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| From NZ Developed |
NZ is known to some as the bird capital of the world; what the island lacks in native large herbivores like cows or land-based predators like bears or wolves, is made up by a wide range of birds, flightless and otherwise. In the dense alpine rainforest of Mount Aspiring park, out of the car and with few people around, chirps, tweets and birdsongs filled the air above the distant churning of waterfalls and rapids.
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| From NZ Developed |
All hikes along sanctioned tracks in New Zealand have an estimated time for completion. So far, we had been way ahead of any posted pace. As our Lonely Planet guidebook put it: anyone not a ventilator will do a forty minute hike in twenty-five. Today, we were slow, taking almost two hours to reach the first hut at Routeburn flats; we had hoped to do it in ninety minutes. It was our first visit to a DOC hut this trip, and hut is an understatement. Lodge is closer. Each hut can sleep anywhere from ten to fifty or more hikers at once; they have running water, flush bathrooms and kitchens, and most are free if you book in advance. If we ever come back, we would definitely do an overnight hike or two and take advantage of the great DOC hut network throughout the country.
At this pace, though, we would be on the trail for almost eight hours. The next section of the hike was a steep climb to the Falls hut at a thousand meters above sea level, and we pushed. Breathing hard but enjoying the effort, we breezed past several groups of hikers; one guy asked if we were jogging. Not quite, but we made the falls hut in forty-five minutes, well ahead of the hour to ninety minute posted pace. A quick pitstop and a chocolate reward and back down we went, dodging past a loud and obnoxious group of young hikers from the States.
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| From NZ Developed |
Misty clouds hovered over the hills of the park throughout the day, finally turning to a steady rain on our descent. We got out the rain gear and laughed. The only rain we got was on our last day and we welcomed it. For once, we got to use all the rain gear we packed and we actually experienced the swings of typical NZ weather.
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| From NZ Developed |
Scanning the radio on our return drive to Queenstown, we first heard of the earthquake in Christchurch earlier in the day. We had left Christchurch about a week prior; hearing of the devastation and knowing some of the landmarks we admired had been destroyed, we shared just a small part of the pain many Kiwis felt on what the the Prime Minister called the country's "darkest day." Our thoughts are with all of the wonderfully gracious and welcoming people of New Zealand.
We both commented that it felt strange to be in a celebratory mood with the Christchurch disaster over the horizon. But it was our last night, and our last dinner did not disappoint. Armed with our new knowledge from the wine tour, we picked out a great bottle of wine and enjoyed a quintessential New Zealand meal: great steaks, tasty seafood and crispy chips. Simple food, done right in a diner staffed by international workers and packed with tourists young and old from all over the world, a picture-perfect slice of New Zealand.
Desert was in a restored historic hotel turned bar, where we met another guy from the states and a Queenstown local. She showed us a few choice bar spots around town and we raised a few glasses to our trip, our new friends and each other.
Tomorrow, we fly back home, and before long, back to work, winter and what feels like real life. Although, if there was one lesson we learned here, it's that traveling, experiencing new cultures and exploring new cities and countries is "real life." The stuff we have to do in between, you know work and be responsible citizens and such, is just what we do to experience real life again.
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