One of my hobbies when I get bored is to go on Google Maps and find the most out of the way properties in New Zealand. It was in this way that I ran into the Cascade Valley at the southernmost end of the road in Westland. Anyway, I always wanted to see it and […]
After walking back from Port Craig I stayed the night in Invercargill and then headed for Bluff the next morning. The arrival at Bluff was underwhelming. It had been my goal for months but by the time I got there I just wanted it to be done with. In a lot of ways my TA […]
From Gertrude Saddle, the next walk I wanted to do was to Port Craig at the bottom of Fiordland. Part of the Humpridge Track, but not the whole loop. The reason for this was my Grandmother was born there and in a recording she talked about going to school in a building that was slightly […]
There had been much talk on the way down the South Island about the end of the Te Araroa and how it wasn’t great after the Mavora Lakes part. This partially led to a plan to hire a car and do some of the other walks in the region. Hiring the car was an interesting […]
The walk out to Mavora Lakes was beautiful. For some reason though I kept looking at every place and going,”that would be a good place to build”. There was one place especially at the corner of two valleys looking down over the first lake. The lakes are, if largely unpopulated by people, well populated by […]
Still fairly lethargic today. The scenery has changed slightly so that is good. At one point we met a German man coming the other way who exclaimed that the track was very swampy. Perhaps he was right but it seemed no worse than the rest of the Greenstone Track. Eventually I gave in and we […]
(I am unsure how to add in my Routeburn side trip but since I am back on Te Araroa at the end of the day I have used the numbers for where I left it and finished the day on it.) Can’t really say I walked far today. Maybe about 18km down the Greenstone track […]
The Routeburn is fairly nice. For starters the track is wide enough for two people to walk abreast. The grade isn’t difficult and the views are amazing. You can see why so many people want to do it. I must admit it was a bit of shock. Sort of like having a room in a […]
Yet another late start but this time due to breakfast at a cafe. The walk out of Arrowtown was good. The day was bright and beautiful. It wasn’t until later when I crossed paths with the Belgians that I realised I had missed a sign and begun circumnavigating Lake Hayes. That was pretty much it […]
This morning my tent was covered in frost and my towel was frozen. I, however, was toasty leading to a very late start. Well, probably that and the bloody great hill. Rose’s Pass took time, chocolate, jet planes, a snickers bar, and a litre or so of water. There is always a hill in the […]
