NZ Day 10 & 11 - finishing up
Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Returning to Queenstown on Monday night meant we had a full extra day before needing to pack up. Despite tired legs we decided to walk up Queenstown Hill - a relatively short (3ish kms) but hellishly steep walk up behind our accommodation in Queenstown. It featured over 500 metres of climb, or 'luft' as the NZlanders would say, and ended up higher than the gondola on the next hill over. .png)
Returning home we had lunch and a rest then we strolled down to town to check out the shops. The accommodation in Queenstown was a lot cheaper this side of Christmas so it was a bit more affordable to stay somewhere with a nice view - we'd usually be looking at the caravan park or outside of town - but this trip both our Queenstown places have had lovely views: 
Then we made dinner at home and watched a terrible christmas movie on someone elses netflix account. Today - our last day, Jon and I went for a short run down to the water and around Queenstown Gardens. 
Then we packed up and drove out to Arrowtown - a historic mining town with all the small shopfronts you might expect. It would probably be a great place to shop for expensive homewares or to get lunch and spend the afternoon drinking in a lovely shaded beer garden but wasn't really our our thing this time around so we spent most of our visit strolling along the riverbank track: 
Then it was time to drop off the car and check in for our flight at the airport which is where we are now. We've already got a one hour delay so it's unlikely we'll make our flight to Hobart tonight - fingers crossed though.
|
NZ Day 9 - Routeburn Track
Monday, 19 December 2022
The two main things I booked this holiday for were the Kepler Track and the Routeburn Track. I made sure the Routeburn was one of the last things we did, just in case I trashed my knees or one of us got injured. Also it's hard to organise, as although the finish is only 34km from the start, it's over 300km by road - so we had to use a car relocation company to have our hire car magically teleport from the start of the hike to the car park at the end. We left Te Anau at around 8, and drove out on the Milford Sound road again to the Divide Shelter (in a hurry this time), so that we could be started by 9.30. We had no idea how long this would take us - there are plenty of reports from people who have done this, but their times differ wildly up to 12 hours. Doing it from the Divide meant that the first 2/3 of the trip was a slow climb all the way up to Harris Saddle, once there the last third was downhill. Our plan was to also go up Conical Hill from the saddle, if the weather allowed for it. The start was straight into the mossy green forest, then up and up and up: 
We went past a million waterfalls along the way : 
 
We stopped heaps for snacks and photos: 
Before the rain came, we got good views of mountain tops: 
Mackenzie Lake and Mackenzie Hut - where the hikers stay on their first (or last) night. All the huts along this track were fantastic. 
Looking back down on that hut as we climbed way above it: 
It started to get pretty wet as we got up to Harris Saddle. The clouds also lowered so we abandoned our conical hill plans. We stopped in the shelter for lunch then braved the weather again. 
Jett with Conical Hill behind him: 
Finally starting to head downhill: 
 
 
For the last 5k, the river we were following was amazingly blue: 
 
and then 7.5 hours after we started, we were at the Routeburn Shelter on the other side: 
It was an amazing day out: .png)
|
NZ Day 8 - Milford Sound Road
Sunday, 18 December 2022
The only other time we've driven along the Milford Sound road we were in a bit of a hurry and it was pretty wet, so we couldn't do any of the little side trips that were on offer. As we had another 'rest' day today it was the perfect opportunity to take a leisurely drive towards Milford Sound and do all the things we missed last time. Once again the low cloud made for dreary photos, so our 2nd stop, the Mirror Lakes, weren't really mirroring..   We progressed to the 45 minute Gunns Lake Nature Trail which was really nice: 
We got a bit off-track and found one of the glacier-green streams that reminded us of or Milford Track hike:  
But it meant we had a little bit of a road walk to get back to the car park: 
Then we headed to Lake Marion Falls - just before the Homer Tunnel: 
We hadn't planned to go through the tunnel and all the way to Milford Sound (as we'd visited Doubtful Sound the day before), but because the skies seemed to be clearing we thought it might be worthwhile. And.. wow.. 
.png)
With patchy blue skies the views were amazing. Unlike Doubtful Sound it was very busy and noisy with planes and helicopters taking off every few minutes as well as cruises leaving and coming in all the time. Can't blame anyone for wanting to get out into the Sound when it's not actually raining though. 
although maybe Jett was more concerned with getting wifi? 
Anyway - it was a relaxed and lovely day out. 
Tonight we have to repack and prepare for the Routeburn track tomorrow.
|
NZ Day 7 - Doubtful Sound
Sunday, 18 December 2022
On previous NZ trips I've always thought it would be good to visit Doubtful Sound - but it's a full day commitment and a fair bit of $$ to do it so it didn't really fit in. But this time, without the extra cost of Zali (sorry Zali), and with a few days between our big hikes, the stars aligned for us to do the boat-bus-boat-bus-boat trip. The first part of the day a 1 hour cruise across Lake Manapouri - about 15 minutes drive from Te Anau. The clouds were hanging pretty low, so there weren't many views to see until we got into the bus which took us over Wilmot Pass - an unconnected road that takes hydro power station workers and tourists over to Deep Cove, on the other side of the range. 
Once down at water level, we boarded a boat for a 3 hour cruise of doubtful sound. It was spectacular the whole day, but until the sun came out in patches in the afternoon the photos were a bit dreary. 
 
Everything looked very Norwegian except for the fact that there weren't cute little summer houses dotted around on the rocks and impossibly steep hillsides. The only building we saw was this hut built below high water mark to avoid the national park restrictions. 
We cruised right out to the Tasman Sea and saw seal colonies and some rougher weather before turning and exploring some of the narrow arms of the sound. 
It was a long day, but really great. After a day of sitting we arrived home a bit lethargic, but we managed to force ourselves out for a run on another flat section of the Kepler Track - it's simply too nice to not run on it! 
The thunderstorms which had been forecast for the past 3 days finally arrived so we were pretty wet when we finished. We had to do a lightening quick turnaround to make it to our 7.45 pizza restaurant reservation which lived up to the high reviews we had seen.
|
NZ Day 6 - Restish Day
Friday, 16 December 2022
Today we enjoyed not having people rustling bags and stomping around our beds, so we were all able to sleep in until after 9 then Jon cooked up a delicious late breakfast. .png)
After breakfast we started on the list of the top 15 things to do in and around Te Anau. Quite a few of them were related to the Kepler track, so we could immediately tick them off. One of the others was the local bird sanctuary. We were curious as to the appearance of the often mentioned Takahe bird. Apparently there was one quite near one of the huts we stayed in, and there are only 100 left in the wild (they can't fly so are pretty susceptible to all of NZ feral pests). I was expecting a turbo chook type creature but it was actually much bigger and much more colourful: .png)
After the birds we went to another of the must-do destinations - The Ivon Wilson park just by the lake which conveniently had a frisbee golf course that we took advantage of:  .png)
Then we tried the famous local pie shop but it was closed so we'll have to visit another time. After some more actual resting and a few loads of washing we donned running gear and I dropped Jon and Jett off at Rainbow Reach to run the final section of the Kepler which we missed. In the meantime I drove around to the control gates and did an out and back run while I waited. It was a beautiful section of trail which was a delight to run on.  
After dinner we went down to the lake to check out the sunset, which is supposed to look amazing, but tonight only looked like this, so we'll have to try again another night: 
|
NZ Day 5 - Kepler Day 3
Thursday, 15 December 2022
Today was our longest day - 16.2 km down to the next hut, then another 6km to the carpark where we left the car. With a smooth, mostly flat and very soft track through endless enchanted forests it actually couldn't have been easier or more delightful. 
It's hard to get good photos in the mossy green forests, particularly with dappled sunlight, but I kept trying. 
We were getting a bit weary and hungry as we arrived after the first long section to Moturau Hut which was right on Lake Manapauri. 
It seems amazing to have traversed through the enchanted forests, up to alpine peaks, then back down to ferns and beaches, all in 3 days and 50ish k. Kepler was a purpose built Great Walk Trail designed to take the pressure off the Milford Track and the Routeburn Tracks and it is pretty amazing. Admittedly we didn't get the best weather doing the Milford, but I now reckon that Kepler is better - especially as you have the convenience of starting and finishing in almost the same place. 
The only annoyance is the midges - the tiny mosquito things which swarm around you when you stop. Repellant does work for a while but it seems to take constant applications to keep them away. Eventually the midges drove us away from our stop at the lake and onwards for the last 6k. 
And before we knew it, or more specifically around 75 minutes later, we arrived at the final swing bridge and the end of our walk: 
Just as we crossed the bridge it started to rain for the first time since we arrived in NZ. How lucky were we! |
NZ Day 4 - Kepler Day 2
Thursday, 15 December 2022
Our last 2 big hikes in NZ have been in almost white-out conditions, so to start the day with blue skies and wispy white clouds was quite the treat! We still had more climb to go, so it was up and up from the get go. We started at 8.30am and by about 9.30 we'd caught up to most of our hut-mates who were struggling up the rolling hills. The only reason I wasn't left behind was because Jett and Jon carry most of our common gear between them - so my pack was pretty light by hiking standards. 
I was just starting to think that I didn't really like hiking above the treeline when we rounded a corner and saw the most spectacular views down to the fjord below 
A lot of the alpine vegetation was very familiar - cushion plants and stunted bushes with the odd flower hunched down to the ground. 
We did a short side trip to the top of Mt Luxmore. The big dopey looking Kea birds have become so smart (and they have such sharp beaks) that you can't even leave your pack for a moment or you'll return to them having unzipped every compartment and having hacked your facebook account, so we have to do all side trips with our packs. Thankfully Mt Luxmore was only about 20 minutes out and back- 
From there we traversed narrow ridges and went up over hills and down into saddles. All very spectacular. 
Eventually we stopped for first lunch at one of the emergency shelters with million dollar toilet views: 
and a pair of cheeky Keas who snuck out from under the shelter as soon as we arrived. Here they are plotting their next distract-and-destroy move: 
After a few more ups, we started on the very long down to the Iris Burn hut. 
Before we started our big descent we stopped for 2nd lunch and to enjoy the sunshine and mountain views (and mobile coverage) for one last time: 
Then it was time to head down and down back into the green forest to the valley floor. The steep descent had lots and lots of zig zags, but judging by the state of many of the other hikers as they arrived at the hut hours and hours later, it still wasn't kind enough on their knees. In the photo below the far range to the left and behind the pointy one in the middle, is where we descended from. 
Arriving at the hut around 3pm we had the choice of bunk beds which was nice as there were definitely some which were better than others. We had time to walk the k or so to a waterfall, where we all had very quick swims due to the freezing water. It was great to be clean at least for a moment, before we had to reapply about six layers of mosquito repellant and sunscreen: 
.png)
Then we spent the rest of the afternoon reading the very old hut magazines, and skipping rocks in the river: 
.png)
The hut was absolutely chock full by 7.30pm when the last of our tribe limped inside. We lasted until 9pm then tucked ourselves into bed. Amazingly, I slept pretty well both nights as many of the snorers exiled themselves and their mattresses in the kitchen - so by some miracle both bunk rooms we slept in were really quiet. I was prepared with sleep music and podcasts and 2 different types of ear plugs but I didn't need anything in the end - it was the only part of the walk I wasn't looking forward to but it turned out fine.
|
NZ Day 3 - Kepler Day 1
Thursday, 15 December 2022
Happily for all of us, Jett woke up feeling a lot better and we confirmed his lack of covid with a RAT test we had him take at the start of the track - around 2 hours drive from Queenstown. The Kepler track can be done in 2 or 3 or 4 days (or even 1, if you do the 60km Kepler Challenge run - the record is 4hrs 38). We wanted to do it in 3 days and 2 nights, so we parked our car and caught the track bus to the other start of the track, about 10k down the road - thus making our final day of hiking a hefty 23km rather than a draining 33km. The weather was beautiful and we struck out for a very easy 5km hike alongside Lake Te Anau. The track was smooth and delightful and we reached Brod Bay after an hour or so. 
From there things got a bit more serious as the track turned uphill for the next 8k. We climbed about 750 metres zigzagging up through beautiful green mossy & ferny forest and around limestone cliffs. It was hot and sweaty work. 
Slow and steady we rose and rose, taking in the views back across the lake as we went: 
Until eventually we made it to the abrupt end of the tree-line: 
On our way up we had noticed that there were a lot of people coming down with very small daypacks. This was curious but we soon realised that it was a common day walk to take the ferry across to Brod Bay and walk up and back down simply for the views. What was even more curious were the people walking down with no packs at all, who also looked like they had never hiked a step in their lives and who certainly weren't really dressed for the outdoors - it turns out that there's a heli-hike tour - where for $625 a helicopter drops you at Luxmore Hut and you walk back down to Brod Bay - sounds like a good option to me! After the treeline ended we had about half an hour of very scenic hiking to get to Luxmore hut - where our only remaining important task for the day was to select bunks for the night. 
It was still only around 3pm so we had plenty of time in the afternoon to explore the local cave and lounge around in the funny curly wurly tussock grass in the sun. 
Eventually it was legitimately dinner time - NZ Great Walk huts provide the gas and nice kitchens with sinks to cook in. The view from this kitchen was particularly spectacular: 
After a not very exciting dinner we were tucked up in our bunk by 9pm.
|
NZ Day 1 & 2
Monday, 12 December 2022
Jett, Jon and I are finally having the remnants of our NZ holiday that we booked for the start of 2021 and then moved in vain to the start of 2022. It was going to be about 3 weeks and include the Oceania Orienteering Championships but now it's just an 11 day hiking holiday which Zali has decided to skip. Day 1 didn't quite go as planned - we were supposed to fly direct to Auckland then transfer quickly for a domestic flight down to Queenstown arriving at 9pm. No one big event caused this to go wrong but a combination of a half hour sitting on the Hobart tarmac, a slow exit from the Auckland flight, and an exceedingly long wait for luggage meant we arrived at the domestic check-in, (sweating profusely after our 800m dash from the international terminal) just about exactly when the flight closed. As it wasn't our fault, Air NZ fairly quickly sorted us (and a whole lot of other people who also missed their connections) with vouchers for transit, hotel and meals, as well as a new flight for the next morning. The worst thing about this was probably the long wait for the massively overcrowded bus to take us to the hotel (covid anyone?). Thankfully, once at the hotel we were ushered straight into the buffet for dinner (bliss), then quickly issued room keys after we'd eaten. In the morning we got free breakfast then a much less crowded bus back to the airport and a smooth flight down to Queenstown where we picked up our hire car, went to the supermarket and checked into our accommodation, both of which had been waiting for us since the previous night. All up it really wasn't too bad as we had no plans for today except to shop and prepare for our hike tomorrow. Our apartment is lovely so perhaps it would have been nice to stay the extra night but it would have been dark anyway when we arrived:  Once we finally arrived, we unwound, had lunch then headed up to Queenstown proper for a bit of a wander around: 
It was a beautiful day and quite a few people were braving the cold looking lake. We bought some souvenir frisbee golf discs and went down to Queenstown Gardens to play a round on their lovely course. Despite some wayward shots, I'm pleased to report that no passers by were injured. 
Jon won the first round of 9 holes, then I won the back round. Jett neither killed anyone or lost the disc, so that's a victory on its own. We wandered back up to town for some icecreams then came home to properly pack for hiking tomorrow. To work up a new appetite we then went for a stroll along the lake from our accommodation: 
Our place is one of the red townhouses: 
Then we rewarded ourselves for surviving our long day (we had to get up at 5:50am - 3:50am AUS time) with uber eats for dinner - we also reckoned we were financially ahead with a dinner and a breakfast on AirNZ's dime, so we could splurge. Now we're doing some final tidy up and keeping our fingers crossed that Jett's sudden sneezing and tiredness is just a quick thing, and not covid, as we'll have to come up with a plan B if he's coming down with it.
|
Exploring St Helens Point
Sunday, 4 December 2022
Most of my St Helens jobs were done during my big day yesterday, so after watching the world cup soccer this morning I went out to do some exploring at St Helens point. Unfortunately it was high tide, so I couldn't so my planned big loop, instead I explored sections at a time. I started at the intriguingly named 'Training Wall' - which turned out to be a rock wall along the edge of the entrance to Georges Bay. The water was deep and clear right next to the wall - walking along the path that ran along the top of it was like walking next to an aquarium - it was incredible - fish of all sizes and colours swam along the edge and in and out of the seaweed.  
After reaching the end of the path, and checking out the temporarily closed Blanches Beach (due to bird nesting season), I walked back in the other direction for a while - although I was ultimately foiled by the high tide. 
After a quick trip up to St Helens Light I drove around to a beach I hadn't visited before - Maurouard Beach - a huge beach on the eastern side of the point:: 
  
Then I spent some time trying to find a track marked on google but didn't seem to exist in real life - well the first part did but then it quickly became overgrown and impossible to follow. It's interesting that the boat ramp out at the end of the point was as busy with fishermen as the mtb trail head is with mountain bikers on a weekend - when we started coming to St Helens in the late 80s the town welcome sign said ' Welcome to St Helens, game fishing capital of Tasmania' - good to know it's probably still true!
|
Exhausted
Saturday, 3 December 2022
I've had a big day. First I woke up early and went for a run up to the trailhead - around a 9k return trip: 
As soon as I got home I got stuck into planting a whole lot of grasses that I've hopefully managed to successfully propagate from our ones at home: 
Then I erased all evidence of my stay, as a professional photographer (sent by Tasbuilt) was due at noon. From that point I based myself down the garage, which was actually great for all my outdoor projects - having a laundry in the garage is incredibly useful! While the photographer worked inside (for hours) I worked up a sweat doing multiple trips to the landscape supply place so that I could finish Paul's fine work from the weekend before when he edged the bike wash area and the extended gravel area close to the house. Without a trailer I had to fill up buckets out at the landscape centre, then empty them with a shovel from the back of the car (as they were too heavy to move) once I got home. .png) I was particularly rushed as the landscape place closed at 1pm - ideally I would have got one more load of gravel but I would have had to be superhuman to be quick enough - I ended up doing 3 trips altogether. .png) 
 
All in all there was a lot of shovelling and sweating and dust. I finished it five minutes before the photographer came outside to do some garden shots - phew! .png) With the photography done, I had a late lunch then went to Binalong Bay for a swim and a stroll. Binalong beach has got to be one of the hardest beaches to walk along - the sand is so soft and steep - it took me ages to walk about a kilometre. Thankfully I could walk back by the dune track. .png)
.png)
.png) .png)
Back at home (via a trip to the car wash place to vacuum all the extra gravel from the car) I planted the remaining grasses and cleaned up everything else that needed it in the garden. It's all looking very nice and tidy now. After I finally had a shower (I didn't want to dirty it up before the photographer came), it was all I could do to heat up dinner in the microwave and sit down on the couch where I've been ever since. 25000 steps and a lot of blisters. What a day!
|
Launch Weekend
Saturday, 3 December 2022
A few weeks ago we had the most amazing and fun St Helens launch weekend with lots of our friends. It was absolutely perfect and I've found it hard to post anything in detail about it as the task seemed too big. By the same token I don't want to forget an absolutely fantastic weekend culminating in a police visit the next day, so I'm going to give it a go. 
Jett and I came to St Helens on Wednesday as soon as I finished work. I immediately but us both to work with chores including painting the rusty old fence posts which looked particularly bad against the new fence pailings we'd had built since we were last here. We also finished off the entrance area with some matching paint on the pine edging: .png) .png)
Miriam and Jo arrived late on Thursday night, and on Friday it was time to put up the glamping tents (thanks kmart) in the garage. I also put up the old 2000 Olympics banners which turned out to be the perfect size for curtains. 
Then our friday guests came, immediately livening up the place even more. Inspired by a beautiful evening, we strolled down to the water with drinks and good vibes to check out the sunset - it was a beautiful evening. .png)
On Saturday morning, most of the household went for a walk out at St Helens Point  Then some people headed off riding, while some of us went out to the shell dump to collect shells for my new gabion basket bench in the bike wash area. We only knew about this spot hidden in the bush just outside of St Helens because it happens to be on an orienteering map. It has piles and piles of shells that must come from the local shellfish farms - perfect for my seat.  
It looked amazing with the scallop shells & we got it finished about 5 minutes before our first customer arrived home from a ride. Jon and Zali finally arrived in the afternoon (after Zali's work shift), which meant the party could officially begin. We BBQed, drank cocktails, danced, used the fire pit and generally had a loud and fun time - it was a brilliant night. .png)
.png)
.png)
The next morning there was more riding, but also more projects as we got help re-installing the old hills hoist: 
Just as people were starting to pack themselves up to leave in the afternoon, a police car pulled up outside. Miriam went out to intercept him while we wondered whether he was there for a noise complaint from the party, or for our ill-planned evening trip to the back of the supermarket (in full view of the security cameras) to 'borrow' some milk crates for the fire pit area (which were still strewn around outside). When Miriam came in to tell us that he wanted to speak to the home owners, I decided it must have been for the noise, so we nervously went outside ready with all our apologies and assurances that we won't do it again. After introducing himself he explained that the reason he was there was because he is also building with Tasbuilt (our builders) and was keen to take a look around the house! Apparently he'd been casing the joint for a while but no-one was ever home! So that was funny - we showed him around then eventually levered him back out - he was quite a talker! The next day while I was tidying up, his wife also came around to check it out. All in all it was a fantastic weekend filled with friends and projects and beautiful St Helens. 
|
The to do list never ends
Monday, 7 November 2022
On Sunday after a delightful walk into and around town and back, we did general tidying, cleaning and changing of sheets then Jon and I did the job I'd been saving for us to do together - hanging the giant number six on the front of the house: .png) 
It looks great. 
And on the topic of numbers, we've settled on the name of the house. A bit like racing horse names, it will probably always be 'the shack' to us (although it's clearly far from a shack), but its show name will be "Six On Murray" with a tag line of 'escape to St Helens..' or something like that. It feels a little bit fancy and different from the 'bay views' 'captains cottage' 'eagle retreat' etc etc. And, as a bonus, you'll always remember your address if you are staying there! In the afternoon we met with our soon-to-be property manager to sort out some details, then we headed home with a new list of to-dos, and things-to-get . It was a big week. So much got done, and it was SO NICE to finally have company there! I'm looking forward to our little launch party with a few friends in a few weeks time. Until next time lovely house.. 
|
Getting out and about - day 6
Monday, 7 November 2022
After all the sandboarding and projects I was feeling a little weary before I even started this run, and also forgot that it was actually over 10k. And it was hot. But it was the perfect time to do it as the tide was out, and I've learnt from very wet previous experience that you need to do this loop at low tide. The trail was very nice and the views were lovely but I was tired and I did resort to walking the uphill sections so I was glad to get back to the car. 
 
It's been a bit of a bootcamp this week but I'm so glad I got out to enjoy the area more this trip. Next time I will even bring my bike!
|
To Do List Continues
Monday, 7 November 2022
I was delighted to have Jon arrive at St Helens late on Friday night for his first ever weekend here - courtesy of a rogaine cancellation due to all the rain. Of course he didn't get time to sit back and enjoy it as there were still lots of projects to do. So while Paul finished the bike racks: 
Jon tried to fix the stupid drain pothole thing in the driveway: 
and I laid more floating floor in the garage with the spare vinyl planks from upstairs: 
to: 
Then they built the BBQ while I prepared lunch: 
to: 
Then we were allowed to take the afternoon off. So we took the fancy sand boards and headed to Peron Dunes - I may have been there before years ago but I certainly don't remember it - it was pretty amazing. 
 The sand was still pretty heavy from all the rain so the boarding wasn't that great, but both Jon and Paul did manage to stand up on the boards from the top to bottom of a dune. Afterwards we rinsed some sand off at Beer Barrel Beach - which looked a lot different with the tide out:  
Then it was home where we released Paul from his servitude and Jon went for a ride while I went for a run. After some more odd jobs we had dinner and tested out the cocktail glasses and watched the JWOC streaming in Portugal on youtube. A fantastic day. 
|