Milford Track

Today we finished the Milford Track! We traveled 35 miles over four days, and we went up and over a 2400ft pass on a trail that offered spectacular views of two different valleys.

Milford Sound

We began today’s adventures with an early morning drive from our hostel in Te Anau to the Milford Sound. As dawn transitioned from darkness to the gray light of a rainy morning, behemoths of rock began to appear ahead outside the van windows in the distance, proving to be an intriguing introduction to our day.

Due to weather conditions and wave swells, we were unable to sea kayak in the Milford Sound as planned; however, resilient and adaptive, we decided to take a boat ride into the Sound. The light rain and rolling fog gave the scenery within the Milford Sound a dream-like quality. Moved beyond the ability to articulate complete sentences, most of us could only sit along the boat railing and stare as we passed seals, mist-capped mountains, and looming cliffs with “disappearing” waterfalls (strong winds scattered the water into a mist before the waterfall could connect with the water of the Sound).

After our boat ride, we continued onwards in the rain to two short hikes that provided views of chasms and streams. After wringing out our clothes and loading into the vans, we all returned back to Te Anau for a relaxing afternoon of coffee, shopping, journaling, laundry, and preparing for our four day backpack on the Milford Track that will begin tomorrow afternoon. 

-Mary Crowell

NOTE: We will begin our backpacking trip tomorrow, and we will be out of contact until Thursday. We will send along an update as soon as we can when we return, though it may be late in the week before we get a chance to update. 

Today we went canyoneering in Queenstown. Considering that Superwoman Lindsay Mies admitted that she was nervous, you can only imagine how I was feeling on the drive over. We left from Queenstown, the most awesome city in the world, and drove about forty minutes to Routeburn trail at the base of the mountains. Canyoneering was an experience that I will never forget. We slid down waterfalls (backwards), jumped off ledges into pools, zip-lined, and got a taste of that cold mountain water. Although I was shivering like no other, I was so happy to be there. Also, I have officially decided that I am going to live in Queenstown. Sorry Mom and Dad—you would understand if you were here too. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

-Grace Strang

We have arrived in Te Anau. Tomorrow we will go sea kayaking in the Milford Sound, and we begin our backpack the day after. SmugMug is currently experiencing some site difficulties, but we will put some more pictures up as soon as we can.

Glacier Views

Yesterday (Thursday) we got an early start and hiked up to a vista of the Fox glacier at sunrise. We then drove to Wanaka, which took us past stunning lake views. Once we arrived in Wanaka, we drove to the end of a long dusty road and hiked up a steep gulch to the base of another series of mountains with huge snow formations. After the hike, we drove to Queenstown and feasted on the world-famous Fergburgers. Pictures to come!

Today we will go canyoneering.

Avlanche Peak and the Franz Josef Glacier

This morning we hiked up the Scott’s Track out of Arthur’s Pass. Yesterday’s drive offered us stunning views of one valley after another, and this morning’s hike gave us the opportunity to relish the vistas at a slower pace as we climbed up the side of Avalanche Peak. Across the valley we could see the Devil’s Punchbowl, an impressive 200 ft waterfall. As the mist blew from the higher regions and the sun peaked from behind the clouds, we glimpsed a rainbow that arched over a gulch to our right. While the hike lacked the switchbacks of the Appalachian trail, we quickly gained elevation, and in just two hours, we were above the tree line and headed for the peak. Winds and clouds blew up the mountain in gusts, so we made our way carefully.

As the trail grew steeper, we decided to take it one marker post at a time. The valley below disappeared, and we could barely make out the peak, so we paused and looked out into the misty void. We decided to call this point our summit, and after relishing brief glimpses of the view, we began our descent. We stopped for lunch on the trail and made it back to the vans in the early afternoon.

Leaving Arthur’s Pass, we wound our way down to the coast again. As we did so, the fauna changed once again. We stopped at a café for a “long black” coffee (essentially an Americano), and we eventually arrived at Franz Josef, where we took a short walk up to an overlook that offered us impressive views of the Franz Josef glacier at the top of the valley.

Tomorrow we will hike toward the Fox glacier, and we will move toward Christchurch. 

The Long Haul

As of now, our nerves are shot.  Why, many of you may ask?  Well, let me briefly explain seeing as how dinner is now ready.  We have been riding in the car for nine and a half hours.  We left Nelson this morning around 10:00.  After walking around the city for a while and exploring the shops, we left on our journey (which was much longer than expected, might I add).  After many bathroom stops, scenic views, and stops for Troy to climb some rocks while the rest of us explored the surrounding area, we made it to our hostel in Arthur’s Pass.  So after a super long and slap-happy drive filled with exploration and Troy’s bothersome antics, we made it.  Now I am off to eat dinner, which, as you can imagine, is definitely at the top of my priority list right now. So, so long.

Regards,

Sarah

Abel Tasman sea kayaking

We woke up bright and early this morning at 5:45 A.M. After rolling out of bed and devouring a quick breakfast, we all hurried out to the twelve passenger van and took off for an hour long drive to Abel Tasman National Park. Once we arrived, we went and woke up our selves with some “long black” coffee at a café and sat through the safety briefing for the sea kayaks. After organizing ourselves into a boy-girl manner, we loaded the double kayaks up and headed for the beach.

We set off for a three-hour paddle along the beautiful coast of Abel Tasman. Everything was simply peachy when we first set off, as all of us adjusted to the steering system, enjoyed the cerulean blue waters, and spotted cuddly seals on Adele Island. However, at the very end of our voyage we tackled the “Mad Mile”, which attempted to deter us with large swells, lots of wind, and clouds that blocked out the pleasant sun. Eventually we all made it through to a beautiful bay where we stretched our legs and ate lunch in the sun.

Leaving the kayaks at the beach, the group set off on the return hike, a six-mile journey that went up high for sweeping vistas of the coast and then back down into the woods, which resembled a jungle straight out of Hollywood. Three hours later we were back in the van headed back to our hostel in Nelson. Unfortunately, many among us were wearing sandals for the 8-mile hike, which left Sam, Grace and Katherine with painful blisters. Now, we are all showered and full from a delicious pasta dinner and relaxing in the hostel.

Adios,

Matt Thomas

Editor's Note: 1) The SmugMug pictures of students eating and laughing involved an inevitable experiment with Vegemite. All survived.

2) Tomorrow we will have a day of driving, so the noted blisters will have time to heal before our next hike, which will involve shoes, not sandals.