Our Last Day in New Zealand

 

After breakfast in Te Anau, we caught a shuttle bus back to Queenstown. It is clear there are many backpackers here - everyone getting on the full, 41-seat bus had a backpack versus a suitcase. While we met many young backpackers, we met just as many our age or older. We had a delightful conversation with an Australian couple, while we were waiting to catch our bus, who have been on hiking trips all over the world. We guessed they were in their seventies (he mentioned he went to Berkeley in the '60s) and they had just finished a 4-day, 3-night, hut-to-hut tramp in a different part of Fiorland National Park.

 

 

The bus ride back to Queenstown was about 3 hours and had lovely, scenic views the whole way.

 

 

We got back to Queenstown at about 3 pm, picked up the luggage we left behind, and began the job of re-packing our hiking stuff into our large bag. After we made some progress on that task, we took a bus ride to downtown Queenstown to enjoy a fun last evening taking in some music, the beautiful waterfront, and a wonderful dinner. We found a place to eat where we could sit outside with a view of "The Remarkables," the name for the mountain range on the southeastern shore of Lake Wakatipu. The Remarkables and the lake provide an impressive backdrop for Queenstown.

A concert in the City Square.

 

Our view of The Remarkables from our restaurant table.

 

 

 

We had a delightful young waiter from England. He was like many of the young folk we met - he had bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand and was waiting tables for several weeks before he had plans to travel to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We talked to multiple people who are traveling for 6-12 months without any clear plans other than a sense of adventure and a passion to see the world.

 

Our waiter from England.

All in all, our take-aways from New Zealand are the New Zealanders are extremely friendly and helpful; the country is gorgeous; we met a lot of people like us that are passionate about the outdoors and the conservation of beautiful spaces; and we think this is a fantastic place to visit!

Tomorrow we fly home, thankful for the time we had to see this part of the world.

 

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Milford Sound

 

The day after our hike, we took a bus to the Milford Sound - one of the many other highlights in Fiordland National Park. The huge fiords were carved many years ago by glaciers and are spectacular.

Even more spectacular was the fact that our bus driver told us that there is sunshine at Milford Sound only 16% of the year. We got one of those days so we once again, felt extremely lucky!

 

The two hour cruise took us down the fiord to the ocean and back. Along the way, we saw waterfalls, majestic mountains, and some seals and penguins.

 

 

We had read that many people who travel to New Zealand thought Milford Sound was one of the top highlights of their trip. We definitely agreed -Milford Sound (particularly on a beautiful sunny day) was something we'll always remember!

 

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Dinner and Glowworm Caves in Te Anau

 

After our big hike, we celebrated with a "pig out meal" in Te Anau before taking a boat cruise over to the Glowworm Caves.

 

 

 

We got our first chance to see one of the fiords that this area of New Zealand is famous for. After our tour of the Glowworm caves, we arrived back to our lodging at about 10 pm ready to enjoy a night's sleep in a bed!

 

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Our Final Day on the Routeburn Track

The next morning, we made coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and then got packed up and ready to leave for the third day of hiking.

Once again, we were amazed at our luck on the weather. While it was cold when we started (maybe 40 degrees?), the skies were clear with no hint of rain.

The first part of the hike took us back through a thick woods green with lush ferns and moss. There were waterfalls all along the way that made for a perfect photo backdrop.

When we could see through the woods, we had a great view of what are referred to as "the New Zealand alps."

We stopped for lunch at another hut that was on a lake.

The final part of our descent was through more woods.

This photo gives you an idea of how beautifully maintained the Routeburn Track is - you also can tell that the trampers who come here appreciate conservation because we saw no garbage anywhere along the way during our three day hike.

We got down to "the Divide Shelter" by mid afternoon and then waited for our shuttle to take us to Te Anu where we are eager for a shower, a beer, and a bed tonight!

 

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Our Second Day Tramping

We woke up to lots of wind and pouring rain, but by the time we made breakfast and re-packed our bags, the rain had stopped. We took off in some low-hanging clouds, but we were so grateful that it wasn't raining!

The first thing we passed was the Routeburn Falls.

By the time we had walked 45 minutes, the clouds were already lifting and we could look back and see the Routeburn Falls hut where we had stayed.

As we continued to climb to the Harris Saddle (the pass between two mountains) the weather continued to clear and we had wonderful conditions for the rest of the day. We decided we must be charmed as this was definitely NOT the forecast!

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Delicious tuna on rye crisp for lunch!

The hike definitely has some "exposure" - portions where the trail dropped of very steeply. At a couple of "exposed" sections, there was a cable anchored to the rock wall you could hang onto as you climbed.

The last 1.5 hours on the second day, we descended the mountain through a forest with amazing ferns, moss, and similar plants. We felt like we were walking through a fairy garden - it had a magical feeling!

At last, we reached the McKenzie Lake hut - a welcome sight after a long day's hike and the punishing switchbacks down the mountain.

After grabbing our bunks - this time four in a row :-) - we sat outside by the lake to take in the views.

Then we made dinner and heard an interesting talk by the ranger on a conservation project to save the native birds that is underway across New Zealand. After dinner and the talk, we went to bed - the second night was much colder, and we slept with most of our warm clothes on including our hats!

 

 

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