GravityKarma

Hi all

Well today we are sitting in another internet cafe this time in te Anau promounced Teayarnow, Joe thinks its a good piratey name.

Well from invercargil we came here where we went for a 67km tramp, by the way a tramp in nz isnt a grubby man on the streets its a hike, well the tramp should have been 67km but Joe insisted that we walked from our hostel to the start to save ourselves some money (why do i listen to him!) [because I'm right, it was only 4Km and meant we could have pizza and beer when we got back! - joe].

The begining of the first day i thought ooo this is nice a lovely walk through some forests next to a beautiful lake this went on for a couple of hours.  Next thing I know the  track starts to slowly wind its way upwards i start to think mmm this isnt as much fun, 4hrs later and we are 900m further up by this stage i had 2 blisters one of which had rather inconvieniently popped on my heel.  I think Joe and i lost alot of weight that day and i almost lost my mind.  But as we came out of the bush line it was stunning we had mountains infront of us and the lake behind.  I have never been up an alpine pass so it was lovely that Joe could tell me about the plant life which is really pretty. 7hrs from leaving our hostel we make it to Mt Luxmore Hut I must admit it was hard work for me but as we rounded a corner and saw our accomadation I felt wonderful, it was a huge wooden structure that can hold 60 people plus a flat for the hut warden. From the kitchen/lounge/dining room there is a marvelous view of the mountains, some of which are snow capped.
[the hut system in NZ is pretty cool - think bothys but run by a government organisation. You can tramp almost all of the tracks here without having to carry a tent, some of them have cookers etc - and all for $90 a year Joe]
I was a little pooped from the walk so had a small nap, oh by the way Joe was carrying a 18kg pack and mine was about 10kg which w had to carry all the way.  Whilst i napped Joe had an adventure.
[Not satisfied with sitting still in and appreciating the view I had to go explore the local caves! All around the hut there is some alpine bog caused by all the springs and water flowing out of the hill which have eroded the limestone sections into huge, long underground systems full of glittering stalagtites, stalagmights and collums. I went in as far as I dared and was rewarded with the amazing atmosphere. Sitting around and chatting back at the hut was fun although it's odd, there's a reasonable percentage of people that seem to sprint from hut to hut, seemingly head-down all the way. I can't help but feel they miss the best bits Joe]

Day two Joe bounds out of bed and i try to copy and end up a giggling mess on the floor as i find my legs seem to not work properly any more, oh well only another 6hrs to walk today and 2 ascents that total about 700m and a decent of over 900m eek.   After a quick breakfast Joe strides ahead and i waddle after him, after about 5mins i loosen up a bit which makes it easier, well the 2nd day surpasses the first by having 2 wonderful ridge walks [and a 1500m peak that someone made me run up! - Joe] we were really lucky and had a warm non windy clear day (we will try to get the photos up in the next week) on the ridges we were completely surrounded by mountains it was quite a strange feeling with no civilization for miles.  We had lunch which was made amusing by two Keas tag teaming to try to cheat a German lady out of her lunch. [I think seeing these wonderful, intelligent birds was a real highlight for me. The plumage of these mountain parrots is very attractive green with flashes of orange and purple underwing as they (reluctantly) fly around. Joe] Next was the downhill which i must admit after all the climbing i was looking forward to, it was not the relief we were expecting.  After and hour our knees started to ache after 2hrs when we found our camping area we were almost done in.  I had managed after an hour and a half to fall over and now have a cracking bruise on my shin, Joe wasnt much help for a while as i apparently looked like a tortoise stuck on its back trying to get up arms and legs waving manically so he mostly laughed at me.  Joe about 10mins earlier was trying to give his legs a break by walking backwards and almost did by sliding down when the edge collapsed on him.  When we got to the camping ground we were very happy to find a freezing cold river to have a very quick dip in, my feet started to go blue when i decided i maybe should get out.  Then we met our hosts Mr and Mrs sandfly and their million children. [Life of a sandfly; buzz buzz buzz, BITE!, lay eggs,  repeat endlessly - Joe]  We still sat up for quite a time with 2 lovely Canadians.

Day three NO CLIMBS yeyeyeyeyeyey, wake up look though the fly net at our infested porch, Joe bravely runs though it and clears it of all the sandflies (as they are all chasing him), I lesiurlely stroll out.  5hours later through gently rolling forests along the river and up a 20m vertical climb using tree roots as foot and hand holds (great fun before dropping back to the river. When get to Shallow bay when we camp for the night on the bank of the Manapouri lake with only one other camper there it was magical, we got to hear the Kiwi (bird not people) for the first time but didnt manage to track them down.

Day 4 first day of rain the whole tramp after hiding in our tent for as long as we dared we got up and walked 2hours and 2 swing bridges that joe greatly enjoys bouncing on and getting then to swing as much as he can we get to Rainbow ridge when i chicken out and catch a bus back to town, I have to admit i was chuffed to have done it but was so tired and sore i could hardly walk, think it may take me a few days to make my legs walk again properly. [As I wave goodbye to Wendy and heft the pack for the last time I'm glad i was able to offload the (now wet) tent and my sleeping bag onto the bus for the final section back to Te Anau. Most people finish off the track at rainbow ridge, but there's a track back to town so I thought I might as well, It really shows too. The track continues along the river up towards the lake becoming much thinner and rougher without so many feet to smooth the passage, at times I'm brushing scrub on both sides which acknowlwdges my presence by unloading water down my neck. It's a rewarding tramp and traveling fast and light the control gates hove into view in about half the time I'm expecting. the tramp back to town however seems to take forever, I can see the hostel but it's not getting any closer. It arrives suddenly and a warm shower is my reward before we hit town for that piza and beer - I really reccomend venison and cranberry sauce if you get the chance. A fantastic tramp that I'd do again anytime. Wendy did really well and dispite her blisters didn't moan once and seemed to have a whale of a time. It's only a matter of time till she's entering the yearly race and going for that 4 hour record! joe]

Tomorrow we are off to lake manapouri for some day hikes and then on the 6th we will be off to doubtful Sound for a 2 day kayaking.