Queenstown - Then Home

I had the six bed bunk room cabin to myself until 11:30 pm when two new arrivals showed up. Late arrivals. One of the many reasons I don’t like shared rooms at hostels and the like. To their credit they were trying to be quiet and considerate. One reeked heavily of cigarettes. I told them they could turn on the light. I wasn’t asleep and kind of wanted to see who they were. They didn’t seem to understand what I said and continued to settle in under the light of their headlamps. I surmised they were French. I opened the window next to my bed to dilute the smoke smell.

The two late arrivals were asleep when I left to go running at 7:30 in the morning. The skies were cloudy as I looped around Glenorchy then headed west for a stretch of out and back along the quiet main road. When I returned one was up but missing. I went out to find something for breakfast and when I returned the other was waking up.

As assumed they were French. One was a young guy whose look and character couldn’t have been any more stereotypicaly French. I had actually met him before I went out for the Caples/Greenstone hike. I never caught his name but he had been hanging out in Glenorchy waiting for the weather to improve. The other was a very cute young woman from Brittany, France. She had just completed the Rees/Dart hike which is actually a closed trail due to a washed out bridge. She waited out the bad weather in a hut for four days so the water could reside enough for her to cross what remained of the bridge. She didn’t see anyone else on the hike and said the huts were wonderful. When she completed the route she returned to Glenorchy around 5 pm and happened to meet the French guy. Instead of finding accommodation and a shower like most any other hiker would do after a quick something to eat she wound up in a bar until they made their way to where I was at 11:30.

The skies began to clear around mid morning. The French guy was head up to do the Routeburn trail. Ines, the French girl, was needing to go to Queenstown for the day to resupply. I suggested we hitch together. I figured it would be easier for me to get a ride. A single guy can stand by the road for an hour to get a ride. A cute young French woman will get a ride in 10 minutes or less. It took us about 10 minutes.

The guy who picked us up was an Australian on a two week holiday. He has just completed a sky dive and was headed to Queenstown to get some breakie then on to Te Anau. He’s about to begin officers training for the military when he returns home. The three of us parted ways in a Queenstown parking lot. My last hitched ride of the trip. I made my way to the Crowne Plaza hotel to take advantage of my credit card anniversary reward night. It pays to have good credit.

It was noon so I was early for check in but they had my room ready. It was not what I expected. Apparently I had been upgraded but really I saw it as a downgrade. It was handicap accessible next to what must have been a utility room with a loud roar. I immediately went back to the front desk and said I really did not need handicap accessible and the roar in the room was really loud. I asked to be downgraded to a better room. The second room was just what I expected. Upper floor, balcony with mountain view, and quiet. Thank you. I am quite happy with my accommodation.

The afternoon turned out to be absolutely beautiful in Queenstown. The lake was placid and the surrounding mountains looked sharp with small light clouds skimming across the top of the peaks. The air had a slight chill in the shade but in the sun felt perfect. Many people sat in open areas around cafes and restaurants while others sun bathed on a small beach. I walked around, got a burger, took a short nap, and walked around a little more.

Tomorrow I catch a bus right in front of the hotel for a domestic flight to Auckland where I catch an evening flight to Houston. Thanks to the date line I’ll arrive home a few hours before I leave.

Glenorchy - Caples/Greenstone

It took me four rides to get from Alexandra to Glenorchy. The first ride was with a local guy about my age in his van with his dog. He works on a road maintenance crew and was on his day off running errands. A salt of the earth kind of guy with a good spirit who very much reminded me of an old friend in Colorado. He’s never traveled outside of New Zealand. He said everyone from abroad tells him he lives in the best country in the world so what’s the point in going anywhere else.

My second ride was with a middle aged couple from Dunedin. The were headed to Arrowtown to watch a golf tournament. The guy gave me an earful about president Trump but the conversation moved on to other topics as he seemed interested in where I was from. They were both into Animal Medicine or Animal Biology. Something like that and had spent a fair amount of time in the states and well as having lived in Chicago.

My next ride was very different. A van pulled up aside a little ways from me and I ran to catch it. When the sliding door opened it was four dark skinned men. Two looked black. You don’t see hardly any black people n New Zealand. I didn’t have a bad feeling or anything but was quite surprised. Only one spoke decent English. I asked where they were from and one responded, Vanuatu, which is an Island in the South Pacific. They had been in the country for 7 months and were headed home the next day. They were on their way to Queenstown for the day before heading home. I noticed the driver was driving very carefully and I enjoyed simple conversation with the one who could speak decent English. They were really nice guys from a poor country away from home making as much as they could for a better life in Vanuatu. The van appeared to be a work van that belonged to whatever farm they had been working for.

I blew right through Queenstown to Glenorchy. My final ride was with a woman in her late 50’s who had the aura of being fairly rich. She was from Auckland but now lives in London. She was back in New Zealand for holiday and to sell her beach property near Auckland. She suspected it was just a matter of time with all the crazy weather that there was a risk it could be washed away. She wanted to cash out before that happened. We took a leisurely drive up to Glenorchy where she dropped me right at the backpackers bunkhouse I had previously booked by phone.

The day was going smoothly and the next day I wanted to start a four day hike that can be difficult to get to. After I dropped my pack at the bunkhouse I went for a wander to see if I could figure out how to get to the start of the trail. I asked at information then went to the campground. At the campground I saw a solo traveler with a car that looked like a hiker. I asked if he was by chance headed to the Caples/Greenstone trailhead. He said he was and immediately offered me a ride. His name is Billy. He’s 24 and from Northern, California. He’s been traveling the country for around 6 weeks and really seems to be having a good time. We met up in the evening. I bought him a beer at the pub. He said he would pick me up at 10 am.

At 10 am it was raining. I saw a woman in her early 20’s standing near the small information/store by the pub. She looked like she was ready for a hike. I asked where she was going. She had just hitched up to Gleorchy and had no idea how she was going to get to the Caples/Greenstone hike. Well I knew Billy had space for one more so I told her I thought she could ride along. Her name is Bronti, from Spokane, WA. Billy showed up just after 10 am and we drove up a wet road with a couple of shallow stream crossings to the trailhead.

The Caples/Greenstone track is around a 40 mile hike. A strong hiker could bang it out in a couple of day but most people take 3 nights to make it more enjoyable. There are three nice huts along the way with amazing backcountry flush toilets. The route follows rivers up to a pass and back around. The valley is often broad and affords nice views of mountains on each side when the weather is good. The trail weaves in an out of forested and open areas. It’s a nice and relatively easy hike that has spectacular moments when the skies are clear. For me I only had really clear skies on day 3. Other than that is was what I’d refer to as atmospheric with clouds filling the valley, then thinning, then raining, then occasional clearing for a short view.

I really don’t much care from staying in huts unless the weather is really bad. There’s always someone who snores and when it’s raining the hut tends to stink of damp sweat and funk. If you camp near the hut and pay a mere $5 NZD you can use the common area for cooking and hang out by the wood stove. That’s what I prefer to do. I camped all three nights. Although I had to pack a wet tent every morning I was very comfortable and slept well.

The hike was uneventful and what I expected for the most part. Up and down with rocks, roots, and stream crossings. Day 3 was the best with good weather and broad valley views but I started to feel like I’d gotten my fill, for now. I thought about dad and what it might feel like when I get home. I thought about how fast the time had passed in New Zealand although the first two weeks I did understandably feel out of sorts. I also thought how things would be different when I arrived back home. This time for real but I see it in a positive way.

Tomorrow will be my last night in New Zealand. Tonight I am back at the backpacker bunkhouse behind the Glenorchy hotel. It’s nothing special but the toilet and showers are nice. I’m in a six bed shack all to myself for now. Keeping my fingers crossed. For my last night I am booked into a proper expensive hotel in Queenstown thanks to my hotel rewards credit card. They said I earned a free unrestricted anniversary night. From Queenstown I’ll fly to Auckland then home.