Tramping New Zealand
by | Posted in Wanderlust 4 Comments »
New Zealand is a beautiful pair of islands of soaring mountains and sparkling blue water, friendly people and not nearly enough sheep. We arrived in the picturesque village of Queenstown, “Adventure capital of New Zealand”, on Easter Sunday. This lovely walkable town on the shores of Lake Wakatipu is crawling with international backpackers. A trekking bus drove us 2 hours to the Routeburn Trailhead, where we began a 3-day trek though Fangorn Forest and up rainbow-bedecked mountains. No self-respecting Seattleite would be put off by a little drizzle. Fortunately we made it to the last shelter right before the big guns came out.
I can see why the Routeburn Track was named a Classic Hike of the World. It was gorgeous all around. The hut system allowed us not to pack a tent or stove, though we did have to put up with bear-like snoring. In the future we might reserve spots for both tents and huts so that we can use the indoor gas stoves, but spend the night in a more secluded location.
We took a lot more photos, which you can see here on facebook. If only a camera was able to capture the true majesty of the scenery. You’ll just have to believe me when I say New Zealand is one of the top places you should go before you die. It’s a hiker’s paradise. We would move there in a heartbeat if we could. Mr. Wonderful also captured snippets of the hike on video camera, which you can see on Flickr. My favorite is from the top of Conical Hill on the beautiful, sunny day 2 of the trek.
Part I: Queenstown & Routeburn Track
Part II: Auckland
Part III: Rotorua & Wellington
New Zealand Trip Reads:
- PACK CHALLENGE, GO FETCH, and HERE KITTY KITTY by Shelly Laurenston
- THE LION’S DAUGHTER by Loretta Chase
- KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR by Carrie Vaughn
- WALK ON THE WILD SIDE by Christine Warren
- OH GODDESS! by Gwen Hayes
- JORDAN by Lori Foster
- MEXICAN HEAT by Josh Lanyon & Laura Baumbach
- PRINCE OF MAGIC by Linda Winstead Jones
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
New Zealand is a beautiful island…
Two islands, actually – North and South
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
It’s so great to see you had an amazing trip!
I can’t believe you read so much on a hiking vacation?!!?
April 24th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Great pics, Ciara! I’ve never been there, myself. So, are you leaving your books behind in the “huts” after you’ve finished with them? When I first traveled around Europe, I left my finished books at the youth hostels for someone else to pick up and read every time I finished one. It sure beats hauling them home.
April 25th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Tez – yeah, yeah. I blame jet lag.
Christine – I only brought the Warren paperback and read two ebooks on my iPhone on the trip. Jaci Burton clued me in to the iphone external battery pack. it was a lifesaver. The other books I read on the rest of the trip, though half were ebooks. (portable! but unfortunately requiring battery)
Christina – Every time I go on vacation and bring half a suitcase full of books, I tell myself that this time I’ll leave them behind. Never happens. If I could find someone who would read and enjoy the books I could do it, but just abandoning them to an unknown fate – no! I have a book hoarding problem. It’s sad. I thought about giving the paperbacks to my blogging friend who I met in Wellington, but she’d read them all already.