Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Over the past few weeks I was lucky enough to be a part of the latest intrepid intake attending the Beginners Whitewater Kayaking course with the Nelson Canoe Club. Learning to kayak had been on my list of things to try for a while, so I was thrilled when the course came up. There were about 15 people in our group, with a mix of all ages, experience levels and reasons for wanting to give it a go. I was in the older dynamic of...
I woke in the night to an amazing starry sky, then after a great night's sleep, the wind woke me up at 5.15am. It's still dark at this time now, which somehow makes me feel like I'm up getting up to go to work!. The tent had a little moisture inside so I wiped it down and let the wind do the rest. Someone's torch light passed the tent at 6am - they're keen, walking in the dark! I set off at 6.30, just as the clouds became tinged with pink over the St Arnaud mountains to the East.
I...
I woke at 5am, and was out at 6.30am. I walked to lake Rotoiti and took a few photos. There's a jetty here, which makes the 'the' iconic NZ photo, with the lake & misty mountains in the background. I got going through beech forest on the Lakehead track at 6.50am. This is part of a popular walk in the area the 'Travers Sabine circuit'.
As there's been a bit of rain recently, all the side streams were up and some were now quite large rivers. There were crossings every 10 mins or so,...
I woke at a reasonable hour, and headed down to the general store in St Arnaud for a real coffee (treat to self) and a big breakfast. This turned into 2 additional hot chocolates, a tart and a ginger beer! I'm already worried about how I'll need to wean myself off junk food in a month's time when I finish Te Araroa trail !!
I spent the morning in the cafe with some Te Araroa hikers, then the afternoon lounging around the hostel with more Te Araroa hikers. There are lots of us here waiting...
I enjoyed a lovely sleep back in my old dorm room in Nelson. I woke at a reasonable hour and enjoyed a leisurely brekkie.
Then something really weird happened! A couple of days ago, when I left Monkeys backpackers in Riverton (before I caught the minibus to Invercargill) I wasn't able to pay for the hostel. When I left, there was a large board at the front door saying guests should pay at the café opposite. So I dropped my key in the box and went over to the cafe. There was no-one there....
Our entire female dorm was kept awake by someone snoring very very loudly. I immediately took myself out and slept in the lounge. When I got up at 6am, all the other girls back in the dorm were awake bleary eyed, and the snorer was still at it - just as loudly as 8 hours earlier...!
I got a taxi to the airport, which took about 10 mins. I should have walked it really, but it was still a bit drizzly. Invercargill airport was very nice, and I enjoyed a delicious bacon and egg muffin and a hot...