New Zealand Fiordland May 1 - 17

We arrived at Te Anu on a beautiful day; a rare event we discovered the next day. We stayed at a nice backpackers on Lake Manapouri. We took a short walk along the shoreline of the lake where Martha got to play the photo-artist with her camera.

The first day, we hiked up a mountain, through the clouds, and to the top of Mount Luxmore. There were spectacular views of the surrounding mountain tops, clouds, and lake Te Anau. We met another couple from Spain - Cesar and Emma and ended up doing most of the trail with them. Each night, we would stay in "huts" that had bunk beds...there was no hot water, no showers, and we had to use the "winter" toilets (outhouse). We did have plenty of ice-cold water (which you had to boil if you wanted to drink). For us suburban folk, this was a bit challenging...but the scenery and walk were worth it!

The second day, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise! We walked along the ridge line of the mountain most of the day. Lon brought an oiled cotton hat which he used on the trail...dressed all in black, and with that hat, he looked like a Sheriff (guess that makes me his deputy). We came across a Kea bird. Kea birds are very large parrots that live on the top of the mountains. It was strange to see such an exotic looking bird flying around in that environment. I bet it looks even stranger in winter time when they get snow!

We had a fantastic spot on top of the mountain for our lunch break. We then headed DOWN the mountain towards Lake Manapouri. This proved to be more difficult than the climb up! It was a very steep switch back trail leading to the lake...and my legs were shaking pretty bad towards the end. It's especially hard on the knees. I have to give Lon extra credit here...he carried a lot more weight than me.

When we finally made it to the hut, Lon ended up jumping in the lake. It was VERY cold...I decided to pass. That third night in the hut turned out to be a lot of fun. There was a group of 13 women that were hiking together and one of them had turned 50 that day...so there was a lot of singing, games, and quite a party atmosphere!

The fourth day, we hiked out along the lake, river, and marsh lands. When we finally made it to the Barnyard Backpackers, the caretaker knew immediately we had just finished the Kepler ( I think he could smell us approaching). We learned a lot on this tramp...what to bring (more food next time), what NOT to bring (forget the comb - we never used it), and how to bring it (forget about tubes and full bottles...portion stuff out into film containers).

So, we're hanging out in Te Anau now...doing tours, enjoying the scenery, and washing clothes. We are recovering from the hike and look forward to the next one!

It was such a beautiful day and the lake was so still, that it reflected the surrounding mountains. You just could NOT take a bad picture around here! As we kayaked around, we saw several blue penguins swimming. What a great day!!

To begin the trail, we had to take a motor boat ride across Lake Te Anau...a fast-paced, ass-slamming, bumpy, ride from hell (thanks to the weirdo boat driver). There were 9 of us that did the trail together (2 guys and 1 girl from Ireland, a couple from Australia, and couple from New Zealand).

We spent the first day on the trail slogging through rain and mud for 7 hours. Our New Balance "waterproof" shoes were totally water-logged (with mud on the inside as well as the outside). Actually, everybody's shoes were the same...so I'll hold off sending my nasty e-mail to New Balance for the moment. Everything around us was clouded in rain and mist, so the track had a very eerie look to it...especially as we passed between a valley of granite walls with long, thin waterfalls.

That night, in the hut, we all tried to get warm and dry our things out by the fire. A big "upside" of the rain was that it provided us with drinking water (that's a GOOD THING). The two Irish guys (Gavin - a large, teddy bear and Smithey - very young and naive) were not prepared for hiking in the rain and cold. They did not bring a change of clothes...so, they stood around the fire naked with their sleeping bags wrapped around them like blankets. They suffered a very long and cold night. You can't say they weren't warned though...there were plenty of warning signs all around town and in the DOC offfice (Department of Conservation) about being well prepared for wet and cold weather...especially at this time of the year! Luckily, we never had to use our emergency radio.

The second day gave us much better weather...it was partly sunny, lots of clouds coming and going, and an occasional sprinkle of rain. We climbed up a mountain and had some beautiful "partial" views between clouds. The clouds moved with amazing speed. The climb down led us by beautiful valleys and mountain ranges. We lucked out again at the next hut because there was more rain water available to drink. We all survived another cold night (and Lon's stinky shoes).

The third day we woke up to find a sprinkling of snow on the mountain tops (the first snow of the season). It was a beautiful, sunny day...very clear and cold. We hiked out passing several picturesque waterfalls and streams. At the end of the trail was a sign post covered with beat up hiking shoes. For the grand finale, we kayaked across the Milford Sound to a minivan that was waiting to take us back to Te Anau!