Well I believe I last left you in Abel Tasman. After a long day of driving I made it to Franz Josef, making some wrong turns which saved me time but missed Punakaiki, not a huge loss as we have a whole day to kill on the way back. It worked out to be a 9 hour day with breaks on the road. We ran into some people we knew in the YHA in Franz Josef and pretty much much looked forward to the next day.
The weather the following days was better than could of been asked for, I was challeneged in my clothing option and told I would freeze, but hey, it's not like I live in this country or anything. Walking up the glacier was incredible and around every corner was a photo op. I was talking to the guide afterwards and he was taken back that I was a kiwi. I was the third he's talked to on the job and he's been there 6 months. I worked out if he does 2 runs a day with 12 people 5 days a week, your looking at nearly 1 in 1000 is a New Zealander.
Another long drive later and a few scenic stops we made our way to Wanaka, loading up on fuel, supplies for the hike and dinner at subway and then it was off to stay with Mike. Mike really came through, he looks at what I'm, taking, shakes his head, then takes me to his room and gives me some proper equipment, I didn't think of lighting in any form, perhaps relying on the LED key chain on my keyring. He lent me his waterproof jacket and some pots and pans that collapse down well.
Th next day we're up early and manage to get away on time in the complete wrong direction. Thankfully the roads downb here are long and straight so I made up the time and we pulled into Te Anua Downs to colect our tickets with 20 minutes to spare. That's all nice and well until we found out that you are meant to collect them in Te Anau. Panic and lightning fast legal driving were to follow. (There was a cop on the road guarding the car that I had passed that was upside down in the scrub, I saw it but didn't put two and two together.) So we make it to the office the lady looks and the clock and says we wont make it and radios ahead for us. Seeing as we're not all needed for the the ticket collecting three of us run to the car and turn it around leaving Jack to get them and run back and he nearly stops for a piss, I would of strangled him if he did as when we pull up to the ferry it's a mad dash for Ryan with the tickets to open the gate and stop the take off, 30 seconds and we would of been too late.
The ferry ride alone was worth the price of admission, despite the wind and the rain that was soon to fade I stood on the top of the boat and and went trigger happy with my camera. People wrapped up in several layers and one English girl had only her eyes exposed with a beanie gloves thick jacket and hood making herself completely covered, bar her eyes. Meanwhile I'm rocking the shorts and jackets look and gloveless. I got that look a lot on the trip.
The walk itself was insane, the first day which was far too short at only 1.5 hours before the first hut. Night time was common throughout all the nights, card games and cooking pasta.
Day 2 consisted of a walk in the valley which I think I 35 photos of the same mountain as I get closer, or after seeing it again after leaving a nice forest. Taking photos of waterfalls now and then which in hindsight was foolish (I'll explain later) the day ended with a bit of incline to the next hut and playing cards with Germans.
Day 3. Weather reports of showers were completely off, not a cloud in the sky, which is the best day for it. While waiting for Jack we chase Keas around and try to photograph them, I love those birds. We climb the mountain and at the top I am rewarded with a Snickers from Jack and not enough photos to satisfy an unquenchable thirst for photo taking. Satisfied we carry on and get to a shack and have lunch, before we head down the mountain and somehow don't destroy our knees and ankles. A detour leads to Sutherland Falls which is New Zealand's highest waterfall. 583m I think. After returning back to the track it's a mere 1 hour back to the last hut.
The next day we set off early, giving Jack an hour head start. And it is a constant time pressure to catch the 2pm ferry from Sandfly Point back to Milford, Ryan and Rebeca end up ditching me to go win the amazing race or whatever and I continue at my own pace. We see various landmarks and stuff which I can't be bothered going into as this post is too long and unedited as it is. I catch up to Jack and he's struggling, we stop and Bell rock and view iside the rock, pop a few pain killers and carry on hobbling along. We catch up to the group and enjoy a quick bite to eat before Rebeca lies about the time to make us leave. We get to Sandfly point and practically make love to the 33.5 mile sign and I crack out the four Monteiths I had been carrying for the last 53.5km (heavy glass bottles too) and we drink and snap photos.
On the ferry ride back who do I see other than Graham Young, my old principle from Tauranga Boys Collage. I get a photo with him afterwards and we wait for our cruise of the Milford.
Crusing the Milford you lose track of how many water falls there are between cleaning your camera lens from water and trying to fit 5 in the frame at the same time. To make the understatement of the year, it was a good sightseeing. And I was happy to part with $3 for a small hot chocolate. 1 hour 40 mins later we were back and about to board a bus.
We had pizza at an Italian restaurant and Jack then vomited once back at Mikes. I'm now in Mikes living room with Ryan staying in town and Jack and Rebeca at a bed and breakfast 15km out of town. I'm also nursing some intense blisters which rival the size of a a big toenail. It appears walking for 20 mins at a time in Wellington and feeling comfortable in your boots and walking 8 hours for three days with a heavy pack on your back isn't really in the same league. Suffice to say my day will be spent sitting. And I'm cool with that.
The weather the following days was better than could of been asked for, I was challeneged in my clothing option and told I would freeze, but hey, it's not like I live in this country or anything. Walking up the glacier was incredible and around every corner was a photo op. I was talking to the guide afterwards and he was taken back that I was a kiwi. I was the third he's talked to on the job and he's been there 6 months. I worked out if he does 2 runs a day with 12 people 5 days a week, your looking at nearly 1 in 1000 is a New Zealander.
Another long drive later and a few scenic stops we made our way to Wanaka, loading up on fuel, supplies for the hike and dinner at subway and then it was off to stay with Mike. Mike really came through, he looks at what I'm, taking, shakes his head, then takes me to his room and gives me some proper equipment, I didn't think of lighting in any form, perhaps relying on the LED key chain on my keyring. He lent me his waterproof jacket and some pots and pans that collapse down well.
Th next day we're up early and manage to get away on time in the complete wrong direction. Thankfully the roads downb here are long and straight so I made up the time and we pulled into Te Anua Downs to colect our tickets with 20 minutes to spare. That's all nice and well until we found out that you are meant to collect them in Te Anau. Panic and lightning fast legal driving were to follow. (There was a cop on the road guarding the car that I had passed that was upside down in the scrub, I saw it but didn't put two and two together.) So we make it to the office the lady looks and the clock and says we wont make it and radios ahead for us. Seeing as we're not all needed for the the ticket collecting three of us run to the car and turn it around leaving Jack to get them and run back and he nearly stops for a piss, I would of strangled him if he did as when we pull up to the ferry it's a mad dash for Ryan with the tickets to open the gate and stop the take off, 30 seconds and we would of been too late.
The ferry ride alone was worth the price of admission, despite the wind and the rain that was soon to fade I stood on the top of the boat and and went trigger happy with my camera. People wrapped up in several layers and one English girl had only her eyes exposed with a beanie gloves thick jacket and hood making herself completely covered, bar her eyes. Meanwhile I'm rocking the shorts and jackets look and gloveless. I got that look a lot on the trip.
The walk itself was insane, the first day which was far too short at only 1.5 hours before the first hut. Night time was common throughout all the nights, card games and cooking pasta.
Day 2 consisted of a walk in the valley which I think I 35 photos of the same mountain as I get closer, or after seeing it again after leaving a nice forest. Taking photos of waterfalls now and then which in hindsight was foolish (I'll explain later) the day ended with a bit of incline to the next hut and playing cards with Germans.
Day 3. Weather reports of showers were completely off, not a cloud in the sky, which is the best day for it. While waiting for Jack we chase Keas around and try to photograph them, I love those birds. We climb the mountain and at the top I am rewarded with a Snickers from Jack and not enough photos to satisfy an unquenchable thirst for photo taking. Satisfied we carry on and get to a shack and have lunch, before we head down the mountain and somehow don't destroy our knees and ankles. A detour leads to Sutherland Falls which is New Zealand's highest waterfall. 583m I think. After returning back to the track it's a mere 1 hour back to the last hut.
The next day we set off early, giving Jack an hour head start. And it is a constant time pressure to catch the 2pm ferry from Sandfly Point back to Milford, Ryan and Rebeca end up ditching me to go win the amazing race or whatever and I continue at my own pace. We see various landmarks and stuff which I can't be bothered going into as this post is too long and unedited as it is. I catch up to Jack and he's struggling, we stop and Bell rock and view iside the rock, pop a few pain killers and carry on hobbling along. We catch up to the group and enjoy a quick bite to eat before Rebeca lies about the time to make us leave. We get to Sandfly point and practically make love to the 33.5 mile sign and I crack out the four Monteiths I had been carrying for the last 53.5km (heavy glass bottles too) and we drink and snap photos.
On the ferry ride back who do I see other than Graham Young, my old principle from Tauranga Boys Collage. I get a photo with him afterwards and we wait for our cruise of the Milford.
Crusing the Milford you lose track of how many water falls there are between cleaning your camera lens from water and trying to fit 5 in the frame at the same time. To make the understatement of the year, it was a good sightseeing. And I was happy to part with $3 for a small hot chocolate. 1 hour 40 mins later we were back and about to board a bus.
We had pizza at an Italian restaurant and Jack then vomited once back at Mikes. I'm now in Mikes living room with Ryan staying in town and Jack and Rebeca at a bed and breakfast 15km out of town. I'm also nursing some intense blisters which rival the size of a a big toenail. It appears walking for 20 mins at a time in Wellington and feeling comfortable in your boots and walking 8 hours for three days with a heavy pack on your back isn't really in the same league. Suffice to say my day will be spent sitting. And I'm cool with that.
