Feb 29, 2008
Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island
Leap year.
Its raining this morning on Stewart Island - a steady, unwanted downpour that shows no sign of leaving anytime soon, like the last person at your New Year's party. Jenn Tesch is here with me, a welcome visitor from NY who has been taking a quick vacation in New Zealand, first visiting her friend Don up in Auckland and then me down in the Fiordlands. She flew so far and its raining and in a tiny community like Oban, there is really nothing to do. Tomorrow she leaves and I'll start the 3 day Rakiura Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks and the fourth one I'll have seen by the time all is said and done.
Travel is going well, but 6 months into my travels, money is becoming a concern. Condo issues, tax issues, credit issues - all loom on the horizon, casting a gray cloud on my happy little paradise. The credit issue is the newest - quickly browsing my online credit bill, I learned that the $22 Entertainment Book finally hit. Which would be fine, if I had actually ordered it. A few minutes of investigation revealed a string of fraudulent purchases, which hours later resulted in a canceled credit card and a bit of a mystery as to who is using my credit card - mail order coffee, coupon books, flowers - not exactly items high on the list of a hacker. Seriously, if I got my hands on a stolen credit card and decided to use it, you can be sure that Gevalia coffee isn't going to be high on the list. Peet's maybe, but not Gevalia. As if!
Rakiura Track, Day 1, March 1 2008
Port William Hut
Woke up this morning to Jenn Tesch packing for her return to the South Island and the loud, tinny pounding of a rain storm raging outside. In a few hours, I was supposed to start my hike and here was the worst weather I'd had all month. I looked out the window, mentally willing the sun to shine through as I spooned up my oatmeal. 10am arrived and I had to go.
The hike required an hour of road side walking and the weather only got worse. By the time I reached the end of the road, I was soaked to the bone. The wind drove the warmth right out of my legs, pants clung to my thighs, and my rain jacket had already begun to fail. I had to turn around.
I had to turn around - I was at a dead end. Quickly consulting my map, I discovered that I had missed my turn off 20 minutes ago. Cursing and wet, I arrived at Lee Bay, the official start of the track. An enormous chain which trails off into the ocean greets trampers starting the hike. Passing through a link, you find that the sculpture reflects the Maori belief that Stewart Island is the anchor to which Maui attached to his canoe (the South Island) when he fished out the North Island. Even in the rain, you have to stop to appreciate it.
I made it to the hut after only four hours of hiking. My wet clothes are hanging and I sat down on my mattress, all dry and warm with a hot mug of tea. Not a bad day at all.
Rakiura Track Day 2
North Arm Hut
I woke up after a fitful sleep concerning dreams of bugs crawling all over me and lice infesting my hair. I think I am due to a night in a nice hotel room very soon - as well as a head shave. It was raining again as I started out, but an hour into the hike the rain mercifully stopped. Today's hike featured rain forest-like scenery, with huge ferns and moss covered logs. Mud was plentiful. I made it to the hut four hours after leaving Port William and chopped wood to help start the fire. I share the hut with 6 others from Port William and just the familiarity of each other is enough to bring about a good night's worth of conversation.
Rakiura Day 3
Halfmoon Bay
Weather considerably better today, with a sun-shined pathway to lead my way back to Halfmoon Bay. I left the hut at approx 10am, leaving behind Paul from England, Isabelle from France, and four New Zealanders, one of whom was celebrating his 67th birthday with the hike - impressive what a lifetime of fitness can bring. I later passed a group of picnickers in their 50's and none of them looked near as young or as fit as the 67 year old hiker.
Back in town, I found I was sharing the hostel with Isabelle, so we went in together on laundry. Tomorrow I head to Invercargill and will take it quite easy. Good hike, wet, but fun companions made it all worth it.
Halfmoon Bay, March 4 2008
Stewart Island
Well, here I am in Invercargill. Not much to do here in Invercargill, I miss Stewart Island already.
In both the figurative and literal sense, Stewart Island is as far from Manhattan as one can get. The small community of Halfmoon Bay claims only 350 permanent residents, with the daily ferry of about 200 tourists supporting business in the area. Probably a quarter of those tourists aim to be out on the trails, so even on a busy day the town is deathly still - which on a pristine day like today, is a very good thing. Its so small, even New Zealanders forget its there.
Isabelle and I passed the morning away very lazily, jumping into coffee shop to cafe reading and writing. She is an old 21 years of age (reading Crime and Punishment, no less!) and has spent the last year working in Australia - no doubt waiting for the great life epiphany fairy to guide her way. I'm still waiting, so I wish her the best!
The hostel was just positively loud with the feet of 20 3rd graders on a field trip from the south island. They did their best to keep me up at night, but luckily I had bought a bottle of New Zealand red to combat their mischief. I even dreamed that one of the kids threw jam at my blue shirt. Isabelle's loud laugh upon hearing that in my dream, I subsequently grabbed the brat by the head and wiped the jam off with his face was lovely indeed. Don't get me wrong, I love children. Just not yours.
In a few days I'll be gone from New Zealand and it strikes me that in a month here I'll have gone no further north than Queenstown. Practically 3/4ths of the country still waits for me - the ice of Franz Joseph Glacier, the serpentine river flows of the Heaphy track, the All Blacks playing a match in Wellington - all things for next time.
Whenever that may be.
Comments