Where do I begin? This was my first full-on tramp (hike) in NZ, and it lived up to every expectation and then some. Rock formations, rolling tussock lands, snow, tree-less landscapes and most importantly – hiking above the cloudline. However, don’t let the following photo fool you into thinking this was some sort of Arctic expedition (although I don’t think this would be grandma’s cup of tea):
Last week I signed up for the newly unveiled “surprise trip,” which was revealed to be a trip to the Pisa range of the central South Island. Showing up Friday afternoon with the required gear and an optional birthday cake (thanks mom & dad!), I was surprised to see a small group of just seven trampers (including the two leaders). After getting everything in the rental van (with seats for 12) we headed off to spend the night at Amy’s house (one of the leaders). There, we ate some of the delicious banana cake and then camped (with our sleeping bags) on her living-room floor.
The next morning, we distributed the group gear (food, pots, stoves, etc) and packed up into the van. After a quick drive to the trail head, we began the long slow climb to Meg Hut. The track started out with an intense climb, but soon became a long gentle climb up the river valley on a 4WD road. Once the road ended, the track became much narrower, usually just the eroded pathway of previous trampers. While the incline of the track didn’t increase substantially, the incline of the ridge we were climbing did. This was complemented by a growing presence of sharp boulders, which added a nice accent to the tussock land. It was at this point, with point boulders and a steep incline, that I tripped on a rock hidden in a patch of grass, and fell forward. No big deal; I was basically still on the track. But as I felt the weight of my pack (30-40 lbs. I’d say) its momentum pulled me down the hill. Now I began to realize the gravity of the situation (sorry, couldn’t resist). Without anything sturdy to grab on, I couldn’t stop myself gradually falling over the edge. Thankfully, one of the other trampers grabbed my ankles and gave me enough support so that i could get myself back on the track. For such a close call (I almost rolled 200m down a rock covered slope at a 45 degree incline) I felt surprisingly little fear, but I guess they say you’re always afraid of the random ways to die (like in an airplane crash), not falling down a hill. Anyways, lunch soon followed, which was a combination of crackers, spreads, cheese, salami and sardines (maybe anchovies, I don’t like either). If you know anything about how I eat, you can guess that I was not particularly enthralled – the salami was pork and I’m not even gonna try the fish. But, with some of my trailmix and “energy” chocolate (by Cadbury) supplementing the hummus, cheese and crackers I ate – I was good to go.
After lunch, we exited the valley through an awesome rock formation and continued to climb up the rolling hills, where we eventually found historic Miner’s Hut in another valley. At this point, we only saw one trail, which was sort of a roundabout way to reach our intended backcountry hut, so we followed until it made sense to trailblaze over the ridge in a straight line to the hut. It was an intense climb, going straight up and over the ridge at what was, at least, a 30 degree incline, but it did save us a kilometer or two and we didn’t get lost. As it turns out, there was a path through the river gorge, which we assumed would have been impassable without a long river walk (oh well). The climb over the ridge also put me above the clouds (thanks to my own leg-power), giving me the awesome sight below.
After a long hard day of tramping, we were rewarded by accommodations, i.e., Meg Hut. This simple backcountry cabin had a fireplace, windows, and bunkbeds – that was about it. Compared to the average accomodations for tramping (e.g. a tent or a more run-down hut) this was high living – it had its own grove of poisoned trees for firewood and it had been recently revamped. Dinner was a hearty combination of satay noodles, vegetables and canned tuna – it definitely hit the spot (the group brought all the required cooking equipment). After dinner, we enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace and took a look at the stars. The night sky was simply brilliant! Even with only a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, the Milky Way was easily identifiable, and the sheer number of stars was incredible. After a good 10 minutes or so to fully develop “night vision,” the Milky Way was noticably milky (i.e. not a higher frequency of stars but an actually milky background). I took a photo of the sky, and it’s not bad, but taking astronomy photos with a point & shoot camera is almost impossible, so just compare my photo with any you might try an take. That night, I learned to always bring earplugs when sleeping in a hut – undoubtedly someone will snore, and you might get a chorus of snorers – needless to say I had a hard time getting to sleep.
The Tops
Sunday morning began bright and early – there was a long day ahead. The beginning of the day was an intense climb out of the valley up and onto the ridgeline at a maximum elevation of over 1400m (5000 ft), where the whole landscape was covered in several inches of snow. The ridgetops were also blessed with The Tops – rock formations and boulders sticking out of the tussocks. One was wide enough to climb, and made for an entertaining diversion during one of our many breathers. As we left the ridgetops, we began our foray through the snowfields – this part of the trail traversed the south-facing slopes of the mountains, meaning they were nearly always in shade. The snow was fairly crunchy – so I was often able to walk over it without breaking through. However a good 2 hours or so was spent following the leaders tracks and/or breaking through the harder layer. This eventually became an avalanche hazard as we reached steeper slopes, so we spread ourselves apart to minimize the risk. While I was first delighted to be tramping through the snowfield, the novelty wore off as the intensity began to wear me out. By lunchtime, we were all glad to be done with the snow.
Unfortunately, a gradual descent from the snowfield meant we had to climb again to pass over the final ridge – our last bit of uphill! We passed a private hut which seemed to be a bachelor hangout – it had the look of the Wild West and was accompanied by a mountain of empty beer bottles (this is miles away from any form civilization). If this was in the US, we would have been seriously concerned for a Deliverance-type encounter by whomever used the hut, but this is New Zealand, not Kentucky. Anyways, we soon summited the last ridge, and were treated with a view over the entire valley near Cromwell. As we began the descent back into civilization, exhaustion really began to sink in. The endless descent (okay, 1000m vertical) simply destroyed my quads.
Finally, just as I was becoming truly grumpy and the unending descent, we entered farmland. The combination of sheep, cattle and horses was touching, and only the horses were brave enough to stand their ground and inspect us. The one thing that always surprises me is that the large majority of tramping tracks in NZ pass through private land – there isn’t much of a conception of trespassing here. You are simply asked not to disturb the livestock, and all is well. Another aspect of NZ culture I discovered during the weekend was a different threshold for wealth. In the US, it doesn’t seem to bother most people, except for the neighbors, when an area becomes extremely upscale – e.g. $1+ million homes. Almost every Kiwi I’ve met is repulsed by the transformation of Queenstown into a city of the wealthy. There seems to be an attitude that there is no good reason to have such a luxurious lifestyle as many of the foreign landowners have in Queenstown. Perhaps I am mistaken, but us, as Americans, seem to be more envious of our wealthy neighbors than disgusted by them. Anyways, the tramp was awesome and be sure to check out the rest of the photos.
