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Travelogue 4, finds us heading off on the delightful Inland Pack Trail, heading further north for the Travers/Sabine trek in the Nelson Lakes and finally moving on to Marlborough Sounds for a little more R&&R.

beloved friends,

wow time does fly - so long no news therefore this is going to be an evening read. the latest report from downunder:

Pancake rocks

remember the neptunes backpackers with all the fishy stuff .... yeah we stay in Greymouth for a couple of days. it is mainly grey and drizzly rain, the temperature so far is very comfortable, always around 20-26 degrees - good walking weather. after two nights in our aquarium we catch the bus to Punakaiki. this is a small place on the westcoast featuring the famous pancake rocks with their blowholes. the rockformation does really look like a pile of pancakes out of a mickey mouse comic. as the limestone gets washed away by the power of the tides it creates this enormous underworld cavesystem and with the wind from southeast and high tide it builds up so much pressure that it blows out meterhigh fountains of spraying water - very impressive. so this is mega tourist attraction and quite busy.

so next morning we start yet another track which is called the Inland Pack Trail, a 2-3 day tramp with lots of river crossings! i am a bit nervous because it is still cloudly and drizzling - our book comments: you want to avoid this track by all costs if it rains -very encouraging indeed.

On the Inland Pack Trail

the first day we start through a wonderful river valley lined with Nikau palm trees. it is very subtropical, humid and muddy. the world seems to be green and greener... our packs are quite heavy as we are carrying everything we have and the food. after a good seven hours, and a sore shoulder we come out of the evergreen rainforest and pitch our tent on the shore of a creek. there we are only the stars above us, a campfire burning and the usual countless amount of sandflies.

Weka

next morning we have a Weka visiting us for breakfast. it is another of nz flightless birds, very curious and cheeky. it is inspecting our stuff and takes a great liking of a bright yellow plastic bag from tee peter in freiburg - good taste. so it is another wet boots day - we start actually walking in the river for about 1\2 hour followed by 19 river crossings (zigzags). it doesn't even make sense to get the water out of the boots inbetween. in the guide book it says if the first crossing seems to difficult turn around and don't bother with the other 18 as they will not be easier - kind of helpful hint i'd say.

the weather is glorious - hot and sunny, so it is actually very refreshing sloshing through all that water. we take lots of little breaks along the side of the river and i take a dip in one of the pools (freezinnnggg).

On the Inland Pack Trail

On the Inland Pack Trail

we cross another riverbed and make our way to the Ballroom, which is not as you might have thought an entertainment establishment but one of the biggest rock bivvies in nz and a night spend at the Ballroom belongs actually to the real trampers log book. so we think of doing that. after scrambling over a lot of rocks we arrive and i do not like the place at all. there is group of adolescent boys already camping and the place is so cavy, cold and musky. i very strongly state my dislike and refuse to stay any length of time... jalal states dryly: "princess grump arrives at the ballroom" (hence the subtitle) and with a giggle we move on to finish the track on that day.

we end up on a road and as we haven't arrange for any pick up we wonder what to do next. we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere on the Westcoast - after looking at our options we decide to hitch a ride to wherever the first car goes. the road is as most roads in nz not very busy, we move our packs to the side and jalal wanders off to check out the beach. a car comes, the guy stops and like in all the jokes out of the bush comes a longhaired hippie. anyway he doesn't seem to mind, packs us in his already loaded car and takes us all the way up to Westport, where we anyway wanted to go to catch a bus up Nelson Lakes. in Westport he delivers us to a nice backpackers and after arranging our pickup for the morning we crash into our beds.

Rainbow at the
Lake Head Hut

next morning i feel really bad - nausea, cold shivers, headache, the whole lot. i don't know how but i survive 3.5 hours on windy mountain roads and we arrive at Lake Rotoiti- what a beauty. Nelson Lakes yet another stunning national park. right next to the lake there is a small campsite - so we pitch our tent there and i have a good rest to get my strength back.

the DOC has established a nature recovery project in an area on one side of the lake. it is cleared of possums, stoats and wasps. so the birdlife thrives as in the good old days and on a couple of walks we are surprised by the incredible variety and the sound level of all these different bird songs. i see the most amazing thing nature installed, called honeydrew beech trees. a tiny little insect (a scap) eats its way through the bark of the tree and sucks all the sap, produces a long thread (which is actual its anal tube ..)and excretes drops of sweet liquid, which are an important nourishment in the food chain of the forest for insects, birds, and the soil. the trees are covered in these shiny silvery hairs with drops dangling on their ends. sadly in the forties the imported german wasp took over the forest and is robbing all the honey - they are a real plague. the DOC is trying to get on top of it but the sheer number of wasps makes it an impossible task.

we take it really easy, strolling around, watching birds and in the evening i have my first food and feel ready to tackle our next walk. we've chosen a five day tramp which can be extended to seven days. its approx. 80-130 km with an alpine saddle crossing at 1900m and a mountain climb of 1600m. mostly we will walk above the bushline which means no sandflies!

the first day is an easy four hour hike through the forest along the lake to Lakehead Hut where we spent our first night.the weather is cloudly and at night we have some rain. next morning we leave early as we have a long day ahead of us until we are getting up to about 1400m. we walk through hiphigh grass and are soon pretty soaked as all the water runs down the legs into the boots - another wetboot-day! there is a light drizzle but as we are in the forest we hardly notice it. when we finally come out of the woods it looks pretty grim (reminds me of Dartmoor) - poor visibility and rain. pretty exhausted after a long 7 hour hike we arrive at Upper Travers Hut. apart from us there are only 4 ladies in their sixties on their annual tramp. the hut is small and really cosy, so we light the fire and get a hot meal and a nice chat.

Up on Travers Saddle

the third day is saddle crossing day. when i look out of the window it seems that our tradition of saddle crossings in the clouds will live on. as it is not such a long but rather steep walk (up on 1800m and then down into the next valley) we hang around a bit in the hope it'll clear up later in the morning. when we finally set out it is not too bad - there are still clouds behind us but we have patches of sunshine and blue sky. when we reach the top we even get some views, so i can rest and have a nice snooze in jalal's arms on what seems to me the top of the world. it is so quiet and only space around...

The view from Travers Saddle

from the saddle the descent is steep - we need to get 1000m below. the track crosses tussock and scree before emerging into a steep gully. walking downhill for over two hours is quite a knee strengthening exercise. in between we have to climb over fields of huge rocks piled upon each other and the mind just wonders how comes they all stay in place. every loose rock felt under the feet can set off a whole adrenalin shock :))) while we descending the weather is hot and sunny, all clear skies and wonderful views.

once down in the valley walking becomes easier. we follow the river and arrive at the hut where we meet the 4 ladies again who did the same trip. we are all hopping around with aching knees and thighs - it's quite a funny scene. three more guys arrive - real NZ trampers, doing it for 30 years, knowing all huts and tramps. they are a real treasure of information and i learn a lot more about what to take care of etc.

on the fourth day the weather is glorious so we decide to extend our tramp to a day&night at the Blue Lake up in a mountain basin - a steep climb up but not as long as yesterday. after a sweaty 3 hours we reach the truely enchanting lake and i spent the rest of the day laying next to it and dipping in the freezing cold but incredibly turquoise water. jalal is off climbing some mountain...

because the weather is soo extremly good we like to extend the tramp to seven days and climb up Mt Cederic (1600m) to hike over to Lake Angelus,which you are only able to do in good weather as you walk for two days on mountain ridges and are very exposed to all kinds of weathers. for some obscure reasons we run low on food, which is not good news on the fifth day of tramping. we start rationing our food and one of the 4 ladies donates some soups and a meal (non veg but one can't be too picky :) it will be very tight but with the good weather it'll be alright.

The view down Sabine Valley

so on the fifth day we walk back down from the Blue Lake to the main track and then pretty much flat along the river. it is a long but easy walking day and we can do it on a muesli bar each. at the end of the day we reach Lake Rotoroa and the hut located at its shores. lots of sandflies and a full hut with noisy australians - brrrrrr!

next morning we eat all our muesli and nuts to strengthen us for the climb. the first portion is extremly steep - we gain well over 900m in 4km. we find a good rythm, take lots of little breaks and after two hours of only uphill we break out of the bushline where we are greeted with an immense view of the entire lake, the valley and the surrounding mountain tops. i am sweatwet, my legs are trembling and i feel my body burned everything it could find for fueling that climb. the track turns into a route now only marked with poles and we climb further up onto the ridge. it is awesome, fanatastic, spectacular - take your pick to describe the views, the scenery.

Up on Mt. Cedric

we have a lunchbreak of one mueslibar and enjoy this immense spaciousness. the following two hours we walk on that ridge and it is one of the most beautiful hikes i've ever had. when we walk off the ridge, we have to hop over huge rocks for about 3km until we suddenly spot Lake Angelus down in a basin, surrounded by ridges and peaks - postcard material. the hut there is spacious, clean and we meet really nice people (incl. two buddhist monks on a retreat). it is really worth all the effort to come up here and if we'd have more food we'd stay a couple of days, but i am already hungry.

Lake Angelus
the hut is lower center

Lake Angelus

after a stunning sunrise we head off direction St.Arnaud. it is the seventh day of the tramp and it seems strange to return to the world. the weather is still a treat so we continue to hike on the ridge. we pass Mt.Roberts skifield (the oldest skifield in NZ- the lifts actually look a bit prehistoric). this day is a great finish and at midday we descend down to the carpark on the other side of Lake Rotoiti. there are still 1.5 hours walk on the road to the village ahead of us. luckily we meet a Canadian couple on our way out and they have a car down there which will save us all the unpleasant walk on the road in the heat of the day. i am delighted.

Sunset by Lake Angelus

we pick up our stuff at DOC centre, set up our tent at the camp site again and have a long and hot shower. we both lost quite some weight on this track, my trouser seem 4 times too big but i am as high as a kite. you can probably imagine what a delicious meal and tasty beer we have that evening.

next morning we catch a bus to Nelson, our next stop on the South Island. we actually planned to meet jalal's mum there, but we are later than planned and she left already for australia. we contact a friend of hers and she offers us a house on the Marlborough Sounds to look after for 5 days. they're going on a weeks holiday and need somebody to water the garden, feed the chicken ("chooks") and the ducks and the cat. it is called Paradise Bay and is only accessible via boat. there is nothing and nobody in the whole bay - only solar power, candles and a logfire in the evening. the sundeck is right above the water. we jump in and take up the offer.

Paradise Bay

we have 5 days of ultimate rest and relaxation - stocked up with food we cook a lot of fresh veggies and do nothing much apart from eating, reading, playing rummy and looking after the animals. we can't even use the kayaks as there is a strong wind blowing, no walks as we are surrounded by dense bush - woow! i need a bit to adjust but then i just relax in doing nothing - just watching the tides change....

after 5 days rejuvenated and ready for moving we get to Picton and catch a ferry to Wellington, the capital of NZ on the North Island. so bye bye beautiful South Island.

The Bach at Paradise Bay

Wellington is quite buzzing after our retreat but a very interesting and modern city. we spent a day in Te Papa, the fantastic national museum with lots of interactivity and great discovery corners. it is so well done i am really impressed - it is so much fun to learn about all the different things.

we walk around town a lot, do some shopping, check out the botanical garden, the cable car and catch a train outwards into villages right at the coast to walk on the beaches. it is very multikulti here - a bit like London, just really really small (act. about Freiburg size) - we even make it to the movies.

this is our last night. tomorrow morning we leave for Tongariro National Park to do another 2 or 3 day tramp through mountains and active volcanic area - it sounds pretty exciting and i actually look forward to some sweating :)

the weather is still glorious. today in the harbour there was a whole pod of dolphins (at least 200) just playing and jumping around - what a sight.

so i'll stop for now and send you all lots of warmth, sunshine and a big hug

lots of love from ajara and jalal