Since the great ocean road, we've moved on to a new country. After our few days in Melbourne, the last part of the team said their farewells and headed off to different parts of the south pacific. Our group, Wesley, Rachel, Forest, and I, are tramping around the south island of New Zealand, soaking up the amazing views and being buffeted by the unpredictable spring weather.
We flew into Christchurch, which was still in ruins from the February earthquake, which gave the place an empty, post-apocalyptic feel. It was strange and sad to see a city like that.
From there, we drove out of the city and camped at the base of Mount Somers, a small peak in the foothills of the the southern alps. We spent the night there through the rain and wind, and woke up to beautifully sunny skies. We hiked up the mountain, bushwhacking a fair bit off the marked trail through open grassy slopes to a false peak, and admired the long views of the area, including the rocky peaks of the alps in the distance. We then hiked down to the trail and followed it to our first view of a Department of Conservation backcountry hut, which range from the hotel-like to simple metal boxes with bunks. This one happened to be pretty nice, with bunks for 16 people, bathrooms, and facilities for cooking and eating (although no stoves). That night we made int back to the same place as before to camp, and after sleeping like logs, we headed off to our next hike.
That day we found Lake Tekapo, a brilliant blue snow-fed lake also in the foothills of the alps. We hiked up to the observatory on the top of Mt. John, adjacent to the lake. The staff at the top informed us that the wind was gusting at 140kph, and on the exposed ridge, it certainly felt that way. We threw rocks in the air and watched them blow right off the side of the mountain. After having a little snowball fight with the last vestiges of spring snow that were left on the peak, and soaking up the panoramic views of the surrounding lakes and grasslands, rimmed by huge peaks, we climbed down and found a place along the highway in a grove of pines to camp for the night.
The next day we stopped in a DOC visitor center and decided to go to Lake Ohau and hike up one of the steep-sided river valleys that fed into the lake. This was our first multi-day trip, and our first night in a hut. After the cold, viciously windy hike into the hut, the warmth of the hut's wood stove was very welcome indeed. The next morning we had beautiful weather, and we hiked over a small knob and across a long swingbridge into a secluded side valley, surrounded on all sides by 1500 to 2000 meter high peaks. We spend a few lunchtime hours without our packs, walking along the valley floor, eating sandwiches, going barefoot into the cold water, and visiting all the waterfalls cascading down the sides of the valley. Unfortunately our food supply dictated that we leave, so we hiked all the way back out to the car and drove to a designated free camping site for the night.
That brings us to yesterday, when we woke up late and drove into Queenstown. We spent the night in a hostel, getting clean and doing laundry. As I write i'm standing in a DOC visitor center, deciding with the group where we're headed next.
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