My Walks in beautiful New Zealand including two of the world’s ‘Great Walks’ The Milford Track and The Routeburn Track. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to see the route.
The Milford Track is remote, so remote in fact that you have to get a boat to the start and ...
Sometime during the night the rain had stopped and when we left the bunk room the sun was breaking through ...
As forecast we awake to a completely different scene from the Sunshine and clear blue skies of yesterday. Cloud and ...
It’s our final day on the Milford Track and there is a sense of anticipation in the air. Today, the ...
Driving to the start of the Routeburn track I was wondering if the walk we were about to do could ...
Day two on the Routeburn Track dawns bright and clear. All twenty or so bunks in our room were full ...
All was quiet and still in the valley as I paid a visit to the outside toilet during the early ...
After completing two of the ten ‘Great Walks’ in New Zealand we’re working our way slowly up through South Island, ...
It’s only sitting at home, a few weeks after my return from New Zealand that I have time to reflect ...
We are nearing the end of our month walking and travelling through the beautiful South Island of New Zealand / ...
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All was quiet and still in the valley as I paid a visit to the outside toilet during the early hours. I could see the stars were out so turned off my head torch. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I became aware that above me, the Milky Way was stretching out gloriously across the inky black Southern night sky. A million diamonds twinkling through a black curtain. I stood there for a while, mesmerised by the sight until the night air started to chill me and I made my way reluctantly back into the hut and my warm sleeping bag. The clarity of the air in New Zealand and the lack of light pollution in the mountains has meant regular sightings of the Milky Way during our tramping adventures and it has been a joy to see the stars of the Southern Hemisphere throughout this trip, even if I have not quite got used to seeing Orion upside down.
Continue reading “Routeburn Track Day Three, Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide”
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Day two on the Routeburn Track dawns bright and clear. All twenty or so bunks in our room were full but there were no ‘nighttime noises’ and I slept well, helped no doubt by the fact that the girls from Otago were at the opposite end of the lodge. The weather forecast is for rain early afternoon so I am keen to get moving as soon as we can. After breakfast we finish our packing on the balcony of the hut enjoying the morning sunshine and final views down the main Routeburn valley.
Continue reading “Routeburn Track Day Two, Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut”
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Driving to the start of the Routeburn track I was wondering if the walk we were about to do could possibly compare with the beauty and majesty of the Milford track that we had walked only one short week ago. As we left Queenstown and joined the lake road heading north, I realised I needn’t worry. Lake Wakatipu, looking like a huge sapphire jewel set deep into a ring of mountains appeared before us glistening in the morning sun. It stretched for miles and beyond that, the Southern Alps of New Zealand reached their snowy topped fingers high up into the bright blue cloudless sky. Even the road itself, straight as an arrow in places and lined with purple Lupins seemed to be leading us invitingly into the heart of the mountains. It was the road to El Dorado and for the next three days we were about to partake of its golden treasures.
Continue reading “Routeburn Track Day One, Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut”
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