Koru
Pink Stuff
The next weekend we had a fun work event to attend. The University had planned a dinner ride on the Taieri Gorge Train. We boarded at the train station and were soon on our way to Hindon. We spent the entire ride to our barbecue dinner at Hindon staring out the window as the tracks run right along the gorge rim and made for some nice scenery. On the way, there was a raffle and I won a very nice travel mug and thermos! At Hindon, we got off the train and helped ourselves to a dinner of ham, sausages, hamburgers, cole slaw, and salad. Back on board, we were served a yummy dessert of chocolate cake and fruit, and rode on to our final destination, Middlemarch. The train was met by a few busses which took us to a barn party. There was a band whose performance was questionable but it didn't stop the drunk students in the crowd from dancing like crazy. We hung out, enjoying the barn fragrance, and chatting with friends. At 11pm, we were bussed back to the train for an hour and a half ride home. Fun night but we were happy to see the train station at 1am!
Choo Choo
Middlemarch Sunset
Last weekend we had booked our hut passes on the West Coast Routeburn Track so we left work a bit early for the drive to Te Anau. Luckily, the first leg of the track was only about an hour long. We set out at 6pm and made it to Howden hut by 7. We shared the hut with just two other people which was nice. We chatted with them and the hut warden, Bushy, for awhile before hitting the bunks. A storm blew in during the night and we woke several times to howling winds and pouring rain. In the morning, the rain was still coming down so we inquired about the problems we might encounter on the track. Often, these tracks get flooded and are not passable. The warden assured us that we would have no problems and set out ahead of us to check out the flooded Earland Falls. We hung out for a bit hoping the rain would slow down and then set out ourselves. The rain kept on all day, making for awesome waterfalls and lush green rainforest surroundings. We had no problems on the track but passed a few trampers walking in the other direction who told us that Earland Falls was crazy flooded and to be really careful when taking the alternate flood route. This make me slightly nervous but figured they would have closed the track if it was really bad. However, I forgot NZ does not work that way.
Katie Pre-Showers
When we approached the waterfall, we knew we were in for an adventure. Before we could even see the falls, we could hear the roar and feel the mist from it. As we got closer, Craig said he felt like we were weathermen reporting from a hurricane. We rounded the corner, looked up and saw an enormous volume of water just exploding from the rock face. It was unreal! We couldn't even get to the normal route to see the falls because we were beaten back by water. So, we started down the flood route which was now a waterfall itself. It was a steep climb down some rocks covered with about 12 inches of flowing water. When we got to the bottom, we saw the real challenge. We had to actually cross the waterfall, in a place that normally is dry, but was now flooded with a raging couple of feet of water. We had to scramble across a rock ledge, under an undercut rock. It wouldn't have been quite so scary had there not been a steep dropoff to the left. But, we made it across, with most of the waterfall now in our shoes. It was quite scary but really cool and we actually ended up being really glad we got to experience it that way.
The rest of our day was very scenic and continued to be very wet. We didn't care too much though because it was so pretty. We made it to Lake MacKenzie hut where we claimed our bunks, hung our boots and clothes by the fire, and grabbed a quick nap. When we woke, the skies had cleared slightly so we took a walk around the lake. More pretty!
We hung out in the hut with lots of other trampers, including a nice couple from Seattle, and some fun girls from Israel for the rest of the evening. The temps dropped down below freezing that night but the skies cleared and we were greeted by blue sunny skies in the morning. The most exciting thing was we discovered we were surrounded by snow capped mountains! We had been unaware they were even there because the were clouded over the previous day. We gobbled down a quick oatmeal breakfast, left our packs in the hut, and headed up the trail toward Harris Saddle (the top of the mountain). We hiked up far enough to get some views and then back down. We grabbed our packs and began the 4 hour hike back to the car.
Because of the awesome weather, the views into the Hollyford Valley this time were amazing! The waterfalls were still running pretty well from snow melt but were considerably less raging than the day before. When we got back to Earland Falls, we were able to get up to the normal route to see the falls up close. It was gorgeous! While the route wasn't flooded this time, we still got soaked from the water blowing off the falls.
In the Rainstorm
24 Hours Later
About an hour before the end of the trail, we came to a side track called Key Summit. A 30 minute hike up to the summit gave us some great 360 degree views of the mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and lakes surrounding us. We wandered around up there for a bit and then switchbacked down to the main trail. One more hour of walking downhill (ouchy quads!) and we made it to the car. Fantastic track!
Two Yanks on the Summit
Gardens and Train
Routeburn Track
This week we spend our Thanksgiving on the Milford Track, a 4 day tramp also on the west coast. It is supposed to be beautiful and we're really excited to have the opportunity to do it as you have to book months in advance to get a spot in the huts. Happy Thanksgiving!!
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