Make sure you hit the "Older Posts" button at the bottom of each page to see all of the pics we've published so far. Hope you enjoy them.
m&c
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Milford Track
Well, we conquered the Milford Track! Nestled in the mountains of Fjordland National Park on the south island is the 33.5 mile Milford Track, a beautiful trail that begins at the north end of Lake Te Anau and ends with the majestic waters of Milford Sound. The trip is a 4 day hut-to-hut hike through the rain forest along the Clinton River, over Mackinnon Pass and down into the Arthur Valley. It's unlike any hike we've done in the past. The track is one-way, and you must purchase tickets. Each day a new group of up to 40 hikers starts the trail.
Day 1: An hour long bus ride from the Te Anau Department of Conservation (DOC) left us at the Te Anau Downs dock, where we caught a passenger ferry with 21 other 'trampers' across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf and the start of the Track. The massive amounts of rain coupled with the dock at the trail head being submerged under 1 1/2 feet of water had us wondering if we had a few screws loose for signing up. The Milford Track is notorious for getting buckets of rain. Soaked within the first hour, we were curious what day 2 would bring. The first days' walk was a short 3 mile trip to Clinton Hut and our bunk for the night.
Day 2: As we have mentioned in previous blogs, the south island has been getting hammered with spring snow, increasing the risk of avalanche danger in the mountains. When we signed up for our trip, we had to agree to let the DOC fly us via helicopter over any dangerous sections of the trail. We woke up to dry conditions, the storm they were calling for with expected 90km winds had dissipated. We were stoked! The problem was the low ceiling of clouds that hung in the mountains, making a helicopter pickup impossible. We left Clinton Hut at 9am, walked @4.5 miles toward our possible pickup and waited to see if the clouds would blow through. No luck! The ranger on duty, a troll-like Kiwi named Peter Jackson had us turn around and make our way back to Clinton Hut. As we got back to the hut the next scheduled group of 21 people had arrived, making a hut that sleeps 40 into a hut that sleeps 44. This had everyone a little down-if conditions didn't improve people might have to bag the whole trip, turning back to Glade Wharf and riding the boat back.
Day 3: We headed back up the track and waited to hear if the group before us made it over the pass. The weather was on our side, and the previous day's group was able to be helicoptered over the pass so they could make their way down to the next hut. Our group walked up to a meadow and waited for the helicopter to lift us over part of the Clinton Valley where more than 55 avalanche paths remained a threat. The chopper could take 6 people plus the pilot at a time. We were in the first group to go. It was awesome! We put our backpacks in a cargo net, hopped in the helicopter, and off we went! We only had to be lifted over a three mile stretch of the track, but it was spectacular. We could see little snow slides happening all over the mountains. We spent the night at Mintaro hut, where we were given our own private show of avalanche sights and sounds the whole afternoon and evening. That night we had a mean cribbage match with some new friends.
Day 4: This was the big day! If all went well, we would be the first group of the season to cross Mackinnon Pass on foot. We got word from our ranger, Bushy, that conditions looked good, but that we all had to make it over the pass as a group before the afternoon sun hit and softened the snow, which would increase the risk of an avalanche. We set off up the mountain. Before long we were hiking in snow. We had to stop and wait for the rangers and our Canadian/Australian trail buster, Brad, to lay steps down in the frozen snow (We hear he can skin any animal - he's from Saskatchewan). We made it to the top as a group, and what a reward! It was the most beautiful day in the history of the Milford Track! Bright blue skies and several meters of fresh snow - WOW! Days like this are extremely rare on the Milford Track, we were very blessed. Due to the snow, we had to take the emergency route down. It was steep and very rugged. Each step down was sketchy. We had to take big (1.5-2ft.) steps on very uneven terrain. Thank goodness for our trekking poles! We passed along creeks that led to many stunning waterfalls and vistas. Almost 10 miles (and at least two blisters) later we arrived at Dumpling hut and passed out!
Day 5: We had a long haul to catch a 2p.m. boat to Milford Sound. 10.5 miles over lots of rocks, rivers, and trees! We made it with 20 minutes to spare! Boots off, Tevas on, we celebrated the completion of the 38.5 mile (we did extra miles with the double back on day 2) with burgers and beers at the Moose Tavern with our new friends Joel and Brad. Good on ya Mates!
A quick shout out to Jo, Jonathan, Joel, Brad, and all of our new trekking friends from the Milford Track!
We did not take our digital camera on this trip, instead carrying our small, waterproof camera. We are hoping to get a link to photos taken by our new friends.
We are in Dunedin today after spending two days decompressing in a gorgeous spot called Kaka Point. We got the best bath ever! We will be heading north from here. More to come soon.
Love,
Michael & Chandler
Day 1: An hour long bus ride from the Te Anau Department of Conservation (DOC) left us at the Te Anau Downs dock, where we caught a passenger ferry with 21 other 'trampers' across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf and the start of the Track. The massive amounts of rain coupled with the dock at the trail head being submerged under 1 1/2 feet of water had us wondering if we had a few screws loose for signing up. The Milford Track is notorious for getting buckets of rain. Soaked within the first hour, we were curious what day 2 would bring. The first days' walk was a short 3 mile trip to Clinton Hut and our bunk for the night.
Day 2: As we have mentioned in previous blogs, the south island has been getting hammered with spring snow, increasing the risk of avalanche danger in the mountains. When we signed up for our trip, we had to agree to let the DOC fly us via helicopter over any dangerous sections of the trail. We woke up to dry conditions, the storm they were calling for with expected 90km winds had dissipated. We were stoked! The problem was the low ceiling of clouds that hung in the mountains, making a helicopter pickup impossible. We left Clinton Hut at 9am, walked @4.5 miles toward our possible pickup and waited to see if the clouds would blow through. No luck! The ranger on duty, a troll-like Kiwi named Peter Jackson had us turn around and make our way back to Clinton Hut. As we got back to the hut the next scheduled group of 21 people had arrived, making a hut that sleeps 40 into a hut that sleeps 44. This had everyone a little down-if conditions didn't improve people might have to bag the whole trip, turning back to Glade Wharf and riding the boat back.
Day 3: We headed back up the track and waited to hear if the group before us made it over the pass. The weather was on our side, and the previous day's group was able to be helicoptered over the pass so they could make their way down to the next hut. Our group walked up to a meadow and waited for the helicopter to lift us over part of the Clinton Valley where more than 55 avalanche paths remained a threat. The chopper could take 6 people plus the pilot at a time. We were in the first group to go. It was awesome! We put our backpacks in a cargo net, hopped in the helicopter, and off we went! We only had to be lifted over a three mile stretch of the track, but it was spectacular. We could see little snow slides happening all over the mountains. We spent the night at Mintaro hut, where we were given our own private show of avalanche sights and sounds the whole afternoon and evening. That night we had a mean cribbage match with some new friends.
Day 4: This was the big day! If all went well, we would be the first group of the season to cross Mackinnon Pass on foot. We got word from our ranger, Bushy, that conditions looked good, but that we all had to make it over the pass as a group before the afternoon sun hit and softened the snow, which would increase the risk of an avalanche. We set off up the mountain. Before long we were hiking in snow. We had to stop and wait for the rangers and our Canadian/Australian trail buster, Brad, to lay steps down in the frozen snow (We hear he can skin any animal - he's from Saskatchewan). We made it to the top as a group, and what a reward! It was the most beautiful day in the history of the Milford Track! Bright blue skies and several meters of fresh snow - WOW! Days like this are extremely rare on the Milford Track, we were very blessed. Due to the snow, we had to take the emergency route down. It was steep and very rugged. Each step down was sketchy. We had to take big (1.5-2ft.) steps on very uneven terrain. Thank goodness for our trekking poles! We passed along creeks that led to many stunning waterfalls and vistas. Almost 10 miles (and at least two blisters) later we arrived at Dumpling hut and passed out!
Day 5: We had a long haul to catch a 2p.m. boat to Milford Sound. 10.5 miles over lots of rocks, rivers, and trees! We made it with 20 minutes to spare! Boots off, Tevas on, we celebrated the completion of the 38.5 mile (we did extra miles with the double back on day 2) with burgers and beers at the Moose Tavern with our new friends Joel and Brad. Good on ya Mates!
A quick shout out to Jo, Jonathan, Joel, Brad, and all of our new trekking friends from the Milford Track!
We did not take our digital camera on this trip, instead carrying our small, waterproof camera. We are hoping to get a link to photos taken by our new friends.
We are in Dunedin today after spending two days decompressing in a gorgeous spot called Kaka Point. We got the best bath ever! We will be heading north from here. More to come soon.
Love,
Michael & Chandler
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Wanaka, Mt. Aspiring National Park, Queenstown, & on to Milford Sound!
Last week we began making our way inland from the west coast to Wanaka, a ski town just south of Mt. Aspiring N.P. With all the fresh snow in the area, Michael was hoping to heli-ski, but missed the season by a couple of weeks. Even the tour opperators wished they were still running, the mountains got a good dump. Instead, we took a beautiful 54km dirt road north to Mt. Aspiring N.P. on route to the Rob Roy glacier trailhead. We passed amazing pastures full of dear, elk, cows, and of course sheep, surrounded by dramatic peaks. The trail was rugged and steep, but the rewards of sitting right under Rob Roy glacier were worth it. Spectacular! We spent a few days in Wanaka, enjoying the small ski town atmosphere.
Queenstown was our next stop. Queenstown is the undisputed mecca for adrenaline junkies in the southern hemisphere! You can sky dive, heli-mountainbike, bungy jump (Queenstown, by the way, is the original home of bungy jumping), river surf, fly on a wire, parasail/ paraglide, and zorb (roll down the hill in a big balloon) just to name a few. We opted to take a gondola up the mountain and luge down! What a ride! We loved it, and did it three times! The next day I surprised Michael with a guided offroad motorcycle ride to help him get his fix! The terrain reminded him a lot of his rides in Colorado. He had a blast! Afterwards, we went into town to enjoy some of the local nightlife. The Jazz Fest was happening, so we got to hear good music while sampling local brews.
We are now in Te Anau, preparing for a four day hut-to-hut hike on the Milford Track. The walking season started yesterday, but the track is closed due to avalanche danger. We will be lifted by helicopter over the trickey parts. We will write more about it when we get back.
Love,
M&C
Queenstown was our next stop. Queenstown is the undisputed mecca for adrenaline junkies in the southern hemisphere! You can sky dive, heli-mountainbike, bungy jump (Queenstown, by the way, is the original home of bungy jumping), river surf, fly on a wire, parasail/ paraglide, and zorb (roll down the hill in a big balloon) just to name a few. We opted to take a gondola up the mountain and luge down! What a ride! We loved it, and did it three times! The next day I surprised Michael with a guided offroad motorcycle ride to help him get his fix! The terrain reminded him a lot of his rides in Colorado. He had a blast! Afterwards, we went into town to enjoy some of the local nightlife. The Jazz Fest was happening, so we got to hear good music while sampling local brews.
We are now in Te Anau, preparing for a four day hut-to-hut hike on the Milford Track. The walking season started yesterday, but the track is closed due to avalanche danger. We will be lifted by helicopter over the trickey parts. We will write more about it when we get back.
Love,
M&C
Monday, October 22, 2007
Tis the season...for new lambs!
Hello from plant of the sheep! We have never seen anything like it - sheep everywhere! We had no idea that we would be in New Zealand just in time for the "lambing season". New baby lambs in every corner of the country. We took a hike in Mt. Aspiring Nat'l Park and had to hike through sheep pastures, where we were followed by two of the cutest lambs ever! If they never got any bigger, I'm sure we would have them as pets instead of dogs! One of the pictures we took is of a mother who just gave birth to triplets minutes before we came along. It was amazing!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Hello all,
Chandler and I have had an amazing trip so far, making our way down the West Coast of the South Island. We tucked up into the NW corner for a 2-day "tramp" in Abel Tasman National Park. Unreal weather conditions, as you may be able to tell. Think tropical NaPali coast of Hawaii with Bristol Bay, Alaska weather. We went from hard rain to sun and heat to cold, cold sleet and gale wind back to sun with rain. And that cycle would take place once every 2 hours. Seriously! Incredible views all-around, highlighted by the shear cliff drops at Seperation Point, while watching sea lions play on the rocks below.
We dried out (for a couple of hours) and drove south toward the glaciers and Southern Alps. Weather has been nothing short of intense here, I always thought it rained and blew hard in WA and AK. NZ is putting a serious run at the title for burly storms. Roaring Forties, eh! We thought our little bread-box van was going to blow away several times, both while driving and parked. While visiting Fanz Josef and Fox glaciers we had a large hail storm, which explains the lack of photos. We are meeting some very nice folks, one fellow joking with us 'flew 10,000 miles to be right at home, did ya?'
We love it here, and don't want to leave. Beautiful. C and I got into Wanaka today(18th), waiting to hear if our trek at Milford Sound will be cancelled due to avalache conditions. We will let you know.
Hope all's well, talk again soon,
M&C
Chandler and I have had an amazing trip so far, making our way down the West Coast of the South Island. We tucked up into the NW corner for a 2-day "tramp" in Abel Tasman National Park. Unreal weather conditions, as you may be able to tell. Think tropical NaPali coast of Hawaii with Bristol Bay, Alaska weather. We went from hard rain to sun and heat to cold, cold sleet and gale wind back to sun with rain. And that cycle would take place once every 2 hours. Seriously! Incredible views all-around, highlighted by the shear cliff drops at Seperation Point, while watching sea lions play on the rocks below.
We dried out (for a couple of hours) and drove south toward the glaciers and Southern Alps. Weather has been nothing short of intense here, I always thought it rained and blew hard in WA and AK. NZ is putting a serious run at the title for burly storms. Roaring Forties, eh! We thought our little bread-box van was going to blow away several times, both while driving and parked. While visiting Fanz Josef and Fox glaciers we had a large hail storm, which explains the lack of photos. We are meeting some very nice folks, one fellow joking with us 'flew 10,000 miles to be right at home, did ya?'
We love it here, and don't want to leave. Beautiful. C and I got into Wanaka today(18th), waiting to hear if our trek at Milford Sound will be cancelled due to avalache conditions. We will let you know.
Hope all's well, talk again soon,
M&C
Friday, October 12, 2007
Pictures finally!
Hello all! We were finally able to post some photos. These are just a few of the hundreds we've already taken. Make sure to look through the older posts to see them all. We are now on the South Island, and we will update you all on our next adventure soon!
Love,
Chandler & Michael
Love,
Chandler & Michael
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Glowworms!
Hey all, hope this finds you well. Chandler and I are in the town of New Plymouth today, taking a moment to update the blog. New Plymouth sits on the west coast of the North Island, on the Tasman Sea. Mt. Taranaki sits inland, an active volcano that resembles Mt. Fuji. If you've seen the movie, "the Last Samurai", Mt. Taranaki is the star of the show. I'm going to rent a surfboard today and try to remember my lessons from the other day in Raglan. That was a cool town. Kinda like Glacier, WA-lots of surf bums instead of ski bums. There have been big storms on the coast-lots of rain and big surf.
Yesterday C and I had a blast visiting the Waitomo Caves. We did 2 different tours that take you deep into the caves, surrounded by limestone walls, stalactites and stalagmites made of calcium carbonate. Thousands of glowworms cover the ceiling, producing a chemical light that attracts prey. It's like looking up at a thousand blue stars. A boat takes you through the cave for this really cool experience!
Afterwards, we felt like Indiana Jones as we hiked through the tropical rain forest near the cave's mouth, checking out other secret caves in the dense bush. We kept a sharp eye, looking for the idol (which we would donate to the museum, of course) but all we got were some good photos.
Speaking of photos, we haven't put any up yet because either the computers we have been using are too slow or don't have a USB connect. Maybe soon!
Tomorrow we catch the ferry from Wellington over to Nelson, on the South Island.
Love you all,
M&C
Yesterday C and I had a blast visiting the Waitomo Caves. We did 2 different tours that take you deep into the caves, surrounded by limestone walls, stalactites and stalagmites made of calcium carbonate. Thousands of glowworms cover the ceiling, producing a chemical light that attracts prey. It's like looking up at a thousand blue stars. A boat takes you through the cave for this really cool experience!
Afterwards, we felt like Indiana Jones as we hiked through the tropical rain forest near the cave's mouth, checking out other secret caves in the dense bush. We kept a sharp eye, looking for the idol (which we would donate to the museum, of course) but all we got were some good photos.
Speaking of photos, we haven't put any up yet because either the computers we have been using are too slow or don't have a USB connect. Maybe soon!
Tomorrow we catch the ferry from Wellington over to Nelson, on the South Island.
Love you all,
M&C
Saturday, October 6, 2007
North island adventure!
Hello all! Tonight we are spending the night in a "holiday park" (the U.S. equivalent of an RV park)in a town called Raglan on the north island, south of Auckland and just west of Hamilton. Our spot is backed up against our own black sand beach! Some of you might recognize the town from the movie "Endless Summer". The town draws surfers from all over the world. Michael will be taking a lesson tomorrow - he's stoked! We've been doing a lot of driving (which is a little stressful getting used to the left side of the road!), so we may sty here for a couple of days and relax.
Day before yesterday we stayed north of Auckland at an amazing beach called Pakiri Beach. White sand for 9 kilometers. And that night we saw more stars than we ever have. Yesterday morning we visited Goat Island marine reserve. It is NZ's oldest marine reserve (about 30 yrs.) and is a complete no take zone, not only for commercial fishing, but also for sport fishing and beachcombers. We took a glass bottom boat tour. It was amazing! We saw giant blue snapper, blue maomao, and we even got a glimpse at an eagle ray! From Goat Island, we traveled north to the Bay of Islands region and took a car ferry to a very quaint town called Russle. The town has a colonial history, and many of the buildings remain. We had a lovely dinner outside and watched the sun set. We are enjoying our trip thoroughly and will keep everyone updated. We are having a little trouble with getting photos downloaded, but we will work something out soon.
Our love to you all,
Chandler & Michael
Day before yesterday we stayed north of Auckland at an amazing beach called Pakiri Beach. White sand for 9 kilometers. And that night we saw more stars than we ever have. Yesterday morning we visited Goat Island marine reserve. It is NZ's oldest marine reserve (about 30 yrs.) and is a complete no take zone, not only for commercial fishing, but also for sport fishing and beachcombers. We took a glass bottom boat tour. It was amazing! We saw giant blue snapper, blue maomao, and we even got a glimpse at an eagle ray! From Goat Island, we traveled north to the Bay of Islands region and took a car ferry to a very quaint town called Russle. The town has a colonial history, and many of the buildings remain. We had a lovely dinner outside and watched the sun set. We are enjoying our trip thoroughly and will keep everyone updated. We are having a little trouble with getting photos downloaded, but we will work something out soon.
Our love to you all,
Chandler & Michael
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Greetings from the future!
After 24 hours of flights, we are finally in New Zealand! We flew into Auckland, just missing a very sudden and unusual hail storm. It is beautiful here. We spent our first day touring the city a little. We visited the Maritime Museum, where we saw everything from Maori war canoes to parts of the Endeavour, Capt. Cook's ship. After that we took a trip to the Antarctic and underwater adventure museum. We saw shark, giant sting rays, and real live penguins! (They call the king penguin Fatty!) At the end of the day we had a wonderful dinner of New Zealand beer and green lipped mussels while we sat overlooking the water. Today we pick up the campervan and set off to see the north island! More later!
P.S. Today is Fri. Oct 5th here!
P.S. Today is Fri. Oct 5th here!
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