six months west: eastbound and down

it's been just over a week since my last post coming out of Arthur's Pass and the Cantebury region. since then i've been to Methven, Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Mt. Cook, Lake Wanaka, Queenstown and Milford Sound.

the legs are tired, i need to do some laundry and every day i internally debate getting a haircut.

The best friday night yet
i know you probably think it would involve a fair share of alcohol and locals but that's not the case. i stayed in Methven after hiking in Arthur's Pass. Methven is the biggest city close to NZ's largest ski fields. it's pretty quiet outside of the ski season (June-Aug).

i got into town around 6, parked behind a hostel and paid them $5 to use their facilities. made a quick dinner, had a beer and then rushed off to catch Get Low, i saw a poster for it in a town a couple weeks ago and wanted to see it but didn't have the time then. I know, how do i not have time? i don't know, i just didn't then. anyway, it was playing in Methven. Bill Murray is in it = guaranteed winner. it's about a old guy that throws a party for his funeral before he's actually dead. a concept i'm sure we've all thought about but probably never thought about inviting Bill Murray.

i walk up to the theater and it's a really cool little privately owned place. they've got one big room in the back that probably hold 50 people or so and then a small room that seats 12. i was the only person there so it was in the small room. the place serves beer too so i had one. i got up to pee halfway through and she paused the movie for me and gave me another beer just because. it felt like a private showing or something. it was awesome.

Lake Tekapo
a big teal-blue lake located on the central plains of the alps on the South Island. i stopped in for an hour or so, did a quick hike up a hill, took some pictures and moved on.

Lake Pukaki
it's a creepy looking milky-blue thing that runs the valley all the way up to Mt. Cook and national park that holds 22 of the 27 NZ peaks over 10,000 ft. there are some pretty spectacular views.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook
in the past three years i've started hiking and climbing some small mountains around WA. the biggest i've knocked off was Mt. Rainier at 14,400+ ft and Mt. Adams at 12,200+ ft. Mt. Cook is just over 12,300 ft but far far more imposing than anything i've seen before. it's a big nasty, jagged looking thing. Mt. Rainier and Adams are both like like big mounds of snow compared to this guy. Mt. Cook was also the training ground for NZ native, Sir Edmond Hillary in his summit of Mt. Everest if that gives you any idea of just how serious this thing is. summit attempts involve a helicopter ride to a starting point and serious mountaineering skills. just looking at it has me questioning how you even get close because the sides of it look like sheer vertical climbs with glaciers barely hanging on. i have no plans to try to summit it.

instead i hiked to Mueller hut. it was a solid 3+ hr hike over 3,300 ft. it heads up this little river valley before turning and heading straight up with switchbacks right next to an old river/waterfall bed.

most trails in NZ are marked with little orange triangles nailed to trees or posts and a decently clear trail. this, not so much. i ended up missing the trail and heading up the river/waterfall bed. after scrambling up rocks about 1,500 ft or so, including three sections over 30ft straight up and not really seeing any trail markings i started to think twice about what i was doing. being by myself, nobody in sight and thinking this thing was just too steep for most people to be okay with. i started to try to get down and realized that those three vertical climbs were now a little scary to go down because i had no safety equipment, nobody around, no real experience and falling could do some damage. i got down two, heard some voices nearby and called out. turns out the track was 20yds to the side of the river bed. it wasn't until i was on the track and looked back at what i had been on that i realized how bad of a situation i had put myself in. talking to folks at the climbing office back in town later, they just rescued 3 people from where i was with a helicopter and climbing team last month and 2 people died last year. good stuff. i found the trail marks that i missed later, it was a single orange spray painted dot every 30yds or so.

anyway, i made it to the top. i took some pictures and videos, check them out for yourself, just know that they don't do justice to the sheer mass and overwhelming size of the peaks and glaciers.

sunset

riverbed scramble - hopefully you can tell how steep it is

looking back out the valley from alps

Mt. Cook and glaciers

i wish you could tell just how huge this is.

Mt. Cook

from mueller hut

victory fist pump

Queenstown
i had heard this place is great and it really is. it's definitely been my favorite big city in NZ so far. it's also the self-proclaimed adventure capital of the world with skydiving, river rafting, jet boats, bungy jumping and tons of other crazy stuff.

my first night i parked behind a hostel again to use their facilities. they had a scale in the bathroom. it looked pretty old and weathered but i thought i'd see what it had to say. the last 2 yrs or so, i've hovered around 180-185 and didn't really feel like i was carrying around much extra weight. i've been pretty active since i've been here but i've also been eating much worse than at home but i have noticed my jeans fitting a little differently lately. the scale said 165. there is no way i lost 15-20 lbs. maybe 5-10 but not that much. no way. i don't think.

nonetheless, i've been a little more liberal with eating since i've been in Queenstown though because the place has some great restaurants and i'm a little tired of van food.