Category: Pacific

  • Kepler Track, South Island New Zealand November 2016

    After driving south to Lake Te Anau, I did two long day hikes along the Kepler Track. It is one of the ‘Great Walks’ tracks.

    My first walk began by crossing one of the many cable bridges. NZ must have a  cable bridge engineering department!

    Soon I was hiking through a dense, mossy forest.

    The trail proceeded at first along the Waiau River.

    When I reached the shores of Lake Manapouri, I came upon Moturau Hut, one of the many huts maintained by the Dept. of Conservation for hikers.

    This is the kitchen/eating area. It has propane burners, sinks and water. You must bring your own cooking pots and food, and clean up after yourself.

    There are bunk rooms with mattress pads. You must bring your own sleeping bag.

    Along the trail, I met this family on their way to Moturau Hut. They were hiking the whole Kepler track, and had stayed earlier at the Mt. Luxmore and Iris Burn huts. The New Zealanders start their kids out hiking young!

    Another day, I hiked the other end of the Kepler track, from Broad Bay to Mt. Luxmore. You begin this end by taking the Kepler Water Taxi to Broad Bay Campsite.

     

    The trail leads up under some imposing sandstone cliffs

    Along the way, I passed a trail crew. This 70 year old man and his 67 year old wife like staying active, and are here putting down gravel that has been dropped in bags by helicopter, in areas that would otherwise be muddy. New Zealand works hard to keep their trails in good condition.

    Climbing above timberline, I came to the Mt. Luxmore hut.

    The hut has a neat, clean kitchen/eating area.

    Heading on up the trail, sections were still covered with snow.

    Just a few days before, the trail along here was closed due to a late season snowstorm. These tracks can be hiked in winter, but you must be well-prepared. Last year, a visiting couple tried hiking the Routeburn Track, lost their way, and the husband slipped and fell to his death.

    Two more redheads for my collection!

    A lunchtime break atop Mt. Luxmore.
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  • New Zealand South Island November 2016

    Welcome to Year Two of my global seeking adventure.

    Just one year ago I began by flying to New Zealand. I loved it, but needed more time to even scratch the surface of this big beautiful island nation. This time, I’ve allocated 3 more weeks to South Island, and three weeks to North Island.

    Here is my plan for the next five months:

    First destination: Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

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    Beautiful as ever. November 23rd is the ‘down under’ equivalent of May, and snow is forecast for the 25th at 2600 feet and higher elevations.

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    My first day hike was around Moke Lake.

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    I love the Kiwi placenames! Some are names we see in Hawai’i, such as Waimea, which may be due to the shared Polynesian heritage.

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    My next day hike was the Mount Crichton Loop, an 8 km trail up through the mountain beech forest, past the stone hut of a local gold prospector.

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    You can can sleep there if you wish:

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    I awoke to a rainy morning. It had snowed during the night up on the surrounding hills. As soon as the rain paused, I put on 3 layers of local Marino wool, and headed up to see the hills.

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    Up at the Jean Hut, there was fresh snow from the night before. This historic miner’s hut is very simple, with a single bed and a fireplace.

    No pillow top mattresses for the miners, and apparently plenty of mice.

    Burlap feedbags are the wallpaper. A simple, hard life, mining.

    Along the way, you pass some of the mine shafts. I like the Kiwi policy: They warn you not to enter, but don’t bar the entrance. So you can stick your head (or more) in at your own risk.

    But by damming up the entrance a bit, you face a flooded tunnel, and are not likely to go in very far. Clever point of interest management! These particular mines were for the extraction of scheelite, which is calcium tungstate (tungsten ore), which was in high demand as an additive to make artillery gun barrels stronger.

    The snows extended down the hills surrounding the lake.

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    Now, it was time to drive down to Lake Te Anau.

     

     

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  • How to scatter your possessions around the world

    As I travel, I have learned a few things that you may find helpful in your own travels. One is how to give away your possessions along the way, without even meaning to.

    Have you heard this joke?:

    Some people learn by reading books. We’ll call these ‘type C’

    Other people learn by observing the mistakes others make. We’ll call these ‘type B’.

    While some guys just seem to have to pee on the electric fence wire for themselves. We’ll call these ‘type A’.

    It seems I am a type A.

    I have noticed that I have a habit of scattering my travel clothing throughout the world. I have left a fine cashmere sweater in an airplane overhead rack, a nice windbreaker on a Japanese bullet train (later reclaimed at railroad lost and found in Tokyo–the Japanese catalog and store lost items), my favorite travel pillow on my first flight this trip 😰 (United Airlines does not seem to try very hard to help you re: lost items), a useful electrical adapter plug in an apartment, my rain jacket(?!?) in a hotel room, which, when discovered 5 miles down the trail, led me to get quite wet on the trudge back to retrieve it. The list is endless.

    Inexplicable. You would think I would learn! Sometimes I think this is actually my way of giving away my possessions on a continuing basis. If I put my glasses on more often, I might not overlook things as much. My comforting thought is that these items are not lost, they are just being enjoyed by someone else. And my pack keeps getting lighter. The benefits of unintentional philanthropy. Lest you think I am losing my marbles due to age, I have been absent-minded like this for most of my life. Male obliviousness? You decide.

    As they say, a word to the wise is sufficient. Perhaps someday I will become wise myself. You, as a type C or B, may learn from my errors and avoid them yourself.

    So, in summary, a few tips on how to give away things on a steady basis:

    Set things down without a plan, in places that blend with their color. It makes it less likely you’ll notice them when packing up.

    Put things in drawers where you can’t see them. Greatly improves the odds you’ll leave them.

    If you use glasses, don’t wear them while packing up, so you’ll see less.

    When dining out, set your hat, your glasses, your purse on a chair so things will look neat. So neat you will walk away without noticing them yourself.

    While waiting for a subway/train/bus/plane, set your hat down on the seat next to you. Works like a charm. Likewise when you’re on the subway/train/bus/plane.

    Cultivate a devil-may-care, live for the moment attitude, and trust everything to work out OK.

    All these ideas have been well-tested by me, and are proven to work. You’ll wind up with less stuff to bother you.

    If you don’t like giving your stuff away (or cannot really afford to do so), try this:

    Be disciplined: have a place for everything, and put everything in its place, every time!
    If you use a pack with pockets, always put things in the same one, every time.
    Then, when it’s time to depart, check each pocket and see if anything is missing.
    Have a checklist (at least in your head) and ALWAYS go over it before departure, item by item.
    Cultivate an aware attitude about what you’re doing, and where you are, at all times.
    Zip up the pockets on your pack, pants and jackets so gloves and such don’t fall out unnoticed.

    I haven’t tested the above ideas, but they seem like good ones, and I may try them eventually, particularly if I’m seriously running short of stuff.

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  • Pololu and Honokane Nui Valleys, Hawai‘i

     

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    Overlooking the coastline and beach at Pololu Valley.

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    John Winter, my trusty geologist hiking buddy.

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    Honokane Nui valley overlook. Bench courtesy Paul Arthur.

    Photo: courtesy Punynari

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    Pretty, rocky trail.

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    The Bamboo forest.

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    Trail down into Honokane Nui valley is very steep–requiring ropes on some of the 70% grades.

    This picture does not convey just how steep it is! A puffer.

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    Relaxing in the ‘village’.

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    Lots of these lovely flowers on the hillside above the village.

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    There was quite a large village here in Honokane Nui valley in former times.

     

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  • Bealey Spur track Arthur’s Pass, South Island, New Zealand

     

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    Arthur’s Pass, central South Island, New Zealand. Elegant highway bridge.

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    Up on Arther’s Pass (mid-South Island), a nice little day hike.

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    Typical braided glacial river valley.

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    You see shallow surfaces roots often, due to the thin soil layer over glacial rock.

    IMG_0737Bealey Top Hut.

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    It has a colorful past.

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    And a colorful interior. I didn’t stay the night in this rustic shelter. Just as well.

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