New Zealand and the Kepler Track

The three hour plane ride across the Tasman Sea seemed to fly by compared to our previous flight. Near the end, as we started to descend I looked out the window and to my right the Southern Alps started to come into view. I smashed my face into the window like a little kid and Joe leaned over me to see for himself. I couldn’t scrape the smile and excitement from my face even if I wanted to. The massive snow capped peaks seemed to continue endlessly south. I couldn’t believe we were finally landing in the place I had read and researched so much about. 

Going through customs in NZ was as easy as putting your passport in a machine, and going on your way. We quickly realized they care more about what you are bringing into their country then who you are. Our boots, tent, poles, gaitors and anything else that could have any sort of soil on it was throughly inspected. We were prepared for such grueling inspections, they gave us high praise and were sent on our way with no issues.

Christchurch seems to still be recovering from the 2011 earthquake that demolished most of the infrastructure here. Way smaller than either of us were expecting, the city brought a calm that I really soaked in. Soon enough, the reality started to sink in of how we were supposed to start traveling. 

Initially we planned on hitch hiking around the country. With heavy packs, filled with such specific gear we started to question ourselves. Multiple hostel goers had bought cars for traveling the country and after talking to everyone, Joe and I came to the conclusion that it would be a sensible idea to do the same.

Buying a car in NZ is nothing like the states. In a mere 24 hours, we decided to buy a car, found a car, drove it around town, purchased the car and registered it at the post office for $9.00 NZD. So with that, we welcomed “Hidey” (in relation to being sneaky, stealth and keeping hidden) the 1998 Volkswagen Passat Wagon into our lives. She’s no Ruby (The Suzuki/mobile humble abode back home) BUT she will do just fine (plus I’m only a little biased)! 

Joe and I drove Hidey from town to town across the southern tip of the country. We were on a bit of a time limit as in just a few days we were scheduled to start our first hiking adventure here in NZ called the Kepler Track. 

Prior to the hike, and along the way we stopped in multiple small towns, beaches and enjoyed other beautiful sights. The reality of where we are really started to settle in. Seeing all the sheep on the rolling hills of almost makes you wish you were one of them. They must live the most ideal life of any farm creature to roam the earth. Not only the sheep but cows, pigs and deer all live out their lives on lush green pastures.

We drove into Te Anau on Sunday and walked into the Fiordland visitor center. As we picked up our camping and hut tickets we were briefed on the quickly changing weather, sun scorched trail, and the cheeky Keas (alpine parrots known to steal, chew and rip anything they can get their beaks on).

The next day was a short day of hiking to our first camp spot so we took our time sorting gear, getting food and eventually got on the trail a little after one in the afternoon. We weren’t exactly being very weight conscious, with our Mountain goals coming up we almost welcomed the extra weight as part of our training. The first day of the Kepler Track had us winding through a forest of massive beech trees and ferns that towered above our heads. Being relatively flat we made it to the Brod Bay Camp site with plenty of sunlight. We set down our now heavy feeling packs and took one breath in, before BAM! We were immediately swarmed by Sandflies. If you have never had the pleasure of experiencing sandflies then let me tell you about them. These minuscule, nat like bugs smell your sweat, find your skin and bite a hole in your flesh before drinking the blood from the recent wound inflicted upon you. They’re small, hard to kill, hard to spot and usually come in the thousands.

They make resting especially hard. If you’re moving, they don’t bother you- but the moment you stop, prepare to be bitten! We attempted in making a fire, but sadly only smoke semi helps the problem. So we spent most of the evening in our tent away from the bugs. We did emerge after the sun went down and the bugs went to sleep to chat with fellow trail goers who were headed the other way. 

The next morning, we stepped out of our tent to be greeted by sandflies. After a few bites of muesley (a form of delicious oatmeal that is much better than traditional oatmeal) we said our goodbyes to the friends we had made the night prior and headed up the trail. The trail gradually worked its way up through the trees and with my lingering cold I found it to be harder than I would’ve liked it to be. Switch back after switch back we were passed by day hikers and trail runners all with lighter packs. After a few hours of hiking up, without warning we broke passed the trees and ferns out into our first look of the NZ alpine zone. 

Unlike the tree lines I’ve seen prior to this, where  the trees get smaller and a tree less than a foot tall can be hundreds of years old. Here the trees, were massive all the way till they just stopped. Rather than harshness of environment, the vegetation purely goes off temperature. Once it hits 9 degrees Celsius, the trees just stop.

 It was a blue bird day, and we stopped to gaze across just some of the NZ mountains. You could see our trail cross boardwalks that saved the fragile plants from being smashed. We walked across the boardwalk until our hut for the night came into view. The hut had alpine views for all to see, windows everywhere, and the best part- no sandflies! We slept in a big communal dorm room, and with it not truly getting dark until 10:30pm, it made a late night for everyone.

The hustle of morning hikers comes early, and even though being one of the last couple to get out of the bed we were still some of the first to get on the trail. The trail climbs and loses elevation the entire day. We took a detour off the track and summited Mt Luxmore (crossing our fingers it’s not the only summit of the trip!) and came back to find our bags surrounded by four Keas. Though they had not touched them, they looked mighty suspicious. 

Each high point of the trail brought different views, with no clouds in the sky my breath was constantly being take away with mountain after Mountain. After multiple hours of ridge walking we finally started to descend. One switch back led to another and then another... we found our selves back into the forest and eventually after 81 grueling switchbacks later we walked our sore bodies into the Iris Burn camp site only to be greeted by sandflies. We tried to find reprieve in the river cold enough to give you hypothermia but alas they were there too. The campsite eventually filled with other hikers, and the night was filled with laughter around the fire.

The next day we quickly left Camp and hit the trail. The trail was almost entirely through the forest and made for a monotonous day compared to yesterday. Though beautiful, we were excited to see the hut come into view and one of the most beautiful lakes either of us had ever seen. We dropped off our gear inside, picked out bunks and quickly headed for the water. It was so clear you couldn’t tell if it was a foot deep or a hundred. The water begged my aching body to enjoy its healing, cool waters. Both Joe and I swam and  mostly cleaned our dirty bodies. That night we enjoyed card games played with good friends and headed to bed in the dorm.

Early the next morning I found joe sitting out on a The rocks watching the ducks make ripples in the water. We watched the sun crest the mountain tops and quickly ate breakfast before being the first ones on the trail. My feet ached under the weight of my pack. After a few weeks of no exercise I was feeling it by this point. After what seemed like forever we stumbled into the Kepler Car Park. We had finished the hike but with 45 minutes of hiking back to where the car was parked it was hard to rejoice. A local must’ve seen our frustration as she quickly offered to give us a ride back to the car and with little hesitation we agreed and hopped in the back of the car.

We managed to not forget about the millions of people on the other side of the world celebrating one of the best Holidays that ever existed. We all dreamed about family meals, traditions and came up with the idea to meet up with our fellow hikers off the trail that night to have our own Friendsgiving in the park.  

We grilled up good ol’ traditional hamburgers and had our own thanksgiving BBQ. Apple pie and Vanilla ice cream filled our bellies to the brink of exploding. We cheered to good trail weather, food, and even better friends. 

The next day, Joe and I started to switch over our mindset. Knowing we are headed to the Mountains soon we took advantage of being so close to Milford Sound and drove the car north for a rest day. 

We stopped at multiple different places along the way but one in particular made our eyes wide. A massive field of blue, purple, white and pink lupin engulfed the valley. The smell and color overwhelmed your senses. Could such a place truly exist? I walked through them, carefully stepping around them taking in a site few get to see. 

As we drove on, the glacier carved peaks towered above the car. Finger like waterfalls fell over every single peak, each one falling more than hundreds of feet before hitting the valley floor. The sound was scattered with tourists and though we didn’t pay the money to ride the boat, helicopter or plane ride we did manage to soak in the views of big mountains that met the sea and hanging glaciers high above our heads.

The Kepler Track was a good start point to get our bodies in the mindset of heavy packs on our back and walking uphill. We headed to Queenstown to try to start researching about Mt Aspiring, but found little luck. After a quick dip in the lake we decided to make our way to Wanaka in hopes of finding some more climbing beta. 

With Wanaka being the base town for the Aspiring Region, we are right where we want to be. Now we start to focus on learning about the Mountain, and watching the weather.