Tag: tramping

Tramping In New Zealand

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. 

Milford Track Day One Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

Milford Track Day One Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

The Milford Track is remote, so remote in fact that you have to get a boat to the start and ...
Milford Track Day Two Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

Milford Track Day Two Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

Sometime during the night the rain had stopped and when we left the bunk room the sun was breaking through ...
Milford Track Day Three Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

Milford Track Day Three Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

As forecast we awake to a completely different scene from the Sunshine and clear blue skies of yesterday. Cloud and ...
Milford Track Day Four Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

Milford Track Day Four Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

It’s our final day on the Milford Track and there is a sense of anticipation in the air. Today, the ...
Routeburn Track Day One, Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

Routeburn Track Day One, Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

Driving to the start of the Routeburn track I was wondering if the walk we were about to do could ...
Routeburn Track Day Two, Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut

Routeburn Track Day Two, Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut

Day two on the Routeburn Track dawns bright and clear. All twenty or so bunks in our room were full ...
Routeburn Track Day Three, Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

Routeburn Track Day Three, Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

All was quiet and still in the valley as I paid a visit to the outside toilet during the early ...
A walk along the Hooker Valley Track

A walk along the Hooker Valley Track

After completing two of the ten ‘Great Walks’ in New Zealand we’re working our way slowly up through South Island, ...
Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara, New Zealand. A Walk on the other side of the world.

Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara, New Zealand. A Walk on the other side of the world.

It’s only sitting at home, a few weeks after my return from New Zealand that I have time to reflect ...
A walk along the Three Mile Pack Track, Okarito, New Zealand

A walk along the Three Mile Pack Track, Okarito, New Zealand

We are nearing the end of our month walking and travelling through the beautiful South Island of New Zealand / ...

 

 

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A walk along the Three Mile Pack Track, Okarito, New Zealand

We are nearing the end of our month walking and travelling through the beautiful South Island of New Zealand / Aotearoa. We have walked on mountains and through rainforests, along beaches and glacial moraine. We have seen a wild Kiwi in its native environment and visited a predator free island. We were drenched under its highest waterfall and gazed up at the knife edge arêtes on the snow plastered summit of its highest mountain. It has certainly been a trip to remember and for our last walk we find ourselves on the ‘Wild’ West Coast in the tiny settlement of Okarito, where we will be walking the three mile pack track.

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Routeburn Track Day Three, Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

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”