Oh goodness! Walking out of that airport (after a very serious customs experience) was amazing. The air felt so good and fresh and cold! So cold!
Matt was here a few years ago and has always talked about how incredible New Zealand is, so it was a priority to get there on this round the world trip. I'm so grateful, because I love it. (Although, I have to admit that so much of it reminds me of the central coast of California, that maybe part of me just feels like I'm home.)
We arrived in Auckland after flying through the night (and through a lightening storm!) and a very short layover in Sydney (so there, we went to Australia). We planned on staying a few days in Auckland to get organized and get things we needed for our upcoming tramps in the bush.
We've been able to do some couchsurfing while in NZ, so we figured out how to get there and enjoyed a few days with real Kiwis. They were very sweet; we got to meet some of their friends, they suggested places for us to visit, talked about second graders, took us to Mission Bay (the New Zealand one, not the San Diego one, but we were excited to just be near a mission bay) and just made us feel welcomed in this lovely country.
Also, important to note: on our first night we went to a takeaway place for dinner. It was sort of a fish and chips place, which was good, but half the menu also had fried rice and such- I refused to look at that half. I am enjoying non-rice-based food for the 40 days we are here. The next morning, Matt and I walked to the grocery store (paradise) which was right next to The Coffee Club. We had a real coffee breakfast. I couldn't have been happier.
The grocery store, New World, felt like home. They had a whole cheese section. We've pretty much bought cheese at every grocery store since. (Also they carry El Paso products... You know how I feel about Mexican food.)
Anyways, I always get carried away with food.
So, our main objective in New Zealand was reaching the South Island. I sense a slight rivalry between the islands, both claiming to be "mainland." While the north has the largest population, nearly every New Zealander we've met, no matter where they're from or where they currently live, have agreed that the South Island is the place to roam while in New Zealand.
Since we have a penchant for booking less desirable transportation, we booked an overnight bus from Auckland to Wellington. (But remember, it's cold, so before boarding I made Matt go to a shoe store, I wanted some ankle boots. Well, their clearance was buy one, get one free. What could I do? I now have two pairs of ankle boots all for $25, sitting in my backpack. I can't say no to a good deal. I need to ship stuff home!) When we arrived in Wellington the next morning, we boarded a ferry to Picton. Matt warned me the water can be wild. He remembered his ferry trip as a very rocky one. Being this far south, it reminded me of a boat we took in Chile. However, the wind and water were calm on our trip. We found a perfect atrium cafe where we could sit in the warm sun and enjoy the view. It was quite enjoyable.
The view was beautiful. Honestly, now that I've seen some of New Zealand, I would consider it a tamer version of Patagonia and a wilder version of the central coast of California. I see glimpses of home everywhere.
After we arrived in Picton, we took one more bus to Nelson. Nelson is perfect. It sits on a port next to an estuary. The tides flow in and out, flooding then emptying the estuary. The little town is picturesque surrounded by green hills. The feel of it reminded me of San Luis Obispo. The geographic center of New Zealand is a few kilometers outside of town. We had arranged another couchsurfing here and were picked up later that afternoon. We were completely spoiled there. The house sat on a hill overlooking the bay to the mountains across the water. If it were my home, I would never get anything done, I'd just sit on the patio and stare out there all day.
(That's Charlie; you can't help but love Charlie.)
We planned to stay one night before heading out for our first hike on the Heaphy Track. New Zealand seems to be covered in trails, some comprise the Great Walks, which we planned on doing.
The Heaphy Track does not begin in Nelson. It begins a couple hours away - by car. So, this is where the hitch hiking began.
Our hosts offered to hold on to our extra luggage and a place to stay once we returned, which was very kind, and exciting, since the shower was exceptional and there is nothing like a shower after a pack trip. They also gave us a head start on our hitch hiking, first to the far side of town, then to the next town. It was very kind.
I was a little nervous getting out of the car at that point. But, we knew that hitch hiking was common in New Zealand so we had agreed to give it a try. We got a lot of "Good on you"s when we shared our plans.
I love that phrase. Also, I want all of you to know that I am writing this with a kiwi accent.
Anyways, we stepped to the curb, put up our thumbs and in about 30 seconds a car stopped. Just like that. The woman was heading out to Collingwood, the closest town to the Heaphy, so we jumped in. She was from Scotland, had come to New Zealand when she was younger and basically never left. She now has a family and a dairy farm. We learned from her that cows now outnumber sheep in New Zealand. Matt had said it would probably be people who like to talk who pick up hitch hikers. He was right.
Anyways, she actually got us a lot closer to the trail, but eventually we reached her turn off, so we parted. Matt and I sat on the side of a less busy road and waited. After about 20 minutes, we got another ride. This time we got to a country market (where we had delicious savory pies- there are a lot of savory pies in NZ, from now on I will just refer to them as pies, that's how common they are, you don't think of dessert when you hear pie here). The market was at a fork, there was a sign pointing down a dirt road that said, "Heaphy Track: 15km". We stood by that sign for awhile, but not many cars drive down a dirt road. So after awhile we decided we better start hiking. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon at this point. We hoped a farmer would come along as we walked. There were about 3 cars and none stopped.
So, we walked 15km. It was a beautiful walk though. We passed lots of fields, watching the mountains get closer and closer. My husband demonstrated his animal whispering skills again as he tamed the wild cows we walked by. All the cows would stop and stare at us. The calves huddled in a group as we approached. As we walked towards one field this low mooing sound got louder and louder. The bulls in that field lined up along the fencing as if in a stand off with us. Matt communicated with them well and even got some to run (have you ever seen cows run together?) along with us. I was grateful there was a fence between us and the herds.
After 15km we reached the first hut at the head of the trail. We had booked three huts to use as we hiked. The trails here are dotted with huts or shelters. A hut generally has padded beds, a wood stove and gas burners, while a shelter has three walls and wood planks. Both will keep you dry.
We had planned on staying 17 km up the trail at the second hut the first day. So, we had to decide if we should stay on schedule and hike on or if we should just stay at the foot of the trail. It was about 5:00 in the afternoon when we decided to push on. We knew the trail was uphill, but we also knew there was a shelter (remember the distinction) about 13 km up, so we could stop if we needed to.
We needed to. At the shelter, we stopped. It had been a 28 km day (for our American friends and family, that's about 17 miles!) We hadn't seen anyone on the trail and it was starting to get dark. We considered using flashlights to continue on. But, all we had was my phone's flashlight and I think it was too cold to hold its battery power. It went out before we started walking, fortunately. So, we lay out all our clothes we weren't wearing, which wasn't much, and put our sleeping bags out on the wooden planks. And went to sleep. The night was adventurous. I had stepped on a rock weirdly and my knee ached until Matt gave me excedrin in the middle of the night. Matt told me he felt something moving on his sleeping bag until he flipped it off. I'll take the aching knee over something moving on my sleeping bag. Early in the morning, we heard the wind start to blow and the rain start to fall. I was grateful for those three wooden walls.
When we got up, the rain had stopped, so we packed up and moved on. 4 km later we had reached the hut we had originally planned on being at the night before. It was beautiful. I could live in it. Huge windows lined the walls. It was cold, windy and wet outside. So, we went in, cooked our lunch and reveled in the fact that we aren't hiking purists. We could have another long day to get back on track or we could sit inside with the warm stove and watch the wild weather outside.
What would you choose?
We took a nap on padded beds and cooked more food. We did go outside in the afternoon to follow the trail to a Mountain Spa. There are hot springs all over New Zealand, so we were hopeful. However there was a note about it on the hut's bulletin board that said, "temperature varies on season and state of mind." That state of mind made us cautiously hopeful. Matt told me to get in a good state of mind- he wanted a bath (we even brought clean under wear, just in case).
We hiked down and came to what was definitely the end of the trail. It stopped at a lovely pool in the river. Lovely, but cold. Neither of our states of mind were up for that mountain spa. So, we hiked up, sat by the stove, cooked more food and went to bed.
Around 5:30 in the morning Matt woke me up to tell me it was snowing! I never wake up to snow, so I had to get up and walk around in the snow. I was sure it would be melted when we got up and I didn't want to miss it.
It was not gone. In fact, it just kept falling all morning. The hilltops were white with snow and the valley below was covered by the clouds. We stayed inside as long as we could hoping it would calm down, but after awhile (as in two more meals) we accepted that we would be tramping in the snow.
We were pretty lightweight in our clothes, so Matt made socks and gloves out of emergency blankets and I tied a garbage bag around my waist to keep my thighs from getting wet. I did not want to try to warm myself up at the next hut with wet pants. Ridiculous looking, but highly effective. (I felt slightly medieval tramping in a skirt.) We only had one life threatening experience: Matt's gloves have holes and we think he got a spot of frostbite on his finger! I think he should be proud of himself.
We walked back down the mountain to the first hut. It snowed for quite awhile, then rained, then finally warmed up as we reached the valley floor. It was pretty adventurous. I think my camera and battery charger got too cold, so we didn't get to take too many pictures, but it was beautiful.
We went to the car park, hoping a car would come along, drop off hikers, then turn back to town. We would have liked a ride back, but remember there was a 15km dirt road separating us from a slightly more traveled paved road.
My tip as a hitch hiker: stick to roads that people drive on.
We returned to the hut (where two other American couples were also staying- it's been awhile since I've been with so many Americans!) made our beds and accepted that we would be walking 15km the next day.
So, we walked. A few more cars came down headed to the trail, but none going our direction. Basically, I was just hiking to get a pie at this point. Until the 11km mark. A pest exterminator had passed us earlier then came by again, this time in our direction. We got a ride! On a dirt road!
This ride turned into an adventure. We squeezed into his trick and he sped along to his next stop. As he sprayed, we waited then we continued on. We made several stops with him, getting to visit some spots, like a beautifully abandoned beach and an incredible lookout point we wouldn't have seen otherwise. He told us he liked to pick up foreign hitch hikers, so he can show them New Zealand and he can see their reaction. He must have approved of our reactions, because he gave us his number and offered us a place to stay if we make it to his hometown.
Another hitch hiking lesson: sometimes you get far more than a ride.
We said goodbye in Takaka so we could explore this little hippy town. I loved it. It sits on Golden Bay and is full of cute shops and cafés. We had a salad! And drank chai while looking for a place to stay for the night.
We ended up getting a room through AirBnB with a nice couple who have a tourist company. Their home was at the top of a hill with an incredible view (everyone in New Zealand has an incredible view). They gave us lots of suggestions for our upcoming road trip.
The next morning they were going to Nelson, so they offered us a ride, thus ending our hitch hiking experience. We were both glad we tried it out. Our curiosity had been satisfied, so the next day we picked up our rental car and prepared for our road trip. We said farewell to our kind hosts and their lively dog, Charlie and set out to wander.
As we headed out of town, we discussed whether or not we should pay it forward and pick up hitch hikers ourselves. We'll see what happens out on the road...
