New Zealand’s South Island: Day Hikes on Te Araroa
Reunited and it feels so good
Hot day. 82 degrees with no breeze. Dusty, rocky and steep trail with deep drop offs on both sides. Did I bring enough water? Should I turn my phone to airplane mode to save battery? How could I have forgotten the sunscreen? How long until the next intersection? Am I going the right way? So many questions. There are lots of day hiking options in Queenstown, New Zealand. Some pretty spectacular ones, but I didn’t think twice about it. It was my chance to get back on Te Araroa, if only for a day or two, so that’s where I headed when I got into town. Bussed my way to Arrowtown, road walked a bit, then hit the trail. When I saw the TA sign on the post, it felt like home.
For those following along, you know I have been in New Zealand for a while. Started out thru hiking Te Araroa, changed it up a bit, made it down the length of the North Island, ferried over to the South Island, bought a bus pass, and traveling south. Today is Day 100. I’m sitting in the Dunedin library typing away on one of their public terminals. This is, I think, the tenth city library I have visited to work on my blog posts. It’s easier on a desktop. Challenging on my tiny phone. I love libraries anyway, so it’s not much of a chore for me to be here. It’s easier on a rainy day though, because on nice days I’d rather be outside exploring. Today is overcast and warmish. It is nice and quiet here. Cozy. The librarian has just come by and written the Library Laugh Every Day quote on the whiteboard: “I adopted a dog from a blacksmith……As soon as I brought him home, he made a bolt for the door.” Funny, in an understated clever way. Very New Zealandish. I have come to love this country. I’ve got 26 more days here. I don’t want to leave.
Making my way in the world today
I was in Queenstown last week for four days. Hiking all day, then at night, eating great seafood and chilling out at a fantastic Airbnb. Lenka and Dave’s house is located a few miles from the very busy and crazy touristy part of Q-Town right on a bus line. They also own and operate Lokal, a cool place to grab dinner, a drink and soak up the neighborhood vibe. And it’s just across the street. Right next to them is a fish-n-chips place Chur, the best and most affordable takeaway I’ve had in New Zealand. Cod, scallops, onion rings, chips and pineapple fritters! Not all in one meal, but I will say, there was never any leftovers. One day, I went to Milford Sound on an all day tour. It was amazing and very beautiful. A long drive from Q-Town, but we rode there in style and comfort in a Mercedes van. I was punching way above my weight class that day. Of the 16 of us on the van, most had the fat wallet to fly or helicopter back to town after the boat cruise on the Sound. The heli ride was $1,000 a person. I’ve never been in a helicopter. Now I know why.
Day hiking is free. So I spend a lot of time doing it. I follow Te Araroa whenever I am in, or, near a town that it passes through. I kinda miss the dramatic and dangerous alpine hiking, but that’s ok. In my mind when I question this, I remember thru hiking the Colorado Trail in the summer of 2023. I got my fill of high altitude backpacking: the beauty of the mountains, the brutality of the climbs, the shortness of breath at 12,000 feet. The Southern Alps in New Zealand are gorgeous, but I am ok with seeing them on the horizon and not being on top of them. So I stick with the TA treks that run into, and away, from town. In Lake Tekapo, it skirts around the lake, thru the town, then off to the next town via sealed pavement. In the Q-Town area, I hike 28 miles in two days. Near a lake, though a path in the backyards of a neighborhood, over an ancient restored footbridge, in parks, and along the Kawarau river. That day along the riverbank, the winds were favorable, and I, unbeknownst to me, hiked under the airport flightpath. Five Air New Zealand jets flew over me on their way to landing. They were so close, I could clearly see the artful black logo underneath. The first time it happened, I heard the rumbling behind me of what I thought was a large truck. Now, I was nowhere near a road, in between two mountains and right next to a river. I turned around, looked up and saw the jet approach, then pass right over my head. Later, I read that Air New Zealand was named the safest airline in the world. The pilots go thru extra rigorous training because many of their airports are tricky to take off from and land in. Like in Q-Town, where they fly between two mountain ranges, over a river and land in crazy wind conditions. Amazing.
My life is now complete
There were a few things I wanted to cross off my list when I came to Dunedin, a very Scottish city in the southern Otago region of the South Island. Day hiking really wasn’t one of them. A large slip (landslide) closed the most popular and scenic trail about a year ago and it’s still not passable. So that was off the list. One day I rented an E-bike and cycled the harbor bike path. I also walked a lot. Visited the magnificent Botanical Gardens. Bussed out to the coastal town of Portobello. But the item on top of my New Zealand list is, when I’m in this part of the country, to see a Yellow Eyed Penguin. Alas, that was not to happen. But after last night, that is okay with me, because I got to see his cousin, the Little Penguin. Also called the Blue Penguin, it is the world’s smallest penguin. Its population is declining, but unlike the Yellow Eyed, which is endangered, you can still see them if you score a spot on a viewing platform way out on the Otago Peninsula. I got lucky. Someone cancelled last minute and I jumped online and bought the ticket.
Sometime near 9:45 pm, I saw lightish tiny blobs bobbing up and down in the surf about six feet off the shoreline. White light underneath the platform we were standing on lit up the area so you could see okay. We were told no flashes, don’t yell or throw things (obviously), but we could take photos. I think there were about 40 people on the platform waiting and watching, but everyone was spread out and most were civil. Then the tiny blobs rode the gentle waves to shore, raised up to full height and stood huddled together on the beach. At first, they cautiously wobbled up the sand, but then, as if someone in their pack hollered, “Let’s roll!” they all started sprinting up the beach. It was the most amazing and delightfully charming thing I have ever seen. Thirty or so tiny, ten inch high, white-bellied, blue-backed penguins storming the beach. They were running to the safety of the pampas grass and rocks. They were coming home to their burrows up the dune. Every night after sunset they make this journey. Soon, another raft of 20 or so beached and filled the paths up to their homes in the sand. Some headed straight for their burrows, some stood around, shook and preened. I believe some were socializing. I think I heard a few compare notes on what their busy day was like out there in the sea – fishing, swimming, dodging predators. By 10:30, I was getting a sense it was time to give these animals some peace. I’m not sure if the clucking noises coming from them were kind goodbyes or not so subtle buzz offs. You gotta know when the party’s over and it’s time to leave. I headed back up to the van with the others and rode back to the guest house I was staying at in town. I’ve got the video of the Little Blue Penguin beach parade saved on my phone. I think I’ve viewed it a hundred times.
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