A soak at the end of the walk

I picked Eri up at the airport in Christchurch on the 20th. We did some sightseeing there and then drove across Arthur's Pass to glacier country. She must be lucky because the weather was fantastic and even held nice for a glacier walk on Fox glacier a few days later.

After a full day of hiking on the glacier and exploring ice caves, we didn't slow it down. Instead, the next day, we went on a six hour hike through the rainforest to Welcome Flat. The hike is actually day one of a very technical hike over the Copland Pass. You need mountaineering experience as well as an ice axe and crampons to complete the pass. Given that we aren't quite at that level, we decided just to stick with the first day (all below the treeline). The best part of the walk were the hot pools waiting for us when we finished.

Egg Hunt, People Find

After enjoying some of the no-commercial television on Good Friday, I packed up my belongings and headed south. I intended to meet up with a friend to walk the Routeburn track and in Wanaka we ran into another friend from the hotel so we all decided to hike together.

Since we were camping, we had to hoof it basically completing two days in one to reach the second campground. The huts are evenly spaced allowing the tramper ample time to read and relax after several hours of hiking. The campsites on the otherhand are located close to the beginning and the end. Also to avoid transport back to the beginning, we intended to hike out and hike back the same way. So instead of having a silly first day (1.5 hours of hiking) we decided to just head to the far campground. We were blessed with amazing weather and could see mountains for miles and miles, but by the end of the day (8.5 hours on the trail including breaks) I was ready for bed.

The tramp passes through two distinctly different parks, Aspiring and Fiordland, and the differences in the bush were amazing. Aspiring was much dryer, while the Fiordland was more of the mossy bush I've been used to. After a crazy day we hiked to the Earland Falls and had a long lunch. With food in our bellies and a few winks of sleep, no one was motivated to go any further. That was fine with me because Earland Falls was magical.

The return trip was completely different than the original as we were in a thick fog the entire time. We treated ourselves on the third night with a stay in the Routeburn Falls Hut. After a nice hearty meal, I was purusing the visitor's book and looking at the people who were there before me and came across Maureen, a roomate from university. I actually burst out "Ahhh! I went to school with her!" I think I re-looked at the name fifteen times just to check I wasn't dreaming; I mean I am pretty far from home.

As soon as we got back to civilization, I made an attempt to get in touch with Maureen - sending emails to old addresses and old friends. The next day I drove to Mount Cook and while I was on the phone with my brother she tapped me on the shoulder. It was great to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen in such a while and how crazy is it to re-connect on the other side of the world?

The two of us climbed up to Mueller Hut to spend the night at about 1,800 meters in the Southern Alps. Mount Cook was lovely to gaze at before heading off to bed. In front of us was Mount Selden and it was avalanche central. It was awesome to hear and see the avalanches roar like thunder, but be safely located on a neighborhing (snow free) mountain. The silence and beauty of the whole experience was unforgettable. Granted it was a killer 3.5 hour walk up, but well worth every quick altitude gain.

Flat Stanley

In my friend's elementary school class, they read a book about a fellow named Flat Stanely. As his name would indicate, the fellow is flat. He found himself trapped in a book and traveled to San Franscisco. She had her students color a version of Flat and mailed them out so that he could explore other places. I took pictures of him and showed him the sights. Taking pictures of a piece of paper certainly got a few interesting looks.

The following is a bit about what *my* Flat did.

Flat Stanley was lucky enough to spend a few days traveling most of the West Coast, the area of the south island of New Zealand including lush rainforest, glaciers and great views of the Southern Alps. There was adequate time for enjoying a bit of sun on the black sand beaches of Hokitika. There is always an amazing amount of driftwood on the beach. The waves are very powerful and the water just above freezing so he decided to leave his swimming trunks at home.

A trip wouldn't be complete without a walk in the rainforest, so he combined this activity with seeing the Pankake Rocks in Punakaiki. They actually look like stacks of pancakes. Lastly, Flat was able to make it to Fox Glacier and to Lake Matheson. The lake is famous because when it is still, you can see the reflection of New Zealand's largest mountains (Mount Cook and Mount Tasman). After rising at the ungodly hour of 6am, Flat was blessed with a great viewing.

Although the weather was not always the best, Flat Stanely did not complain.