenic route through the hills, that still has a short stretch of gravel road and an ancient hand-hewn tunnel, locally known as Hobbit’s Hole (long before the movies were made).

On the way we passed lookouts with fantastic views, all the way back to Mount Tongariro.

A side-trip brought us to Mount Damper Falls. To get there we had to cross a meadow with many sheep and lambs. They seemed to be used to humans and did not instantly flee, which gave us some great photo opportunities.

We stayed overnight in Whangamomoma, a tiny hamlet in the middle, which once declared itself as an independent republic (and still has a president and celebrates its foundation day biennally). Quite a few of the old buildings are undergoing renovations and are being opened as guest houses. We stayed in the picturesque Bridge House (which isn't the one on the picture below).

The next day we continued to Stratford, where all streets are named after people and places from Shakespeare plays and which features a huge Glockenspiel with excerpts from Romeo and Juliet.

At the foot of Mount Taranaki in the Egmont National Park (Mount Egmont being the name James Cook gave the mountain) we did a wonderful four-hour hike (Stratford Mountain House, Waingongoro Track, Ridge Track, Dawson Falls, Wilkies Pools, Stratford Plateau, Enchanted Track, Stratford Mountain House).