Feeling the Routeburn

Well I've finally returned from 7 days in the bush. It certainly was a test of my mettle. It was certainly a lot of walking but the weather was what raised difficulties. I had 2 sunny days the whole time I was out there. On several occasions it was a downpour all day. And wouldn't you know, now that I'm back in town the sun is shining gloriously. Oh well. On to the journal entries.

January 6th 7:01PM

Sheets of rain are descending from the sky and have been since 1PM. It has been raining in some fashion all day and it's predicted to continue on into tomorrow. It's a small form of torture being cooped up in the Mintaro Hut with 39 strangers. They're all nice people but it's a bit overwhelming. There are huge groups, couples, Moms and Dads and kids and they all tend to stick together, so on rainy days like this I don't have much to do except read*, listen to music and write in this journal. I'm going through my book rather quickly today. I don't know if it will last another rainy day.

As for yesterday, that was my first day on the Milford track. It was largely uneventful. I took a boat ride from Te Anau Downs up Te Anau Lake to the starting point of the track and then it was an hour and a half to the first hut. At least then it only rained a bit so I could get out and walk around.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the weather will clear up. Oh, I almost forgot the highlight of the day. I spotted a pair of blue ducks. They are endemic to NZ and are highly endangered. Cool stuff!

* I really misjudged how many books I would read while I was out here. I've already finished "Island of The Sequined Love Nun" by Christopher Moore, "The Beckoning Silence" by Joe Simpson (really good! Krissy: You'll have to read it when I get back), "A Perfect Storm" by Jorgen Sommers (or something like that) and "Siddhartha" by Herman Hess. I was able to trade "A Perfect Storm" for "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," which I just started.

January 7th 4:21PM

3rd day of the Milford and it was certainly the best. There were several times throughout the day where it didn't rain and some good views appeared with the sunshine. It was a hard days walk with a large uphill and downhill move. There was an optional side trip to a waterfall that would have taken an extra hour and a half. I'd seen enough waterfalls (the Milford track is full of them) today and was looking forward to drying out in the hut.

January 8th 7:09PM

Today was a long day. I finished the Milford track and began the Routeburn. I walked a total of 21 kms. I'm exhausted now but unfortunately can't sleep until the hut warden collects my ticket and gives a talk* at 8PM. I suppose that time will come soon enough. Tomorrow, I only have to walk 8km. It will be a welcome slow day.

As for the weather, it was fantastic! For the first time in 4 days I enjoyed extended periods of sunshine. Finally, my boots and clothing that had been damp for the past 2 days got a chance to dry out. Interestingly, I had been reading "A Perfect Storm" during all the crummy weather. As I read about 100 mph winds and 80 ft seas it would fittingly pour buckts of rain. I finished the book last night and didn't get rained on at all today. What do you think of that?

There was, however, a dusting of snow in the not so distant hills. The weather, at this moment, calls for more cold temperatures and also snow. We'll see if NZ can conjure this up out of it's bag of tricks since I've already seen hail, torrential rain, gal force winds, thunder and lightning and the occasional sunny day.

*Hut warden talks involve the usual safety concerns you would normally expect. Crack a window when using the gas stoves, don't burn yourself on the stove, don't burn down the hut, etc. But most hut wardens will use this time as a platform to tell stories and/or rant about whatever they feel like. It's understandable since most of the hut wardens are retirees. When else would they have a captive audience at their whim?

January 10th 4:21PM

Yesterday had me really far down in the dumps. It was the longest 8km I've had to walk on the tracks yet. The rain continued to pour and that was probably the biggest reason why my spirits were so dampened. But also contributing, was having to set my tent up in the rain and it was cold. About as cold as I can remember feeling in NZ. I kept thinking that I left WA to get away from the rain and cold!

Then I got more bad news. Other trampers said the rain was supposed to continue pouring until 6PM the next day. Well that did it. I cooked my dinner, wolfed it down and glumly retired to my tent.

Stirred from my slumber, I awoke to a raging tempest. My tent shook in the wind and was assaulted by many many big fat raindrops. Then a flash. Immediately following was the roar of thunder. It was close. I did my best to sleep despite the commotion.

To my surprise I awoke to a morning without rain. I acted quickly to take advantage of the brief dry spell. I hauled all of my gear out of my tent and put it under the dry cooking shelter. It was still grey, but at least there was no wind and, for the moment, no rain.

I had started plowing up switchbacks when the rain returned. It dumped again with a familiar ferocity. Thinking positive, I was happy it wasn't windy. Much of the 16 km was very exposed along the Harris Saddle. It can be dangerous walking with the wind blowing.

And then a miracle happened. Sun tore through the clouds and a patch of of blue appeared as a hole in the sky. The beech forest below me in the valley suddenly came to life in the light and so did I. This was the first time in 3 alpine crossings on 3 different tracks that I saw the sun. I nearly danced the rest of the way down to the next campsite.

It's at the campsite where I now sit reflecting on the day. The sun shines infrequently and rain sprinkles down every 10-15 minutes. I'm in a good mood because of the sun and I'm also happy thinking about being back in town, showered with a beer in hand and cheeseburger in front of me.

Obviously, I'm in town now. The town of Glenorchy to be precise. I decided to stay in this small hamlet instead of heading down to Queenstown for 2 nights. I thought it would be a nice change, but honestly there isn't much to do here. There are a few cafes and that is about it. My bus to Queenstown doesn't leave until 3PM and it's 10AM now. Looks like I'll get some more reading in.

Next up, I've got a few things I noted. Mostly lists. Here we go:

Music

I brought a little 1GB MP3 player with me. It was really difficult decided on the albums to bring. Ultimately I decided on the following 8:

Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Four Tet - Rounds
Eliot Lipp - The Outside
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Band of Horses - (I forget the album title. It's their latest one though)
Spoon - Telephono + Soft Effects EP
Built to Spill - There is No Enemy
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out

The Helio Sequence album is by far the one I've listened to the most. It's a really fantastic blend of electro/rock/pop. There are some really, really amazing songs and a few that I'm not too fond of. The good songs more than make up for it.

Language Barrier

There are certain things you can say in the States that sound funny here and vice versa. For instance, you wouldn't want to say "I'm stuffed" after a big meal. Down here that pretty much means "I'm buggered." I'll let you figure out what buggered means if you don't know.

Saying "I'm going to do 5 tramps in a month" would surely get mixed responses if said in the States. But here it simply means I'm planning on doing a lot walking.

One saying that I'm particularly fond of is "I knocked the bastard off." It means an adventure has come to an end. The term was coined by Sir Edmund Hillary. And for those of you who don't know who Eddie is, he happens to be a Kiwi who was the first guy to have climbed Everest and is a world renowned mountaineer. His visage also graces the NZ 5 dollar bill.

Peculiarities of New Zealand

Ketchup is not ketchup. It is tomato sauce. And it tastes kind of funny too.

Everytime a fire truck leaves the station an air raid horn is trumpeted throughout the town.

Drip coffee does not exist in New Zealand.

It is possible to be delayed because of sheep (a herd can clog a road quite easily).

I'll have photos up this afternoon! Cheers!