The gorgeous South Island

As a good start, my flight Sydney -> Christchurch left a day earlier as expected, but I made it :-)
Christchurch is a nice little town with lots of restaurants, pubs and coffee shops. It has a tram (citytrain) showing lazy tourists the main attractions. But everything can be reached easily by foot.
As German a special highlight is the sausage hut with authentic German Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. The sausages are hand made in New Zealand by a swabian and bavarian chef. Only the roles aren't authentic German.
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Yesterday I organized a bus tour to get around with the first overnight stop in Kaikoura, a bit north of Christchurch.
Without doubt, the day's highlight was the unplaned whale watching tour. Almost everybody went, and it was definitely worth it! In the three hours tour for ~150$ we have seen:
- Three different whales hunting at the under water cliffs for food (all male, the female are probably on a diet).
- A bunch of dolphins playing around
- Some cormorans
- And seals fighting for the best sleeping spot.
In the evening six of us went out for dinner and a pint. Where Stephanie and me planed a hike for the next day.
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Early in the morning I packed my things and walked the 3 km along the beautifull beach to another hostel to meet Stephanie. Together we first enjoyed the gorgeous fiew while having breakfast and set of for our walk along the coast/cliffs to see the seal colonies. The walk was a mixture of walking, climbing and having a funny time. The only problems was a small, but steep hill. Getting up there was easy, but getting down a little challenge, since the track was very slippery and falling down would be painfull.
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On the trip to Picton we stopped at a wine tastery, but the wine wasn't my taste. But even without wine I felt a lot more comfortable during the bus trip.
Picton itself is a nice little town with a High Street, coffee and tourist shops and a scottish pub. But it is only a small village with limited activities to do, so I booked the bus for the next day to get to Nelson and organize the Abel Tasman Track. But for somebody who wants to do the Queen Charlot track (71km / 4-5 Days) or some walks/tracks along the local hills it's a nice stop.
I first enjoyed the nice afternoon with a cappuccino in High Street, listening to live music from accross the street and chated with Gareth and Kirsty from the bus. Afterwards I did a short hike and enjoyed the fjords around there.
In the evening Pete, Stephanie and me were puzzeling a 1000 pieces Lord of the Rings puzzle. It took 'only' 9 hours to finish with 11 missing and 10 pieces we couldn't fit anywhere (it wasn't a particular new puzzle). At 3 am we finally went to bed, for a couple of hours sleep before the bus departed to Nelson.
While waiting for the bus in the morning the very comfortable hammag was my favourite place and I almost fell asleep again.
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In Nelson I organized my first track in my live and got everything I needed thanks to the very competent I-Site (Tourist Information). The very helpfull staff told me I have to book a hut or campsite before worrying about a bus ticket, and not vice versa. From that moment on everything happened so fast, I hardly remember. First somebody from the DoC office (Department of Conservation) gave me the advice to start in the north and finish in the south to use the time between the two tidal crossings efficient. So I booked the Awaroa and Bark Bay hut. Then back to the I-Site organizing bus tickets and finaly shopping for three days. Since I need to walk ~20 Km each day there was a lot food to buy, and I just bought enough plus emergency ration (1Kg nuts).
Back at the hostel I rearranged my rucksacks to leave one at the hostel and the other for the hike while cooking dinner just before the kitchen got closed.

Geting up at 6 am for the 6:15 am bus was almost to easy. Unfortunately breakfast wasn't ready, but was ready when we departed. And only the Abel Tasman day walkers got breakfast (there is nothing wrong with them, they just don't do the exciting walks).
The bus journey it self took four hours through amazing hills/mountains along the coast. In the bus some other girls and me started talking for a long time, somehow we weren't tired at all. And for the last couple of km a fotographer joined and we walked together to the first hut where he stayed and I continued on my track.
The first 18.5 km of the track went along sceneries I've only seen on postcards and I regretted that I don't have a better camera. But the pictures are very nice nevertheless.
- Lonely, golden, endless sand beaches (don't get to close, the sandflies are worse than mosquitos)
- Plants I'v only seen in books/botanical gardens before
- Birds like Cormorans, Parrots and many more (with beautifull bird songs)
- Rocks which could have been arranged by hand
- And of course my first tidal crossing
The recommendet time being at the crossing for that day was stated as 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm. It was difficult not to be there to early for me. But since I started around 11 am and the track was easy going there was about an hour left. So I sat down and read a book for about 2 hours before crossing. The crossing it self wasn't particular hard, but I'm not used to it and was very glad to have a hiking stick. I got it at one of the postcard beaches. It helped me a lot because the tide was still going out and the deeper parts still had a water current. Another problem was to avoid stepping into shells and crabbs appearing from everywhere. But I made it successfull without geting wet or cut.
Finally in the hut I expected myself to be hungry, but I wasn't. Nevertheless I forced myself to eat and soon realized how hungry I realy was. Regardless of the fact that I ate from time to time along the way.
PS: Sand flies are small and nasty flies causing a long lasting and strong itching and usually appear in swarms.
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Since I was exhausted when I arrived at the hut and needed rest waking up at 6 am the next day was very easy. The night was just perfect, not to long and not to short. And within five minutes everybody was awake and prepared breakfast or already set off like I did. At 7:15 am I set off for the next 11.5 Km. My breakfast was a muesli/cerial bar with 'only' 500 kcal, and didn't last very long. I started eating again around 10 am to cover my energy demand. The track itself was very beautifull, especial in the morning listening to bird songs, water streams, ... and no human made noise appart from my shoes, hiking stick and the conversation with Domenik whom I met on the way. He made his way back with a kayak tour he booked before he started the hike.
My second tidal crossing was completely different, it was a lot deeper, but the water current was by far not as strong as I expected. At 2 pm I already reached Bark Bay hut and decided to do another walk without rucksack. So I headed for Torrent Bay, which has another beautifull beach. And to my suprise there were no sandflies. But instead of sand flies tourists appeared from everywhere. A dutch hiking couple counted over 200 people that day. And they did only half the way I did.
I decided to stay at the beach for some time to enjoy the sun, write and relax. After a couple of hours at the beach I made my way back home and met only few people. The day walkers were gone by than. On the way I got the fabulous opportunity to take a bath in the 'Half Way Pool'. It was very refreshing, first because it felt good taking a bath and second because it was FREEZING COLD!!! But there was no need having a shower in the evening, probably with likewise, very cold water.
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Again geting up early was no problem, but when I tried to enter the kitchen I got a little shock. Almost the whole other dorm room slept there. Somebody was snoring so loud that they were forced move. I turned back and used the backdoor to leave and was on my way again. The track was like yesterday very beautifull, but I didn't have that much time to enjoy it. My bus left at 5:30 pm and I also wanted to see two highlight of the track plus I needed fresh water.
First past Torrent Bay and than to my first detour, Cascade Falls and Falls River, a very small, slippery path of approximately 5 Km. The Falls River reminded me a lot of Canada, but there were a lot more leaf trees. Back at the main track I was glad being there, since the path wasn't the best. I felt down and could easily have broken something. On this particular path is only little chance being rescued, it is a side path and only few people go there. That was definitely a bit scary and I wouldn't want to do it again alone. The second detour lead me to Cleopatra's Pools, which were as cold as the Half Way Pool yesterday but I didn't even try to bath this time.
Back at the hostel I first prepared something to eat and had a nice, hot shower. It was so comfortable!!! During the track you are usualy not allowed to use any kind of soap, since the water is not treated before it goes into the sea. But appart from nice things, I was so used to focus on the not so nice things. Only one out of five computers was working, and of course everybody wanted internet access. Also the washing machines were already shut down for the night, and the cooker was broken.
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A rather boring day, the bus left at 8 am and we were shown the main attractions on the way, like on every other tourist bus tour. But I was still exhausted from the hike and couldn't enjoy anything.
In Greymouth almost the whole bus did the brewery tour where we tapped our own beer, enjoyed ourselves and went to bed late.
At the brewery tour they couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know from the brewery tours back home, but they serve a nice Radler (normal beer and lemon juice).
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Early in the morning Kathi and me went hitch-hiking to a place half a hour northern of Greymouth, where we made our own knives :-) Robyn & Steven guided us through the whole process to make the best out of our untalented skills. In the end our group has produced a bunch of knifes we were satisfied with. Robbin & Steve are a nice, happy married couple which found their destiny in feeling younger while having a good time with young people like Kathi and me :-P
And of course in the evening I've tried my knife for dinner, it worked fine (Kathi cut herself in a finger somewhen later and went to hospital).
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Geting to Franz Josef was another boring day sitting in the bus, doing nothing :-( Our busdriver mentioned every railway crossing on the way by asking uns to lift hands and feet. And I've learned that railway tracks are 143.5 cm (4feet and 8 1/2 inces) appart from each other. This is the distance two horses need to walk side by side and is a relict from the romans. Really interesting, isn't it?



Again, there wasn't much to do in the evening, and it was still raining. So I watched the Bucket List, talked to my room mates and we went out for a pint.
In the morning I set of for the puzzling world, but found the local hill. From the top I could see Lake Howea, which is the worlds only lake containing fresh water sharks. I didn't know there are sharks able to life in fresh water. Anyway swiming is not recommended! And the bottom third of of Lake Womka is still ice. It was formed by glaciers, but the glacier didn't melt fast enough, so the valey filled with water and burried a part of the glacier. Finally on my way back the puzzling world appeared, which I was looking for originally. Was lots of fun, first walking through a maze, seeking for all the different corners. but once I remembered a math lecture it became a lot easier, I just followed the walls to my left and only had to take care not going in circles and miss bridges. In the maze I met Gareth & Kirsty again, having as much fun as I had.
After the maze we went to the imagination room with lots of hologramms, 3D sculptures and a room where the floor has a 15° angel and water is flowing up streams, ...
But the special highlight was the roman bathroom, there wasn't any privacy.
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Somehow the westcoast is not very interesting for me, in Queenstown I was so exhausted that I first slept for an hour and went shopping afterwards. Later on I watched a movie and talked to two Swedish and a Brasilian girl in the kitchen (while my food was cooking).




For the fact that I went to bed late I stood up late. At 1 pm I finaly got up and organized another hike, the Routeburn Track. After I organized everything necessary for the track I walked around town and met Maria (the brasilian girl I talked to yesterday). And we had a nice afternoon in Queenstown which looks sometimes like a Swiss town with the lake in front of it.
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Setting of was very easy, just 6 Km plus a little detour of 4 Km. Somehow I often walk a lot more than I would need to but it is usually worth it! This particular detour lead me to a landscape causing a bit home sickness in my heart. The nice snow covered mountains in the distance, green fields, a little lake, a stream, ... everything looks pretty much like home in Europe for me.
And since I didn't have anything special this day I first took a chilly bath in the stream and enjoyed the sun. By time I have to ask if I can get troubles by nude bathing, I just didn't bring a towel or shorts.
On the way there and back I had to pass by a realy beautifull lake, or better an enormous paddle with ducklings in it. That was definitely one of the day's highlights.
Back in the hut a Austrian woman told me she went up to the very top (Connical Hill) and it felt surreal for her. My only thought was: "If NATURE feels surreal, how dependent are we upon our so called civilisation?" But for her excuse, it was her first trip and I think she just wasn't used to the tonns of endorphines produced while climbing up and down.
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What a georgeouse day, started hiking around 6:30 am, climbed about 400m in the first 2 Km to a nice waterfall and enjoyed my breakfast in bright sunshine with the brawly sound of water. But that wasn't everything, the following ascending to Conical Hill I had to cross several snow fields. But the reward was a breathtaking view including a glimpse of the sea.
The descending was as easy as the ascending, but many people asked me if I'm a tour guide. The question astonished me a bit, but soon I got the riddle solved. About three or four hikers passed me with walkie-talkies and I talked to one of them. They are volunteers having fun at hiking around in New Zealand and having a good time showing everybody the landscape.
Finaly at the MacKenzie hut, my place for today almost everybody went for a bath in the MacKenzie Lake. Everybody could hear it, the lake temperatures was only +6°C. But it felt so gooooooooooooood. The 14 km through the mountains at the second day were very exhausting, but by far not too much.
When the ranger told us the usuall safety rules everybody soon realized that he enjoyes telling storries. His speech took about 45 minutes and he told us about the local wildlive, the lake crocodile, possums in the bed of hikers and a Santa Clause tale. When he finished our "good night storries" we went to bed and soon realized it is almost impossible to fall asleep with somebody snorting very loude. Some people moved into the kitchen for the night. But I decided to sleep outside untder the entrance shelter and enjoyed nature, like I'm used to from sailing turns where I sleep in the ships cockpit if possible.
The next morning this enormous loud snorrer (maybe it is a disease, who knows) asked other people the serious question: "Did you sleep well?"
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For the last day the hike turned out to be very easy, it was just slight de- or ascending and no realy exhausting part. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to see or do much on the track. There would have been some nice look out points, but they were all covered in the clouds. Therefore we enjoyed to stay in the last hut for some hours, having a good time there eating, drinking and saying good bye.
All together the Routebourn Track was another georgeous track I would do again immediately if I could.
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Dunedin is a small town, but again there is not much to do after a huge hike. So some mates and me went on the penguin & cormoran seeing, which was definitely worth it! We saw around 10 penguins and got lots of information about them: Theyr whole body consists mainly of mussel and they are very powerfull, especially with theyr flaps, they can swim up to 40 Km/h which I would have never expected and both sex look exactly the same. That makes it slightly difficult to find a partner.
Back in town we looked for a restaurant / pub to celebrated Diana's birthday with a bottle of wine and a tasty chees plate. The opening hours were interresting, '9am - open till late'. But late means 11pm, are we in England? The translation of Dunedin is "Edinburgh of the South" and they are very proud of theyr roots. But I doubt it, the Scottish pub times (till 1 am) are missing!
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On the bus almost everybody was sleeping, and nobody missed anything on the journey. The scenery wasn't very interresting either, sheep and cows all over.
But Lake Tekapo looks very nice and has nice tracks for horse riding, cycling or walking. One of those walks leads to Mt John (like in Scottland mountain means hill for Germans) from where you can imagine where they made the enormous battles at the white city in Lord of the Ring, the Return of the King. An endless plateau and the mountains in the back.
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Back where I started! The southern island is done now :-) It was a great time with it's ups and downs. But overall I enjoyed it. Especially to mention are:
- Abel Tasman & Routeburn Track hikes,
- Whale watching because of the dolphins we have seen playing around,
- Lake Tekapo & "Mt" John for the view,
- and the quiet authentic German Bratwurst from Christchurch.