The Milford Trek

So I attempted the 4-day, 60 km Milford Trek, and almost made it. I'll talk about the "almost" part a little later. The night before the hike started, I was staying in a hostel and met Dianna, my hostel-mate from Australia, who was also starting the Milford trek the next day. Dianna lifted my pack, which must've been about 25 or 30 pounds, and she made me dump everything out and she started taking things out that I wouldn't need--like excess milk powder, an extra set of eating utensils, and lotion--you know, all the luxuries. :) I was grateful cuz after taking a bunch of stuff out, I think I lost quite a few pounds off that pack. Dianna became my hiking partner for the next few days, which was great because it might have been quite boring hiking all that way by myself. We took a boat from Te Anau to Te Anau Downs to the start of the trail. The boat ride was beautiful. Below are some pictures from the boat ride, where Dianna (left) and I also met another fellow hiker, Maya (right), who is from Israel.







The first 2 days of the hike were awesome. It was sunny and warm outside. The first day's hike was only 5 km, and the second day was about 16 km. We took our time, taking plenty of breaks to enjoy the beech forest, the moss, the rivers, the waterfalls, the mountains, and the wee birds ("wee" is not a type of bird; rather, Kiwis tend to use the word "wee" alot before any noun). There were about 40 people on our hike. The huts were equipped with bunk beds and kitchens with gas stoves, and flushing toilets and sinks with freezing cold water. But no showers. In the evenings, everyone cooked and played cards after dinner. On the first night, Dianna, Maya, Amit (Maya's boyfriend), and I played cards, and on the second night we added Ron to our card playing group. Ron is a fellow Californian. The card games were alot of fun, as we had quite a few laughs. On the second night I got tired of brushing my teeth with ice cold water, so I did what they do in Navsari, my family's village in India. I boiled some water in the pot, mixed it with cold water, and brushed my teeth and washed my hands with that. It was quite nice--kinda like getting a spa treatment--not! Anyhow, below are some photos from the first 2 days of the hike.

The third day was a bit more challenging. The rain came pouring down. We had to climb uphill for about 2 hours (500 meter elevation gain) to get to the McKinnon Pass. At the top, the winds were about 100 km per hour--no joke! I thought I would get blown away several times. We often stopped, sat low, and held onto a rock, waiting for the winds to let up a bit. But the winds never did let up. So we just kept on going, trying to get through it in one piece. There was a shelter at the top, which was shaking alot from the heavy winds, and was being held down by these cords. There was a gas stove in the shelter, so we were able to warm up with some hot tea. Luckily, we got out of the shelter without the shelter being blown away. When we left the shelter, the winds were still really violent. It was all downhill from there, literally (1,000 meter elevation decline). It took several hours of hiking down a rocky, wet trail before we got to flat surface. When we finally made it down, there was a side trail (about 4-5 km return) leading to Sutherland Falls, which is New Zealand's highest waterfall (500 meters). The waterfall was quite spectacular. Some others in the group opted not to take the trail to Sutherland Falls since we had so much water that day (from the heavy rains) that they didn't want to see any more water! Can't blame them. I didn't take any pictures the third day because it was raining too hard and my camera is not waterproof.

After the return trip from the waterfall, it was about another hour to the hut. We got to the hut, and found out that several members of the group were ill--vomiting, diarrhea. And within the next few hours, some more members of the group started getting the same virus, one by one, with hardly any notice. By the end of the night, at least a dozen people had the virus, and all you heard was people vomiting. I got a bit nervous, hoping I wouldn't get it. Though I tried not to think about it, I was thinking about it, you know? I didn't get what the others got, but that night (the last night) I suffered from another medical condition, and I had to get helicoptered off the trail the next morning! (For those of you who know about my wee helicopter rescue in Hawai`i, please try not to laugh too hard). :) Anyhow, the others that were sick the night before decided to walk the 18 km on that last day, but I wasn't so ambitious, so I just requested the ranger to have me choppered out of there. I was just too weak to even get out of my sleeping bag, let alone walk 18 km with 20 pounds on my back. The helicopter ride was quite beautiful. People pay alot of money to take helicopter rides over that area! :) The paramedic pointed out Sutherland Falls from the helicopter, the waterfall I had hiked to the day before, and he said something to the effect of, "it's much easier seeing it from up here!" Haha!

I felt much better after I was able to take a shower and change into some clean clothes at the hostel back in Te Anau. I think that was the longest I've ever gone without a shower--about 3 days. And it's even nastier when you're hiking all day and getting all sweaty, and not showering. Once I got back to Queenstown, I ran each load of laundry through the washer about 3 times, just to get all the stank out of my clothes that I had worn for those 3 days.

So that was my Milford Trek experience. I think I'm going to cancel the 5-day, 50 km hike I booked for February in the Abel Tasman National Park. I think I'll be quite happy just doing a one-day hike in the Abel Tasman. :)

Well next week I take off for Nelson, the wee beach town in the northern part of the South Island, where I'll be living for the remainder of my time here in New Zealand. Nelson supposedly gets the most sunshine hours in all of New Zealand, which will make me quite happy cuz I need to get my tan back! I hope I'll be able to keep blogging from there!

Queenstown: Views from the Top and Other Random Journeys

In just 2 more days I embark on my 4-day, 60 km journey along the Milford trek! In an attempt to get into some kind of shape, I've spent the past week taking some short hikes in and around my hood, Queenstown. Here are some photos from the top of Queenstown hill:







In the last 2 photos above you can see Lake Wakatipu, which stretches for miles and miles. Several weeks ago I drove along Lake Wakatipu for about 45 km from Queenstown to Glenorchy, on the way to do the one-day Routeburn hike. The first few photos below are of Lake Wakatipu from the drive to Glenorchy. That drive was absolutely amazing. The most spectacular views were at Bennett's Bluff, from where I took the pictures below. The last few photos below are from the Routeburn hike. I only did a one-day hike on the Routeburn, but it's possible to hike for 3 or 4 days if you want to complete the entire Routeburn trek.













Next time I'll be posting pictures and stories from the Milford Trek, which should be amazing! Stay tuned....

Driving in New Zealand

So I love that I have a car to get around in, even if it does stall on me sometimes when I put it in reverse (not too bad for a 1989 with 170,000 km on it)! And I love driving around here cuz there are beautiful mountains and lakes everywhere, and each kilometer gives you such a new and different perspective on the natural environment. But driving in New Zealand is annoying sometimes because people seem to be in such a rush to get wherever they're going, and they're pretty aggressive. I'm not a fast driver, and I'm even slower on those beautiful scenic roads. But I guess the kiwis have been there and done that, so there's almost always someone all up on my tail even if I'm driving the speed limit, which I'm not too keen about. I thought people who lived on islands were supposed to be laid back and patient and not in any rush to get anywhere. But that's not the case here. I like it when the campervans are on the road...they go pretty slow cuz they're also just enjoying the ride. Another strange thing about driving in Queenstown is that drivers have the right of way over pedestrians. It doesn't matter if you're a pedestrian in the middle of the street--you better watch out cuz that car ain't gonna stop for you. It's completely opposite in the bay area, especially Berkeley. So when I first got here I thought I could cross the street and cars would stop, but I quickly learned that's not how it works here in Queenstown. I've gotten used to driving on the left hand side of the road now, so that's no problem. I occasionally hear a story of the American visitor who accidentally drove on the right hand side of the road and caused an accident. Hmmmmm. Damn Americans! :)

Kayaking Doubtful Sound

Last week I went on an overnight guided kayaking adventure in Doubtful Sound. That was the first time I ever went kayaking, and it was pretty awesome. It was very wet and cold at times, but overall a really good trip. The highlights were: drinking from a waterfall, seeing the rare crested penguin, and changing into warm, dry clothes at the campsite! We had a really good, fun group of 10 who went on the trip--two were from Australia, four from the UK, and one from Germany. Ron and Nick, both Kiwis, were our guides. Ron was the older, more experienced guide, who came along on the trip to supervise and evaluate Nick, who is a young, new guide who just went through training. We were all in 2-person kayaks, so I paddled with Nick the first day, and with Ron the second day. I was lucky to be able to paddle with the guides because I felt safer and I didn't have to paddle as hard. :)

The trip started off with a boat ride across Lake Manapouri. Of all the lakes in New Zealand, I think Lake Manapouri is the most beautiful. Lake Manapouri became famous in New Zealand as a result of the "Save Manapouri" campaign, a successful grassroots campaign in the 1960s and 1970s to prevent raising the lake by 30 meters for hydroelectric power. Campaigners collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from New Zealand resident to "save Manapouri." The raising of the lake became a hot campaign issue nationwide in the 1970s. Apparently, the Labour party's position on this issue alone resulted in it taking power in the 1970s, because its leaders promised not to raise the lake levels. Anyhow, here are some pictures from the boat ride across Lake Manapouri, which was very scenic, as you can see.







After we got off the boat, we packed up the van with all our stuff and drove to the launch point for our kayaking adventure. It took a while putting on all the gear (thermal shirt, wetsuit, fleece, waterproof jacket, vest, skirt, wetsuit booties, hat). I tried not to drink too much water on the trip so I wouldn't have to use the bathroom, for 2 reasons: 1) takes too long to take off and put on all that gear, and who wants to keep taking off and putting on a really wet, sticky wetsuit, and 2) no bathroom facilities (just the woods) in Doubtful Sound. The first day kayaking was calm and peaceful. It was a bit cloudy, but not rainy. We were the only kayakers in sight, in this remote body of water surrounded by grand, dramatic mountains. There aren't many tour boats that go out to Doubtful Sound, so it was very serene on the water. We saw a couple of crested penguins that poked their heads out of the water to say hello. But they disappeared just as quickly, meaning we couldn't snap any pictures. There are some dolphins that supposedly hang out in the area, but we didn't see any. We paddled about 16 kilometers the first day. Here are some pictures from the first day. The first picture is of me, taken by my paddling partner and guide, Nick. The second picture is of Nick (looks like he's trying to move out of the picture). And the third picture is of Annabelle, from Australia, who was also on the trip with her husband James, and they were both super cool.











When we arrived at the campsite, we were greeted by a swarm of sandflies that love to suck the blood out of you! I'm still itching from those bites! But anyhow, there was a nice fly-proof shelter set up at the campsite, where we cooked our food and just chilled. Ron, the older guide, entertained us with his jokes an stories and educated us with his extensive knowledge of the region. After dinner, because there was no sink at the campsite, we washed our dishes in the freezing cold river. When it got dark, I turned on my headlamp to walk to my tent, and the light attracted all these sandflies that decided to have a party around my forehead. It started raining very heavily in the middle of the night, and the thunder was like I've never heard before. It echoed through the valleys and had a very strong, deep, clear sound. It was actually very soothing. I can't describe it well, but it was the coolest thunder I've ever heard.

The second day it was raining pretty hard. In the morning we put on all our wet gear and started paddling again. The cool thing about the rain was that there were so many more waterfalls cascading down the mountains, compared to the day before. I was paddling with Ron the second day, and he maneuvered our kayak to a waterfall, where I filled my water bottle and drank from the waterfall! The second day the waters were very turbulent, so we had to paddle pretty hard to get through the rough spots. But thank goodness Ron was paddling with me cuz otherwise I probably would've been paddling in place all afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures the second day cuz it was raining too hard and I didn't have a waterproof camera. Towards the end of our kayaking on the second day, the wind was so strong and the water was so turbulent that we joined 2 kayaks together, and held up a sail so that we just rode along with the wind for a few kilometers and didn't have to paddle. I didn't even know you could do that, but it was a pretty cool technique. It was nice not to have to paddle while sailing, but my right hand froze from the cold water splashing over that hand while I held on to the other kayak. By the end of the second day, I was relieved to get back onto land, into warm, dry clothes, and into the warm, dry van back to Lake Manapouri. Although the trip had many highlights, there were also some challenges. But if there's anywhere in the world I was going to be cold and wet and devoured by sanflies, Doubtful Sound was a really nice place to do it!

The evening I came back from Doubtful Sound I stayed at a hostel that had a lodge-type feel, located up on a hill with a view of Lake Manapouri. I woke up the next morning to find this nice rainbow right outside the kitchen window.

The Catlins Continued....

It looks like I had to create another blog post to add all the pictures I wanted to post--not sure why--maybe there's a limit on pictures for each post? Anyhow, here's a continuation of my Catlins tour. The highlight of my trip through the Catlins was the visit to Nugget Point. They call it that because the rocks in the ocean look like gold nuggets. The sun had come through by the time I got to Nugget Point, which made it just breathtaking. Here are some pictures from Nugget Point, including some of me in there so you all don't think I'm putting postcards on this blog. :)











My trip ended at the Otago Peninsula, where I walked down to this beach and saw one yellow-eyed penguin from the penguin hide (they're very shy when they see humans). I was hoping to see more, but at least I got to see one, even though it was from really far away. Here's a picture from the top of the beach where I saw the penguin.



And lastly, here's a picture of MY RIDE--my trustworthy travel companion--my 1989 Mitsubishi! It held up really well on the long journey. Also below is a picture I took on the ride back to Queenstown. I didn't know the ride back would be so beautiful, so it was a pleasant surprise.





Well next week I go on an overnight kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound. So there'll be more pictures coming. I've never been kayaking, so it should be an adventure!

Southern Scenic Route Through The Catlins

Today is blog day for me, so I can update everyone on what I've been doing and seeing here in New Zealand. Last week I took a 4 day, 3 night road trip from Queenstown down south through the Catlins via the Southern Scenic Route, which runs along the southern coast of the South Island. Most of the time it was raining or hailing or really cold. So I didn't get to stop everywhere I wanted to. But it was still a nice trip. On the third day, it hailed in the morning, and got sunny and warm in the afternoon! I tell you, the weather here is so strange. I thought San Francisco was bad when it came to 4 season days--this place is even more extreme. So the pictures below are from random stops I made in the Catlins area.















Here's a picture of a sea lion just hangin' out on the rocks in the Catlins.

Mount Aspiring National Park Via Wanaka

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been working like a madwoman--more than 40 hour weeks! (Those of you who know my laid back work habits would be surprised!) But more work = more money = more TRAVEL for me! Despite the long work hours, I've managed to take a few trips. About 2 weeks ago, I stayed in Wanaka for 2 days, and on one of those days I did the Rob Roy Glacier hike in Mount Aspiring National Park. I saw a glacier (an some avalanches) for the first time in my life. I felt really privileged to have seen a glacier cuz after watching An Inconvenient Truth on the plane ride here, who knows how much longer they'll be around. Though it doesn't seem like global warming is hitting New Zealand cuz it's still freezing here! Supposedly, summer is around the corner, but I'm still sleeping with a heating blanket. Anyhow, I digress. The 4 pictures below are from my hike to the glacier. There was a cool suspension bridge to cross over the river at the beginning of the hike. And I met a fellow Bay Area resident on the hike, who kindly took my picture at the summit.






The next few pictures below are from the lake in Wanaka, which was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. It was actually warm and sunny that day, so I took a nap by the lake, listening to the calm waves come to shore.





Along the lake in Wanaka is a sidewalk with hundreds of tiles, each tile representing some historical events from each year over the past hundreds of years. So you'll see from the pictures below that in 1756, mayonnaise was invented in France. And in 1956, Elvis Presley sang "Hound Dog," and the Hawea e Wanaka Pony Club was formed. Ha ha!




And lastly, below is a picture I took on the road from Wanaka to Mount Aspiring National Park. I thought it was a nice picture.