Tramping in New Zealand

  South Island, New Zealand
Thursday, March 29, 2007

Day 1 in queenstown ~ preps for trek

streets of queenstown 2

church in queenstown

After a 3.5hr coach ride from Canberra to Sydney (A$30), a 2.5hr flight from Sydney to Christchurch, and a 7hr coach ride from Christchurch (NZ$65), we finally reached queenstown, the adventure capital of NZ. There were lots of outdoor shops and we did a lot of browsing. we rented a sleeping bag and bought freeze dried dinners for the trek. Freeze-dried foods is cheaper in NZ as compared to oz. And cheaper in the supermarkets than the outdoor shops. Left some luggage that we didn't need for the trek in the hostel's lockers. also bought a bagpack raincover as I had forgotten to pack that.  Stayed at queenstown YHA tonight
 
Day 1 of routeburn track ~ routeburn shelter to routeburn falls hut (8.8km)

start of routeburn track

beech forest

beech forest 2

moss

extremely green forest

stream

routeburn track 2

breaktime

crossing one of the many swing bridges

our bagpacks

We decided to walk the routeburn track bcos I had read somewhere that it was one of the 10 greatest hikes in the world. Within NZ, it was the 2nd most popular hike, after the milford track. The routeburn trek is located at the southwest of the south island, within the fiordland and mt aspiring national parks. The track comprise some 32km of trails over a huge variety of landscapes, including temperate rainforests and alpine meadows. For more info on the routeburn track, go to http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=36713
We took the arranged transport to routeburn shelter, one of the trailhead for the routeburn track.

routeburn flats 1

routeburn flats 2

The trek today was mostly done in the shade of the beech forest (full of mosses, ferns and lichens). Crossed lots of swing bridges along the way. Reached our first hut on the trail, routeburn flats hut, after about 2 hours of walking. routeburn flats hut was situated beside a huge plains and meandering river. After a simple lunch of bread with peanut butter and some loitering at the grassy flats, we got on our way again. It had started drizzling by now and we put on our rain jackets and bag pack rain covers. It was another 1 hour of steady climbing through beech forest before we reached our destination for the day, routeburn falls hut.

routeburn falls hut

routeburn falls hut 2

routeburn falls hut dormitories

dormitory of routeburn falls hut 1

dormitory of routeburn falls hut 2

routeburn falls hut 3

routeburn falls hut 4

routeburn falls hut 5

peeping moon

routeburn falls hut 6

view from routeburn falls hut 1

view from routeburn falls hut 3

weather forecast

Routeburn falls hut was more fanciful than the huts we stayed on the overland trek in Tasmania. Apart from about 25 double-decker bunks that had mattresses, there was a huge kitchen cum dining area with gas stoves, heaters. And the toilets were furnished with toilet paper! I guess we were expecting v basic facilities. The views from the routeburn falls hut were lovely as we overlooked the plains and mountains, except that it was v cloudy today. we had lots of company and there were probly about 20 other trekkers, but we were the only Asians except for another Korean guy who mostly kept to himself. Had lamb fettucine and miso soup for dinner. Shortly after dinner, the hut warden came by to check our tickets for the hut accommodation. 
 
Day 2 of routeburn track ~ routeburn falls hut to Mackenzie hut (11.3km)

start of day 2 on routeburn track

routeburn track 5

rainbow

both of us

both of us again

mountain streams

routeburn track 10

routeburn track 11

routeburn track 12

routeburn track 13

routeburn track 14

routeburn track 15

walking beside clouds

walking into clouds

routeburn track 16

It had been raining for the whole night and was still raining when we got up at 7am. Had a lazy breakfast. Set off at 9+am when it stopped drizzling. We had planned on a late start as the weather forecast said that the skies will clear up by noon-time and we wanted to be nearing the summit then.  The views were really nice today! We had great views of the hollyford valley and the glistening harris lake. Unfortunately, it was still rather cloudy today and the Darran mountain ranges in the distance were shrouded in clouds. But the mistiness gave the track a surreal feel.  We were walking on very exposed trails above the bush line most of the time. Our waterproof, windproof and breathable jackets served us really well. I only wished I had brought my gortex pants cos my pants got soaked by the rain and walking became a lil difficult with the pants clinging to my legs. After a steady climb of about 1.5hrs, we reached the highest point of routeburn track, harris saddle (1255m).  After some snacks and chatting with other hikers in the harris saddle hut, we decided to do a side trip to conical hill. It was quite a steep climb but very enjoyable as we left our bagpacks at the harris saddle hut. We were supposed to be able to see superb views of the hollyford valley through to the tasman sea, but as it was still rather cloudy, the views on top of conical hill were similar to what we saw at harris saddle. Nonetheless, it was a good workout! Shortly after leaving harris saddle, we bumped into some trail runners and on our query, they said that they were running the entire routeburn track, wow! We later realized that they must be training for the routeburn track race that will be held the following weekend. 

flora on routeburn track

more flora

more flora 2

After another 3hours of exposed trails, we descended into more forested trails. It had started raining rather heavily by now.  Despite the rain, I was walking at my usual pace and taking somewhat big steps. Then I slipped and landed on my tailbone (called the coccyx, which is the triangular bony structure located at the bottom of the vertebral column). As I was carrying my bagpack of some 12kg (I think), the impact of the fall was increased and I was dizzy when I managed to get up. This was my most serious fall since I started hiking some 10 years ago. I walked in pain for the next half hour before we reached the Mackenzie hut.

in pain at mackenzie hut

mackenzie hut 1

mackenzie hut 2

We had rice and curry for dinner. For supper, we had black sesame paste. Over dinner, we chatted with 2 couples from south Australia and a couple from Cambridge, England. The English couple was esp inspiring as they were in their late-50s. and they took 1 year off when they were 30 years old to travel round the world. Wow!
At 7pm, the hut warden came by to give us a briefing on the weather forecast for the next day as well as some history and facts about the routeburn trek. We had an early night at 9.30pm as we had to wake up at 6am the next day.
 
Day 3 of routeburn track ~ Mackenzie hut to the divide (12km)

routeburn track day 3

shedding trees

I didn't sleep well the night before, maybe bcos of the pain at my tailbone. We set off earlier today at 7am bcos we had booked the 10.45am bus and I wasn't confident of walking fast due to the pain. It was the worst trek of my life as I was in constant pain (6 upon 10). The pain level increased to 8 upon 10 when I took big steps to climb up and down the trail. I cried for a while during the trek.  And William had to run the last 1km to chase for the bus as we were already late by 15mins. Thankfully, the bus came late and we didn't miss it.
Also thankfully the trail today was much flatter than the previous day and was mostly forested. The trail also passed the earlands waterfalls which was the largest falls that I've seen.    

earland falls 3

earland falls 1

earland falls 2

finished routeburn track

The whole routeburn track was not cheap. Huts costs about $40 per pax per night. And we had to arrange for transport to and fro the trailheads which costs $60. including rental of sleeping bag ($25) and freeze-dried foods ($30), we spent about $160 for the 3D2N trek. 

 
Day 1 in milford sound ~ kayaking in milford sound

milford sound 5

milford sound 6

milford sound 8

milford sound 9

low tide at milford sound 1

milford sound 10

low tide at milford sound 2

milford sound 11

milford sound 7

both of us at milford sound

milford sound lodge

We stayed at milford sound lodge, the only accommodation avail in milford sound, except for the mitre peak hotel which was only open to guided walkers.  It was q strange that milford sound has so few facilities when its probly the most visited place in the south island. Anyhow, milford sound lodge is located among lovely settings - surrounded by forest and beside the cleddau river. 
The pain at my tailbone still has not reduced in intensity, so William was q positive that I had suffered a hairline fracture. Which would take weeks to recover, sigh!! was concerned that my stamina will definitely drop with the impending layoff, plus I had not been running regularly since I started traveling 2 months ago. I told William that I've decided that I was not gg to aim for a 3:40 marathon this year. Will be a 4:30 pacer instead. So far, I've not encountered any female pacers at the stanchart marathon, so hopefully I can provide some form of encouragement for the female runners.  

preps for kayaking

kayaking in milford sound 1

kayaking in milford sound 2

kayaking in milford sound 3

waterfalls

beautiful milford sound

william in action

kayaking in milford sound 4

after tree avalanche

both of us kayaking 1

william in kayaking gear

milford sound 3

more kayaking 1

more kayaking 2

fur seal 1

fur seal 2

preparing to set off after lunch break

me in more kayaking gear

lunch break

preparing to set off after lunch break

kayaking in amazon-lookalike areas

kayaking in milford sound 5

We had booked kayaking with fiordland wilderness experiences in advance (www.fiordlandseakayak.co.nz) for about $135 per pax.  On the whole, the kayaking experience was q good and we had a knowledgeable and friendly guide. And we saw the fiords (cliffs), waterfalls, glaciers in the distance and a fur seal sunning himself while kayaking. Learnt that trees could grow on the steep cliffs, on just a layer of moss. Also learnt about tree avalanches. However, we were slightly disappointed as we were expecting more spectacular views of the sound. A fiord and a sound is different as explained in http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/Visitor/: "A fiord is a glaciated valley - typically narrow and steep-sided - that has been flooded by the sea after the glacier's retreat. A sound, on the other hand, is a river valley flooded by the sea following a rise in sea levels or depression of the land, or a combination of both." Our companions for the kayaking trip were a german guy, an American couple and an irish couple. Both of the couples were campervan-ing around NZ. 
After the kayaking, we were dropped off at te anau, where we rewarded ourselves with a delicious lamb and salad dinner at the award-winning redcliffe café. 

redcliff restaurant

subway

 
Day 1 in te anau ~ watched a great documentary

lake te anau

artistic shot 1

artistic shot 2

another rainbow

mini jetty

As my sleep was affected by my tailbone pain, I started taking painkillers today. I had been awakened either by the urge to pee or the pain at about 4am every morning and couldn't get back to sleep. The pain was esp bad at this time and according to William, the body was more prone to inflammation at these hours and that was why the pain was more acute then.
While waiting for our bus that leaves at 10am, we took a walk around lake te anau and also watched the documentary - shadowland ata whenua. It was a 30min doco on the spectacular scenery of fiordlands that is only screened in te anau.  The doco was was filmed by a helicopter pilot who had been flying in fiordlands for 25 years.
From te anau, we took a bus back to queenstown where we picked up our rented car, a toyota 1.8L sedan. Car rental works out to NZ$75 per day as we had opted for full insurance coverage so that there was zero liability if anything happens to the car.
 
Day 1 in wanaka ~ trekking in rob roy valley

view from crown range drive

view from crown range drive 1

view from crown range drive 2

crown range drive 1

crown range drive 2

quaint arrowtown

chinese settlement in arrowtown 1

chinese settlement in arrowtown 2

From queenstown, we headed for wanaka. Enroute, we stopped at arrowtown which has very quaint looking houses and streets. after arrowtown, we drove on the crown range road which is extremely scenic.

start of rob roy valley trek

base of rob roy valley trek

rob roy valley trek 1

both of us at rob roy valley trek

both of us at rob roy valley trek 2

cow

more cows

swing bridge

glacier view on rob roy valley trek

glacier view on rob roy valley trek 2

rob roy valley trek 4

rob roy valley trek 5

rob roy valley trek 6

rob roy valley trek 7

rob roy valley trek 8

Decided to do the trek to the rob roy valley today as the travel guide mentioned that it has very dramatic scenery. After picking up some trail info from the dept of conservation office, we drove to mt aspiring national park. We had good views of the rob roy glacier and snowfields at the summit. Apart from other trekkers, we had lots of keas for company. Kea is the native NZ parrot and makes the sound 'kea' so we made an intelligent guess that its name comes from its cry.

kea

on our drive out from the trailhead of the rob roy valley, we encountered a huge drove of sheep. they were so lovely and cute and timid too... they stood at about 50m away from our car before deciding that they will come closer till about 2m away. then they will dash across our car in a single file. before this encounter, i had doubted whether sheep were really as timid and docile as they appear, i'm now q positive they are indeed so.

sheep crossing 1

sheep crossing 2

sheep crossing 3

sheep crossing 4

That night, we watched the movie "the world's fastest Indian" in our hostel, which is a 2005 movie about this new Zealander from invercargill (located in southland) who broke world records on land speed.
We stayed at purple cow backpackers on our 1st night in wanaka.  For our second night, we shifted to altamond lodge for the same price, but which is bigger and quieter.  

altamond lodge in wanaka

Day 2 in wanaka ~ started our drive along wild west coast

lake wanaka

duck 1

duck 2

earth from above photo exhibition

Took a walk around lake wanaka and also checked out the "earth from above" photo exhibition, which was also shown in Singapore in early 2006 (I think).  Did some touristy activities today, including visiting the museum at the dept of conservation office. And that Also visited the puzzling world which contained illusions and holograms.

puzzling world 1

puzzling world 2

william at roman toilet

After which, we started our drive along the wild west coast.  

driving along wild west coast

 
Day 1 in west coast ~ wanaka to franz joseph glacier

Stopped by salmon farm café for lunch. The farm was rather smallish and the café appeared quite touristy, anyhow we had to satisfy our hunger pangs.  It was early afternoon by the time we reached fox glacier. Went to the glacier lookout but the glacier wasn't really that impressive. Maybe bcos its autumn. 

sunset at gillspies beach

gillspies beach 1

gillspies beach 2

driftwood

gillspies beach 3

We also did a side trip to the gillespies beach, which was a black sand beach with lots of driftwood. Took a nice stroll there.    
 

franz joseph glacier 1

franz joseph glacier 2

franz joseph town

Day 2 in west coast ~ franz joseph glacier to greymouth
franz joseph glacier is only 25km away from fox glacier.  Drove to the glacier carpark in the morning and did a short walk (20min) to the sentinel rock, one of the glacier viewpoints. There were other longer walks bringing you to the terminal face of the glacier, but by now, we've had enough of NZ's beautiful scenery plus we were feeling rather lazy. 
franz joseph town feels extremely touristy, with lots of adventure operators. There were organized trips to the glaciers for about $300 where they bring you up to the glacier by helicopter, then you get to walk on the glaciers for a couple of hours. Accommodation here was more expensive as compared to the other west coast towns.
Enroute to greymouth, we stopped at the town of hokitika for lunch and shop browsing.  Hokitika is the source of greenstone/ jade (or pounamu in maori language) in NZ and a lot of tourists go there just to buy jade. Hokitika even has an airport. 

hokitika town

We were asking ourselves what would make this NZ trip a memorable one for us and we came up with the idea of going for a farm stay. But after checking the internet, we realized that farmstays had to be booked 2 months in advance! Furthermore, it was the easter weekend ahead so its probly too late for us to make any farm stay arrangements. I guess I might get a chance to go for a farm stay when we return to Australia in future. 
 
Day 3 in west coast ~ greymouth to christchurch
greymouth is the largest town in west coast and is also the destination of the transalpine railway, one of the world's great train journeys, that runs 225km from Christchurch to Greymouth. A major pride of greymouth is the monteith's beer that is produced locally. William likes this beer quite a lot.

monteith's beer brewery

global village backpackers 1

global village backpackers 2

global village backpackers 3

global village backpackers 4

we stayed at the global village backpackers, our fave hostel in NZ. the whole hostel was adorned with lots of ornaments from Indonesia and Africa. Even the rooms had paintings, wooden statue baskets and other ornaments. The place was really cosy! The hostel even had a small gym, sauna (indoor + outdoor) and provided free use of bikes and kayaks.
In the evening, we took a walk at disused jetty and enjoyed views of the tasman sea and watched some surfers doing their stuff.

sunset

surf 1

surf 2

surf 4

surf 5

surf 6

surf 7

As it was easter Friday, almost all the shops were closed. But somehow the recommended railway hotel was open so we had dinner there. It was the cheapest dinners we had in NZ. I ordered BBQ of sausage, veg and bread for only $5. William ordered steak + BBQ for $10. but the sausage was not of good quality and the steak was rather small.
 
Day 1 in christchurch ~ shopping!

greymouth to christchurch 1

greymouth to christchurch 2

greymouth to christchurch 3

avon river

Left greymouth at 11am and reached Christchurch at about 3pm. After checking into the Charlie B's backpackers, we hurried to the shops as they close by evening time. and the next day was easter Sunday so the shops won't be open. Went to this huge supermarket, pak and save, to get foods for dinner as well as bought some choc bars to bring home. Also managed to fulfill some shopping requests, including collagen cream for my mum-in-law and lanolin cream for my new colleague. Spent the evening watching simpson's and other misc shows in our hostel room.
 
Day 2 in christchurch ~ chilling out and watched a great movie

streets of christchurch

christchurch cathedral

christchurch cathedral 2

weekend market

botanic gardens

botanic gardens in christchurch

Today is easter Sunday and our last day in NZ. All the shops were closed so we went to the botanic gardens for a stroll in the morning. The rose garden was esp lovely. After a DIY breakfast in our hostel, we decided to catch a movie, "the cave of the yellow dog". it was a simple story about the life of a nomadic Mongolian family.  The mongolian scenery was stunning and we got to learn about the Mongolian way of life. It was also coincidental that William is considering doing a trek in Mongolia during his own career break in july. For details of the movie, go to http://www.caveoftheyellowdog.com/.

christchurch art centre 1

christchurch art centre 2

christchurch art centre 3

christchurch art centre 4

christchurch art centre 5

coffee break

On our way to the cinema, we realized that the art center and surrounds were the only parts of town bustling with activity. There were live performances and the weekend market selling crafts, clothes and foods. Also visited the Canterbury museum which had good exhibits on maori history and culture, as well as a lovely exhibit of the penny farthing bicycle. 
 
In all, it has been a great trip to NZ! but we were a lil bored at times bcos we have already seen so much of Australia (overland track in Tasmania and great ocean road) and NZ is somewhat similar.
Our only regrets were that we did not do white-water rafting nor the avalanche peak in arther's pass. Partially due to my injury as well as it was generally rather expensive to travel in NZ. not sure how much we spent in total for this trip as we have to wait for the credit card statements. But on average, we spent about NZ$70 for accommodation (double rm) and NZ$40 for a restaurant meal.