Welcome to New Zealand! Approaching the Southern Island from the air we could already see why so many people are fascinated by this land. We flew over a spectacular range of mountains before beginning our descent towards Queenstown's airport. Seeing the mountains getting closer and closer is almost scary, but the whole area surrounding lake Wakatipu is beautiful.
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| New Zealand from above |
At the immigration everyone was nice and friendly to us. We had to declare our chocolate muffins and hiking boots, but they just let us in without further questioning. The same can't be said about Australia: they questioned me on arrival, and body checked K when we were leaving. It might be thanks to the much smaller size of the airport, but here the atmosphere was much more welcoming and relaxed. To give us an even better impression, a shining sun was awaiting us right after the baggage claim. We were wearing shoes and long pants expecting a chilly weather, and instead found a warm day. We'd have to change our clothes into something more appropriate as soon as possible.
The weather is very unstable in New Zealand, and rain is not uncommon, therefore we had established a rule for the next weeks: make the most out of every sunny (or at least not rainy) day. This is why right after checking in our hostel we went for a hike on a hill right above town. It took us about an hour of deep breath to get to the top, but the views were worth it. Tasmania left us unconvinced, and the rest of Australia was nice, but this here was just gorgeous. In one afternoon we have 'wowed' more than in the previous three months.
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| Fish, chips and coleslaw |
The next day we had planned another hike, but in the end we spent the whole day in town, walking around and checking out shops. We were considering whether to buy camping gear or not, so we went to all the shops in the center to see what they had in sale. The prices are much higher than what we had expected. We'll have to go to "The Warehouse", a local version of Decathlon, to see if they have something cheaper.
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| Meeting the locals |
For the 24th and 25th we had decided to hike a part of the famous Routeburn Track, one of the Great Walks. We had booked one night at one of the huts, and the depressingly bad weather forecast couldn't stop us. Early on the morning of the 24th we got into our rental car (a compact Toyota Corolla that will accompany us for more than three weeks) and started driving towards Glenorchy. The road from Queenstown to Glenorchy usually offers spectacular views. We saw mostly clouds, of multiple shades of gray. The forecast might have been right?
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| Not an inspiring sight before a hike |
Unfortunately yes. It was raining when we left the car at the parking and it kept raining during the record-breaking 2 hours hike to the hut (according to the map it should take almost 4 hours). Hiking under the rain is probably one of the most miserable activities that one can voluntarily do. Our waterproof gear turned out to be actually "water friendly", even my brand new and quite expensive North Face jacket. Lesson learned: North Face is a design brand, not a sport brand...don't buy North Face if you need well performing gear. The 2$ ponchos from Bangkok saved us a little, at the cost of making us look quite ridiculous. In any case it's hard to stay dry under a constant rain. Having to cross a stream barefoot doesn't help either. And did I mention that most of the path turned into a creek? The water was flowing everywhere, and the famous panoramas were well hidden by the clouds. Not the most appealing hike.
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| Technical gear made in Bangkok |
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| This bridge is stable, but it swings and shakes a lot! |
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| Crossing creeks hobbit style |
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| At least here we could see something |
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| Spectacular views, they said |
The only thing that kept us going was the idea of the warm hut that would accommodate us for the night. We would have a cold dinner (the kitchen there doesn't offer anything apart from water and fire), but at least we could dry our clothes and relax in a coal-heated common room, right? Wrong again. We might be spoiled by the huts in the Pyrenees, but this one seemed rather basic to us. Shower and pillow are luxuries that we can do without for one night, but we expected at least a well heated room. Instead we found a large common area, with high ceiling and a stove totally insufficient to heat it. It wasn't even on when we arrived, and one of our fellow traveler had to take care of turning on the fire and keep it going. The warden remained well closed inside his room for a few more hours. He even had to keep his window open to cool down a little his overheated hut, while the rest of us were shivering in the kitchen area, desperately trying to dry our clothes and gear. It might be ok for others, but we would have expected more from a place that costs 54$ per person per night. I doubt that we'll use these facilities again.
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| Trying to dry everybody's stuff |
We had hoped to keep going uphill the next morning, before returning to the car, provided that the weather improved of course. Instead the rain was still there the next day, as it had been the whole night. We had had enough, so we put on our (still humid) clothes and headed back to the car. The track was in even worse conditions than the day before, and the rain was heavier...at least until we got to the parking. Once we arrived there the sun started shining and the clouds seemed to open up. We wanted to cry for our bad luck with the weather, but it was too good to see the sun and at last some landscape around us. Plus we would be sleeping at a regular hostel tonight! Hot showers, hot meal and a warm bed. The simple things that one learns to appreciate in certain situations.
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