Roses Hut to 609 Saddle 21 k Sleeping in the huts seems to mean a late start, and it is no different this morning. I don’t look at the clock until 7:00, and then try to journal while the morning is still quiet, at least until I smell the coffee that someone else is making. …
3/1 Marvelous Motatapu
Start of Motatapu Track to Roses Hut 23 k (6500 feet elevation) It isn’t raining when the alarm goes off, which is a huge motivation to actually get the day started; maybe the dry window will last long enough to get fully packed. The night was bizarrely warm, and after coffee and granola, we zip …
2/28 Wanaka
Albert Town Campground to start of the Motatapu Track 31 k It was a surprisingly warm night, and I wake up at early light, hungry. We pack up quickly to make sure we don’t offend anyone with our choice of tentsite, and head across the river into Albert Town. The campground that we walk through …
2/27 Down and Around Lake Hawea
Stody’s Hut to Albert Town Campground 33 k We have the alarm set for an early start today, possible once again due to the magic technology of headlamps and the generosity and integrity of Jenny. A gorgeous pink banner sky is our reward, and it morphs colors as the sun rises. The track is fairly …
2/26 Attraversiamo Timaru
Top Timaru Hut to Stodys Hut 13.6 K The hut is so cozy and warm and quiet, we sleep until 7:00, even in spite of the fact that my mattress deflated completely sometime before midnight. Prana’s deflates so quickly now he didn’t even bother to start with it last night and slept on our sit …
2/25 The Airy Battle at Martha’s Saddle
Bush Windbreak to Top Timaru Hut 30 k Sometime around 2:00 am, the wind perfectly reversed direction and started hammering the tent. Siiiigh. At least the new wind seemed to warm the temperature. The morning dawns with clouds galore, making a fantastically textured sky for now and an ominous foreshadowing for later. We pack and …
2/24 Along the Ahuriri
Lake Ohau to East Branch Bush Windbreak 30 k The sunrise colors this morning are fantastic, the pinks and purples bouncing off the snowy high peaks. The road wraps around the coast of the lake, flanked by tall stalks of flowering mullen. I only have a few hours left of the audiobook, so the headphones …
2/23 Of Lakes and Moon Boots
Pines Camping Area to Lake Ohau 33 k It is a chilly wake up this morning, but the reward is a brilliant neon sunrise, the colors reflecting off of the peaks and snowy faces ringing the lake. The bike trail leads forward as easily as yesterday, through several beautiful, clean, secluded clusters of pine trees, …
2/22 Visions of Mt Cook
Lake Tekapo Village to Pines Camping Area 43 k At quarter to seven we are the first ones moving about the hostel. All is quiet in the pre-dawn twilight, and the on-demand water boiler makes coffee a case of instant gratification. Breakfast is whole grain toast with avocados, a few poached eggs from the hostel’s …
2/21 A One K Day
Parkhead Motel to Tailor Made Backpackers 1 k I slept so well again, waking up to the still gentle, still continuous rain. Little peeks through the clouds hint at a load of snow up high, and when I crack the door to see how cold it actually is outside, it is really cold, perhaps colder …
muddy shoe memoirs 