November 1st

Wendy: Steve and I signed up for a "guided" hike on the Routeburn track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks. Tramping, aka hiking, in New Zealand is such a big deal that they have put trails every where. They developed a series of tramps that are "the best NZ has to offer", and call these the "great" walks. The Routeburn is one of the best in terms of scenery.

The concept of "guided" hiking was a new one. We went to an organizational meeting the night before we left, and met the 20 people we'd be hanging out with over the 3-day hike. Let's just say it was a diverse crowd, with questions ranging from what we'd eat for lunch (asked by a large woman who ended up hoarding cookies during the hike), to how many miles we'd cover (my question, just curious what kind of work out I'd get), to how we can blow dry our hair if there is no electricity in the sleeping huts (you can't, duh). Steve and I were a little worried about the blow drier lady, but in the long run she was in amazing shape, even after her 30-minutes of makeup and hair styling each day.

We hiked about 12 miles a day, up some fairly steep terrain to some of the most amazing views I've ever seen. Snow capped peaks surrounded us 350 degrees at one point, and there were tons of lakes and waterfalls almost every step of the way. A guided hike just means that we had three leaders who answered questions, informed us about local fauna and wildlife, and cooked dinner at the huts each night. The food was good, the diverse company amusing, and our legs were very tired at the end of each day. We capped off the third day with an "optional" jet boat ride up the Dart river. Suckers that we are, we paid our $100 to be total tourists. We got into a speed boat and rode up a 2 foot deep river going 60 miles per hour, aiming at rocks and turning at the last minute, and jamming on the brakes to spin the boat at random intervals. When kayaking I hate people like we were that day, loud and obnoxious, but I guess vacation causes you to think differently. I wasn't proud of our choice to go on the ride. We did get to see some of the places they filmed Lord of the Rings, including the snow capped ridge where the group turned around in the first movie, and of course we finished the day at the local pub.

Steve and Wendy at the end of the Routeburn track.
One of the many spectacular views. Steve and I did the "optional" side hike up Conical hill. Little did we know it was "optional" because it was a butt kicker...1500 vertical feet in 1.5 miles (that's straight up basically).
Steve along the track. There were huge boulders and funky rocks all over the place.
The start of the Routeburn river. No kayaking here!	View of the Ailsa moutains from the side of Lake Mackenzie. The lake water was so clear you could see rocks 20 feet down.
Wendy being goofy after the hike up Conical hill.
We weren't allowed to have desert unless we could catch the crepes on our plates!

January 1st-3rd - Wendy & Steve: 3-day Tramp on the Routeburn