The Routeburn Track
Trip Start
Oct 11, 2007
1
30
32
Trip End
Ongoing
Te Anau,
South Island,
New Zealand
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I tramped with Emilie, my fantastic French-Canadian friend - who was a tower of strength and , generally, had a lot of "cop-on" - so I was in safe hands...
We camped the first night. Oh God was that tough! It was freezing, it took us ages to get a fire going (the wood was damp). When we finally did it was like we'd won the lottery... funny how the simple things become so important when you take on Mother Nature. But that was the coldest night I've had the (dis)pleasure of experiencing in NZ. Still though, it was totally worth it, if only to remind me that I really do live in luxury back in the 'big smoke'
Wow! What else can you say?
!After that we stayed in the DOC huts... much better. We had a really good time. I know it's an easy walking track, but it's not called a 'Great Walk' for nothing. I'm pretty pleased with myself, as I'm not the outdoors type (unless you count sunbathing on a beach) so to complete this was truly a first for me, and hopefully not the last.
The Routeburn Track has provided me with some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen in my life. Like when we left the Mackenzie Hut, trekked uphill for, like, ages and then got around the corner of the mountain to see the Hollyford Valley unfold in front of us, all the way to the ocean. And to see the Darren Mountains towering over the valley in the background. Absolutely breathtaking!
And a message for Larry Foley:
Larry I finally got to the Harris Saddle, inspired by reading the book 'The Happy Isles Of Oceania' by Paul Theroux... a book that you gave me when I was staying with you and Elish. So thank you - that book definitely pointed me in the right direction!
