On the road again

After a wonderful weekend of an Easter dinner, clean laundry, Frisbee golf, and church, a new week had come. Sunday was my final night at the Flaming Kiwi. On Monday morning I woke up and slowly proceeded to pack my belongings. The sun was out and after being in Queenstown for 5 weeks, it was time to have my first Fergburger, an infamous burger joint in town. I made a picnic of it by taking it to the park by the lake. The afternoon passed and evening came. At 5:30, I made my way to the primary school where the youth group was meeting for an intense Easter egg hunt around Queenstown. After being split into teams of four, we raced around town using clues to find chocolate Easter eggs. Queenstown if a manageable town to walk but when it comes to running from one end of town to the other, I think it became evident to most of us how unfit we are. Well after the sun went down, the race came to an end and we continued on by going to the guys flat and prizes being distributed. I am sad to say, that my team was not amongst those receiving a prize. It was a bittersweet evening; although great fellowship was to be had, it was time to say goodbye to these friends I had made. I was taken home by the lovely Jess and Rachelle, where I would spend the night before moving on. The plan was to leave some of my stuff at their house as I went to Milford Sound for a few days and I would stop by Queenstown on my way back to get the stuff I had left. On Monday night, I had the joy of sleeping in a real bed; one of the things I take for granted when I’m home.

The ghostbuster vacuum

Fellow cleaners: Lizi (Germany) and Melissa (Australia)

Nick (bed maker, England) and Chris (reception, England)

The boss, Kent

The infamous Fergburger

I woke up on Tuesday morning, I put a limited amount of things in my large pack. I was contemplating doing an overnight hike and didn’t want to carry more than what was necessary. As Rachelle went into work, she dropped me off on the edge of town. That’s right, I was going to hitch hike 291km to Milford Sound. I have learned that the more you hitch hike, the anxiety that comes with it diminishes. After 20 minutes, I was picked up by Baltimore and Benny, a middle age Swiss man and a young family friend that was studying in Wellington. Conversation ensued and two hours later, there came a turn in the road and we parted ways. I walked 10 minutes before being picked up by yet another Swiss couple, Andreas and Benita, who took me the remaining 20 minutes to Te Anau. Arriving around noon, I made my way to Lakefront Backpackers where I booked a room for the night. My stomach was in need of food so I made my way to the local bakery where I got fish and chips. Being the first day on the road again since being in Queenstown for close to 6 weeks, I felt a little off so I spent the rest of the afternoon walking and sitting by the lake. I had the intentions of hitch hiking the remaining 2 hours to Milford Sound in the morning. When I went to my room that evening, I began talking to Nina from Germany who was in the same room as myself. She was going to be leaving at 6:30am to go on the 9am cruise in Milford. She had a car and offered to give me a ride.

Yes, I have a hitch hikers thumb.
Putting it to good use.

waiting for my next ride in the middle of nowhere

the lake in Ta Anau

taken for a special 9 year old :)

enjoying the sunset over the lake

Before her alarm went off in the morning, I was already awake. We quietly got our stuff together and loaded up her car. In the cold stillness of the morning as the light slowly entered the sky, we made our way to Milford Sound. The views were stunning as the fog wrapped itself around the mountains. Because I hadn’t booked a cruise in advance, I inquired about availability of the 9am cruise. There was indeed a place for me on the same cruise as Nina. After a short wait, we boarded the boat with about 20 others. Being the first to leave the harbor in the morning, we made our way into the Sound. We cruised along one side of the Sound and returned along the opposite side. The views were stunning. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

When we arrived back on shore, I inquired about short day hikes in the area and then jumped back in the car with Nina. After driving 45 minutes, she dropped me off at The Divide where I was going to do the Key Summit day hike. I started shortly after noon, and arrived at the summit about an hour and a half later. The view from the top far outweighed the effort it took to get there. Possibly the best day hike thus far. I sat at the top for a while, enjoying the view and being amused watching a group of cousins and their families. I made my way back down, arriving at the car park around 4pm. It was time to put out my hitch hiker’s thumb again. Although there wasn’t much traffic, with only one road out of Milford, I figured my chances of getting picked up were high. It took about 20 minutes before I got picked up by Peter, Helen, and Sylvia, a middle aged couple and their friend. When we arrived in Te Anau, they dropped me off at the hostel, where I booked another night. I enjoyed some time in the lounge before making a simple noodle dinner and meeting two fellow American guys, Dustin and Josh. After waking up early that morning, I called it a day early.

Nina

On Thursday morning I woke up, not knowing my plans for the day. Over the past few days, I had been contemplating hiking the 32km of the Routeburn Track. The weather was questionable and because it was an overnight hike that I would be doing on my own, I didn’t want to go if the weather was going to be nasty. I walked to the DOC (Department of Conservation) office to check the weather and availability of one of the huts along the way. According to DOC, the weather was still questionable and there was one spot available. I went back to the hostel to check out, still mulling over what to do. Dustin and Josh, who I had met the previous day, were going to Milford and offered to give me a ride to the start of the track should I decide to do it. I abruptly decided to just go for it. We went back to the DOC office in order for me to book the hut for the night. Ironically, the one spot that had been open 15 minutes earlier had been taken. Maybe this is another way of God protecting me. The guys gave me a ride to the edge of town and I proceeded to hitch hike back to Queenstown. Peter and Claire, a kind Kiwi couple gave me a lift back to the edge of Queenstown. After purchasing a merino top, I walked towards town. Along the way lived the guys from church. Although it was the middle of the day and they were probably at work, I gave it a shot; maybe one of them would be home. There was indeed someone home. After using their phone to call Jess, I hung out a bit before Luis gave me a ride into town. I stayed around town until Jess finished work and we went back to her place where she made a lovely home cooked meal and I made cinnamon rolls, had a great conversation, and went in the spa pool before calling it a night.

Although I had planned on leaving the next morning, I didn’t. I ended up staying another night with Jess and Rachelle. I spent the morning relaxing before walking around Lake Hayes with Rachelle. Again, great conversation was to be had. Jess returned home from work and before long, other girls arrived making for an unplanned girls night.