New Zealand

For my last couple of days, I was able to meet up with long time friend Neil and his girlfriend Katherine.

Since I've seen the area we were covering together quite well, I was the tour guide for a couple of days. I took them to the usual places in Christchurch, and then we headed out of town for Lake Tepako. Of course we stopped at the world’s largest sweater in the world.

(Neil and Katherine in front of the gaint sweater)

After that we headed for Lake Tepako. This area is well known for clear, dark skies which make an ideal location for observatories (i.e. large telescopes used for looking at outer space). We did a couple of hikes around the area. The hikes were quite scenic because of the awesome sunset.

(Enjoying the view. Yes I am wearing a fleece with shorts. Its the cool style in New Zealand)

That night we were planning on camping out. We didn’t get to our campsite until dark. Upon arrival, it was really sketchy as there were tons of abandoned campervans. We elected to move on from the creepy situation, and head for Mt. Cook. On the final road into Mt. Cook, we came across a car in a ditch, but no one was there. Too much creepyness for one night. When we drove by it the next day, the car was already gone.

The next day we did another hike around Mt. Cook and got some amazing views of the mountains. It was then back to Queenstown! I was scheduled to go heli-biking that day, but there weren’t enough people signed up to go. Crap! Oh well, back on the bus to catch my plane out to Australia!

(Neil and I waking up with the mountains in the background)

(Looking good in front of the ice burgs floating down the river)

(Eating a roadside triple decker PB and J sandwich. I look kinda gross this photo from hiking and camping and no shower)

I only have a couple of days left in New Zealand, so with those days, I wanted to spend them climbing. I said goodbye to Lisa, Ryan, and the rest of our Stray Bus crew and headed for Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. (A sad moment saying goodbye)!

Unfortunately, the bus doesn’t go right to the Mt. Cook village, so I had to hitch in. No worries, I only had to wait 5 minutes!

When I arrived in the village, it was pouring rain. I was pretty bummed that I wouldn’t be able to hike. But I decided to give it a shot anyways (who knows when I'll be back at Mt. Cook!). I started with a flat walk in the Hooker Valley towards the base of Mt. Cook. Once I set out, the rain stopped, and the clouds parted for a few minutes, to give a good view of Mt. Cook. The end of the trail occured when I had to cross a glacier stream with no bridge. I felt the water and knew there was no way I could get across without getting hyperthermia!

(Large mountains with huge open valleys in the middle)

(Lots of suspension bridges crossing the glacier 'cold' rivers)

(Finally a good view of Mt. Cook)

MULLER HUT DAY HIKE
My main goal for heading to Mt. Cook was to do that Muller Hut hike. Normally, people do it in 2 days, but I thought I would giv’er in a day. This hike isn’t to be taken lightly as you head up into the high alpine, with little trails. This means there is some route finding with lots of scrambling.

I woke up early and headed for the park office to check the weather and see if the park staff thought it was an OK day. They gave it the thumbs up.

I headed out with all my warm clothes and anything rain proof. The start of the climb was straight forward, switch backing up the mountain until the scramble up a scree slope near the top. At the top of the screen slope, you reach a relatively flat ridge line which leads right to the hut.

(hhhmmm... where is the trail? Any why is there snow in the summer time?)

(About a 2/3rds of the way up)

(My hair looks crazy because the wind was blowning like crazy, giving the fro look)

The beginning of the climb was straight forwards with pure climbing and switchbacks. However, the higher I got, the heavier the wind became. Once on the final ridgeline to the top, the route is completely exposed (i.e. there's no coverage from wind or the elements). The winds hit like nothing I have ever seen before. I was actually getting blown over (picked up off my feet!). I had to hide behind rocks when the strong gussess started. I checked the weather report later that day, and they estimated the winds at 80km/h (plus or minus). The winds were so strong I couldn’t even hold my camera steady to take photos (my hand was getting blown around). My mp3 player earphones wouldn’t stay in my ears. Yes, I did get worried and think about turning around.

(the exposed ridgeline. Notice the glacier in the background)

There was a significant amount of snow too. I was jumping off rocks to avoid the large snow piles.

(waling through the snow)

Once I got into the Hut, I signed the guestbook to prove I made it, and enjoyed the view for a while.

(The hut with lots of snow around)

(I passed a guy on the way down, who took this photo of me, pretty close to the top. That's Mt. Cook in the background.)

(View near the top. I started a bit below the lake level)

So, for the day, I climbed over 1100 vertical meters (or just under 4000 vertical feet). The hut was at an altitude of 1810 meters. The day was suppose to take about 9 hours, but I dropped the hammer and it only took about 4.5 hours. Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. My legs were toast. However, I did enjoy a triple decker PB and J sandwich back at the hostel. That night I shared stories with some hikers from the Sweeden who had climbed in Nepal.

(The drive out from Mt. Cook)

We arrived in Queenstown getting ready for St. Patty’s. We headed to our favourite restaurant for the best beer battered fries in the world, along with a beer tower. That night we decided to take it easy so we would be ready for St. Patty’s. When I got back to the room, one of our roommates had picked me up hitchhiking a couple of days earlier… small country!

(Deja Vu of beer towers)

The next day Ryan and I headed to the Red Rocks for breakfast and a beer (only on St. Patty’s!). We watched the cricket world cup for a while. I’ve finally got a pretty good understanding of cricket, and it’s a solid game to watch.

(Beers, breakfast, and Cricket)

I also met up with Steph (who I worked with for a couple of summers), and we had a couple of beers to celebrate St. Patty’s.

(Steph and Ryan enjoying a beer on our hostel deck...yeah, thats the view from the deck!)

We started the night at the main hostel bar, and met up with a bunch of the Stray crew. The rest of the night involved a bunch of bar hopping, and watching the best bongo session I’ve ever heard (randomly on the street!)

(A bunch of the Stray crew... representing England, Hawaii, and Canada)

(Lisa and I drinking teapots at the World Bar. Those tea pots don't contain tea though)

(Bongos at the end of the night)

We headed down to Wanaka, which is dubbed as the little Queenstown. So I knew I was going to like it.

(Waterfront of Wanaka... awesome mountains in the background. Notice the snow on the mountain tops. Its starting to get cold at high altitudes)

We stopped at 'Puzzle World' on the way. It had a giant maze which takes about 1 hour to complete. The maze contains 1.5km worth of trails (the average person walks at least 3km to complete the maze). There was also the illusion room, where everything looks like its going up hill.

(Giant maze. This is about half of it)

(Illusion room... am I really standing like that?)

That night we all pitched in to have a giant Mexican meal along with margaritas. Only problem was no blender.

(Ryan improvising with unorthodox methods to get crushed ice... shoe and towel)

(see Mom, I can cook. Margarita in hand)

(Solid meal)

That night we went to a movie at the coolest movie theater in the world. It has couches to sit on, and even a car (we got to sit in the car!). There was a giant box of extra pillows to use. At the intermission, they had freshly baked cookies, and ice cream. You were also allowed to take meals or alcohol into the movie theater.

(Some of the Stray crew waiting to get into the movie)

(The tiny, but very comfortable movie theater)

(Chilling in the car)

The next day I went for a giant hike. The trailhead was a bit out of town, so I had to hitchhike out. I was picked up by the first car! The hike was a 12km round trip. It was a massive climb of about 1350 vertical meters (that’s about 4000 vertical feet or 6 times of Blue Mountain). I don’t think there was a single flat part the whole time. I really wanted to giv’er, so I dropped the hammer and did the climb in only 2 hours.

(Looking up a the peak. I had already climbed for a while when I took this photo)

(Awesome views with the sun rising)

(About 1/3 of the way up. Started at lake level)

(Cool ridge lines running all the way. I walked out onto that one)

At the top of the mountain, since it had rained the day before, it was all snow at the upper altitudes. I was walking through about 3 inches of snow (I was in my trail runners and shorts!). The top was insanely windy, but the views were worth it.

(Snow on the peak)

(the final path up through the snow)

(Picture from the peak. Remember I started at lake level)

(Me on the peak. Had to throw the fleece on since it was so cold.)

(Another peak picture)

That night I met up with a bunch of the Stray people, as everyone shared their adventures for the day.

(Mike from Germany after I told him the drinking he had was reserved for females in Canada)

Today was another awesome drive as we headed over the Hasst Pass. We did a bunch of day-walks along the way.

(Some kind of sick joke?)

(Crazy waterfall in the Hasst Pass)

When we arrived in Makarora, we quickly realized it wasn’t a town… just a couple of cottages and a bar. I decided to go for a run and ended up going with our bus driver and another traveler (who was a rugby player). We decide to run up a mountain, and as we got going, it turns out that our bus driver is into similar sports as me (endurance mountain biking/running/paddling). After about 5 minutes, the rugby player was dying as he tried to keep up with us. I had a good laugh, as he had been making fun of the fact I brought water on the run.

(The view from the 'town' of Makarora)

That night was Karaoke in the bar. No stories need to be told here.

(Our whole Stray bus singing)

A slow start to the morning after Barrytown meant the bus was pretty sluggish as we headed to Franz Josef.

(Funny sign if you're not a biker)

On the way down, we stopped at a little festival. For this competition, you payed 3 dollars, and if you reached the top of the ladder, you got $100. Needless to say, I was pretty confident I could make it. As my dad says, "A sucker is born every minute". Couldn't even get off the first rung. The guy running it made it look so easy.

For the most part, I took it pretty easy in Franz Josef, as I had already been through, and had done the glacier hike. I was planning on doing some more hiking, but all the rain kept me inside.

(Sign on the bar at the hostel)

(Did see a little sunshine on the 'wet' coast)

We left Able Tasman, and made a bunch of stops on the way down to Barrytown.

(Hilarious signs on the west coast drive)

(Lots of views)

(Me on the coastline)

The town of Barrytown is about 5 houses, and a hostel with a bar (it also goes by the names of 'Barry no town' or 'Laz Begas'). However, this is no normal bar. The bar has happy hour specials. But what makes it really unique is the boxes of costumes. After about an hour, they bring out these boxes of costumes, and everyone dresses up. There was a lot of insanity, including lots of cross dressing, dancing on the bar, dance contests, relay races, and a local wearing an elephant thong (the most disturbing thing I have ever seen). Needless to say, there was a significant amount of carnage, especially after the Jagarbombs went on special! We lived up to the sign on the bar door, which says "leave your dignity at the door...Go hard!" I'll let the pictures tell the stories... well, only a couple pictures

We headed up to Able Tasman, which is a national park on the northern coast. On the way we stopped in Picton, which is known for its wineries. We sampled a bunch of wines to make sure we took in the whole scene.

(Me looking like I actual appreciate it, and know what I'm doing)

We were staying at ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’ which is right on the edge of Able Tasman. They have a peacock running around, along with all kinds of other farm animals.

When we arrived at Old McDonald’s Farm, I randomly met up with Lisa, a friend from Queen’s who was on the floor below me in res. Such a small world!

That night was an open mic at the local café. As our bus driver told us, “this is when all the creatures come in from the mountains”. In other words, all the mountain men and hippies show up, play bongos, guitars, drink beers, etc. Needless to say it was a good night, and we met some pretty interesting locals. This place was cool, but didn’t compare to the Wilno Tavern up in the Ottawa Valley.

(bongos, hippies, dreads, locals and beers... just another night in Able Tasman)

The next day I went out on a huge catamaran to explore Able Tasman Park. It was a relaxing day. Saw some Seals, a penguin and somehow managed to only get a small burn on my leg, despite being in the sun all day.

(The boat)

(Me trying to stand up in split rock. Hope this picture is worth it, cause I cut my foot really bad on oyster rocks and had a hard time walking for 2 days afterwards)

(asking for a burn...so white. oh, and not flexing in this picture)

(beach where we stopped for lunch)

(Coastline)

With only 3 hours of sleep, we caught the 8:00am bus to Kaikoura. Kaikoura is known as one of the best dolphin swimming places in the world. Sometimes, over 200 dolphins have showed up to a boat of swimmers. Pretty insane.

It was nice drive down the coast. Once we rolled into town, we were sitting on the bus, looking out at the ocean, and we could see a pod of dolphins about 150 meters off the shore, jumping in and out of the water.

(Sweet drive...)

For the rest of the day, I took it pretty easy. Someone had the Lord of the Rings showing in the common room. It was cool to recognize a lot of the places used in the movie. The Rees/Dart Track where we tramped is used frequently. In some cases, I can actually recongize mountain ranges and peaks.

(Catching an awesome sunset on the east coast)

We drove from Rangitata to Christchurch. Since I had already spent so much time here, I deicded to only spend the one night. But that was more than enough time to get my favourite $6 chicken currie and hit up some 2 for 1 drinks which ended in a bit of carnage.

So we decided to jump on the 'Stray' bus, which is a bus line for backpackers. It takes you on a specific route to all the hot spots. You can get on and off the bus whenever you want. There is a bus doing each section of the route every day (so there's a lot of flexibility). It also means you meet lots of backpackers, and can travel with them as much or little as you want.

When we got on the bus, here was the first conversation:
- Stray bus driver: Do you guys wanna go to Rangitata?
- Me: What’s in Rangitata?
- Stray bus driver: um, there’s the best white water rafting in the country, where you run class 5 rapids.
- Me: (slight pause of amazement) yes… yes I do.

On the way to Rangitata, we drove by Mt. Cook (the highest peak in New Zealand, where Sir. Edmond Hilary trained for Everest). This was the third time I've driven by it, but the first time the cloud cover was gone so I could actually see it.

(Mt. Cook)

On the bus, we also met up with a bunch of people who had been on the Speight’s Brewery tour with us. It’s a small country.

That night, we stayed at an old sheep farm in the middle of nowhere. It was very relaxing, and a good detox after Queenstown. We played board games all night (Sorry Andy, no Cranium). I also got talking to a couple of the rafting guides, and they were pretty impressed with my knowledge of the pro kayaking scene and big rivers around the world (I guess I watch too many whitewater videos).

(giant game of Jenga)

(the old sheep farm. Awesome views and a sweet porch at the front)

(the river from the top)

The next day we went rafting. It was an epic day. The river was huge, with a class 5 rapid. The scenery was amazing. Our guide Chunk (named after Chunk from ‘The Goonies’) was hilarious. We laughed our way down the river all day.

(Chunk our river guide)

(The Stray crew about to hit up the river. Representing Canada, Ireland, England, Denmark, and New Zealand)

(Me in the front right [purple helmet], about to get a face full of water)

A lot of these rapids were full on.

(About to drop in...)

(pure carnage. Actually, we stylized this one after we a dropped over a huge rock. Most boats can't make that line)

The epic day finished with a BBQ back at the base camp.

Headed down to Dunedin, which is a university town with a Scottish feel.

CADBURY CHOCOLATE FACTORY
We started out our stay in Dunedin with a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. The tour itself wasn’t great as the factory was closed down for a break between production periods. However, that didn’t stop them from giving out tons of free chocolate. Everyone had to wear hairnets, and if you had a large enough beard, they had one for your face too. It was pretty funny. You're not allowed cameras or anything in the tour, so no one pulls Willy Wonka type tricks.

(Giant chocolate bunny. Cadbury eggs are the best)

SPEIGHTS BREWERY TOUR
After the Chocolate tour, we headed to the Speight’s Brewery (yes, we visited a chocolate factory and a brewery in the same day). Speight’s is the largest domestic beer, similar to Molson Canadian. So you see the advertisements everywhere. The tour guide was hilarious, and had a lot of good stories about people who had come to visit (such as when the New Zealand Governor General visited, and had to drive home when her driver drank too much at the open bar).

(Mr. Speight's Beer and I)

(Lots of beer....)

(Keight, the tour guide giving a little demo on how to use the beer tabs)

The main part of the tour is the open bar at the end, to ‘test’ each of the different beers. It was no mistake that we booked ourselves on the 7:00pm tour. We drank as many beers as possible in that 40 minutes. I don’t think I have ever been so full from beer in my life as that.

(Look at that goofy grin of excitement)

After that, naturally our Speight’s tour group decided to keep the party going, and we headed down the road to the next bar. We ended up having a hilarious night as we cruised the Dunedin bar scene.

(the group at one of the stops on the pub crawl)

OTAGO UNIVERSITY
The next day I headed down to Otago University to checkout the campus. It was a lot of fun being back on a university campus and taking in the atmosphere. It was even better knowing that I didn’t have to do any work. I walked through the student ghetto, and saw all the same things as Queen’s student ghetto. Some things never change.

ELM WILDLIFE TOUR
The Otago peninsula is known for its wildlife. First we headed to the Royal Albatross colony. Albatross are glider birds with a 3 meter wingspan. They can glide up to 100km/h, and can travel upwards of 700km in a day. They live out at sea for over a year (they never go to land!) This is the only mainland Albatross colony left in the world.

(On the lookout...)

We then head to an isolated beach. Next we saw New Zealand Fur Seal.

(A fur seal hanging out)

Next we walked along the beach, beside all the Sealions. Male Sealions can weigh up to 900 pounds. There are only 15 female Sealions left in New Zealand. We were lucky to see 2 females on the beach we were at. Sealions can be unpredictable, so the guide made sure we have them tons of room.

(A male with the two females. Lucky guy)

Because of the time of day, the sealions were mostly sleeping. So not very good for pictures and such. However, one got up and puked while we were walking by. I got it on video. The smell was horrible.

(Warning...video of Sealion puking. No download required, just push play)

Further down the beach, we arrived just at the penguins were coming in for the night (they spend the day out in the ocean hunting). They ware hilarious to watch waddling across the beach to safety.

(2 penguins cleaning themselves, with a seagull in the background)

That night, our tour guide gave us some tips on good food in the student ghetto (he had been a student at Otago University). It’s their frosh week right now, so I enjoyed watching all the frosh heading to their activities.

After our tramps, we have been taking it very easy. Lots of hanging around, watching TV, and using the Internet to see how the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing. Oh, and lots of trips to the supermarket to enjoy a variety of meals other than wraps, oatmeal, and Mr. Noodles.

GETTING SICK
Suddenly on Saturday afternoon, I started feeling really ill. About an hour later, I was over a bucket. That started a brutal 45 minute cycle of throwing up, and lying down feeling like I wanted to die. I think in the end, I threw up about 10-12 times over a 6 hour period. I can’t imagine what the other couple staying in our hostel dorm were thinking. The next day I went and bought a huge box of freezies to rehydrate. I can’t figure out what caused the illness (it only lasted about 20 hours). There was a bird flying around our room earlier that morning. It might have left a virus, which I picked up.

(The worst place for it to happen. The roof was too short for met to stand-up, and the sink was too small to wash your hands in)

AJ HACKETT’S JUMP START
When you’re in Queenstown, you can’t help but get caught up in the bungy jumping craze. I decided to buy AJ Hackett’s autobiography about the origins of bungy jumping, and the beginning of commercial operation (he didn’t invent bungy, but was the main pioneer). It was a really interesting read, as they started out with little knowledge of what would happen, and how the bungy cord would react with each jump. They would hike out to a deserted bridge, and jump-off. They would usually test the cord with a bag full of rocks. They learned the math behind jumping by doing it themselves. Good old Kiwi ingenuity.

INDOOR MINI GOLF
We went for a quick 18 holes at the Queenstown Indoor Mini Golf. It was the craziest mini golf round I have ever played. Only the pictures do it justice.

(On this hole, you putted the ball into a building, where the ball then automattically went up a chairlift, and then down the ski hill)

(This was a mountain village. Similar to the previous hole, but the ball comes down a river. There were different rivers for it to come down, some better than others. You never knew which hole it would come out)

(On the last hole, once you holed out, a lolly-pop would come down into the truck, and a willy wonka type song was played)

POTATO CHIP SANDWICH???
You meet and see the weirdest things living in hostels. One day I was coming back into my room, and a roommate was making a sandwich. I had just come in from the tramp, so I was noticing all food. I saw she had a nice loaf of bread. I notice the sandwich looked pretty thick, so I assumed it was a good sandwich, with lots of meats, veggies, etc. However, on closer inspection, I saw that the only thing in the sandwich was potato chips. So two pieces of bread, with potato chips in the middle. I had a very tough time holding in the laughter

The Rees/Dart track is consider one of the more difficult trails in the areas because of the climbing and rivers.

(In New Zealand, you take the signs seriously)

DAY 1: Carpark to Shelter Rock Hut (17.5km of hiking)
We woke up at the Carpark to find no hot water in the showers, so we were SOL. We found a $10 breakfast to get a final meal before our 5 day trek. Somehow I managed to lose the trail map on the way, and we had to buy another one at the last second. DOH!

The drive to the trailhead was insane. We were ripping on a one-lane gravel road, which crossed several streams. Sometimes these streams get deep enough that no one can pass. So you never know if you’ll make it in or not.

We started out on the trek walking in this huge valley with glaciers on either side. There was no shade or wind, so I were dying. Luckily, we crossed a bunch of thigh deep glacier fed rivers to cool us down. We dropped the hammer so that we could get out of the sun quickly.

(Start of the trek)

(Crossing glacier fed rivers... very cold)

(Glaciers in the background)

(trail to lots of climbing...)

The end of the trek saw us with two huge climbs on completely exposed fields, but with some amazing cliffs in the distance.

(Exposed climbs)

(Lots of climbing out of the valley...)

That night I spent a while talking to these two older Kiwi guys. When I said I was from Canada, one responded, "From the best big country in the world, welcome to the best little country in the world".

DAY 2: Shelter Rock Hut to Dart Hut (9 km of hiking).
Although the distance today was short, the hiking was very tough with a climb over a saddle. We started at about 900 meters, and the saddle was 1471 meters (so 571 vertical meters of climbing). I decided to turn on the MP3 player to pump me up. It was a surreal hike as we climbed higher and higher with the sun coming up over the mountains.

(Sun coming out)

The descent off the saddle was very cool as it winded along a river, with a glacier looming in the distance.

(This section of the trail was my favourite, as it was technically very difficult, but had the most amazing views)

(More wire bridges to cross)

(Rocking out with some tunes. Can you see the beard coming in yet after 9 days of no shaving?)

In the final kilometer before the hut, I lost the trail and ended up traversing down a steep gully to a roaring river. Unfortunately the brush was too thick and prickly, which prohibited me from climbing back up. So I was stuck walking beside the roaring river, over huge boulders. Not something I wanted to do with a heavy pack. Somewhere along the way I lost my water bottle. Luckily, the hut warden was able to give me a new one.

DAY 3: Day hike to Cascade Saddle (16 km of hiking)
Today was a day hike to the Cascade Saddle, considered by many to be on the best views in New Zealand. It started with a long walk in a valley, with glaciers above us. Every now and then, you can hear the glaciers breaking up. Since the mountains are so steep, the stretch of land is very prone to avalanches. Therefore, everywhere was covered with rocks from previous avalanches, which prohibited much vegetation growth. It was kind of like walking in a dead world.

The climb up to the saddle was almost 800 vertical meters (that’s like climbing Blue Mountain 3.5 times). However the view at the top was amazing. There were 3 giant peaks in the distance, glaciers, a green valley floor and river.

(Looking across to one of the mountains)

The coolest thing about the saddle, is that the one side (not the side we climbed up) is a sheer cliff, which drops about 1000 meters straight down. I was so scared standing on the edge, that my legs turned to jello. Just watching other people standing near made me scared too. There are no fences or anything. They assume anyone who got there, must have enough common sense not to get too close.

(1000 vertical meter drop if walk about 2 more strides...)

(perfect glacier. Lots of rocks on top because of all the avalanches)

(Walking back, we didn't want to get our feet wet, so there were a lot of ninja moves to get across the freezing rivers)

Here is a video I made from the top of the saddle. It starts looking at the glacier, then pans over to the 3 peaks in the distance, and ends with me trying to look down the drop. Its not long, as the memory card is not the big, and I couldn't upload while in the New Zealand Backcountry.

That night back at the hut we met this crazy guy who was born in Malaysia, lived in England for a year, then in Kenya for 15, then went to Brock University and Guelph University, before moving to Queensland, Australia. He was a nutcase and a half. Just sitting beside him, I was laughing at everything he said as he was so over the top.

DAY 4: Dart Hut to Dealy's Hut (17.5 km)
Today was a really easy day we descended down the Dart River. My feet had insane blisters and other things going on, so I was in a lot of pain. Ryan's knee was acting up, so he was in a lot of pain too.

(Walking across the cattle flats)

DAY 5: Dealy's Hut to Carpark (15km)
Woke up early to catch our 2:00pm pick-up at the carpark. It was a pretty relaxed day.

(End of the trek)

Once at the pick-up, I made the craziest sandwich ever, with all the left over Peanut Butter and Nutella.

(Sooooo good.....)

By this point, my feet were destroyed.

(yes, that is a hole in my right heel)

Back in Queenstown, we had our first showers in 9 days, and washed everything that was on trip with us. We then headed to the supermarket. It was liking being a little kid in a candy shop.

That night we went out for beers with the other people staying in our hostel.

Ryan and I were finally set up to do some hiking (called tramping in New Zealand). I had to buy a bunch of gear, including quick-dry shorts and shirt, long underwear, rain pants, socks, hat, a buff, stove & fuel, dry sacks, soap, forks & spoons, water purifier, maps, a backcountry hut pass, and a ton of food. Most people use proper hiking boots to climb mountains, but I figured I could get it done with my trail running shoes.

FOOD
We had 9 days straight of trekking (a 4-day and then a 5-day back to back), so it was a fair amount of food required, so we kept the meals very simple. Everyday for breakfast was oatmeal. Everyday for lunch was wraps with peanut butter and Nutella. For dinner we had Mr. Noodles. For snacks during the day, we had GROP.

Shelter
For shelter, New Zealand has 2000 backcountry huts scattered across the islands. Most of the trails link these huts together, so one generally does not need a tent. The huts differ in quality, from nothing more than a roof, to nice ones with bunk beds and flush toilets. We bought the backcountry annual pass which gives us unlimited use for a year. The huts sleep anywhere from 4 to 20 people. Since its communal living, you find all walks of life staying in these huts.

DAY 1: Car Park to Upper Caples Hut (15.5 km hike)
We woke up at 7:00am to catch the 8:00am bus to the trail head. The first day involved walking up the Caples River, with amazing mountains on either side of the river. The day was suppose to take between 3.5 - 5.5 hours, and it took us the latter as our legs were not ready for the heavy packs.

When we arrived at the hut, the sand flies (similar to black flies) were insane. Even inside the hut the sand flies were going nuts and biting us to hell. I was seriously questioning our decision to go hiking. Why couldn't we just be normal and party at the hostel!

The dinner didn't fill us up at all, and we quickly realized we weren't going to have enough food. It wasn't a big deal as we could restock the basic items between treks. That night I had a long talk with this 60-year old guy from England who was doing a 14-day trek in NZ, and then heading to Tasmania for a 7-day. He was crazy fit, as his times on the trail were faster than most younger fit people! He had done a lot of crazy adventures, including backcountry ski traversing in Norway.

DAY 2: Upper Caples Hut to McKellar Hut (12.3 km of hiking)
Today involved climbing over a saddle (saddle = the 'lower' point linking two mountains. The trail climbed steadily through a beech forest and was quite rough with exposed tree roots and rocks.

(the insane amount of roots and rocks)

As the trail approached the subalpine area, it became quite steep. Ryan got his but kicked today, as he hadn't done as much outdoor activities as me. In total, the climb was 550 vertical meters (or about 1800 feet… that’s like climbing Blue Mountain 2.5 times).

Along the way, we got passed by two old Russian guys. When we got to the top of the saddle, one was smoking a cigarette, while the other was in his underwear about to jump into a glacier cold pond. They had just climbed Mt. Aspiring, one of the more technical mountains in the area.

Once on the saddle we enjoyed the views and each had a drink from the Jagar I had brought with us to celebrate the climb.

(Finally reached the top)

(Jagar on top of the saddle)

(View from the saddle)

The way down from the saddle was insane. The only way to describe it was gnarly. It was crazy steep with lots of rocks and roots. We descended about 600 vertical meters over only 800 horizontal meters. In others words, for every meter we walked, we also went down a meter. That’s damn steep! No one ever goes down this route, people only go up it because of the steepness (its easier to go up steep, then down steep). Then why were we going down it? We didn't know better when choosing the route. Ryan was fully worked-over by the end of the day and was questioning why we were trekking (jokes).

(Ryan cooling off in the freezing cold lake at the end of the day)

This was my first go at climbing a real mountain. It was a lot of fun, as it really test you physically and mentally climbing for 3 hours plus with no flats.

DAY 3: McKellar Hut to Greenstone Hut (17.3 km of hiking)
We awoke to find our trekking clothes wet, as we were stupid and left them out in the morning dew. We decided to wait for the sun to dry them, which wasn't until 10:00am, as the sun takes a while to get over the mountains.

Today was an easy hike down the Greenstone River. It was really hot, and there was no shade in the valley. Luckily the wind kept us cool. Highlights included walking across a huge boulder field and a wire suspended bridge, about 60-feet above the roaring river below.

(Boulder field)

(Wire bridge)

The last 200 meters to the hut was a really steep climb (just to kick you when you're down after a long day of trekking), but was totally worth it. This hut had flush toilets and amazing views all around. This hut was a nice cottage, but without furnishing, and was sitting on $1,000,000 views of the surrounding mountains.

(View from the hut)

(Other view from the hut)

DAY 4: Greenstone Hut to Carpark.
We walked the finally couple of hours into the carpark. We got picked up by a jetboat (jetboats were invented in NZ). They use a water pump to propel themselves, so once they hydroplane, they sit only an inch or two in the water. They are capable of doing 360s on a dime, and running up and down whitewater rivers.

Here is a crappy video, but gives you an idea of a jet boat doing a 360 (I found it on youtube... just push play, no download required)

The driver that picked us up gave us a wild ride back to town, doing 360s, and going within a couple of feet of the shore, where we almost brushed the shoreline.

(Jet Boat picking us up)

That night we stayed in a carpark, so we were able to wash some clothes and get a decent meal at a restaurant. We watched some cricket (NZ beat Australia!) and drank some beers at the local bar.

(hanging outside our drom in the carpark, listening to some tunes on Ryan's crank radio)