Some Thoughts and Reflections (Vancouver)

By Ruth

It has been about a week since we decided to finish up our TA journey in Twizel. In that week we have been busy. We hitchhiked to Aoraki/Mount Cook for a short and easy walk with amazing views of the tallest mountain in New Zealand, and the surrounding glaciers. In a twist of irony, I managed to severely sprain my ankle on that very short, easy, and flat walk, so that kind of sucked. But if we had any thoughts of going back on trail, that put paid to them as I could barely walk for several days after. It made me realize how very lucky it was that neither of us had any serious injury problems while on trail. Then we hitchhiked out to Christchurch, about 4.5 hours away from Mt Cook.

Once in Christchurch it became clear that due to arcane flight change rules and pricing methods, we would have to fly back to Canada that weekend, or else pay several thousand dollars extra. We weren’t hoping for such an abrupt departure from NZ, but it seemed to be the only reasonable option. So we spent a restful 3 nights in Christchurch before flying back to Canada. Of course, while we were there we stocked up on lots of New Zealand wool for various upcoming knitting projects.

Now that we are back in Canada, we have been busy with trying to set our lives back up: looking for a place to live, looking for work (Elliot at least has started this), trying to figure out how we can get NZ-level good peanut butter here in Canada. You know, the basics.

But before we get swept back up into all the large and small things that occupy modern life, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the trip we just completed. I went back to our first post on this blog, and if you’ll indulge me I’d like to quote myself and what I wrote about our reasons for setting off on this trip to begin with:

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

This is the toughest question to answer. There are a few reasons: we want a break from work, we want a challenge, we love hiking and being outdoors, we want to enter a new day-to-day that is completely different from the plush comfort of our regular lives, we want to meet interesting people, and we really want to write a blog together and this was the only way we could think of that would give us anything interesting to write about. But as we go along the route I have a feeling we will figure out some new reasons as well.

So, did this trip accomplish all the things we hoped it would? Yes and no. I remember a moment in Upper Travers Hut (Day 93) where we were meeting a lot of new people, and one lady asked me why we were doing TA. My response: “I don’t answer that question anymore. I’m just doing it now — I can’t remember why.” And it was true. At a certain point along the way, I stopped being able to remember why we set off on this challenging/painful/frustrating/difficult/beautiful/rewarding/awe-inspiring trip. It was so different from what I imagined it would be.

We definitely got to hike and be outdoors. But it wasn’t all pristine mountain valleys and rivers — we also walked a lot of roads and smelly cow pastures. It was definitely a different day-to-day, but while I thought the challenges would be mostly physical, a lot of the difficulties ended up being more psychological - managing moodiness, missing home, dealing with pressures from other people on TA, and struggling at times to be on the same page as Elliot.

And as for meeting interesting people… well that was by far the most transformative aspect of this trip. We received so much kindness and generosity from complete strangers, which has completely shifted my thinking about human nature. We experienced a full range: from people going out of their way to give us a kind word of encouragement when they saw us walking with our backpacks, to trail angels who opened their homes to us and treated us, a couple of strangers, like honoured guests. Every one of these meetings and interactions chipped away at a fallacy I had believed for a long time, which is that people are wired to act in their own self-interest. In fact, once we opened ourselves up to the world, it became clear that so many are kind for kindness’ own sake. And that includes you, our blog readers. Whether you read every day or just one post, whether you left supportive comments every week (looking at you, Auntie Moira) or just read along, we are honoured you wanted to share some of our journey with us.

I feel a sense of indebtedness to the world. Hopefully as part of setting our lives back up here in Vancouver, we can figure out how to pay forward some of the many good deeds and helping hands we received on our travels.

Day 120: Twizel (rest day)

The second honeymoon period has ended. This last section was mentally tough, and there were parts when we wished it was over. Like when we got to a hut expecting it to be somewhat run down, only to find a dark, mouse-infested tin shack (restored to “reasonable condition” in 2010, as per the official trail notes). Or when we had mice visit our tent on two separate nights. Or the weather getting chillier, and our sleeping bags not being quite warm enough. Or when I really needed to use the toilet, but spent over ten minutes in the early hours of the morning trying to dig an adequate cat hole as darkness turned to light.

There were of course good parts as well.

But we both had moments on this last section where we thought, “I want to go home.”

We thought we would get into town and have some good rest days to recover our sagging morale. But due to lack of vacancies, all we’ve gotten were overpriced, mediocre accommodation with way too many beds. Seriously, tonight we are staying in a motel room with two bedrooms containing a total of six beds, and it’s just the two of us.

So, faced with the prospect of more cold nights, more derelict huts, more mice and few places where we feel we can recover, we’ve decided that this past section was our last of TA.

We are still adjusting to the idea that there are no more sections and no more all-encompassing activity that has kept us busy for months. I am sad but also somewhat relieved. I think the full effect of no longer being on trail will take time to sink in.

Tomorrow we are going to try and hitch to Mt Cook for a short day hike, before starting to make our way to Christchurch and then ultimately back to Canada. To get back to Canada, we will have to overcome the almost insurmountable task of getting hold of a real human being at Air New Zealand to move our flights up, as we are currently scheduled to fly out mid-April.

Thank you to everyone who has followed our journey and given us encouragement when we needed it. And thank you to everyone who showed us immense kindness and strengthened our faith that overall, the world is filled with amazing people.

Day 119: East Ahuriri to Twizel

By Ruth

Distance: 23 km

Last night we had another mouse encounter. This time, they didn’t just make threatening noises. Elliot was awake in the night with the sounds of mice rustling around his backpack. In the morning as we battled aggressive sandflies over breakfast, we discovered the mouse had chewed through his pack liner, his food bag, and two plastic bags to reach the prize: a dried fruit and nut bar. More upsetting than the loss of the fruit bar was the destruction wrought on the gear along the way.

After this disheartening start to the day, we began walking and things pretty quickly began to improve. It was a bit overcast but the wind had died down, leading to ideal walking conditions. The scenery was cool too: dry and desert-like.

As we walked upstream, Lake Ohau eventually came into view, and we started getting a bit antsy to be done the section. At different points on this section Elliot and I both had the thought of “I want to go home”. It wasn’t the walking that was the tough part – we mostly loved the scenery and traversing mountain terrain. But the cold and mouse-filled nights left us wondering what we were doing it for.

Once we reached the road, we were planning to hitch into Twizel, the nearest small town. The road was empty though, with barely any cars passing. As we stood at the side of the road, the sandflies decided to join us in force. We decided to walk in the direction of a hostel about 3.5 km away in the opposite direction, and try to hitch en route. (The sandflies don’t attack you when you’re moving). Eventually we managed to get a ride to the highway intersection where there would be a lot more cars heading into town. Even though I had to sit in the trunk with the dogs, we were very grateful for the lift. From there it wasn’t long before we were in town.

Accommodation options in Twizel are very limited. We landed a room at a third-rate, overpriced hotel, but we were glad just to be sleeping inside. We will need at least a couple rest days here to recover physically (I have a foot tendinitis flare-up after our long day yesterday) and mentally, but the lack of comfortable places to stay is making that look difficult to get. For now we will get a good night’s rest and hopefully things will be clearer in the morning.

Day 118: Top Timaru Hut to East Ahuriri Informal Campsite

By Elliot

Distance: 33km

We woke up at 6:30am this morning, while it was still dark out, as we had a big day ahead of us. We took advantage of the fact that we were the only ones in the hut, and lit the place up by torchlight. We usually pack up in the dark, so as to avoid disturbing other people in the hut.

After breakfast and packing up, we set out back in the direction we came for a kilometre. There stood the junction for the Melina ridge track, an alternative route that is popular amongst TAs for providing better views. It is an additional 5 to 6 kilometres, but can you really put a price on views?

So on we went up the ridge. And there were plenty of magnificent views. There was also plenty of wind. Having experienced gale force winds previously on this trip, I would say these were at least gale force, maybe strong gale force. So we trudged on for several hours, using our walking poles to brace ourselves, mildly fearing for our lives. Occasionally, we would take a look at the views.

We eventually made it off the ridge and on to a farm track surrounded by mountains with considerably less wind. It brought us to a trail along a small river, which we followed almost all the way to the trailhead.

As we neared the trailhead, we were both excited and filled with some trepidation. There was still the largest unbridged river crossing on the whole TA to do today. So from the trailhead we followed a trail in the other direction down to the river. Given that there were trails going in multiple directions, maybe we should call it a trail torso?

The river crossing itself turned out to be quite easy, with water that went just above the knee. More difficult was the drop down to the river, which was down a steep slope of small loose stones. Ruth froze halfway down, but managed to regain her composure and made it down without any issues. While we were navigating down the steep slope, we were also partially dehydrated and desperately needing a snack. We avoided filling up at the last stream due to the large quantity of animal poop that littered the riverbank.

With the river crossed, and a mildly refreshing swim out of the way, we filled up on water and snacks before walking the last few kilometres to the campsite. On the way there, we passed two gentleman walking in the other direction. They looked unhappy for some reason. With our strength flagging, we finally made it to camp 11 hours after starting this morning. We rushed to set up camp and eat before it got dark, and now we enjoy our well earned rest.

Day 117: Stody’s Hut to Top Timaru Hut

By Ruth

Distance: 14 km

Today was not a long day but it was tough. It started out with another night where I was cold in the tent. Also, we could see mice crawling around on the tent after we went to bed, and then hear them rummaging around our packs. Usually I am pretty chill about that because there’s not much you can do once you are in bed, and Elliot is usually more sensitive. But last night was a role reversal. Even with my earplugs in to try to drown out the rustling, I was still hyper-aware of the rodents… and Elliot was a zen master.

So with the cold and the mice, it was not the most restful night. (Luckily the only thing they managed to chew was some toilet paper). We didn’t get up too early but still I was tired and all throughout breakfast and packing up, I did not feel like I had the energy to get going.

Eventually we started walking. It was a long steep downhill to the Timaru River, and then the rest of the day we were walking in the stream bed. It was a beautiful gorge and actually really fun to navigate the river, and before long I was enjoying myself again.

In the early afternoon, we found a nice-looking spot along the river bank for lunch.  Just a few minutes into preparing my wrap (I was excited because we had avocado today), the sandflies began to swarm. I got four or five bites on my hands and wrists and gave up. Instead I downed a granola bar and some nuts, and we aborted lunch there. Elliot got to eat one wrap and his tuna but we decided to both finish eating once we got to the hut.

Luckily it wasn’t too much further. We took a short accidental detour by following the wrong branch of the stream at one point, but we took avantage of the solitude to have a quick dip there. Finally we began the short climb out of the gorge. When we emerged from the trees, I was surprised to see the mountains all around – I had forgotten they were there!

We reached the hut nice and early. This one was a very nice, recently renovated hut. I ate my late lunch, then read and napped in my bunk. We are the only two here tonight and it is such a treat. In bed after supper, we can hear the wind howling like mad outside. I am so grateful to be warm and snug inside the hut.

Day 116: Lake Hawea to Stody’s Hut

By Ruth

Distance: 23 km

Yesterday was a very restful rest day. Since we arrived in Hawea at around 2:30 pm, we had lots of time to hang out at the holiday park, swim in the beautiful lake, read, and chat with some of the other holiday park guests. Even though we were camping it felt like a real rest day. It helped that the weather was perfect.

This morning was a bit of a change of pace. We got up early because we had a pretty big section of trail to tackle today, and we still had to walk the 7-8 kilometres to the trailhead first.

The walk along the lakefront, though pretty, was tough going. The sun had just risen so it was at the exact angle to get me in the eyes, even with a hat on. It was warm, and I was a bit apprehensive about the 1200 m of vertical we were about to gain very steeply.

We did get a couple of good distractions though. One was another NOBO, Isaac from Christchurch, who caught up with us and we chatted for a bit while we walked. Second was a couple of guys who asked us if we knew which of the mountains was Breast Hill, because they were planning to paraglide off it! Breast Hill is the name of the track we were headed to as well, but we couldn’t say for certain which of the hills along the lake it was.

Once we got to the trailhead and started climbing, things improved. For one thing we were shaded by the mountain for the first while. Also, there were switchbacks and lots of rocky footholds, breaking up the monotony and making things easier on the calves and heels. It was a long climb but the views were great, and I pretty quickly got into the rhythm of it.

After a couple hours we reached the turn off to the first hut. As we paused there to filter some water, one of the paraglider guys caught up with us. Turns out there was a whole group of them up there, getting ready to jump off and fly back down to the town. I think they were planning to land in the frisbee golf course. As we continued up to the summit, and over the course of our lunch break at the top, we got to see a few of them flying over the lake. It looked pretty cool and also terrifying.

After lunch we turned away from the lake and followed an old 4WD trail inland. Even though we were technically going down from the summit, there was still a lot of up which we weren’t too pleased about. Overall the walk after lunch was a lot less nice, but at least it was a wider track so we could chat a bit to keep ourselves lightly entertained.

When we reached the hut we discovered it to be pretty rough. Essentially a tin hut with a dirt floor, it was dark and had extra bold mice running up and down the walls. We decided to camp. There are a few other people staying here tonight who we chatted with and overall made the most of a less-than-ideal hut situation. After supper we did bit of knitting and reading in the tent and now we are wrapped up and ready for sleep.

Day 115: Wanaka (rest day)

It’s the honeymoon phase all over again. When we first started our journey, after the struggle of the first few days on the beach, we were super happy. We were through-hiking, and having no problems doing it. Every day I was having the time of my life. The past two sections we walked (Mavora walkway and Motoputu track) recaptured that feeling. Ruth and I have been so happy to be back on trail after a few weeks of break. Even when it was cold and hailing on us as we trudged up and down peaks with tall wet grasses that soaked our feet, our spirits were high.

Having switched from southbound to northbound has probably helped our morale. The downside of travelling NOBO is that instead of being in a bubble of people that could be relatively small, you hit all the SOBO bubbles, including the very big ones. That’s how we ended up having to camp outside of a twelve bunk hut on the last section. The upside is that when we meet people or groups we don’t like, we only have to put up with them for one night! And the trail has its share of strange people and boisterous groups, so this is a big upside.

It’s also easier to keep morale up knowing that the trip is ending soon. We are trying to enjoy it as much as possible in the closing 2-3 weeks.

As we’ve been reflecting on our time on TA we’ve realized something. They say that as you get older, time starts to feel as if it’s moving faster, because you are experiencing less novelty and things have become routine. The three years we lived in Vancouver leading up to our trip where we worked and had a good routine passed by so quickly. But this trip has played tricks on my brain. Because we’ve seen so much, done so much, met so many great people and overall had a lot of experiences, things that happened last month feel like they happened a year ago. I think back on our time on the North Island, and the memories feel faded with time: that was only two months ago! It will be sad to have life return to its regular pace.

We’ve started to think more concretely about our lives back home, and planning for our return. While we are excited for the comforts of home, and have been looking forward to them for almost the whole length of the trip, in the past couple days a sense of trepidation has crept in. Being on trail has been very busy, with little dead time and a strong sense of purpose. I know that going home, especially initially when I won’t have work, there will be plenty of time where there’s nothing to do. I have ways I plan to mitigate the feeling, such as getting back to a routine, exercising regularly and exploring some musical interests that have been lacking on trail. But I think the purposelessness will still be there, as it is for a lot of people who complete a through-hike.

So overall, my feelings are mixed. Very happy to be on trail, but equally happy that the trail is coming to an end. Excited to be returning home, but worried about going back to a regular home life. Anyways, there are still a few weeks on trail left, which, if I’ve learned anything, will feel long and result in months’ worth of memories.

Day 114: Highland Creek Hut to Wanaka

By Ruth

Distance: 16 km

After a warm and comfortable night in the hut, we woke up refreshed and ready to tackle our last day of the section. True to form, the day started with a long, steep uphill. This was the fifth and final climb of over 600 metres of the section. It was tough but knowing it was the last one helped us get through, and we were at the top by 10 am.

From there it was mostly downhill along a river and out to the car park. Of course when you are going along a river there are many ups and downs to navigate the bank, and it was also overgrown in places with scratchy ferns, so it was still kind of tough going. Eventually we got into some nice forest, and then farmland, where the trail improved a lot and we were able to motor along.

Once out of the trail we walked a few kilometres down a gravel road until we reached the lake and a bigger road where we started trying to hitch a ride into Wanaka.

We weren’t waiting too long before a nice American couple picked us up. We were chatting and they mentioned the town is quite busy this weekend because there is a pastoral/agricultural fair happening. Needless to say, we did not have accommodation booked, so this news was unwelcome; we were looking forward to a night or two in real beds, and this meant we would probably have to tent at the holiday park.

But then, trail magic! The couple giving us a ride, Shaun and Donna, offered us the extra bedroom in their hotel apartment. We did have a look around on the internet over a coffee before coming to the conclusion that there really was very little available, and gratefully we accepted their offer. They were staying in a lovely apartment where we could shower, do our laundry, and even cook dinner. It turned out to be a great evening and a wonderful moment of connection.

Day 113: Roses hut to Highland Creek hut

By Ruth

Distance: 11 km

If yesterday was a cold day, last night was the appropriate night to follow: it was freezing. I was bundled in all my thermals and still woke up at 2:30 am, too cold to go back to sleep. After a while I took Elliot’s fleece jacket (mine was in use as part of my pillow) and that helped a lot. Elliot was okay because his sleeping bag has been too warm for him every other night so far on this trip, so below freezing was apparently the correct temperature! Anyway in the morning we slept in a bit, then took a while to extract ourselves from our cozy cocoons. When we did get out of the tent we saw it was covered in frost.

We went into the hut to get warm and eat breakfast and it was very chaotic in there. The large group of SOBOs were very loud and boisterous. Before they started walking some of them had a push-up competition, followed by blasting music and smoking on the hut’s porch. It was a relief when they all got going and left us to take down our tent in the peace and quiet. It was also a relief knowing that since we are now NOBOs, we won’t run into that group on trail ever again.

Today’s walk was beautiful. It was not too long, but very taxing. We had to climb and then drop from two 1200 meter high ridges. The first climb was longer but less steep. I enjoyed the feeling of walking along high above the valley floor, even if it was a lot more work than walking along the valley floor would have been.

After that we dropped steeply into a river gully, and then began climbing back up the other side. It was a very steep, smooth trail, meaning every step put a lot of strain on our calves and heels. After a couple kilometres of that our legs were toast. So at the top we stopped for lunch, using a stile as a picnic bench. From there it was almost all downhill to the hut, except the last half a kilometre where we got walloped with two more unexpected steep climbs after a couple stream crossings. Needless to say we were very happy to arrive at the hut. Originally we weren’t sure if we were going to stay at this hut or go on to the next one, but after getting a later start we decided just to stop at this one and do a bit of a bigger day tomorrow. That definitely turned out to be the right call.

The rest of the afternoon we read and knitted in the hut. There are only three other people staying here tonight so it is a very pleasant contrast to last night. The weather also heated up considerably as the day went on, so it’s shaping up to be both a warmer and a quieter night, just what we need.

Day 112: Arrowtown to Roses Hut

By Ruth

Distance: 24 km

Today was cold. We woke up and it was barely above freezing in Arrowtown. So we put on all our thermals before heading out from our cabin at the holiday park. Our first stop was a cute cafe in town for a flat white before getting on the trail proper.

It wasn’t long before we had warmed up enough to take off our long johns, since the trail immediately began going up a steep hill. Taking off and putting on layers turned out to be a bit of a theme of the day because there were lots of ups and downs, and the weather changed a lot too as we went.

After a couple hours we reached the first of two saddles and got a great view of the next valley over before we started dropping down towards the river. At this point it started hailing! When we reached the valley floor we had to ford the river a few times. The water was freezing on our poor feet. Then we stopped for lunch in “historic” Macetown, an abandoned gold rush village. Luckily the weather had cleared up a bit by then and we even had some sun on us. It was still very cold though.

After lunch we had the option of walking through the river for a few kilometres, or taking the high route which sidled up and down along the bank. Even though it looked like the more energy-intensive route, we decided to go up the bank to preserve the little remaining circulation in our toes. The drawback was that trail was very overgrown with lots of prickly plants, and our legs got scratched raw. The plus was we stayed warm.

After that it was a long climb from the river up to saddle #2. The trail improved and we cruised up it, with great views to keep us motivated. A lot of the surrounding mountains had snow on them, which made the view all the prettier.

Once over the last saddle it wasn’t long to the hut. It’s a nice newish hut, but unfortunately full of a big group of SOBOs. So we are camping next to the hut. It is very cold out, but not supposed to rain, which is a plus. Now we are in our tent, cuddled up and getting cozy for the night ahead.

New Zealand with Friends

By Elliot

Our friends whose wedding we went to in Toronto, Katie and Tom, came to New Zealand to spend two weeks with us.

Ruth and I joked that we would be crashing their honeymoon. Little did we know how true that would be. The area around Queenstown/Wanaka/Te Anau is in full tourist season in February, and even though half of all buildings seem to be accommodation of some kind, there is a lack of vacancy. Us being on trail and Katie and Tom being busy with work and planning their wedding, we sort of winged it with accommodation. In practice, that meant we shared the same room in many of our way-less-than-honeymoon quality lodgings.

We also went on some nice hut-to-hut hikes with them. It was different from our usual tramps: we had a shuttle that dropped us off at the trailhead and a shuttle picking us up on the other side on a set date. This meant that there was never any thought of walking further and getting through the hike faster. Any time saved would have meant more time waiting for a shuttle at the parking lot. It was way more relaxed as a result, and getting to a hut early could be enjoyed without somehow feeling guilty that we hadn’t done enough that day.

One of the great joys of the trip was sharing our hard earned TA knowledge with our friends. When we shopped for food before our multi-day backcountry hike, our friends copied everything we bought. They allowed us to talk them through our theory and strategy of selecting food for multiple days. They were suitably impressed.

We are also glad to now have witnesses to us being having been on TA for the past few months. In addition to our demonstrating our expertise, we ran into a few people we had met on trail. Maeve the Australian whom we met right before the Timber Trail on the North Island, we ran into in Queenstown. Leo, the Israeli we met on New Year’s Eve in the Tararuas, we ran into as we started walking on the Hump Ridge track. And when Katie and Tom drove us to the TA section trailhead where we parted ways, there were three TA Southbounders sitting there, all of whom we knew. If any of you have doubts about our adventures and whether they really happened, ask Katie and Tom.

Mostly, we spent two weeks with great friends, great conversations, and more laughs than I have had in a very long time. It’s been a wonderful vacation, and Ruth and I are recharged and excited to tackle a little bit more TA trail (a few hundred kilometres) before our big adventure comes to an end.

Day 110: The Routeburn

By Ruth

Distance: 31 km

After a rainy night’s sleep in the tent, we woke up early to make sure we would have time for today’s big walk. When we got out of the tent, the sky had cleared and the stars were out. We scarfed a snack bar for breakfast and began walking by headlamp-light.

For the first few hours we powered along as the sun slowly rose, lighting up the mountains across the valley.

The Routeburn is a Great Walk which means it is maintained to a very high standard, and so we can walk much faster than most other tracks. That’s why we felt we could tackle the whole thing in one day (DOC recommends 2-3 days).

As we approached the first hut we began to see lots more people. We stopped there for a quick breakfast, then headed up towards Harris Saddle. We passed a lot of people on the way up which was great for our egos.

Originally I thought we would have lunch at the saddle but we got there earlier than expected so we pushed on past Harris Lake and down to the next hut before stopping. On the way down we passed a DOC ranger doing some weed whacking along the side of the trail. Somehow he could tell we were TAs because he stopped to chat with us and ask us all about TA. After we had been talking for a few minutes he took us a bit down the trail and showed us this plant called mountain aniseed which smells just like liquorice. Yum.

We had a lovely lunch at Routeburn Falls hut, another beautiful hut with flush toilets and the works. From there it was only a few more hours down through the forest and along a bright blue river to the parking lot.

Once we arrived at the end of the trail, a little after 4 pm, we hitched a ride back into Queenstown and were here with plenty of time to find a place to stay and get dinner. It was a long day but the walking was truly such a pleasure, and the scenery so stunning and varied, that it didn’t even feel hard.

Day 109: Greenstone Hut to Greenstone Saddle Campsite

By Ruth

Distance: 23 km

Despite the dire predictions for the weather today, we woke up to clear skies with just a few clouds on the horizon. It was therefore a lot easier to get going this morning than I thought it would be! The trail was great fun – mostly flat and alternating between lovely forest and beautiful open valleys. There were lots of cows in the valley which made me feel like we were in Switzerland.

It was about five hours to the next hut. As we walked up the valley we were also walking into the promised rain clouds, although luckily the serious rain held off until we arrived. We also had a very social time on the way there as we encountered some friends from earlier on TA and stopped to chat with them. It was so fun to see them, catch up, and get the inside scoop on which upcoming sections of trail for us are worth doing.

When we got to McKellar Hut we stopped for a long afternoon break. We are camping tonight for the first time since Pelorus Bridge, and given the rain and sandflies, we didn’t really want to be spending a long afternoon at the campsite. So we had lunch at the hut, read, knitted, chatted to the other people there, went to look for a swimming hole (sadly unsuccessful), and eventually ate dinner before heading out into the intermittent rain and the last 5 km of our day to camp.

It was quite wet, cloudy, and starting to get dark when we arrived. There are a few other friendly people camping here; it seems to be a bit of a home base for people who want to do the Routeburn Track on the cheap, or maybe just who didn’t plan ahead enough to get a booking.

As I mentioned, we haven’t camped in a very long time, so we were happy that the tent is still in working order. Hopefully it will keep us dry through the night… In the meantime, blogging on my phone in a tent is bringing back lots of North Island memories. I’d better say goodnight before the nostalgia really starts getting to me!

Day 108: Boundary Hut to Greenstone Hut

By Ruth

Distance: 22 km

We woke up with the sun this morning – 7 am. A much later sunrise than what we had back at the start of the South Island, when we were getting up before 6 every day.

Today’s walk was a lot tougher than yesterday’s. While yesterday we were walking on a 4WD track the whole time, today, from the get-go, we were on a fairly rough tramping track. It was quite overgrown with grasses, and where it wasn’t overgrown, it was very boggy. It was slow going to the first hut where we stopped for lunch. It was overcast and there was a strong headwind, so at least we didn’t get as overheated as yesterday. Also, the mountain valley we were walking in was stunning.

After lunch was more of the same type of terrain. At one point we deviated a bit from the marked trail and began walking on what seemed to be a cow trail. For some reason there have been a lot of cows up in this mountain pasture, and they seem to have trampled a clear path alongside the river. Unfortunately this path was extremely muddy and boggy, and smelled strongly of cow poo! It was hard work to avoid getting covered in poopy mud from the knees down.

Finally we rejoined the marked trail and it was much easier going from there; through a bit of forest down to the hut. Once there, we headed down to the swimming hole for our requisite dip (felt amazing of course). It was overall an exhausting and very TA-esque day, but at least tonight’s hut is as luxe as they come.

At the hut we encountered a few other TAs, including someone we hadn’t seen since New Year’s Eve at Te Matawai hut! Tomorrow we are heading up the Greenstone Track, which should be a bit better maintained than what we tackled today. Which is good because we are expecting a pretty rainy and miserable day tomorrow, so hopefully it all balances out.

Day 107: Mavora Lake Campsite to Boundary Hut

By Ruth

Distance: 16 km

Today we said goodbye to Katie and Tom as they saw us off on our first day as NOBOs. We had a coffee and pastry at the tour centre in Manapouri and drove up to Mavora Lakes. When we arrived we saw three people we had met previously on TA sitting having a break by the lake. They were pretty surprised to see us hop out of a car! After chatting to the TA friends for a bit, we headed down to the little beach for one last NZ swim and picnic lunch together with Katie and Tom, before they headed out into the sunset and the rest of their honeymoon. It was such a wonderful 2 weeks of adventures and shenanigans, great chats in the car and over meals. It was sad to see them go.

The walk today was a fantastic reintroduction to TA. It was mostly a 4WD track, meaning nice and wide with an easy grade. The scenery was superb. It took us about 4 hours to reach the hut where we are staying tonight. Along the way we passed quite a few SOBO TAs, but no others that we knew. Once at the hut, we jumped in the river which was the perfect temperature to splash around and cool off from the hot and sunny day.

In the hut we met a few other walkers, including someone we had met previously at the Makahika centre near Levin, where she was house sitting.

Chatting to the people in the hut we learned that this hut is known for having a large mouse population. And a visit to the outhouse confirmed there are definitely no flush toilets… we are back on TA, alright! Despite the rustic atmosphere and sudden lack of luxuries, I am feeling good to be back on trail. Knowing I will be outside walking for the better part of every day, for the foreseeable future, feels great.

The Toronto Interlude

By Elliot

Please accept my apologies for not writing earlier. We weren’t that busy, but I lacked motivation and focus.

After a few lovely days in Christchurch, where (in true woolly wanderer form) we bought some local yarn, we headed back to Canada for Katie and Tom’s wedding.

Usually when we travel anywhere, we prioritize speed over smoothness and comfort. When you have a set number of days off you can take from work it makes sense to get to your destination as fast as possible so as to have more time to enjoy the destination. This time we travelled differently, given our lack of time off constraint. We broke up the journey by spending a day in Vancouver both on the way to and the way back from Toronto. We also spent a night in Auckland before travelling on to Queenstown on our way back. Even though the amount of total travel we did was a lot (7 flights in just over a week), we managed to have minimal travel fatigue. I don’t think we will always be able to travel this way, but it drove home that it’s nice to not be in a rush to get to the destination.

The two days that we spent in Toronto also drove home our homelessness. Without our own home, there is no place for us to stay without inconveniencing friends. We stayed in our friends’ guest bedroom both nights in Vancouver. But the guest bedroom is also their home office, so even though they are extremely gracious hosts, we were still in the way. When we meet new people in New Zealand and they ask us where we live, it’s become weirder to say Vancouver. We did live there and want to live there.

One last thing that was strange about being in Canada was the foreignness of being normal. We wore city clothes, went out with friends, dressed up for a wedding and generally behaved as normal people do when visiting another city for friends’ weddings. But spiritually, we still felt like we were in the mountains of New Zealand’s South Island. It was surreal.

Anyways, we are happy to be back in New Zealand and excited to continue our travels.

Day 106: Christchurch

By Elliot

We went out and walked some trails that are not on TA. What did we get out of it?

For starters, we had amazing times together in huts. For three nights in a row, we were alone in huts of various sizes. It let us be ourselves unaffected by the people around us, which is something I definitely needed.

Planning our own trip, and not having it dictated by an external source was lovely, even if the trip we planned destroyed Ruth’s shoes, left me with scratched up legs and both of us with plenty of moments of dismay.

I found the muddy trail, lack of signage and general roughness of the trail a lot easier to swallow knowing that we chose a less popular trail, as opposed to TA which gets walked by thousands each year.

Being away from TA invigorated me. We didn’t meet anyone doing TA for the duration of this section. We could enjoy hiking without the weight of the 3000 kms and all the baggage that it comes with. We were not thinking about a next section, or trying to get anywhere. Just hiking, and cursing when our feet got stuck in knee deep mud.

I had a realization on this trip. I thought I didn’t like big groups of TAs. But actually, I don’t like any big insular groups. This I discovered when a tramping club stayed in the same hut as us, bringing their internal group dynamics and making the hut less friendly to everyone not in the group. I don’t like the way being in a group often makes people less considerate to others not in the group.

Anyway, we have a couple days in Christchurch before we fly back to Canada for the wedding. We probably won’t be blogging much for the next little while, but we will update when we are back in NZ! Thank you for reading, supporting, commenting, and being with us virtually on part one of our TA adventure.

Day 105: Ada Pass Hut to Christchurch

By Ruth

Distance: 10 km

After the busyness of the hut last night, we decided to get going early this morning and try beat the rush out of the hut. So it was back to TA hours of getting up at 5:45 and trying to get out by 7. It was a cold but much clearer morning than the previous days, and we had a great view of the early morning sun hitting the snowy peaks.

The walk out was short and enjoyable and my shoes just about managed to hold together for the duration.

We saw lots of people hiking in from the parking lot, so we were not too upset to be getting out. It looks like a busy weekend on the track, probably because tomorrow is Waitangi Day so people are taking a long weekend.

Once we got to the highway around 11, we had a snack and began the hitch into Christchurch. It took a while to get a ride from the Lewis Pass parking lot. The sun was out but it was cold and windy so we had to dance around a bit to stay warm. At least the view was great!

In the end it took us three hitches and a free bus ride to get into Christchurch. First was a dad bringing some sports equipment to his son in Hanmer Springs who picked us up from the trailhead. We stopped for a side-of-the-highway picnic lunch at the Hanmer-Christchurch junction, and then an Australian surf bum in his van took us as far as the junction with the road to Kaikoura. Next up a nice couple from the UK gave us a lift in their spacious rented campervan to a holiday park in Christchurch. And finally, we didn’t have change for the bus into the centre of town, so the driver let us ride for free. It was a journey but we made it!

The first night back in town is always strange. You woke up in a hut in the mountains, and you’re going to sleep in a hotel room, surrounded by the all the food, delicious coffee, and conveniences of a modern city.

Day 104: Ada Pass hut (again)

By Elliot

When we awoke this morning, it wasn’t raining, though we knew rain was coming. The hut was so cold that our breaths were fogging up.

Over breakfast, with the rain starting up, we discussed what our plan for the day was. The conclusion: we didn’t know. Should we continue along the trail, turn around and head out, or stay put for another day?

With the rain intensifying, we decided to crawl back into our sleeping bags and wait to see if the weather improved.

The weather got worse. The rain turned to wet snow. But we were having a great time, warmly ensconced in our sleeping bags, cuddling for extra warmth, and watching the drama of the weather unfold through the window. We decided to stay put. There was no point in venturing further along, given Ruth’s shoes looking like they would fall apart at any moment, and the weather looking miserable. Heading out to the road, which would have been a 3-4 hour walk, was also ruled out. Again, the walk would have been miserable, and this would have been coupled with an unknown amount of time spent in the very cold rain standing next to the highway, trying to hitch to warmer, dryer climes.

So we remained in the hut for the day, happy with our decision. But there is a limit to how much solitude you can get in a large hut on a popular trail, and our cabin calm was soon to be shattered.

Starting around noon there were some duos of trampers who stopped by to chat and warm up on the way to the next hut. I loved this: people coming by and providing entertainment.

But then, a group of six, a tramping club, arrived at the hut with plans to stay here. They commandeered the area around the table, made disparaging comments about the lack of fire and firewood and generally made themselves at home. We were relegated to our bunks in the corner.

From then on, more and more people arrived in the hut, until the hut was beyond capacity. The mattress next to mine was occupied by two people. And there are several tents outside, whose residents were cooking in the hut as well.

I wish I could have felt friendly. I hope I came off as friendly. But the conversations the people were having have not been interesting to me for months. They talked about tramping gear and backpacking food. The merits of boots over trail runners. Maybe the biases in these conversations were different, but they were essentially the same conversations that have played out among TAs before.

I longed for the quiet of the morning, when we laid in our sleeping bags, cuddling for warmth, staring out the window at the mountains and creek, and listening to the rain hitting the roof above us with force.

Day 103: Cannibal Gorge Hut to Ada Pass Hut

By Elliot

Distance: 3 or 4km, depending on which signs you trust

Today was supposed to be a hut day. It was supposed to rain heavily all day, making it pointless to go outside.

It did rain heavily. But the really heavy stuff only hit in the afternoon. And Ada Pass hut was only a bit more than an hour away. It is also a 14 bunk hut rather than a 20 bunk hut, so I suspected it would be cosier.

So we set off, and our feet were immediately soaked, which was expected. The rain got heavier, but was still reasonable.

When we got to Ada hut, my suspicions turned out to be correct. This is a much cosier hut than Cannibal Gorge. I also suspected that we would be alone in this hut as well. Which turned out to be right and makes sense: who in their right mind would look at the weather forecast calling for 40+ mm of rain and temperatures of less than 10C and think that this would be a great time to head into the bush?

Anyways, once in the hut, we set about making a fire and changing into our dry hut clothes. I did go for a dip in the creek next to the hut first though.

The rest of the day was spent like most hut days. We read, listened to music and podcasts, and kept the fire going. We didn’t socialize as much as previous hut days, as there was no one else to talk to. I stared out of the window on and off for over an hour, constantly checking to see the water level in the creek, for no reason. Outside the window we could also see part of the mountains across the valley, with more and more waterfalls forming as the day went on and the rain kept coming.

One thing that is unfortunate is that my e-reader broke yesterday, so I couldn’t read much today. But overall, it was a relaxing day. It also helps that we aren’t really trying to get anywhere: our flight to the friends’ wedding back in Canada is on Wednesday and we are just passing the time until then.