New Zealand: update 5 - The SI (South Island) Chronicles

Hey Everyone,

It's been an adventurous 2 weeks for me since I last made contact with this community, and I hope everyone reading this has been getting out and enjoying a bit of life as well. You may have noticed the title of this post: The SI Chronicles. I spent the last 2 weeks wandering the south island of new zealand searching for lost hobbits and old wizards, as well the occasional lift here or there. I can't even dream of telling all the many stories I lived in one simple blog update, so in addition and as part of the "New Zealand update" scheme, there will now be the SI Chronicles, in which I may occasionally relate a story from my journeys. For now, I will simply provide a brief overview of the route of my journeying and my methods of travel.

I flew into Christchurch on the evening of Saturday, the 4th of July (Yay for American Independence!) and stayed there that night as well as Sunday night. I spent Sunday roaming the city, though there is honestly not much city to roam. I also tried to do a bit of planning for the rest of my journey, though not to much avail. I did discover a website I somehow had missed in all my previous internet wandering: doc.org.nz. This website has heaps of information on the natural features of New Zealand, including backcountry tramping. It also includes the locations of the Department of Conservation (DOC) offices around NZ, one of which is in Christchurch.
Monday morning I dropped into the doc office to get some advice. I was interested in doing some backcountry tramping, and had brought all my gear: 2 sleeping bags, sleeping mat, tent, stove, pots, food, layers of clothing, gloves, beanie, SPoT, and all of whatever else, so all I needed now was a destination. My internet research Sunday had been helpful, and talking to doc Monday was exactly what I needed to get started. I was headed for the St. James Track in Lewis Pass.
I took a bus to Belfast, a suburb on the edge of Christchurch, stuck my thumb out, and got a ride to Hamner springs, about 100km short of Lewis Pass. From Hamner Springs I got a ride with a nice Indian family just "out for a long drive" from Christchurch (long indeed, it's about 3 hours at least, and they were headed to Reefton, another hour again) up to the top of Lewis Pass, where the Saint James Track starts. I picked up my bag and headed out into the woods. The track itself is about 4 days of walking, and comes back to the same road it leaves from, but about 20km lower down. I spent 3 nights camping and walking in the backcountry, enjoying some beautiful scenery and great, though cold, weather.
Back on the road 4 days later, I hitched over to Reefton and spent the night there. The next morning I started moving south from Reefton, getting a ride to Greymouth and then (after a 2 hour wait, the longest of my trip) got a ride with some Israeli tourists all the way to Fox Glacier. I spent a night in Fox Glacier, did a bit of sightseeing there (although I missed Lake Matheson, which I regret) and got a ride out to Haast the next morning from Tara, a local taking some time off work to tend to her 3 week old daughter. Tara wasn't originally planning on going to Haast, but when we got to where she was actually headed, she seemed to think my company warranted another 45 minutes down the road. Tara dropped me off in Haast, where the same Israelis picked me up again! They got me through to Wanaka that day, and I was trying to continue on from Wanaka to Queenstown that day, but got stuck in Luggett, a tiny town (one bar, no post office kind of place) about 20 minutes past Wanaka. Small town hospitality proved forgiving for me that night, as a half hour in the pub ended up furnishing me with a spare bed in a locals home for the evening.
Next morning, I got a ride from a police officer back to Wanaka so I could head to Queenstown the other way. It turns out that the map is deceiving and makes the route nobody ever takes appear to be the major route. Locals all go over the Crown Ranges, which is a beautiful group of mountains north of Queenstown. Anyway, the cop took me to Wanaka, and about 5 minutes with my thumb out there got me halfway to Queenstown. Another 10 minutes on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere and I had a lift through to the city, where I ended up spending very little time. Queenstown is a lot like Whitefish in that it is a nice town in a beautiful location, but is also overflowing with rich tourists on ski vacations. It's also a lot like Whitefish in that it is a very difficult place to get a ride. I went to the edge of town, to a place where every person driving past was certainly going to same direction I was, since there was only one direction to go. For an hour and a half steady traffic went by, but no rides. Finally I got a ride from a young semi-local couple hung over from the night before. They were pretty good company in spite of their hang-overs, and took me quite a way, to a small intersection where the small country road I needed branched off from the main highway. I walked about 6km down that small road before getting another ride, but it was alright. The countryside was good company, if a bit stinky from all the cows. I eventually got a ride from an old farmer who said to me, "don't mind the smell, I've just been killing sheep all day. help yourself to a beer if you'd like." He took me through to Mossburn, and I walked out of Mossburn toward Te Anau enjoying a gorgeous sunset.
I found a good place to camp on the side of the road headed toward Te Anau, but since I still had about 45 minutes of daylight left, I thought I'd give hitching a shot just in case I might get a ride to Te Anau that night. Fortune smiled, and about 60km later I was setting up camp in Te Anau and contemplating the morning.
Next day I hitched up to Milford Sound and back with a Taiwanese family, then headed out of town with a farmer who took me almost all the way to Invercargill. When I asked if he happened to know any good place to set up my tent, he took me to his brother-in-law's place, and his brother-in-law, Peter, put me up for the night. After about an hour of listening to all sorts of farm-talk (shearing, butchering, grazing, beef, studs, and whatnot) Peter even fed me dinner. Next morning his friend Dan gave me a ride into Invercargill on his way to work, and from Invercargill I got a ride down to Bluff, on the very southern tip of the island, with another Peter.
Bluff was a cool little town, and I dawdled there much longer than I had originally planned. It was no real matter, though, because the Peter who gave me a ride to Bluff had also invited me to his place for dinner and to sleep, which was great. His family and his home were awesome, and I really enjoyed the time I spent there. (Hey Pete, if you're reading this, thanks again!) We ate the blue cod he caught that day fishing (blue cod is the primo fish on the south island, and is very good), sat around looking at photos I had taken and at some of their photos, and in the morning I went down to Northern Southland trucking, through which I got a ride all the way to Christchurch in one day. The first leg, to Dunedin, was with Graham aka Zippy, and the second leg was with, you didn't guess it, another Pete.
I camped outside the city that night, then hitched north the next morning to Kaikoura, a neat little town situated on a beautiful section of coast, with another guy named Graham. I hung out in Kaikoura most of the afternoon, then was heading south to the countryside to camp (there were some good sites along the highway on the way in) when dark crept in. I kept on heading out into a drizzly night when a kind woman named Janet pulled over and offered me a ride to wherever I was going. After talking for a few minutes, she offered me a spot at her place and mentioned that her husband might be able to give me a ride back to Christchurch the next day, because he is a truck driver. (thanks again Janet!) Well, after a comfortable night in their home, I awed at a beautiful sunrise and put my thumb out to head back to Christchurch. Janet's husband was heading out around noon, but sometime about 10 am a trucker named Thomas pulled over and took me all the way into Christchurch. I spent the day in Christchurch (went and rode the Gondola, which was kind of cool, as well as went and saw the new Harry Potter film) then spent the night in the Christchurch airport to catch my flight at 6:45 the next morning. And now, here I am back in Auckland.

So, that's the short of my trip. I will continue to post bits and pieces of it as time goes on under the heading "The SI Chronicles." Thanks for checking in, and if you happen to be one of the wonderful people who is willing to pull over on the side of the road to pick up a hitch-hiker, I especially thank you for your generosity. I had a wonderful trip around the south island admiring both the natural beauty of New Zealand as well as the kindness I met with so frequently from it's many inhabitants.

Until next time.

~Alex