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It would have been impossible to have had a better experience than this one with Active New Zealand and recommend them wholeheartedly if you are looking for something a little different. The "Manuka" stayed strictly in the South Island and gave us a completely different New Zealand experience than the first time around. It was "soft" enough for anyone in decent physical condition and exposed us to activities that ex-Marine and I probably would never have done on our own. For example, the Siberia Experience. If I had said, "Steve (ex-Marine), let's go jet boating...and take a ride in a small plane into the mountains...", he would have probably replied..."Are you out of your mind?" ...and then thrown in many, choice swear words on the subject of my sanity....., and the:
- tour price was reasonable;
- group size small enough to really intereact and get to know each other;
- lodging choices were unique - little cottages, A-frames, spacious apartments with a deck to enjoy; and
- a varied itinerary.
Continue reading "Visit New Zealand" »
Mount Cook or Aoraki (the Maori word for "cloud-piercer") is New Zealand's highest mountain 12, 316'. According to Maori legend, Aoraki was a young boy in the canoe Te Waka a Aoraki, which was stranded on a reef and tilted to one side. Aoraki and his brothers climbed to the high side and sat on the wreckage. The south wind froze them and turned them into stone, creating the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana.
Some of the group were going to climb up to the main ridge above Mueller Glacier, a 3-4 hour slog up, too difficult for ex-Marine and myself. Iinstead we took one of the other hiking options. There were 10 short or all day walks around Aoraki/Mount Cook Village and into the main valleys, and we headed out on the Hooker Valley route, one of the most popular.
Mount Cook National Park map
Continue reading "Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo" »
This was it. Some final glimpses of Sutherland Falls on the descent down Gentle Annie (a rocky hill). Through a flat area into the green rainforest and out into the open straight section known as the Race Course. (Early packhorses used to try and pass each other on this stretch)
Back in the bush to the Boatshed, built in 1928 to house boats used to move supplied from Lake Ada and a short rest. More swinging bridges, past Mackay Falls, another open area and we were at the 27 mile mark. From here on, the rest of the walk would be in the rainforest. I really enjoyed the simple but descriptive names given by the early pioneers to the sights - Danger Mountain, Steep Hill, Valley of the Perpendicular, the Wetland Walk - you knew exactly what to expect.
feathery, tall grasses in this section
Continue reading "The Milford Track - 33 Miles Later and Queenstown" »
An early start on the trail heading to the upper reaches. It was going to be uphill for close to six miles before heading downhill for the remaining three miles to Quintin Lodge.
There were lots more suspension bridges, a small lake named the Mirror, and lots of zig-zags. Another perfect day filled with sunshine and heat. This couldn't have possibly been the same Milford Track we slogged through last time! So perfect, that MacKinnon pass was easy to pick out and the views fantatastic from the top. Again, we never saw a thing in '84 between the rain and fog. It's time to tell you a little about that obnoxious Kea bird. The Kea bird is an endemic Mountain Parrot of New Zealand. According to experts, the Kea is not only the world's only Mountain Parrot but has a level of intelligence that rivals the most sophisticated monkeys. And that's the truth...the peskiest, smartest birds we've ever encountered. Their powerful beaks are lethal and all equipment in the mountains has to be made Kea-proof or beware.
pesky Kea birds
Continue reading "Milford Day 2 - Pompolona Lodge to Quintin Lodge" »
The daily routine was up early, repack your backpack with everything you brought in, eat breakfast, make the daily lunch with cold meats, cheese, fruit, candy bars and cookies laid out. A little FYI: The current High Season (December 1-March 31) entire Milford Track package ran about NZ$1750/per person for a shared Adult room (around $1,300 US). There are daily departures from November 1 to April 18 every year.
This day was completely unlike our 1st day 20 years ago...no flooding...no submerged logs to fall over...no landslides...no misery... (one of these days is not like the other......). Hot and Sunny! And, it stayed that way through the entire day. It would be 10 miles to Pompolona Lodge and the first few miles, the old packhorse trail was flat and wide along the Clinton River. We passed the site of Quintin Mackinnon's first hut built in 1889, a circular sidetrack to the Wetland Walk and everyone walked at their own pace, dawdled if they felt like it and took lots of photos.
Mackinnon pass in the distance
Continue reading "Milford Day 1 - Glade House to Pompolona Lodge" »
Excited and apprehensive, after all ex-Marine and I were 19 years older, our entire group along with most of the 44 other trekkers boarded the bus to Te Anau Downs, stopping for lunch at the Lakeside village of Te Anau. We were Group #140 of this trekking year and met up with the rest of our trekkers for the infamous group photo. The group size was almost double that of Group #34 in 1984.
The weather was bright and sunny but this time we were anticipating the worst, not expecting the best. On the launch once again to the head of Lake Te Anau and the short walk to Glade House, only 8/10ths of a mile. An easy beginning but I was really afraid to get my hopes up. The first Glade House was washed away by a flood in 1924, and then destroyed by fire in 1928. Most of the other accommodations on Milford were also destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout the years.
Sheila with the orange "Bozo" hair sitting behind sign,
ex-Marine in row behind, three to her left wearing black shirt
Continue reading "Tramping The Milford in 2003" »
Some Milford Track facts courtesy of Tourism Milford Ltd:
On October 16, 1888, Quintin Mackinnon and Ernest Mitchell crossed the pass that was later given Mackinnon's name, in bleak and miserable conditiions, conditions that many walkers experience to this day. (They didn't have to tell us about that...we lived it.) The Milford Track Guided Walk operation was sold to Tourism Milford Ltd, a privately owned New Zealand company in 1992. In the 1983/84 season, 4,000 walkers were guided over the Milford Track for the first time. Just think, when ex-Marine and I walked this in 1984/85, we were part of the first 5,000 walkers.
A barge transports food and freight (about 3 tons per lodge per week) for Glade House and Pompolona. From there, helicopters service Pompolona and Quintin. All rubbish and sewage is flown out.
Milford Track map
Continue reading "Milford Track Facts and Preparation" »
What can I possibly tell you about Queenstown that's new and different? Nothing but same-o-same-o. Queenstown is set on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and only has about 5,000 permanent inhabitants. We were going to spend two days here before the Milford Track with free time.
Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand and I seriously considered a bungy jump if they would let me do it feet-first instead of head-first. We stopped at the Kawarau Bungy spot where it all began over 14 years ago and watched a few people take that leap. They also did tandem and water jumps off this 142 foot bridge. But then the Emergency Room Nurse from Illinois (part of our group) suggested I rethink the Bungy Jump and tactfully filled me in on the possibility that bungy jumping could cause a partial or total paralysis from your neck snapping. That decided it. Death is one thing, partial or total paralysis? I don't think so. And when we returned home and I had a yearly eye-check with my Opthamologist, HE told me that bungy jumping can easily cause a detached retina. Folks...I'm too old to deliberately chance this stuff.
central Queenstown map
Continue reading "Two Days in Queenstown" »
Extremely difficult to describe the exhilarating and fun Siberia Experience but I'll try. The "Siberia Experience" would start with a scenic 25-minute flight over the Southern Alps landing in Siberia Valley, followed by a three-hour bushwalk though valleys and native beech forest linking the Siberia Valley with Wilkin Valley where our jetboats would be waiting to take us on a thrilling 30-minute ride back to Makarora. The Siberia Experience is always weather dependent because the scenic flight takes place in a small bush plane (and I do mean small...three seater plus the pilot...max).
It was a cool, cloudy day (but the trip was a go) and we were ready to fly over and past snowy peaks to the remote Siberia Valley. Very, very nervous...especially remembering that New Zealanders love to brag and call their country the "adrenaline capital" of the world. A fast signing of liabilities and waivers (...if you die...your estate will not hold ...liable....blah, blah, blah) at the Makarora Information Center and out on the air strip. One after another, our little bush planes took off and the pilots probably trained as barnstormers in their younger days. At first, I was a lot concerned that I was going to upchuck all over everything as our pilot headed straight up, flying extremely close to the mountain peaks, did some fast banks...almost everything but a complete barrel roll...and ex-Marine was looking a tad green under his tan.
ex-Marine not happy about the size of our bush plane
Continue reading "New Zealand's "Siberia Experience"" »
Okarito was another small beach area, actually sitting on a sand-spit above the Tasman Sea. With only 26 permanent residents, "quiet" was an understatement. The streets were undeveloped with a few historic buildings dating back to Okarito's goldmining past. There were no shops, banks or gas stations. There was one motel/beach cottages (we stayed at the Okarito Beach House, owned by Active New Zealand), backpacker accommodations, a campground and several houses for rent.
Our time in Okarito was basically free to do whatever we wished. The guides explained where to go and what to do, and Active New Zealand also had a standing booking with Okarito Nature Tours who operated the sea kayaking here.
Okarito map
Continue reading "Okarito and Makarora" »
Punakaiki ("a spring of food" to the Maori) is a seaside village best known for its Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Pancake Rocks are columns of limestone resembling stacks of pancakes (made sense to me). At high tide, seawater is forced up through blowholes. Punakaiki also the center for exploring Paparoa National Park and is a major tourist attraction on the West Coast of the South Island.
Punakaiki's history also included gold seekers, headed by the Sams Party known as "Black Sam, White Sam, French Sam, and another Sam." Don't you love that? Brighton boomtown resulted from gold fever and had over 53 pubs that have all vanished. The group had a choice of activities: hike a section of the Inland Pack Track in Paparoa National Park; arrange a boat safari to see dolphins, sea birds and other marine life; or do nothing.
Pancake Rocks Blowholes
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Continue reading "Punakaiki, Hokitika, Harihari and Okarito" »
Landing in Auckland International Airport and a 10-minute walk to the Domestic Terminal. After 19 hours on a plane, it felt good to follow the blue lines painted on the sidewalk and walk to that terminal. Or we could have taken the free inter-terminal bus. Air...give me air...and sunshine...
A short flight into Christchurch International Airport with a single terminal for both international and domestic passengers. Getting into the city was a breeze. The choices were: the Airport Flyer, runs between Christchurch International Airport and the City Centre, around every half hour during the day, every hour in the evening and runs NZ7.00/person (that converted to $5 US - NZ1.34=$1 US; Shuttle Bus with door-to-door service to all parts within Christchurch, at NA12-18/person (cost reductions when two or more passengers travel together - that is what we took); and taxis.
the Active New Zealand "Manuka" route
Continue reading "Back in Christchurch" »
Air? Once again, we flew Air New Zealand using miles for two (2) free First Class tickets. (Now, that is how you can really lower your travel costs!) Arriving in Auckland meant a fast connection to Christchurch (where the tour started) on Quantas. Every airline flies to New Zealand. It just depends what country you leave from. United, Delta, American are a few of the American carriers that leave from the U.S..
Visas? If you are a U.S. citizen, you do not need a visa. Other countries - check the New Zealand Government website to see what the status is.
Continue reading "New Zealand Planning, 20 Years Later" »
I took ex-Marine (husband, Steve) up on his thought of revisiting New Zealand, setting off on the Milford Track once more, minus staying in huts with the Resort staff, and starting looking into a NEW tour operator with prices in the middle ground...not too expensive...and definitely not cheap!
Checked out the usual big operators: Mountain Travel Sobek; Wilderness Travel; Sherpa Expeditions, Explore Worldwide; Geographic Expeditions; almost anyone worth their salt operates a trip to New Zealand especially since The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed here. One thing they all have in common is handing off their tours to a New Zealand operator to actually run, and, Active New Zealand happens to be one of those operators.
New Zealand map
Continue reading "2003, New Zealand All Over Again" »
It wasn't until Rotorua that ex-Marine had a major meltdown. Leaving Tongariro, we informed Morris that...this was it...if the accommodations were sub-standard in Rotorua, forget it...find us a motel somewhere and we'd pay for it even though it was only for one night. Arriving in Rotorua and holding our combined breaths, Morris drove up to this ex-Army compound and led us to a barracks with bunk beds.... and the toilets were located in another block a good 1/4 of a mile uphill. That was it! The last hard lesson to learn...you get what you pay for...
Veins bulging, saliva spitting in all directions, ex-Marine shouted..."Morris...find me a motel room!"
fun 1984 Rotorua map
Continue reading "Rotorua" »
Now on the North Island of New Zealand, Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand and was the fourth National Park established in the world. There are three active volcanic mountains located in the center of the Park, Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro.
New Zealand is home to the Maori. It is believed that the Maoris originated from the tropical islands of Polynesia and brought with them a Polynesian culture. Some of the muntain summits are highly sacred sites or "tapu" (taboo). Jill, ex-Marine and I were going to spend two days in Tongariro doing a little more dayhiking with Morris (our guide) leading. Up to now, our accommodations (with the exception of Portage worker's quarters) were pretty darn...okay...and optimistic me just assumed that the worst was over. Big w-r-o-n-g....
Buttercup Hotel and Camp
Continue reading "Tongariro National Park" »
Goodby to everyone but Jill still on the tour with us and Morris, our guide. It was a five-hour drive back to Queenstown and a little depressing after the excitement and accomplishment of the Milford Track. From Queenstown, the remaining part of the tour included: Fox Glacier; Portage, a seacoast town; cross by ferry from Picton to Wellington in the North Island; head to Tongiroro National Park; and end in Rotorua. For more information, check out Explore Fiordland. Picton is a seaside town (still on South Island) and there are walks, boating and cruises in and around Queen Charlotte Sound.
section of South Island, New Zealand
Continue reading "Fox Glacier and Christmas in Portage" »
In 1984, Pompolona was the newest and nicest of the three lodges Today's walk would head to the upper reaches of the Clinton River and over famous Mackinnon Pass with renowned views. The views would not be there for us, fog...fog...and more rain. All we could see were the bright yellow raincoasts of the person ahead on the trail and I kept a sharp eye on where my feet were at all times afraid that a misstep would hurl me off the mountain. No renowned or stupendous views for Group 34!
At the top there was a cairn (a pile of rocks) memorial to the efforts of Mackinnon, and nasty Kea birds (Mountain Parrots) everywhere. (More about Kea birds later on.) A difficult downhill to Quinton Lodge and the opportunity to take a little excursion to Sutherland Falls, the worlds 5th highest waterfall. You would have thought Group 34 had enough of waterfalls by now, but no...we dropped our packs at Quintin and set out on the 1-1/2 hour roundtrip to Sutherland.
Sutherland Falls
Continue reading "Pompolona to Quintin to Milford Sound" »
The next day dawned clear and sunny and a helicopter landed at Glade House to fly the Idiot man and his three children off the Track. When there are age limits imposed, there really IS a reason and that family was extremely lucky that no one lost their life.
Same routine...eat breakfast, make packed lunches to eat on the trail, stow all the dry clothes in our dry packs and put on dry boots! Those drying room blowers were incredible. Off to cross the same long swinging bridge, on the same wide flat trail along the Clinton River, with not one drop of water or puddle in sight. That is how quickly the water ran off this volcanic soil. Unfortunately, the sunshine didn't last for long and the rain started again.
a rare sunny bridge crossing
Continue reading "The Milford Track Saga Continued, 1984" »
Glade House was a warm, homey place and some people started out to explore a little before dinner and the all-important briefing and introductions. Because the Track had strict age requirements, we were surprised to see one man with three small children. (He had lied about their ages...more about those consequences later.) Everyone signed the guestbook and our group was Tour #34 of this season. There would be a lead guide and shepherd guide, everyone was welcome to walk at your own pace and we were ready.
After a wonderful breakfast with eggs, bacon, etc., all the trekkers made their own packed lunch, stowed belongings in our rucksack/backpack and it was out on the trail in a light rain. Over the first of many suspension/swinging bridges. ex-Marine is terrified of them and it was here that he honed the "ex-Marine method of crossing a swinging bridge." The method: hold up the entire line of people waiting to cross until the coast is clear with no extra weight to make the bridge really swing; hightail it across as quickly as possible; hold your breath; count your footsteps; and don't look down! Hey...it worked for him!
the first swinging bridge
Continue reading "Glade House, The Milford Track Began" »
The Track is scheduled through New Zealand's Department of Conservation and runs from late October to late April, with one guided trip leaving every day. At that time, you could also walk as a Freedom Walker instead of with a guided group and stay in little huts, bring your own food, etc. The only restriction for the track was "no children under 10."
Morris dropped us off along a highway (can you imagine?) to wait for the Mt. Cook Line bus going from Queentown to Te Anau. Te Anau was headquarters for the Milford and where we met the rest of our group, the 34th Party of 1984-1985 season. A group photo and onto the launch for a cruise across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf.
waiting for the bus
Continue reading "The 1984 Milford Track Began" »
Sometime in 1983, I read an article describing "The Finest Walk in The World, The Milford Track." Being naive, optimistic and adventurous, I sweet-talked ex-Marine (husband, Steve) into flying to New Zealand...an awfully long way to go...focusing on this 5-day, 4-night, 33 mile walk. I finally found a two-week tour that incorporated the Milford Track and was very inexpensive. Okay, let's call a spade and spade...it was cheap, cheap, cheap... Why? Read and you shall find out. I said I'm naive...and because it was over 20 years ago, I'm not even going to tell you the name of the tour operator. ( I'm also not going to give information about planning a New Zealand trip until later in this series.)
Made plans, flew Air New Zealand, Chicago-Los Angeles-Auckland, crammed into economy purgatory for who-knows how many hours (at least 18 from Los Angeles), arrived and flew directly to Christchurch, where the tour began. This was a group tour, but most of the people with us in the beginning were only doing the Milford Track portion. Jill, from Perth, Australia, was the only one doing the complete 14-day trip with us and our guide, Morris. It was a surprise to find a tour operator would even run a tour for three people. This tour encompassed the South and North Islands of New Zealand but fixated on the Milford Track, the other visits were just going to be gravy.
New Zealand map
Continue reading "Visiting New Zealand 1984" »
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