Te Araroa: Part 4 – Wanaka wedding crashers

Our next section saw us leave Queenstown and the Southlands behind as we entered the Otago region of new Zealand. The result was a rise in spirits and general enjoyment of the trail, made more so by some excellent company.

A change is gonna come.

Just like with the PCT it feels like the trail lurches from one type of climate/type to another. The change from desert to the Sierras on the PCT is stark, with Kennedy Meadows feeling like a light switch between the two – you walk in and it is sandy and hit and you walk out up a vertical wall to take you up to the highest peak in continental America. So too did Queenstown act as we left the Southland area and started walking through the Otago area.

The trail immediately climbs from about 300 meters to over 1000 meters above sea level for the first time in the trail. With that, the trail transforms from boggy treeline to a dusty, half meter wide, line following the contours and saddles of the mountains. This is much more familiar and easy to walk, even if the gradient has gotten much steeper. The trail feels fun, the views more dramatic and we are back to that epic feeling we’d been longing for for the last few years.

Initially we were worried that jenny’s knees wouldn’t like the up and down as the track gains and loses a lot of elevation with each km we trek but the miracle of KT tape seems to have done the trick. Still, It is best to make sure the recovery continues so jenny’s pack remains with a contents of light quilts and clothing. We are hoping that this way when we see our friend Katie in Wanaka, the next stretch, we are both able to carry a decent amount up the hills.

With the change in track, so too did the weather. From wet gusty and gloomy to wonderful bluebird days as we walked through wildflower meadows and remnants of old mining towns. It’s New Zealand at its best, and it’s come at the opportune time for us. Whilst the Southlands have taught us humility, Otago is teaching us gratitude. Being grateful for the simple things like the weather, track conditions and each other.

The back country pantry

Jen cooking dinner

One other thing we’ve really been enjoying is how we have changed up our meals making them more nutritious as well as more flavourful. The trick: the Asian section of the supermarket. Here we found crispy fried shallots, dried shiitake mushrooms and black bean noodles. These along with a super seed mix, freeze-dried vegetables and almond butter make for our best on-trail meal yet. Coined a back country pad Thai the dish is delicious and much healthier than the two packs of instant noodles and instant potatoes we sustained ourself on for months back in 2018. The Chief Nutritional Officer is earning her stripes!

A German march

Some great ridges in this section

Pace is one of the most personal parts of a trail. Everyone is slightly different, it generally speeds up as the trail goes on and can vary wildly with the terrain and elevation. We have met some hikers who have just blasted straight past us at breakneck speed, and have also caught up with some other hikers as well, having spent less time in towns. At the start of this trail we were humbled by just how slow we we’re going through the paths due to the quality of the track combined with our lack of trail fitness. Yet as we completed the motatapu track we could feel our legs getting stronger, and for the final two days on the trail we ended up hiking with a strong German lady who set pace for us.

Beautiful views from the hut

A smidge faster than we typically go, we ended up doing the section we had planned for day 3 by lunch time. So we added on an extra 5 miles, and at least 1200 foot if vertical gain and loss to the plan. The day was challenging with 500 meter gains and losses every 5km but Jenny’s knees are holding strong and despite falling back a few times on the hills I’m feeling good knowing that this is the heaviest my bag is going to be till the Richmond ranges and that it’s still manageable. The days between Queenstown and Wanaka had been our best days on trail so far.

Wedding crashers

The big fig in Wanaka gave us all the nutrition we were craving in the back country

Wanaka wasn’t a place I had heard anything about before we ended up hiking into it, but it was evidently a posh place judging by the amount of weddings going on. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding, looking out over the lake as a backdrop, on the lawn of a posh hotel. The only slight taint to it was the two Hawaiian shirt clad hikers in the background of their shots! We tried to avoid it, but the edge of the lake was the public path so we did feel very awkward being mere feet away from the altar! We scuttled past as quickly as possible and tried to look inconspicuous, despite the loud attire.

We ended up hiking 24 km from the hut to the backpacker hostel in town with a swift lunch break due to intermittent showers. Jenny’s knees must be almost back to full health thanks to the “German Jesus” who seems to have worked miracles. We’d gone through this section so fast that we were a day early and therefore had time for a zero day ahead of our friend joining us.

Taking the weight off the feet was high on the agenda, and a kayak around the lake ticked that box. We had a brilliant time paddling to a small island that was used for alcohol-fueled parties during times of prohibition. Jenny enjoyed the local craft brews whilst Joal sampled every Bundaberg soft drink through a mixer pack – the winners being the guava and the ginger beer flavours.

Birthday secrets

Secret cake

The next day we met our friend Katie and made our way to Lake Hawea where the mission was to get Jenny a birthday cake, card and some alcohol without her realising. Katie had already helped with the card and the next morning I made the excuse of wanting to know the World Cup final result, so snuck off to pick up a peanut butter brownie and carrot cake along with sparkling rose and white wine, which they helpfully sell in cans here. At least that meant I didn’t have to pack out a bottle for the next few days!

When I caught up with Jenny and Katie they were enjoying Lake Hawea in all its Kiwi glory and had gone for a paddle.

The sun was beaming and with that we were ready for a steep 950m climb for the rest of the day. Whilst it lived up to its “unrelenting” description in the trail notes, it was stunning. As we climbed from Lake Hawea the colours of the lake popped and we were rewarded with views of snow capped mountains and mirror-like lakes. It was only as we got to within 1km of the hut that we then got a classic taste of Kiwi weather. Within 10 minutes, what was a sizzling day turned into a wet and windy downpour, with hail thrown in for good measure. All this made the uphill track slippery and treacherous.

We celebrated Jenny’s birthday eve with an amazing katsu noodle creation – a blend of edamame noodles, black bean noodles, Japanese curry stock cubes, hot and spicy noodles, dried shiitake mushrooms, freeze dried vegetables, a super seed mix, almond butter and topped with crispy shallots! It was fantastic and didn’t taste like a trail meal at all. If you had plated it nicely you could have gotten away with serving it in a restaurant! Again, Jenny has outdone herself in this section, catering to a veggie diet with avocado wraps (using a package spread which contained 3 while avos), wholefood snacks and a healthy amount of scrogg (this is Kiwi lingo for mixed nuts, dried cranberries and raisins and chocolate).

Stevie Wonder probably had better views than this!

Birthday breakfast

Jenny started her 32nd spin around the Earth with her head in the clouds. At 1,280m above sea level, the morning was misty but spirits were lifted with coffee, carrot cake and a birthday card. Turning down a glass of birthday fizz, we headed off for what would be a relatively easy hike to Stodys Hut.

Apparently the views were breathtaking on this section

It was allegedly a TA highlight, but with the cloud cover we could honestly have been anywhere. Luckily the short day ended four hours later when we got to an old tin hut where a fire was lit and the party began. Well, as much of a party that 3 people and a phone speaker playing Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” could muster.

Transported back to the simpler life

Jenny and Katie shared the local sparkling wine and we chatted till hiker midnight (9pm). The carrot cake and brownie also went down a treat, and had remained remarkably unsquashed thanks to being transported in the brain of Katie’s Osprey Exos. Being transported back to the Summer of 1353 wasn’t something Jenny had on the cards for her 32nd, but I think she enjoyed it nonetheless.

The “hiker shuffle” dance moves

Follow the river

River crossings are always something that scares me a bit as the are unpredictable and a few short moments could lead to potential disaster. We had heard the Timaru river was a bit treacherous due to the rainfall a few nights back from a south bound hiker who had ended up going for an unplanned swim. Luckily the river seemed to have reduced a lot by the time we needed to cross it the dozen times required by the Te Araroa. The main challenge was it was very silty so it was hard to know where you were stepping. This meant one step could be knee deep whilst the next was up to the waist!

Using the river for a guide the day was stunning with blue skies and just the right amount of challenge to make it feel hard yet fun. We pushed last the hut we were aiming for when we read a sign on the wall stating it would take 9-11 hours to get to the car park we needed to be at by 4 the next day. Whilst a little demoralising it did make for an epic campsite just under the base of the saddle of mount Martha when we finally arrived.

To conclude the section we were given a small dose of snow walking as we traversed the saddle. A 4×4 track then made light work of the following miles getting us to the car park 1.5 hours early. From here it was a 5 hour drive to Christchurch where Christmas was celebrated with our new surrogate kiwi family.

 

 

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Comments 2

  • Jake Jacobs : Jan 12th

    You make the trail walking sound fun

    Reply
  • MAUREEN CHILD : Jan 15th

    Hi there Jenny and Joal. We are good friends of Brian and Jill and have loved reading your blog. Our son in law is in New Zealand at the moment (his brother and family live there and Will has gone to attend their wedding).

    Enjoy.

    Maureen and Peter xx

    Reply

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