NEW ZEALAND - March 2018

New Zealand had long been on our adventure list. We’ve known people that really immersed in the country by renting a RV and driving both islands, but we decided to go an easier route and book an adventure through REI. None of our fellow-adventurers could get away for this trip, but we knew with REI we’d find like-minded people on the trip. We also decided to focus just on the South Island rather than try to do too much. Since it’s such a long flight, we decided to lay over in Hawaii on the way there and the way back.

Saturday 3/3/2018, we set off for an uneventful but full day of travel. 11+ hours of flight time (Madison to Minneapolis to Honolulu), and 4 time zone changes. It made me really happy we didn’t push all the way to New Zealand … we’re halfway there, having made the decision to stay two nights in Honolulu and explore the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The cab ride to the Hyatt on Waikiki Beach was the worst part of our day, combination of a minivan without all of its cylinders firing and a really bad driver! But it is Hawaii so I’m not complaining. We arrived about 5pm local time - got settled into our room and headed out to find dinner. My first impression of Waikiki is that it feels like Las Vegas with a beach, and without the casinos of course. High end shopping, traffic, hotels and crowds.

We stopped to chat with an ambassador and she directed us a few blocks away to “Roy’s,” which we think we’ve also been to on Kauai and Maui - good seafood and we were able to wrangle two seats at the bar without a wait. It was hard to not think about “what time it was at home” which left us completely exhausted. After a great dinner, we pushed our way through the shopping frenzied crowds and back to our hotel. In the lobby, the tours desk was still open so we booked an early morning tour to Pearl Harbor.

It worked out well to take the organized tour to Pearl Harbor. It was about the same cost that a taxi would have charged, without the hassle. Our guide was Dave, and he was very talkative and clearly wanted us to enjoy the day.

We ended up with 8:15am tickets to the USS Arizona memorial - you watch a movie, then board a boat that takes you out to the memorial for about 15 minutes. It was an incredible experience.

Then we toured the grounds of the visitors’ center for a bit, reading the unbelievable stories of the submarines lost during WWII.

Dave then drove us around to Ford Island, where we had lunch from a food truck (with Spam on the menu) and then toured the USS Missouri. It made for an interesting way to do Pearl Harbor. We started on the Arizona, symbolizing the entry of the US into the war, and finished up on the deck of the Missouri which was where Japan surrendered at the end of the war.

On the way back to the hotels, Dave drove us around other sites in Honolulu - the coolest was the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, nestled in Punchbowl Crater - not a place we would have stumbled on our own, but truly a reverent, spectacular resting place for over 13,000 soldiers and sailors who died during World War II. We also went through downtown Honolulu, past the Capitol and some other historic buildings - finally back to the hotel about 3 pm.

We quickly changed clothes and grabbed more water and set out to hike up to Diamond Head … 2.8 miles uphill to the monument gate, which closed at 4:30pm. We really hoofed it and made it with time to spare - it felt so good to move after yesterday’s long day of travel, and today’s shuffling through visitors’ centers. We walked around the outside of the crater, and then there was a tunnel through the wall of the crater - mainly for cars, but it was possible to walk through it too. Once inside, we had to pay a fee ($1 each) to walk / climb the path to the crater wall overlooking Waikiki Beach. The path started out paved, then became a series of stairs / tunnels - even a spiral staircase.

Diamond Head is a really old volcano, and it had been adapted to be a military fortress in the early 1900’s - amazing. Even though it was the end of the day, there were still many people there climbing to the top - families with little kids, and lots of people in flip-flops.

We enjoyed the view, and headed back down to the crater, through the tunnel, and back to the beach. Back to the room for showers, then we found a funky artesian pizza / wine bar around the corner - nice end to a fabulous day, and ready for another long day of travel.

I’ve never quite had the experience of a time warp like this! We left Honolulu at 10am Monday, and arrived in Sydney, Australia about 10 hours later - yet it was 6pm on TUESDAY, being that we crossed the International Date Line.

It was a comfortable flight, and uneventful travel. We sat side by side at the exit row, with all the leg room you wanted, and two full meals and a fruit snack in the middle. We watched Wonder Woman, took a nap, and then I binge watched 8 episodes of Big Little Lies.

We had a quick turnaround in Sydney - we got a little discombobulated at the international transfer stations and we were confused having to go through security screening again (rookies after years of Pre-check status). We hustled to the gate and our flight was boarding so we didn’t see much of the Sydney airport, but we will as we have a 12-hour layover there on the way back.

It was just under a 3-hour flight to Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand and we got another meal - we love Qantas Airlines! We touched down about 11:30p local time - around 13 hours in the air for us today (24 hours total flying from home).

To protect their ecosystems, the New Zealand customs is quite rigorous in their inspection of camping gear, but we’d heard that and Jeff had scrubbed our hiking boots so thoroughly that they didn’t even ask to see our hiking poles. We cleared customs with no issues, called the hotel shuttle and we were settling into our room just before 1 am. We have a down day tomorrow to sleep in and explore the local area on our own. It was a big relief to be here after lots of planning and logistics that were somewhat out of our control.

In researching this trip, I had a lot of ideas about what we could do on our down day in Christchurch (ride the bike trail to the coast, rent a car and drive to the northern coast, etc.). But in reality, it felt good to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and a generally laid-back day.

We stayed in a hotel out by the airport, where we’d meet up with our REI guide and fellow travelers the following day. We talked to the front desk about our options for getting into town - they were: bikes, rental car, taxi, Uber or bus. We opted for the city bus - super convenient and inexpensive. As we ventured out to cross the street to get to the bus stop, just crossing the street was tough enough (look right instead of left as they drive on the opposite side of the road), I realized it was a good idea we weren’t driving or road cycling - especially on day number one with jetlag!

Christchurch had significant earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, devastating much of the city center. What we saw was a mixture of new buildings, empty lots and historic buildings still in a very damaged state, with lots of construction going on. We saw remnants of what had been a “pop up” mall, with stores and restaurants that had been run out of shipping containers. We explored the town, found them setting up for a “lantern festival” this weekend, we walked through the museum and enjoyed the botanical garden. It was a beautiful day, about 60 degrees with nice sunshine.

We awoke rested Thursday morning, anxious to meet our guides and traveling companions for the next 11 days. We got ready and went to breakfast; I tried ‘vegemite’ from the breakfast buffet - it was horrible. We were in the lobby by 8:25am, where we found the others with REI luggage tags on their Osprey packs (we’re likely all REI shoppers).

Our guide is Bas (as in part of Sebastian) originally from Holland, but he’s been a Kiwi for a long time. Also, with us is Sandra, not an official guide, but works in the office and is an avid adventurer - originally from the UK. I’m pretty sure our last communication from REI was that our guide was going to be a newer guide named Melanie, so there is probably a story behind the change, but no worries mate - we like Bas and Sandra just fine.

Also, on our trip we have another couple, Jeff and Chris from New Jersey; Kim from Seattle, Dan from the Bay Area and Rita and Margaret - two longtime friends from Malaysia, however Rita is living in the Seattle area. It seems to be an easy-going group and I think we’ll all get along fine. Bas is used to having a larger group and a bus, so he’s downright giddy about the nimbleness of our smaller group and the fact that he gets to drive a van versus a bus.

We loaded up and headed west. Bas has a headset that allows him to talk easily to us, and he talked most of the day about kiwi history, customs and the land. He’s a good combination of interesting and funny - the kind of guy that might be making some of this up, but that’s ok.

We were immediately out into the countryside. Pastures with sheep and dairy cows, and small villages - most with a gas station and a cafe. We travelled one of two main roads across the island, yet it wasn’t a very big road. There were many times we waited to cross a one lane bridge. It didn’t take us long to get into rolling hills, the foothills of the “Southern Alps.”

We stopped for our first walkabout at Castle Hill (Kura Tawhiti), which was a gorgeous field of limestone lumps left in funky shapes by a receding glacier. It felt good to get out and walk and scramble around the rocks.

Back in the van, we travelled further up into the mountains. Bas dropped us off at the trailhead to Devil’s Punchbowl Falls, and he went back to the campground at Bealey Village and prepared lunch for us. It was an easy climb up to the view of the falls, and what a spectacular view it was! We walked back to the campground and Bas had prepared a wonderful feast - with enough food to feed us lunch for a few days (it was probably that “used to larger groups” phenomenon!).

It was fun to see the campground and the communal kitchen. My folks had toured NZ by RV years ago, and talked about how they’d enjoyed this kind of camp.

After lunch, we took another short break just after Arthur’s Pass to get a view of a beautiful viaduct and we’d hoped to see some Kea (New Zealand mountain parrots that like to hang around campgrounds). We didn’t see the birds, but did continue to marvel in what a gorgeous day we were having. We continued down the road, taking a short break at Lake Brunner - a beautiful inland lake that was virtually abandoned today (there are vacation homes on the shore, but no one seemed to be around on this beautiful fall day).

Soon after that, we arrived at the coast and drove a little further north before getting out to explore the beach a bit. They say sand fleas are terrible here, so I lathered up in DEET containing bug dope because I react terribly to sand fly bites - so far so good.

The surf was heavy and I had a tranquil moment, just listening to the waves hit the shore. Lots of interesting rock formations too. Back in the van for the short ride to Pancake Rocks Blowholes / Punakaiki. You have to see the photos to completely understand this unique formation of rocks - we had never seen anything like it. The tide was high, and with the rough surf, the blowholes were active. One seemed alive - the waves below the rocks sounded like tympani beating to a crescendo - and then a big belch of steam. You can see why the native Maori held this place with special reverence. As we were exploring, our guides went on to check into our accommodations for the night - a nice little place on the coast.

We had a little downtime, then gathered for dinner. As we were driving to the pub, the sun was beginning to set - both Sandra and Bas remarked on what an unusual clear day and night it was for the coast, so we persuaded Bas to drop us at the beach for the sunset while he secured our table at the pub. There were more people than we had seen all day gathered at the beach, and it was an amazing sunset, with a green flash and I swear there was no exaggeration or tequila involved either.

Back to the pub for dinner, beer and desert - then we walked up the road a bit to a cavern in search of “glow worms.” On the way there, the stars were amazing. For the first time in my life, I’ve seen the Southern Cross after all these years of singing about it: “When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, …” The cavern was the kind of place I’m not comfortable in during the day, but somehow at night I found it to be less scary? It was worth it - the glow worms, deep in the cavern, did not disappoint.

In the morning, we went back to the pub for breakfast – not only are they really nice folks, apparently, they’re the only show in town. We had pre-ordered our breakfast last night to “save time,” but I’m not so sure that made a difference. There was a group on a cycling tour from Adventure South at the pub this morning, too. They’re in a rig like ours and decked out for cycling, but didn’t look like serious cyclists. Bas said they’d be riding off road somewhere in the area.

Due to road and weather conditions, tours like ours have to be nimble. Through some kind of local intel, Bas learned that we couldn’t do the hike he’d planned for us to do today. Two weeks ago, there had been a cyclone in the Pacific, and the west coast of NZ was battered by wind and storm surge. We’ve witnessed parts of the road that had been washed out and there are places where trees are down - and apparently that’s the case with the track we were going to hike today. So, plan B was a beautiful but short track down to the beach, just a bit north of where we were - Truman Track. It was a beautiful temperate rain forest, with a thick canopy. There were very large red pines with some kind of tropical vines winding up their trunks. Soon we were punching through to the flax plants which were over our heads, and then the boardwalk took us to an overlook at the beach. The tide was out so we went down onto the beach. Once again, the surf was powerful. The beach here was small smooth rocks and I took my shoes off and had a wonderful foot massage as I walked. By the time we left, our secluded spot was getting crowded - the bike tour showed up, a National Geographic tour showed up, along with families with small kids running and screaming. Time to go.

Back in the van, we stopped at the cafe by Pancake Rocks to pick up sandwiches for our lunch and “take away” coffee, then headed south along the coast. We passed by several more washed-out areas where the road would go down to one lane. Also, many instances of river crossings where the road would be a one lane bridge, and this was a highway. Once, it was a one lane bridge with a train track down the middle (pretty sure the train has priority)!

We stopped in an adorable little town, Hokitiki, for Sandra and Bas to pick up some groceries and fuel up the van while we shopped. There were several artesian shops selling greenstone items and Marino wool, and an active beach with cute little coffee stands and displays of driftwood art.

Then we set off for our Plan C hike along the shore of Lake Kaniere, 11 km of beautiful forest trail with amazing lake views. Bas drove the van around to the end of the trail and Sandra hiked with us. Bas said we’re the first REI group to have hiked the whole trail as there are usually issues with the road to get to the other end of the trail, so typically groups hike in a bit and then hike out.

It was another gorgeous sunny day, and even with a breeze we got quite warm along the hike. There were a few muddy spots, and many downed trees which we had to hike over or around. The plants and trees were amazing. We found tiny blue and red mushrooms - they appeared to be completely out of this world. Friendly little fan birds - they hung around us, but flitted about like hummingbirds so you couldn’t capture them in a photo. Their tails were like Japanese fans - I’d never seen anything like it!

Back in the van, it was a quiet group during the two-hour drive further south to the town Franz Josef in “Glacier Country.” It was a mindboggling contrast to have the sea on our right and snow-capped peaks on the left. We checked in for two nights in Franz Josef, which was great as this was our 6th night of vacation in our 4th hotel so I was feeling a bit discombobulated.

We were able to walk to our dinner at the Blue Ice cafe, so we got a feel for the vibe of the little town. Definitely a young, hip, adventure crowd now that we’re in the south. Dinner was great, and we remained a quiet group, worn out from a great day.

The next day we got up, dressed and met our group at the “Full of Beans” coffee shop as scheduled. Breakfast was great - I had French Toast with bacon and fruit - yum, and coffee Americano. Then back to the hotel where we were given little lunch boxes and Bas had laid out a “build your own sandwich” buffet for us to prepare lunch for later. After a little down time, we regrouped for the ride to Okarito Lagoon for our paddling adventure. Bas dropped us off at the beach and we walked around to the kayak launch, another beautiful morning on yet another beautiful but different kind of beach.

We were given tandem kayaks, wouldn’t have been our first choice, but I realize it helps keep the group together. The lagoon flows into the sea, so we had to time our paddling with the tide. We had our briefing about the route to take, and were instructed to follow the guide posts so we would stay in the channel and not get mired in the muck.

The Okarito Lagoon is a White Heron sanctuary. At first, I thought that was just another name for the Egret, which are so plentiful in the states. But it truly is a White Heron, slightly smaller than our Great Blue Herons. They said there are less than 200 of them left, and this is their only breeding ground. I wondered if that was exactly true because (1) if they were so rare would they really let us paddle around in there and (2) we saw about 20 of them (10%)?

We set out and Jeff and I quickly got the feel for the kayak and the tidal current. We paddled about a third of the way up the lagoon, and then turned into the Okarito River and paddled upstream, although there was hardly any current.

It was an amazing day, and so awesome to have jungle like foliage yet snowcapped mountains in the distance. We paddled up the river to the point where we started to get hung up on the shallows and the tree fall made forward progress challenging. We beached the boats and ate our picnic lunch there, enjoying another day of abundant sunshine.

The paddle back was faster, with the tide still moving in the direction we were headed. The lagoon also had less water in it, so the channel was more apparent and it left mud islands that had plenty of bird life. It was fun to watch the oystercatchers, with their orange beaks that looked like a Cheeto. They’d stick their whole head into the mud and come out with prize. It was unbelievable that the herons didn’t mind us at all. We would just float about 4 feet away, and they’d continue to scout for fish. We were unable to capture them grabbing and swallowing a fish on camera, but it was fun to see. They were so different than the Great Blues that seem so skittish when we paddle anywhere near, but then maybe they are right to be wary as there are many more predators in North America?

After the paddle, we had hot drinks and snacks at the outfitter, then had ice cream at a little pop-up shack nearby. As usual, we were eating too much on this trip!

We had a 20-minute drive back to Franz Josef to change and rest before our hike. After a short drive to the trailhead, we hiked up as close as you can get to the Franz Josef glacier. It is rapidly receding, similar to glaciers in other parts of the world - suffering from climate change and global warming. We joined the throngs of tourists and hiked to the glacier viewpoint. It was a lovely hike with many waterfalls from unseen hanging glaciers in the surrounding mountains. The only way to get closer than we were today would be via helicopter drop, and the noise of the helicopters in this area was downright annoying, especially after a day of lazing in a kayak in a beautiful secluded lagoon.

Back to our rooms for a quick shower before our 7pm dinner at The Landing. I ordered a bottle of New Zealand Merlot - pretty good wine, and dinner was massive portions of chicken parmigiana, burgers as big as a plate and salads. Massive dessert portions too - I had a wonderful chocolate lava cake. During the course of dinner, a rugby match came on the television featuring two NZ teams - north island versus south. Most of us had no idea what was going on, but Baz did his best to educate us somewhat. It was fun to be swept into the energy and cheering along for the south team.

We headed back to our rooms with full bellies and the great feeling that comes from being out in the fresh air in a very magical place.

The next morning started out with a repeat of the previous morning and there was something comforting in the routine. Breakfast at 7:30 am at “Full of Beans,” then off to the leader’s room to make our own lunches. By 9am we were on the road, heading south for a longer drive day.

We were relegated to the back of the van this leg of the trip since we’re not prone to motion sickness. That in itself is a blessing, but I miss the view out of the front windshield.

We stopped just outside the town of Fox Glacier for a hike around Lake Matheson. On a perfect day, which today was, the snow-covered peaks of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman reflect in the calm waters of the lake. It was so awesome, the only thing causing the occasional ripple to distort the reflection were the ducks swimming, and the only thing messing with our tranquility were hormonal teenagers! It was a great stop - the hike was enough to burn off breakfast and the views were out of this world!

Next stop was down the road a bit - Bruce Bay - for our picnic lunch on the beach. Native forest down to the beach (beech and remu trees) made for a lot of interesting drift wood. A unique feature from this beach was beautiful white rocks. There was a pile of larger rocks on the edge of the parking lot with wishes and sayings written in many different languages. Some of the smaller white rocks that we picked out of the surf were even a bit translucent. I’d have picked a whole collection of rocks from these beaches, but I’d be afraid my suitcase would exceed the weight limits.

We ate our lunch enjoying the mild surf and light breeze. All NZ beaches have issues with sand fleas, and this was probably the worst. I’m doing ok with my magical 3M repellent. Often times I react so badly to sand flea bites that I have to take Benadryl – but so far so good this trip.

Our next stop was at Ship Creek. Here we walked the boardwalk through a native coastal forest. Honestly, most of the thrill was in seeing how passionate Bas was about it. But truly, it is a magical place - no invasive species, and everything much as it probably was since the beginning of time here - all it was missing was the dinosaurs. It was a beautiful little creek, and the way it was named was quite interesting too. Remains of a ship were discovered here in the late 1800’s, yet no record of the ship or the wreck existed. It was eventually discovered that a ship had wrecked 2000 km away off the coast of Australia, and currents and prevailing winds carried a portion of the ship here. Amazing.

Back in the van for several more hours of driving, fighting off some claustrophobia sandwiched into the back seat, lurching from side to side over the winding roads. We went by more “slips” (what we’d call landslides), which really made me grateful for the timing of this trip. Bas told us about an REI trip last month that was severely impacted by road closures and severe weather. Our standing joke is how “lucky” we are, having been blessed so far with 4 days of sunshine, which apparently never happens here. Bas said on the West Coast of the South Island, 7 days without rain is a drought!

At Haast Junction, we turned inland and headed east. Once we crossed over Haast Pass, we were over the divide and the scenery changed from lush rainforest to dry grasses in the valley.

We came upon the beautiful Lake Wanaka, with various shades of blue which changed with the degree of cloud cover and elevation of the road that went along the shore. Except for the highway, this was very remote with no buildings or sign of anything. Bas said there are some shacks where people who are tending the sheep live on the opposite side, and they access the shacks via jet boat. About halfway down the lake, the highway took a left and went over a hill and came out at the equally beautiful Lake Hawea, which also was eerily uninhabited! As we continued south towards the town of Wanaka, we finally started seeing signs of life - in fact, a fairly high-end life with fashionable shops and restaurants - a bizarre twist on the day.

We settled into our rooms at the “Clearbrook,” wonderful little apartments with washer & dryer in the room. A little downtime before we gathered for dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant. After dinner, Jeff and I walked around town and window-shopped - lots of outdoor / bike shops. Definitely our kind of place!

Sometime in the middle of the night my bites were itching so bad that I took a Benadryl, which much have really knocked me out. Before we knew it, we were rushing to make our 9am departure.

Last night we made menu selections for today and while we were at dinner, today’s breakfast fixings arrived in our little kitchens. It was a nice feeling of normalcy to be able to prepare our own breakfast. Once we were dressed, I opened the curtain to our patio and two ducks appeared. They used their beaks to knock on the glass, just in case we hadn’t seen them. I don’t believe in feeding wildlife processed food so we ignored them and soon they moved on to an easier target I presume. I fully believe if I’d opened the doors they would have come in!

We packed up and drove the van to the nearby trailhead for Rocky Mountain Summit Track. It was another beautiful morning and we started with a climb right out of the gate, quickly warming up. It was an astounding hike - beautiful changing views of nearby mountains and Lake Wanaka. As we got higher, we saw some boat traffic, and learned that they pretty much keep the boats confined to this one large bay - a smart way to keep the rest of the lake wild and pristine.

The hike was just the right amount of strenuous for me. Heart rate pumping on the way up, and quads challenged on the way down. It was about 3 hours round trip including about 10 minutes of relaxation on the summit. At the summit, Jeff and I sat on a rock overlooking a sheep pasture. There were 4 sheep looking over what appeared to be a pretty steep cliff. Suddenly one bolted left and ran down the hill. We couldn’t see where he landed, but presumably it was a planned jump. The sheep next in line hesitated, and the next two ran around it and bolted down the hill. Eventually, the fourth one followed. 30 seconds later, another sheep hurried to the cliff, looked to the right. We both yelled, “no, go left,” and he did, presumably joining the others. Of course, this was the day I didn’t put our binoculars in my day pack, it would have been fun to watch that play out with a better view.

Another marvelous thing about the hike was we virtually had the place to ourselves. As we went up, we saw only about 6 people going up. When we got to the top, there were two octogenarian (by our estimate) couples sitting there in their little hats, drinking coffee from a thermos - quite adorable. We encountered more people and families heading up as we hiked down, but we sure timed it perfectly. On our drive to the trailhead this morning, we passed a large parking lot for the Rob Roy Track, which Bas said until 5 years ago was a relatively unknown hike, but thanks to social media it is now quite popular and indeed the parking lot was overflowing. It’s a mixed bag for a country whose primary industry is tourism - how do you then control “progress?”

After the hike we drove back to Wanaka for lunch, which we’d preordered from a happening cafe on the main intersection in town (efficient, but on the hike a few of us struggled to remember what we’d ordered for lunch). We had a few minutes to shop after lunch while Bas went to retrieve our trailer from the hotel. I went to a pharmacy and obtained more antihistamine just in case, and then we walked around a super crazy grocery store.

We hit the road for the three-hour drive to Te Anau, stopping for scenic overlook at the top of the Crown Range, looking down into Queenstown, which we just skirted today - we’ll be back later in the week.

The skies clouded up a bit and it turned windy. Towards the end of the drive, we had some sprinkles, but we’ve really had the most amazing weather so far. It was real rain as we reached today’s hotel, but we were able to run for the door. Quick showers and organizing of our gear, and we were back in the lobby by 6:45pm for our “surprise,” which turned out to be walking to a theater for a showing of the incredible “Fiordland on Film.” It was a showcase of the varied terrain and seasons of the Fiordland, presented in a way we’d never be able to see it. I’m very excited to experience just a piece of the park over the next two days!

After a quick breakfast in our hotel in Te Anua, we hit the road ready to hike. One of the Great Walks, The Milford Track starts in Te Anua with a ferry ride to the trail head. From there, it’s three days trek to where we’d end our day today in the Milford Sound. About 40 people launch each day during the season, which is now. You can register to do it on your own and stay in the common huts where there are facilities to cook your own meals and bunks for sleeping. Or you can choose the “guided hike” where you stay in huts where meals and linens are supplied - the luxury tour! It’ll have to go on “the list,” as we don’t have time to do the whole thing this time.

We drove along the lake for a bit, and then through pastures (mainly sheep, but some cattle and deer). Soon we were headed up and back into the forest that marked the boundary of Fiordland National Park. Back across the divide and into the massive trees and temperate rain forest.

Another of the Great Walks is the Routeburn Track, and we hiked a portion of that this morning, the Key Summit Alpine Walk, about 3 hours round trip. It was a great workout on the way up, but less steep than yesterday’s hike so the going down portion was much easier. The views from the top were amazing - some clouds, which made for great detail on the layers and layers of mountains. We got a sense of the vastness of this park, and we’re really just seeing a very thin slice. I was happy we’d seen the film yesterday, as the footage obtained by helicopter is probably the only way to really get a sense of how amazing this park is.

From the top, we had a glimpse of Lake Marion. The clouds came down and it started drizzling a bit - lucky I brought my hat along. As we were heading down, it was pretty much “rush hour” heading up, once again Bas’s sense of the timing of the tourist crowd was spot on and we were grateful to have a guide show us the spots more off the beaten path - or at least, minimize the crowds at the popular spots.

After the hike we drove back towards Te Anua (might seem less efficient, but it’s part of Bas’s knack for timing the crowds), and stopped for our picnic lunch at the edge of Lake Marion - just as beautiful when you’re standing on the shore. After lunch, we drove a little further for a beautiful walk through a forest - probably the area where some of Lord of the Rings was shot. The moss-covered trees with their gnarly knobs looked like they could come to life. Words can’t describe just how amazing it felt to breathe in the forest like that!

Back in the van, we made several stops along the drive to Milford to do short hikes into spectacular waterfalls and chasms. We took lots of photos but it’s so hard to capture the power and beauty of the water, or that refreshing feeling of the mist washing over your face.

It was quite a climb up to the one lane Homer Tunnel - the switchbacks on either side reminded me of Col du Galibier in the French Alps and made me very happy we weren’t cycling! We stopped and waited for a cycle of the lights, getting out of the van to take in the waterfalls - but back in quite fast as it was very cold and windy up there! We’d hoped to see Kea there (mountain parrots), but they must have been hunkered down somewhere due to the weather. Apparently, they are fascinated with cars and can be destructive to the rubber components - wiper blades, valve covers, window seals, etc. … So, the Department of Conservation built them a little “playground” of their own, and that would have been fun to see.

We arrived at the boat dock just after 4p, and were quickly admitted passage to our home for the night: The Milford Wanderer. The timing of this was perfect, too. Just as Bas had described there were throngs of tourists on day trips from Queenstown, but by now they’d have cleared out and only the Wanderer and its sister ship, the Mariner were out on the sound.

We stashed our overnight bags in our cabins and headed to the galley for the safety briefing. It’s the smaller of the two ships - ours has 36 passengers and about 6 crew - the other has 64 passengers. After our briefing and a cup of tea, our group plus two German young men and a naturalist / guide were loaded into a runabout and transported to the landing site that marks the end of the Milford Track (a place aptly named “Sand Fly Point”). We hiked up the trail a bit, and while he also joked that he was making things up, most of his facts matched what Bas had already told us about the trees and the forest and the history of the area. Bas stayed back at the backpacker hut, but Sandra accompanied us on the overnight. She had done the whole Milford Track before, so that made it even more interesting to us!

Back on board our ship, we had a few minutes of down time before dinner. An announcement came on about the “back deck swimming pool” being open. We didn’t get up to check it out, but it made me wonder as I hadn’t seen room for a pool on the back deck. Later we heard that there were people that actually jumped from the deck into the sound - some of them naked (some of them had skipped the hike and stayed at the bar instead so they likely had some extra courage).

We got a bottle of local Pinot Noir from the bar just as salads were being served, and then had an awesome plated dinner - amazing chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, fries, and a pig in a blanket, with some kind of warmed fruit tart with dark chocolate ice cream for dessert.

During dinner, we motored to our evening mooring spot in Harrison Cove. Between courses several people went out on deck and reported that the drizzle we’d been experiencing most of the afternoon had turned to hard rain. I’d brought along our cribbage board so we had a few competitive rounds with some double skunks. We had some curious onlookers, but couldn’t entice anyone to join in a game of three or four hand or racehorse.

It was fun and helped us pass the time while the weather cleared. And like what happens for us often, the weather did clear. Meanwhile, most of the passengers had retreated to their cabins, but Jeff and I, Kim and Sandra headed out to the deck. The mast had a bright light and there was some ambient light coming out of the galley so it took a while for our eyes to adjust. But when they did, the stars were amazing. We easily picked out Orion, and at the edge of the Milky Way we convinced ourselves we saw the Southern Cross. We realized there were fish splashing in the water below, probably attracted to the light from the boat. And attracted to the fish, we could sense / hear something larger like dolphin or seals. I went and got my headlamp and confirmed they were seals. They did a few turns and somersaults for us - it was really neat. About 10:30pm we drifted off to our cabins.

We had communal bathrooms - 4 shower stalls, 2 toilets and 6 sinks serving our area - kind of felt like dorm room living, but it worked just fine. The cabin mainly consisted of a large bed, and a few drawers. Comfy and cozy. The boat was built in 1990, renovated about 5 years ago. It was really special to have had this overnight experience on Milford Sound.

Today was a truly spectacular day: we trekked on two of the three New Zealand “Great Walks,” saw amazing waterfalls, finishing with the most extraordinary overnight on Milford Sound.

We had a great night’s sleep on the boat - could have been the fresh air and good wine! We were already awake when they switched the generator back on at 6am, but we got out of bed then. We quickly dressed and grabbed our warm coats and headed up to the galley for coffee, where we found most of our group already. It was still dark outside, but we were underway already, cruising from where we were moored overnight to the mouth of the sound.

Breakfast was a fruit and cereal buffet, followed by a huge plated meal again: eggs, three types of meat, roasted tomatoes and potatoes. Too much food. We ate quickly as we were anxious to get out onto the deck.

Our first stop was under a waterfall, where they did a “maid of the mist” moment like Niagara Falls and stuck the bow of the boat into the waterfall. One guy had donned his yellow slicker and he was up front being doused!

It was chilly, but I was ok in my light down jacket with my rain parka over that. I also had light gloves, but they quickly got wet from the handrails so they weren’t very effective. We kept motoring along towards the Tasman Sea, the views on either side just breathtaking - countless waterfalls and rows and rows of cliff and mountains. Many times, you could see where there was likely a pool where the water collected before spilling down the cliff - you’d need a helicopter to see the pool, but it was neat that we’d seen that in action yesterday when we hiked to Key Summit.

The day dawned and we all just quietly soaked up the majesty of the moment. Jeff and I went into the bridge for a bit, it was nice to duck inside and learn more about the boat from the captain. They do several day trips, then the overnights like we did. The crew works 7 days on, and 7 days off. They seemed to be a competent, happy bunch. In the winter, they use these boats to do cruises that last several days - into the sea and down the coast to Doubtful Sound. That would be fun too – add it to the list!

As we got to the mouth of the sound, we began to feel the swells of the sea. I thought it was great fun! It was so beautiful to look at the coastline from the sea. As we ventured farther out, it was impossible for me to even see the opening of the sound. How would explorers even find that? They had to be in a smaller boat just checking out every individual cove.

While we were still on the sea, the clouds descended quickly and what was mist turned to real rain. We retreated to the bridge again for a bit, and then to the galley for some hot tea. After a bit, we went back outside even though it was still lightly raining - it was just too awesome to stay inside.

On the way back in, we passed a rock where a few seals were hauled out - sleeping and scratching. The captain said they spend their days sleeping and feed at night, so cool that we saw that in action last night! We also came upon a pod of dolphins - they swam along with us for a bit, playing in the bow wake.

We docked around 9am, and Bas was there waiting for us. We climbed into the van and settled in for the long drive through the tunnel back to Te Anau. It was a very quiet group, most everyone sleeping. Jeff was sleeping so soundly that when the van would lurch around the corner, he’d squash me, then when we had a turn in the other direction, I’d push him back over the other way.

We arrived back at the Te Anau hotel where we’d left the trailer. We had some time to organize our bags, changes clothes, shop, etc. then we gathered for an amazing lunch of soup and salads at a place called Olives. Even though I hadn’t been cold on the boat, it took me until after lunch to shake the chill of the morning!

After lunch we set out for a 2.5-hour hike on a piece of the third NZ walk: The Kelper Track. We hiked along a beautiful river (Grebe?) - and it was mostly flat, with a very soft surface. Jeff and I lagged back - I’d combined my backpacks without thinking about the hike and my pack was pretty heavy, but I liked the extra challenge (have to burn off some of these calories too). It was great to walk our own pace and chat with Sandra. At the end of the hike, another swinging bridge, but nowhere near as scary as what I’d expected to be crossing here!

Bas was waiting for us, and we settled back into the van for a two-hour drive back to Queenstown. As the crow flies, Queenstown is not very far from Milford Sound. But they’re serious mountains in between there and roads haven’t been developed, which I think is pretty cool and what makes visiting New Zealand amazing.

We’re at the Blue Peaks motel for two nights. Nothing glamorous, but a great little hike into town, kitchenettes and laundry on site. Quick showers and back in the van for a quick town tour and drive to our restaurant for tonight - a great Italian place “V Know,” with Denny, a friendly proprietor. Ironically, Rita in her pre-trip research had learned about this restaurant and had booked reservations here for our free night tomorrow!

It was nearly 8am before I awoke for the first time on our “down day” in Queenstown. My bones felt heavy and I went back to sleep until nearly 9am. We lazed around for a few more hours, doing laundry, catching up on email and blog postings.

The forecast was lousy so we were unable to do the tandem paragliding, which was ok. Bas says maybe tomorrow. About 11:30am we ventured out and down into the main area of town where our first stop was Starbucks. We had a late breakfast and then poked around the shops and walked along the harbor. It turned out to be a mostly sunny day, but it was windy so that did impact some of the activities such as paragliding and kayaking. The people watching was fun, but Queenstown is a very different scene! Bas had gotten us tickets for the gondola, so we rode that to the top and watched some luge, bungy and sky swinging, along with some serious mountain bikers who had ridden the gondola up and were preparing to cruise down. We took a small hike around the top - through a forest of “invasive” Douglas fir trees. We came upon a baby goat who was calling out for his mom, and it was a little scary when she appeared with her horns, but they moved on up the hill together.

Back down to town, we stopped in a store and bought some yogurt, fruit and snacks then headed back to our little apartment for more rest and relaxation. It felt good to have this down day, and now we’ll be ready for three more days of adventure.

We ventured out again in the evening, down to an Irish Pub where we sat outside and had a burger and Guinness - outstanding people watching while we sat. We estimated 50% Asian tourists (likely Chinese), 40% young hip adventure junkies (several with arms in casts or slings) and the rest tourists like us - not a lot of American sounding people though. It’s interesting to feel what it’s like to be in the minority.

After dinner we walked around a bit. The traffic was frenzied - in fact, on our way to dinner Jeff (the cautious half of our duo) was nearly taken out by a bus that was careening down a hill around a blind corner. The scene haunted me all night. It felt good to be safely back in our little apartment by 9pm. Even though it was a lazy day, we’re still pretty tired and want to rest up for more adventure.

The next morning, we were rested and up early for our 7a breakfast meeting at a wonderful cafe (Nola’s) just down the stairs into town. Most of us had checked the weather already so we were ready for a Plan B discussion. While it wasn’t raining, it was very windy and this morning was to have been kayaking on Lake Wakatipu, which is a very big lake - not possible today. Instead, we did an awesome 3+ hour hike, which was just a 10-minute drive from Queenstown, but far removed from all the madness. In fact, we saw maybe 6 people, but dozens of cows and hundreds of sheep.

We started at Moke Lake, then worked our way through some pastures to hook up with the Lake Dispute Walkway. While in the sun, it was warm, but in the shade of the mountains and with the steady breeze, it remained cool - perfect for hiking.

As we headed up the Mt Crichton Loop Track, the views of Lake Wakatipu were amazing. Bas had dropped us off, the drove to the end and started hiking back towards us. It’s really nice that we are able to do thru hikes that way and not have to double back.

It was a fabulous workout and a beautiful morning. We were back in the van and headed to lunch in Queenstown before 1pm (also a Plan B as we were supposed to have sandwiches with the kayaking). We went to an awesome cafe (The Exchange) with great food. For once though, we hadn’t pre-ordered, so it was odd to have to wait for our food to be prepared!

After lunch, it was a short walk back to the hotel to pick up our trailer and start our drive north to Mt. Cook. There’d been a slight chance that we could have squeezed in paragliding after lunch, but the wind didn’t subside. I was asleep in the van before we left Queenstown!

We made a few stops along the way - the first in Arrowtown to see a historic preserved Chinese settlement from the 1880’s gold rush days. Next, we stopped at the original bungy bridge over the Kawarau River. It was fun to see bungy jumping happening, but no one in our group was even slightly interested.

From there we drove through the Gibbston Valley, with lots of vineyards - making that yummy Pinot Noir. Two more quick stops - one at a salmon farm to pick up salmon for a BBQ tomorrow, and the other at a grocery store where Kim and I bought wine for tomorrow.

We pulled into the Mt Cook Lodge just after 6:30 pm. Against the blue sky, the snowcapped mountain and glaciers were strikingly beautiful. Quick showers, and dinner was at 7:30 pm at the nearby Old Mountaineer Lodge - salad and pizza for me, with half of it left over for lunch tomorrow.

The group is starting to feel a little melancholy as the end of the trip draws near. It’ll be great to have the last two nights here, with a celebration tomorrow night as we make dinner together in the lodge common room.

Gorgeous to watch the setting sun reflect off Mt Cook as we ate dinner, and as we walked back to our lodge, Orion and the Southern Cross were already out.

Saturday, we had two choices for hikes. Of course, Jeff and I opted for the more challenging hike to Mueller Hut, along with Rita and Sandra. Bas described it perfectly, and it was as tough as he had described it - and that scared the others off. The others did the Hooker Valley walk.

Bas dropped the 4 of us off at the trailhead on the edge of the campground. The walk started flat though the valley - dried grasses and scrubby trees and lots of birds. We were a small quiet group and it was such a beautiful experience walking through the cloud, breathing the amazingly fresh glacial air. As we were walking, we heard what sounded like a train, and Sandra stopped us and said that was an avalanche happening in the distance. Apparently quite common, and over the weekend there had been snow, and then yesterday abundant sunshine. She assured us we didn’t have avalanche danger where we were hiking today.

Then we came to the stairs - 2000+ of them! They were spaced in that you would climb a flight, then walk along a flat-ish gravel path, and then climb another flight. You could look up and see the side of the mountain dotted with stairs, but they don’t really show up on a photo. It looked like a beautifully landscaped terrace with a variety of lush plants. The stairs were a great workout, and even though it made me short of breath, to me that was easier than walking up the steep mountainside would have been without the steps. We had a few faster walkers overtake us, and we also passed a few ourselves. As we neared the top of the stairs, we started encountering hikers that had spent the night at the hut and were on their way down.

The day started out in the mist of a cloud, but we were hopeful it would burn off. The coolness was good for the hike up, and I started with my down vest on and wasn’t too warm.

At the top of the steps was an area called Sealy Tarns, which is a name for the small glacial lakes (which we could just barely make out through the thick mist). Sandra described the view that we SHOULD have had of glaciers, snow covered peaks, lakes and waterfalls.

We caught up with a group of about 20 Norwegian teenagers - cackling and singing and messing with our mountain serenity. At one point we heard a boy yell something, and their guide said to him “it does no good to call out ROCK in Norwegian, you have to yell ROCK.” I thought that was pretty funny - it was an international group on the mountain! After a bit, we took a snack break and let them get further ahead of us.

The trail turned into a muddy rocky section which was quite wide, with multiple possibilities for routes - as long as you stayed fairly close to the orange posts. Due to the fog, we could only see ahead one post as a time anyway. Even though we were working hard, I found myself getting chilled so I put on my rain jacket, hat and gloves.

As we got closer to the ridge, it became less muddy (thankfully), and more of a boulder field. With the fog and the boulders, I immediately felt like I was back on the Chilkoot, and that was great. Between Chilkoot Pass and our Grand Canyon adventure, I had the confidence to clamber over this kind of terrain.

Bas had warned us that the ridge would be cold and windy, but there was no wind. I’d been hoping the wind would pick up and blow away the clouds, but no. We all felt great, so we continued the scramble over the rocks on the top of the ridge to Mueller Hut. We were really upon the hut before we knew we were there - the cloud was still quite thick.

It was pleasant enough to sit on the deck and eat our lunch. I filled my Nalgene bottle from the fresh water barrel on the deck, and we had left over pizza and chocolate, and Sandra produced a thermos with “warm” chocolate and that was a great treat! I didn’t go into the hut - Jeff had and said it didn’t smell good in there (body odor and stinky socks), and Rita poked her head in a little later and people yelled at her to shut the door! There was a two-stall toilet that reminded me of the ones in Canada built up high where they expect a lot of snow!

During lunch we had moments where you could feel the sun through the thinning clouds, and we hung out an extra 15 minutes waiting for that to happen so we could enjoy the view we had earned, but that never happened. So, we set out, down the same route we’d come up. Again, I felt really solid scrambling over the rocks and it was really fun to move fast and confidently. Not as much fun when we got to the muddy, rocky portion, but then the sun did break through and we started getting glimpses of the lake, the glaciers and eventually even Mt Cook.

We had built a camaraderie with some hikers traveling at our same pace, a young couple from Detroit and another that I just thought of as “green jacket.” Over and over, we’d exclaim in awe over the beauty that was being unveiled - in that way it was even more magically than it would have been if I’d opened our curtains this morning to a beautiful sunshiny day!

When we got to the Tarns this time, we walked out to the point and lingered for 20 minutes watching the glacier and mountains change with the light and clouds. The moment was so enchanted, no one wanted it to end.

Then down the steps, which weren’t as painful as I’d expected them to be. Sandra had been in touch with Bas during the day via text to keep him apprised of our progress, so he was waiting for us at the trailhead.

The hike took us 7 hours, which included about 30 extra minutes of lingering waiting and hoping the clouds would clear. It felt like a great accomplishment.

Back to the room for quick showers, then to the common room for snacks and wine, and eventually a wonderful dinner of salmon and roasted vegetables. It was an amazing day and kind of a melancholy last dinner together.

The trip had to end eventually, but how could 11 days go this fast? We gathered for breakfast at 8am and we were packed and, in the van, shortly after 9.

Bas had planned for several stops along the way, chances for us to get out of the van and stretch our legs. While it was good to break up the 4-hour drive, the places were full of bus tour groups which really mess with my solitude mojo at this point. We did have some good quick climbs which made me realize how much I’d worked my quads yesterday!

We arrived in Christchurch and dropped Kim at the airport at 4pm for her long flight home tonight. It was sad to see one of our members leave the flock. She was a really fun addition to the trip - she had a great sense of humor, and is someone who likes red wine as much as me.

The next stop was the Sudimo Airport hotel, which was our home for the night. We have a 6:30am flight to Sydney tomorrow, so we needed to stay as close to the airport as possible. The hotel is really nice, recently renovated and modern. We organized our bags and went to the restaurant for an early dinner. We stopped by the bar after dinner for a “take away” Baileys on ice and I enjoyed that while soaking in the tub.

It was fun to have a quiet dinner just the two of us and reflect on the trip. All high points, nothing we’d do differently. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the South Island and couldn’t imagine better guides than Bas and Sandra. And while we missed our Madison hiking pals, it was fun to mix with a new group too.

Monday March 19th, 2018 was the day that will ended up being two days! We knew there was payback for crossing the International Date Line.

We were up at 4a for our 6:25am flight from Christchurch to Sydney. Unbelievable lines at check in and security, and then the discovery that if you’re going to be in Australia for >8 hours, you need to purchase a visa ($50 and 30 minutes we didn’t have). I wondered if it was a ploy by Qantas to collect more fees - it was their idea to give us a 10-hour layover in Sydney after all. The final boarding call for our flight was announced as we cleared security – we were lucky the flight was right there, no running required. I hadn’t even had my coffee!

With 10 hours to kill in Sydney we decided to put our new visas to use and catch the train into town, which was quite slick. We got off at the harbor and were able to walk up the bridge, stroll through the harbor area, past the Opera House and into the Botanical gardens.

It was quite warm and I thought I was dressed for it, but it was even warmer than our first two days in Oahu. It takes my body awhile to get used to that kind of heat. Not a complaint by any means, it just surprised us how it zapped our energy.

We strolled through the business area and an area with high end shops. It was lunch time, and hundreds of young professionals were out walking or sitting and having lunch - fun time to be strolling, a different kind of people watching for us. This segment of the population sure looked fit! Going back to the states will be a bit of a shock in that regard!

Back to the airport and through passport control with no issues now that we have these new Visas. We stopped in Duty Free to freshen up with some spritzes of Eau d Cologne!

Our flight back to Honolulu will leave Sydney at 7:30pm today (which is Monday), yet we’ll arrive in Honolulu Monday morning. Crazy!!

Our first morning in Honolulu was a very lazy day we didn’t get out of bed until 10 am. We hiked up to Diamond Head and then to the Safeway store. By then we were exhausted, so we jumped on the Biki’s (bike share) outside the store and cruised back down to our hotel in Waikiki. We had lunch and napped some more, then an amazing dinner at the Beach house - Moana Surfrider, where a duo was performing Hawaiian music and a third performer was dancing the Hulu.

The next day we were up earlier and took a long walk into the downtown area and back through the marina and along the beach, stopping for a swim across from the hotel. We had an 8:45p flight, so Jeff got the idea of dropping our bags at the airport, picking up a rental car for a few hours and exploring some other parts of Oahu.

The rental car places were crazy, but the Hertz line seemed most reasonable, so we booked a “small SUV” on my phone while waiting in line. It was as pretty slick, except the “small SUV” ended up being a Cadillac Escalade! I struggled getting in and out of the thing and I’m a big person!!

We headed east and then to the north shore. It had been windy with small craft advisories for days and the waves on the north shore (where it’s known for surfing) were amazing. It was kind of like our travels in NZ, where every 20 minutes we jumped out at another vantage point!! We drove through funky towns and dozens of “shrimp shacks” and other assorted food trucks. Was great to get away from the touristy areas and see the beauty of the island.

We had a great couple of days in Oahu, and we’re ready for another 24 hours of travel and the 5-hour time change back to CST.