New Zealand – South Island – Rimu Tour

We are once again connected to the internet, have TV channels and are “plugged in.” YIKES – that sounds like the real world.....

We met up with our group in Christhcurch – turns out to be 5 of us with 2 guides – SWEET!!!! Except, John and I are by far the oldest – YIKES again. Nothing worse than having kids half your age run up mountains and return down them before we are even anywhere near the top. Crickey?!?!?!?!? What happened to the days when I was always the youngest and the head of the pack!?!?!?!?

We are doing the south island counterclockwise from Christchurch and headed up north, then west towards the west/wet coast and then circling east to the centre.

This is wine country so we had to stop at a vineyard to sample the wares on our second day. It must have been to give us courage to launch into our 3 day backpacking trip into Nelson National Park. This is when it all becomes a blur – exhaustion and pain have that effect.....

For such a small country there is a lot of variety in topography and geography, The west coast is nicknamed “the wet coast”. Things like that always worry me when on vacation. Same as “rain forests”. I generally try to avoid them. However, the vegetation is very lush and tropical As we headed inland, east, we crossed mountains ranges and the topography and vegetation changes to much drier where you can see the rocky mountains . They are very reminiscent of our Canadian Rockies on the Alberta side. Beautiful lakes that are crisp blue – and apparently cold.

Currently we are in Queenstown – “the adventure capital of the world” (reminiscent of Banff, but even more commercialized) In Queenstown we are at 45 degrees south, so we are fairly far south They say in the winter temperatures can go as low as minus 15 C and up to minus 5C. So it can get pretty cold (although, our winters in Alberta can get FAR worse.)

Queenstown is very commercial – but cute. And any type of adventure activity you would like is available. This is the home of bungee jumping, paragliding, parachuting, aerial stunt plane rides – you name it – you can do it here.

Currently the weather is not cooperating. We had planned a heli ride to hike the Franz Josef Glacier, but that was canceled due to low clouds and winds. Today we planned a jet boat in Queenstown, that was canceled due to the rain. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Milford Sound– which is very famous. However, the roads are blocked with a land slide – so our guides have made alternate plans for us.

Highlights so far of the South Island:

Highlight #1: Three days backpacking in Nelson National Park – Angelus Circuit:

I have come to the conclusion Kiwis are a hardy lot. Crickey – have they never heard of stopping to smell the roses or enjoying the scenery when mountain climbing? Do they never need to catch their breath and rest? I can not even count the number of times I cursed John, for whatever reasons..... Crickey. We arrived at our alpine hut in time to have dinner – and then fall asleep at the table –it felt like too much effort to get up and go to our mattress

After breakfast we headed out across a ridge and then down grueling boulders beside a waterfall. I can't remember if it was harder going up or down – I just remember that my knees became wobbly and I seriously worried if they were going to bend backwards. My legs have never been so tired. Nine hours later we arrived at our next alpine hut – and a cold well deserved beer! (apparently that hike usually takes 11 hours! I wish someone had asked me if I was interested in breaking a record – if they had – my answer would have been “NO!!!!!!!!”) My legs have never been so sore. Those excercises that I did 20 years ago did not help me now!!!

Next morning we had a leisurely 3 hour hike out and back to the bus– hahahahaha. It hurt to stand up and sit down. It hurt to go down a stair. It hurt just thinking abut my legs. Now that it is over I am glad I did it.

Highlight #2: Kayaking in Okarita Lagoon

The reason this is a highlight is because John and I shared a two seater kayak – called the Divorce Kayak for 4 hours. Remarkably, neither one of us was ready to kill the other. (It really is not so amazing that John didn't' kill me – but more amazing that I never killed him!)

Highlight #3: Hearing the “youngsters” on the trip complain about sore legs!

John and I thought we were the only ones ready to die and in absolute agony, but it gave me great pleasure to hear them also complain about sore legs – not that I'm mean or anything. But life would just not have been fair if they had not also felt the pain.

And the beat goes on........