Bye, Bye New Zeand, now in Australia!

OAL 409 & OAL 443

 Bye, Bye New Zealand, now in Australia!

We have done a lot on this trip, as we traveled all over New Zealand, and we are now we are already in Australia.  Since Queenstown, we have done more exploration, along with having many more experiences.  We experienced the wind and stormy weather on the Routeburn track, went on the Milford Sound cruise, had our van breakdown in the middle of nowhere, and went to Wanaka for some rock climbing and mountain biking, then to Christchurch to fly out to Sydney.  We have experienced a lot of ups and downs.

Doing a lead climb in Wanaka, setting my anchor!

The Routeburn track!

As we left Queenstown we were off to the famous Routeburn track, where it is 32.1 km from the beginning to the end.  That is about 20 miles!  We did 20.1 km (about 12.5 miles) the first day and 12 km (about 7.5 miles) the second day. The Routeburn track is in the Humboldt Mountains, where you go through two National parks (You start out in one and end up in another!).  The first day we did climb about 2,000 feet in altitude, but it did not seem too bad.  Definitely by the end, of the first day we were all tired from the long day of hiking, as it took us about 7 hours and 45 minutes.  My feet, legs, and back were happy when we were descending down the mountain side and saw Lake Mackenzie, knowing that we must be close.  That first day, along the way the first day though we were surrounded by beautiful landscape of mountains, such as Mt. Aspiring, waterfalls, lakes, rivers and streams, wildflowers, and a little wildlife.  I also spotted an endangered yellowhead mohua, which is a little yellow bird about the size of a sparrow.  This backpacking adventure made me definitely appreciate the Mt. Cook/Muller hut hike I had done previously on the trip, because although this one was much longer, it was not nearly as steep, and I felt more prepared for this one.  Once we got to the Mackenzie Hut and Campground, we were told by the Hut Warden that the campground was closed, due to forecasted high winds.  He told us that it would be too risky to camp, so everyone would sleep in the hut.  That next morning, we woke up to the Hut Warden’s voice, telling everyone that if they were planning to hike out that day, then they better get a move on it due to the weather.  The second day we did our 7.5 mile hike out towards the divide in rain and wind.  Luckily for the most part we were more protected from the weather, as most of our hike was in the bush.  Along the way we saw another massive waterfall that was just pouring down water, especially since it had been raining lately.  I think because of our early start we were able to miss the big part of the storm.

Once we got to the car though, that day was not over…After reaching the divide, we got into the car to drive to Milford Sound.  I know that I have said many things are beautiful along this trip, but I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life in such a short period of time.  Along the way, it was not a time you wanted to sleep in the car, as we were surrounded with waterfalls, streaming from way, way, up above.  On our way to Milford Sound, since we had time we also stopped at the Chasm, which is where a river flows into this area, where all the force of the water has sculpted out the rock and created holes in the rock, to create awesome formations.  As we continued onto Milford Sound, we went on our cruise, even in the continuous rain.  It was a pretty neat experience to go on the cruise and see even more waterfalls.  We were able to get close to some of the waterfalls, others though we just saw at a distance.  Milford Sound is definitely a place that is made off of tourism, as there were probably at least four companies where you could go out to see the area.  On ours though, we did get to see three seals laying along a rock. They sure looked like they have a rough life…not!   After Milford Sound we got back in the car read to go find a place to car camp for the day, but we did not get too far.  We got stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no phone reception, as our van broke down.  Luckily we did get help from some people who were driving by, so we were able to get a hold of the car rental company and get us out of there.  It was a good test to see how everyone deals with situations like these.  I stayed calm by just accepting the fact that there was nothing to do, so I read and wrote in my journal.  We finally got a ride to the next closest town about an hour away.  That next day we spent in Te Anau, where we waited all day to get our new rental van, so it was another test of how everyone keeps their cool. We got our new van that next night after the breakdown and after some late night driving, we finally made it to Wanaka.   

In Wanaka we did some mountain biking and rock climbing.  The first day we did some rock climbing and it definitely pushed me, probably more mentally than physically.  I think my mental mindset actually made me become more sore physically.  One my first climb, I did, I was told that I was not going to be given any extra help about the route, as I was going to pretend I was lead climbing.  Therefore, if I took a fall, I was going to actually take a fall, which is a part of the rock climbing process.  I had a hard time with both of the cruxes (which is the hardest part of the climb, usually also is mentioned in the guide book), especially the second one. I had to mentally prepare myself for the move I was going to try to make, and it made me scared in some ways to commit to the move, as I was afraid of falling.  Once I finally got through the second crux and made it to the top though, I felt so great about that climb.  I may have struggled with it for a little bit, but I eventually pushed myself and got through it.  After that first climb, I did another top rope crack climb, where I was able to work on more technique and improve my skills both mentally and physically.   It is interesting how doing a sport, such as rock climbing, can relate to life and the things that we process.  For my third and final climb of that day, I did a lead climb and it felt great to do it and go over my lead climbing skills as it had been a while since the last time I had done a lead climb.  The next day in Wanaka we had a scheduled activity of mountain biking.  Being that I had never done mountain biking before I was scared, nervous, and excited at the same time.  I ended up having a good time, but it definitely took me a while to get comfortable with the bike, and the ups and downs.  Our mountain biking adventure was on a farm actually that ran along the lake and it was beautiful. 

The following day, was the day to leave Wanaka and drive to Christchurch.  That morning though a few of us woke up early and went out for a sunrise rock climb.  It was a day where I was definitely happy with myself and my skills, as I was able to do three lead climbs, each getting a little bit harder.  On the first one though I remembered what a part of being a lead climber was, as I took a fall.  The fall definitely did shock me a little bit, as I was about to clip into my second bolt, but I shook it off and got back on the rock.  In a way, I am glad I fell, as it was a good experience for me, because I did not get hurt, but I experienced a fall and how that is just a part of the process of rock climbing.  With anything in life, if you fall, I believe it is best to just get right back up, otherwise you may become scared and not ever want to do that activity or thing that you were doing again…that then would be missing out on life. 

We drove to Christchurch that afternoon and after getting to the place we were staying, we went out for grocery shopping and dinner, and that is when we truly saw for our own eyes, how badly Christchurch had been affected by last year’s earthquake.  It was sad to see the city center all closed down and Christchurch looked like a ghost town.  It was a Saturday night, but yet there was no one out and about. It is amazing how something such as an earthquake can tear apart a city.  That next day we woke up, packed our things and it was off to the airport.  We had a day of full travel, using cars, planes, trains, ferries, and our legs.  As we arrived in Australia we were told that we were going to have to find our way to the place we were staying with an assigned buddy. It was a good experience in learning how to travel and figure it out on your own.  So, Cary and I went to a travel information center and found out how to get to our place here in Manly.  We took a train from the airport, to then catch a ferry, and then walk a few blocks to where were staying…carrying all of our luggage.  It was a fun adventure and on the ferry we got to see the night lights of Australia, along with the bridge and the Opera house. Now we are here in Manly exploring and seeing what it has to offer.  Tomorrow though we head to the Blue Mountains for some more adventuring!

-Rochelle