Fliss........
The forecast is looking good for the next 5 days so we spent the day packing to head off in the morning for the Routeburn track. The coach was booked for 09:30am the next morning.
7th April 2008
Alarm went off at 07:30am.
Pete packed the tent away and I made my way over to the kitchen to make breakfast. As I passed another tent a guy asked me if I knew that the clocks had gone back the day before, we didn't so we got up an hour too early!
The coach dropped us off at the beginning of the track and it started with a gentle walk through the bush but we knew that it wouldn't last and the up's were coming.
Eventually the path started it's relentless climb to the Routeburn Falls hut. I've been concerned that I would not be fit enough after two years of just sitting on Naz so before we left I gave myself a good talking to!
Going up!
Stunning scenery!
We took it slowly and paced ourselves but even at our slow pace we still beat the recommended time to make it to the hut. Even though the up's were hardwork there was no way in denying that it was worth it as the views were breathtaking.
En-route to the Routeburn Falls Hut
We arrived at the DOC hut at 1pm and wondered what we were going to do with ourselves for the rest of day & night
The hut was very nice and new but there isn't anything else apart from beds and cookers.
The DOC (Department of Conservation) really had cottoned onto how popular this tramp was as they charged $40pp per night (usual price is around $10pppn to stay at the DOC huts).
Out of extreme boredom we had our 1st dinner of noodles at 4pm and did a crossword puzzle that was far too easy.
The “Kiwi”s have a totally different attitude to life than we do in the UK as John our warden worked for the DOC during the season and out of season he was an electrician, he said that the love of the outdoors was more of a pull than the money - he could earn more money full time at home. He invited us back to his hut for a cup of tea - his quarters we far more comfortable than ours.
Terrible nights sleep in the communal dorms as a fellow walker decided to incessantly roll over in "Elephant" sized belly flops which made the all the bunks shake, this carried on all night.
8th April 2008
A long day today as we are planning to walk 8 hours to the Howden Hut, the main reason for the long slog is that we are planning on going over the divide tomorrow to hitch to Milford Sound and back again, the Howden Hut is ideally placed at the bottom of the divide.
After having a terrible nights sleep I was dreading having to climb over the Harris Saddle which is described as a steep climb. I've learnt to never ask a Kiwi if it's a hard walk as either they tell fibs or they are incredibly fit, more than likely the later. John, our warden, said compared to the walk we had done to the hut the Harris Saddle was a walk in the Park.
It was cloudy morning and really quite cold, Pete was concerned that all the effort wouldn't be rewarded as we wouldn't get any views at the saddle. As we got to the top a small window appeared in the clouds and you could see the peaks of the mountains, they appeared to be floating in mid air and part of an enchanted world, truly magical!
It doesn't get better than this!
Or this!!!!
From the saddle it was mostly down hill to the next hut and the skies cleared, we were treated with amazing vista's of mountains and glaciers, you could even see the Tasman Sea in the distance.
The down hills were long and weaving and we could see our lunch spot a good hour or more before we got there.
Stopped for an hour & Pete cooked some noodles before we did the short climb out of the valley and towards the Howden Hut.
My understanding of short is that it is the opposite of long! the short up was quite demanding and went on for some time. We passed a lot of other walkers who were going the opposite way to us, we both thought they were doing it the hard way as it was long hard slog upwards were as we had gained height quickly the day before.
The Howden hut again was very basic but, only being 7 of us, there was plenty of room. So more space food for supper and tot of whisky that I had carried.
9th April 2008
Up early at 06:30am as a fellow tramper had suggested that we try to cadge of lift with him as he was being picked up at 07:45am to go diving at Milford Sound.
A short steep (yer right!) climb up to the top of the Divide which took us 45 minutes. The walk down to the road was a long, serious and winding path. Pete and I looked at each other and gulped as we would have to climb it on the way back to the hut.
We met our fellow tramper in the car park whilst he was waiting for the dive transport. We decided to try our luck at hitching, as soon as we crossed over the road the dive bus pulled in and Pete ran across the road, I stuck my thumb out and a car pulled over. I think the driver thought he had been conned when Pete reappeared! The driver thought he was only stopping for me. He turned out to be the skipper of a cruise boat at Milford Sound.
We arrived at Milford Sound at 8:15am with plenty of time to take the 1st cruise at 9am.
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is the most northerly and most celebrated of Fiordlands fifteen fiords with vertical sides towering 1200m above the sea and waterfalls plunging from hanging valleys. It is stunning in it's simplistic elegant beauty. A very welcome breakfast of coffee and toast was served.
Huge waterfall at Milford Sound
Our skipper was very daring as he took the ship right into the waterfall inches away from the mountain sides. He explained that it wasn't a problem as even that close he still had 250mtrs of depth.
Getting to Milford Sound was very easy but getting back could be slightly harder! After 25 minutes and loads of cars driving past us, a tramping company took pity, they did a detour and then offered us a lift back to the divide.
After getting back to the hut we had lunch and then headed down to McKellan Hut.
We took a slow walk down the valley as there is no point getting there early.
We weren't to keen on this hut as the loo's were a long away way from the hut & set in dark woods. In the night if there were no lights on in the hut it would be difficult even with a torch to find your way back. We also didn't like the sleeping arrangements as it was just a long row of bunks which meant we would be sleeping next to someone we didn't know.
As it got dark we all huddled together in candlelight. 7 kids were playing cards and Pete and I were playing games on our Ipod. The door opened and in walked 3 fully camouflaged men holding guns.
You could have heard a pin drop and the look on everyone's faces was priceless! I piped up and said “so what have you guys been up to tonight then?” a nervous giggle and then everyone just settled back down.
They were really nice guys and very friendly. They told us that the had a permit from Doc which allowed them to shoot 2 Deer each and that they were only allowed to hunt when there were no trampers around. They asked everyone what time we were leaving and we all agreed to leave at 9am.
The hunters told us that they would go out at 5am so that they would be finished before we all headed off in the morning.
Just before bed time I checked out where Pete and I were sleeping only to discover that it was between the three hunters, not fancying this Pete and I decided that we would take the benches in the living area. The dirty pants discarded on the floor was a deciding factor.
We're not keen on the hut scene with it's enforced early nights and the communal sleeping arrangements, the evenings can be very dull.
10th April 2008
We left at 9am and about 30 minutes into the walk we bumped into the 1st of the hunters, he had a strange backpack! He was carrying decapitated and disembowelled deer that he had shot. The deers front legs were tied over his shoulders and the back legs were tied around his middle. A bit unnerving having a conversation with him whilst he was covered in blood and with blood dripping down his back, yuk!
A short while later we came across the 2nd hunter he was the carrying a deer which must had weighed more than 8 stone, he told us that he had shot both the deer and the others had missed so from this point onwards he was the official photographer.
A long walk down the Greenstone Hut and for some bizarre reason both of our legs and feet hurt, we put it down to the fact the tramp was mostly flat so we were only using the same muscles. It seemed to go on forever! Eventually we came across the hut which some joker had decided to build on top of hill! The last climb to the hut drained the last amount of energy we had.
Spent a lovely evening with the kids playing cards.
More waterfalls
11th April 2008
Just a short walk to the car park to be picked up at 2pm. The coach turned up on time and only drove a short distance before the driver told us to get out and go to a boat. Great ending as we took the speed boat across the lake to Glenorchy.
Overall it was an amazing 5 days, the scenery has been wonderful, the weather was warm & sunny. We loved the swing bridges (especially the 1 person per time ones) which were high above roaring rivers. I think we also surprised ourselves with our fitness as we really didn't struggle too much.
Green Stone Track
Fliss on a swing bridge
Crystal clear rivers
So rather than stay in Glenorchy we headed off to Shotover which was only a few miles outside of Queenstown for a shower, pizza & lots of red wine.
Another furry visitor decided he was going to bunk down with us for the night. He took the spare bed and Pete held the duvet up and the cat snuggled down inside, all you could see was it head and ears, very sweet!
Our furry friend
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