Now the fun begins! My first real tramping trip (this is what they call hiking here) It is quite interesting all the precautions they take here for their trampers. DOC (Department of Conservation) are the people in charge of all the different hikes(there are tons of them!!)…which are all very well marked! You pretty much have to be prepared for all types of weather because the weather changes very quick here…one minute sunny and the next misty and cold….Before you go on a tramp, you always let someone know where your going and when you will be out…you also leave all your emergency contact info and medical stuff. Then at the trail head (beginning of trail) you have to write in the intentions book (which is basically a log book) in this book you put your names and what your plan is and when you will be off the trail. As you go along the trail you fill in the log books at the different huts, so that if something happens to you they can retrace your path.(the they people…are the SAR people…Search And Rescue) When your done the hike obviously you fill in the log book at the end saying your out and off the trail, then you call the person you left your info with…so they know your out and safe. Now being a rather virgin NZ tramper…I thought this was a little ridiculous in how much pre-caution is taken for a trip…I mean really how can you screw up…the trail is all marked, it is basically a path and there are huts along the way!!So we headed south from Christchurch near the center of the island or as they call it here inland…where we met up with a family friend of Steve’s, she dropped us off at the trail head, because I guess it is common to get your vehicle broken into, because the intention book indicates how long you will be gone for! (there are hooligans in every country I guess!!) Off we went…..I was quite excited for my first real trip into NZ bush…..WOW it is stunning the views you get when you get off the highways and away from civilization. There were panoramic views every where you stood! It was absolutely breath taking at times…most of the tracks and trials are old mining roads….and it is really quite interesting how they made some of these tracks through the crazy terrain. We hiked in to the first hut, which was called Woolshed Creek Hut, it was a massive brand new hut (quite state of the art). We dropped our gear and then went exploring around the area, lots of little gullies, rivers and waterfalls. We found a swimming hole and decided to take the icy glacier plunge…it was freezing but very rejuvenating and quite refreshing after a days hike. We made it back to the hut to cook and play a couple hands of cards. The next day we woke up to the sun shining but a bit cool, we were off to the second hut. We hiked down to the rock caves, which were basically really huge rocks that had fallen and were quite magnificent (supposedly there were scenes from Lord of the Rings shot here). We made a very steep ascent to the saddle which is basically a pass between two mountains. The weather socked in on us (meaning it snuck up on us and took a turn) It turned very misty and foggy…it was crazy how fast it happened…I started to understand how easy it would be to get lost or loose your way off the trail, there are stories of people who actually had to make human chains because they couldn’t even see in front of their own face let alone find a little orange marker in the distance. It obviously wasn’t that bad, but it was interesting to say the least…it was a bit of a disappointment because it put a damper on the scenery…but before you knew it we were at the 2nd hut, known as Hut Pinnacle. It was a cute little place, looked more like the traditional huts supposedly. It was basically one room with a fireplace in the middle…bunks around the walls and a kitchen area at one end. I think it slept 10 people. The stove we had was stocked with coal…so I had my first coal lesson and how to get it going and started with not very much wood….Steve was quite the teacher…he was being stubborn (or some type of a boy scout ) and was trying to start the fire with no paper….well he finally gave in and used a little bit…but when that didn’t work…dumping a bit of cooking gas…always seems to do the trick!! So much for the boy scout way! We had the fire roaring before long and heated the little place right up! I gentleman by the name of Malcolm made his way up the trail and was quite pleased I am sure to arrive to a warm hut! He was an interesting bloke (guy) he managed a major farm in the area. (They call them Stations here) He was up at the hut because I guess there was going to be a race the next day and he was acting as a race marshal and SAR guy. We had great conversations and played cards through out the night!
The next morning we woke up to……SNOW!! It was great…I was so excited to see snow, I just had to make a snow man! We got all dressed up and started to make our way out. The scenery was great with all the snow, but as we dropped down the mountain we were back to warm weather! I was excited to have my first river crossing. It is quite funny because you will be hiking along and then there will be a river, and a little orange marker on the other side…you basically find the best path and stomp on through the river…boots and all! On our way out of the hike we stopped by Sharplin Falls, which was a little side route that took you too some cute little water falls. Then we walked about a mile down the road to where Steve’s truck was and we were all done! The whole trip could have really been done in 2 days or less but it was nice that we took our time and I was able to really take in all the scenery…it was a great beginner tramp’in trip for myself! Too put things in perspective….the race I mentioned earlier….well they did the same trip we did, the fastest guy doing in under 2.5 hours….hahahha we did it in 3 days…..(but we also had 15 kilos on our backs)
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