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Wanaka to Te Anau

Te Araroa - days 114 - 123

By Nature Is Calling

March 23^rd, 2020

Day 114 - Wanaka to Highland Creek Hut

Start: @ km 2586
Ende: @ km 2615.5
Wanderung: 29,5 km

After a nice breakfast in bed at our Wanaka Airbnb, we said farewell and headed out to the lakeside walking/biking track towards Glendhu Bay. The track was well formed and clearly used by locals and tourists alike. Along the way we saw bikers, runners, walkers, and we even saw swimmers suited up in their wet-suits to go for morning swims. It was a lovely Sunday stroll.

The path took us to the Glendhu Bay Holiday Park where we refilled our water and bought sugary treats we did not need. Then it was just over 2 km of road walking before embarking on the Motatapu Alpine Track.

We had heard from others that this is/was a lovely section and we were looking forward to it, especially because we knew it was our final alpine section of the TA (which we were feeling sad about). We had planned to go to the first Hut, but the more we thought about it, pushing to the second hut made more sense. We decided to wait until we arrived at the first hut to make our final decision (pretty much based on time and level of exhaustion).

We made really good time to the first hut, arriving a little over an hour before what we’d expected. This gave us enough time to eat lunch and still make the next hut before sunset (hopefully). We were feeling strong and decided to push onward.

We knew sunset was just after 8 pm and the trail notes said the next section was 4-5 hours. We left at 3:40 pm. At this point we were well out of the forest and had excellent views of the surrounding mountains. We were taking it all in, but also giving it our all. We really had no idea what the track would be and wanted to make sure we would arrive before dark. So, we basically flew up the uphill portion. The downhill wasn’t too bad (our knees were thankful) and we were able to move down pretty quickly as well. We arrived just after 6 pm and were both surprised and ecstatic.

Highland Creek Hut was absolutely charming, and we had time to enjoy it. Bartek (a hiker from Poland we had crossed paths with a couple of times) and two young German guys (non-Ta hikers) were the only others at the 12-bunk hut. We chatted, ate dinner and played cards. It was a fun evening.

Then we passed out.

Day 115 - Highland Creek Hut to Roses Hut

Start: 10:15 @ km 2615.5
End: 15:00 @ km 2626
Hiked: 10.5 km

After having done some of what we had planned for today already yesterday, we chose not to set an alarm and slept in. Bartek and the German guys (Justus and Moritz) one after another showed some signs of life starting around 8, and we slowly started moving, too, but took a lot of time for breakfast and coffee. We finally left the hut (last) around 10:15 and were pretty much in the “memorable uphill” the trail notes had warned us about. The whole day consisted basically of twice going up and down for approximately 450m elevation each - over a distance of 10 km. There were hardly any flat bits. The “memorable” ascent was the steeper of the two, but fortunately didn’t take too long. The downhills were long, but had switchbacks and were not too steep - manageable.

All day we had lovely views over the mountain ranges and back to Lake Wanaka.

We got to Roses hut just after 3 pm and thus had plenty of time for lunch, chatting with the two Germans, napping outside on a mattress, stretching (at least a little), filtering water, writing the blog, dinner, dishes and an early bedtime.

Day 116 - Roses Hut to Arrowtown

Start: @ km 2626
End: @ km 2648.5
Hiked: 22.5 km

Today was the last day of the TA that was in an alpine environment, which made us a little sad, but also made us want to consciously enjoy the last two saddles. The first accent started immediately after Roses Hut. We made some good speed up the 550 m of elevation to Roses Saddle and the downhill wasn't too bad either. Then we had to make a decision, either take the high water route with lots of ups and downs, or stay down by the river, which meant getting our feet wet, but also promised faster progress. We chose the second one.

The water was freaking cold and we had to walk through it many many times. In between there were short bits of trail, sometimes good, but more often than not through thick bush with lots of gorse. Oh, how we had missed the gorse. At some point we took a break, because our feet hurt so much and we were getting cold. We had a snack and tried to warm up.

After that - maybe because it was a little later and the sun was more out - it felt better. The water was still cold, but not as icy as before and it was more obvious to find the tracks between the river crossings. With a little detour, because we stayed by the river a bit too long, we got into Macetown, a former gold mining town, that was now deserted. Not much of the town was left, actually just one building, the bakery was still standing. We thought about having lunch there, but the sandflies were just crazy. That wasn't a surprise to us, as we had read a comment on Guthook jokingly saying that Macetown had been abandoned, because of too many sandflies :).

We moved on, following a 4wd track and occasionally having to cross the river again, before ascending on a not well maintained path to Big Hill saddle. The view from up there was not that great, which was a little disappointing for our last alpine high point, but we had a snack break and took advantage of finally having phone reception to book accommodation for Arrowtown and Queenstown.

The descent was nice and not too steep, partly exposed and partly going through little patches of forest. We watched two helicopters for most of the track. They were spraying something onto a hill (German Hill) that we got closer and closer to. We were wondering what would happen if the wind turned and we breathed in those pesticides... but when we got closer there was a guy sitting at the track looking out for hikers. For a short moment we were worried about him telling us that we couldn't continue on the track, but he let us pass and radioed the helicopters, that they should wait a moment and not spray us. Nice.

We got into Arrowtown, which turned out to be very picturesque with little roads and storefronts that could be out of a wild west movie. Maybe this is a good point to mention that the whole bit we did in the last three days, a few days before people did in an ultra run in just one day, the best athletes in less than seven hours. A few TA hikers had also taken part in the run.

We checked into New Orleans hotel and then checked the pharmacy for hand sanitizer, which was completely sold out - COVID-19 starts to show it's effects. We went out for dinner at Slow Cut and couldn't help but think about whether or not it was smart to be out and about in a busy restaurant. How many cases are already in New Zealand, that they might not even know about? Would we catch the virus here? Having said that, the burgers were still awesome and Mathias enjoyed a beer out of a hopefully well-enough cleaned glass.

Our room was luxurious, a real little hotel, not a hostel, with a nice bed which helped us to enjoy some deep, relaxing sleep.

Day 117 - Arrowtown to Queenstown

Start: @ km 2648.5 Queen
End: @ km 2677
Hiked: 28.5 km

After a nice breakfast in Arrowtown with a milkshake and waffles for Leah and a salmon bagel with a coffee for Mathias, we started the hike to Queenstown. It was a little bit longer but easy day.

After a while the trek went through some 'fancy golfing club meets Disney wonderland' development named Hayes Estates. Everything was very manicured and there were beautiful houses right in the middle of the golf course and a good path for us to walk on. Mathias saw that his brother was just typing on WhatsApp and gave him a call. Unfortunately he had bad news. Besides other things, Jana (Mathias‘ niece) had fallen off of a horse and broken her shoulder and was waiting for her operation in a hospital. That sucked to hear, and not to be around to give some support.

We walked on passing Lake Hayes and suddenly “nature was calling” and Leah needed a bathroom. In the wilderness this is less of a problem. Here between posh houses and lawns it is more stressful if you see that the next toilet on the track is still 6-7 km away. After a while we looked for an alternative plan and found that the little subdivision had a restaurant which was only 600 m from us. We made it in time and took advantage of our little detour sharing an avocado toast and some drinks. Yummy.

A while later we passed the airport and a little shopping area where we resupplied at Pak-n-Save (a Highlight as it was the first really big supermarket on the South Island and had the quick cook lentils we had been missing in our meals for a while) and at Macpack for some camping gas and dry bags. With our now heavier bags we walked the final long stretch along Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown, admiring some of the beautiful buildings with even more beautiful views along the way.

In Queenstown we quickly checked into the hostel (now they checked our passports, to verify that we have been in the country for more than two weeks - otherwise we would not be allowed, as we would have been required to self-quarantine) said hi to Kirby who was staying at the same place and headed into town for the last errands: Leah picked up a brand new pair of shoes (#4) and we got waterproof socks that will hopefully help us with the upcoming wetter and colder days.

We met Kirby after that for one of Queenstown's famous Fergburger. Kirby had it all figured out: pre-order and pickup and then eat it in the park by the lake: faster and less social exposure standing in line against Corona. The burgers, plan and company did not disappoint. :)

We ended the evening with catching up on all the Corona stuff happening that we cannot yet tell how much it will influence us over the next weeks. After a tiny bit of panicking, we fell asleep.

Day 118 - Queenstown to Taipo Hut

Start: 10:00 @ km 2679
End: 17:30 @ km 2701
Hiked: 22 km

After another night of good sleep - we are so spoiled - and hearing that Jana's operation went well, we packed and headed out to the pickup point for our shuttle to the next trailhead. We stopped by the bakery and then boarded the minibus. Once again we had to go around some hazard zone that was not part of the TA and use a shuttle via Glenorchy to do this. Around 10, we got to a parking lot, which was busier than expected. We used the bathrooms, finished our juice, asked some nice people if they would take our empty juice bottle, so we wouldn't have to carry it for days, and headed off. As so often we started quite fast and passed a bus load of people that were probably on a three day loop track. The track was pleasant and just a little rain was annoying us more and more.

We stopped for lunch at the huge Greenstone Hut (20 people) that even had flushing toilets and met a New Zealand section hiker there that gave us some good information about the upcoming section. Kirby arrived shortly after us and it was difficult to motivate ourselves to get back into our wet clothes and out into the rain, which had gotten a little heavier. The trail was a little more boggy, but still we enjoyed it overall, going through a huge plain, surrounded by nice mountains. We weren't in an alpine environment anymore, but still surrounded by it. Lovely. We were starting to doubt we would ever arrive at Taipo Hut, but it turned out the hut was only hiding until the very last moment. Suddenly it was there, and it was quite busy. There was Ben (Leah was surprised I talked to him like I knew him, as she didn't recognize him at all - he had a fresh haircut/beard cut) and two NZ girls as well as a very talkative guy from the US. The hut had four bunks, but with quite large mattresses, which is why in the trail notes it was even listed as having 8 bunks. Fortunate for us, the NZ girls moved together to share a bed which opened one up for us and Ben offered to share with Kirby (next to each other, head to toe for social distancing), so we were all taken care of.

Day 119 - Taipo Hut to Mavora Lakes Campsite

Start: @ km 2701
End: @ km 2728
Hiked: 27 km

Today was the day. The day to test our new waterproof socks. The trail was boggy and thus a good test environment. They worked well, but were quite warm and our feet sweat, so only recommendable on wet and colder days.

The trail followed the wide valley with more of what we had the day before with different degrees of how difficult it was to find the next marker. We got to Boundary Hut and enjoyed a great lunch with apple, cheese and avocado (thanks Ben for sharing!) wraps. While we were eating, a mouse was checking out our bags, but fortunately we noticed it and moved them away. They are quite bold, sometimes.

We continued and got to the shores of Lake Mavora where we stopped to take a little break. We sat on the rocky beach, with the trees behind us and looked into the clear lake in front. It was really peaceful. The remainder of the walk was pretty much alongside the lake and easy going. We got to the campsite and pitched our tent in a wooded-ish area next to Kirby. A short while later Ilona showed up. She is such a badass. She did in one day what we had done in a day and a half. We ended up having dinner in the tent because the sandflies were too much for us. We have noticed that the weather has been getting colder as the days go on. It was nice to snuggle up in our sleeping bags (still warm enough at this point...) and close our eyes. Another nice day.

Day 120 - Mavora Lakes Campsite to Cow Shelter / Te Anau

Start: @ km 2728
End: @ km 2747
Hiked: 19 km
Shuttled:
Weather: wet and cold

We woke up early hearing someone packing up their tent already. It was still dark outside. Our thought was: "Damn, Kirby is already up and almost ready to go", but it wasn't her, it was Ilona. She had noticed that she forgot her rain cover for her backpack in one of the huts and thus wanted to get into town today, again doing in two days, what we wanted to do in one and a half. Consequently she started very early.

We took a little longer, but were still happy that - despite a forecast of rain for the whole day - it was just a little drizzling, when we packed our tent. The walk through the forest along the Mavora Lakes was nice and when we got to the third bridge, we stopped for a snack and dried our tent.

On the other side of the bridge was a car park and a group of teenagers who were getting ready and soon came our way. Their bridge crossing took forever, because the bridge only allowed one person at a time, like most of the small suspension bridges we've encountered. Last of the group, the supervisor,s crossed and we asked them for an updated weather forecast. They said they checked in the morning and that everything looked good and that the rain was supposed to all come down in the adjacent valley, it should stay dry where we were. Yay!

We soon crossed the bridge as well and diverted from the official trail, because all comments said it would be a horrible and badly maintained part. We would - like they recommended - walk the road from here all the way to the highway. Not long after we got on the road it started drizzling, then raining, then pouring and it didn't seem to stop. We got cold and low-spirited.

There was nothing in sight for a long while to get a break from the rain, the we spotted some little shed and decided to have a break. We made hot chocolate to get warm, but overall stopping was a bad idea, once we stopped moving we got even colder. We were wondering what to do. Option 1: Follow our plan, walk for the day, pitch a tent closer to the highway - in the pouring rain - walk another 10 km tomorrow and then try to hitch into town or get a shuttle. Hitching seemed more and more unlikely with the updates on COVID-19 that we saw, we didn't expect people to still pick up hitchhikers. Option 2: Try to get a shuttle here and now and sleep in a bed in Te Anau tonight. Also this option would allow us to see how we might want to change our plans due to the virus a day earlier.

We chose option 2 and Kirby organized a shuttle. It wasn't cheap and we had to wait for another 40 minutes for it to get here. The mood was really heavy. We had a feeling that this might be the end of our trail for this attempt and that felt overwhelming.

The shuttle arrived and we were happy to get inside. The driver was nice and turned the heating on for us, so that we slowly warmed up again. Just after the minibus turned onto the highway, we saw a hiker trying to catch a ride. It was Ben and we asked if we could take him with us as well. As we basically chartered the minibus, that worked out. We stopped, Ben ran and got onto the bus, surprised to see all of us in there. Off we go. Wait, where was Ben's phone? Wait. STOP! He checked all his pockets and didn't find it. He was very sorry about causing trouble, so he wanted to get his backpack and run back. But our driver was very nice, even though he was a little annoyed, he drove back and we all looked out for the phone. After a few minutes we saw it in the middle of the street and it was still okay. Happy end for that little side story.

We got into Te Anau and checked into the youth hostel. We got a 3 bed dorm together with Kirby for two nights. We had lots of discussions about what to do and looked at all kinds of different news updates to figure it out. Leah decided that now would be the time to open the letter we got from her brother Jeremy and his partner Annie that said 'Open when you need a burst'. In there we found a wizard card from the wizard card game. Made us smile, but in this occasion didn't help us on the decision. But slowly we got to the point that we would stop hiking and try to get back or at least put us somewhere where we would be in a good position to act - not in a far corner of the south island. Even though the decision way made-ish, it still didn't seem real and therefore Leah continued to live in a state of, 'But maybe...'.

We took a break for dinner and went to the Olive Tree Cafe, which had some nice curries for the ladies and a burger for Mathias (who should have ordered a curry, too). We tried to go to sleep. Mathias, who has probably been the most anxious of the whole group so far, fell right asleep, the ladies unfortunately weren't able to sleep, yet. Leah laid in bed filled with anxiety, grief, and a spiraling mind: Do we really have to stop? I mean, aren't we social distancing on the trail? We are so close to the end... We've been walking for months... are we really going to stop before we reach the end (which is only 9 days away)??

Day 121 - Te Anau

In the morning Kirby and Leah did laundry, because even if the world is going down, we can't continue to smell like we do. Mathias had been on the phone with his friend Alex, getting some input to figure out what the plan could be. Because the borders in Europe and the USA had been closed already days ago for foreigners, it is not possible for Leah to get into Europe or Mathias to get into the USA. So the question is, do we both try to get back to our families/homes, or stay together here in New Zealand? Difficult with all the unknowns. Flights were getting cancelled all the time, so even if we would book something, we do not know where we would end up. Also it doesn't really sound good to be in airplanes and airports for 30 hours or more. With all this going on and some miscommunication, most of Mathias' clothes did not end up in the laundry. And when he went to start a separate load, the second machine was already taken. Slowly the world united against him - he felt.

We were feeling gutted about not completing the TA. We were feeling overwhelmed by the many decisions we needed to make. We ended up deciding to at least make our way to the north island as we expected that inland travel would sooner or later be restricted. So we booked bus tickets (with Kirby as well) to Queenstown airport for the next day and began looking for flights. Kirby and Ben were faster, and they were able get on a flight for the next day. We only got a flight for Wednesday, so we also had to book a hotel for a night in Queenstown, luckily that was still possible. It somehow helped to feel like we were in this together with Kirby and Ben; we were all processing, planning next steps, mourning... We could all relate.

Others - like Alex - were still in a good mood, which constantly made us doubt our decision, should we just continue and finish the hike? Were we being overly dramatic? How would it feel, when we see on social media, that other people finish over the next days? We only had 9 days, maybe a little less, if we really pushed ourselves. But in times of the pandemic, and with the information we were getting, it just seemed a bit irresponsible. Things changed dramatically on a daily basis now.

Side note: People have asked; But why don't you/didn't you just keep on going? You are out in the middle of nowhere...you're social distancing. We asked ourselves those same questions; however, there were other things to consider. Being stranded in Bluff (the end point) would be less than ideal. We had heard that cars were not stopping to pick up hitchhikers anymore. Shuttles would be expensive, if they were even going to be running. There was also the concern of if we were to get injured, we would be using medical resources (rescue team) when they might be needed elsewhere. We had to think outside of ourselves and consider how our choices could have an impact on others (as well as ourselves).

In the afternoon Kirby and Ben had organized a little 'end of our thru hike'-walk. They said they felt it was important to have something symbolic, so we all walked along Lake Te Anau for a bit and talked about how we felt and how absurd the whole thing seemed. There were tears and laughter and we were all glad, that we had people to share this moment with. We stopped close to a boat house and celebrated on a rocky beach with champagne (thank you Kirby) out of our tramping cups. Ben - being French - felt a bit conflicted about that. Kirby had prepared an awesome sign and we took a few pictures, of the end of our trail.

We walked back and decided to continue our celebration with pizza. The restaurant was quite full, and we all had to write down our contact data on a sheet of paper before we were allowed to take a seat. It felt like COVID-19 was closing in on us.

We ran into some other TA hikers who were choosing to keep going. It was a weird feeling. We felt that things were getting serious fast, and were a bit worried for them. But we (at least Leah) also felt jealous and again wondered if we really needed to stop. Alex soon walked in and came and joined our little group. The pizza was great.

Day 122 - Te Anau to Queenstown

We packed up. Mathias was not able to disassemble his poles anymore and the question was how to travel with these, they would be a pain to check in. He decided to give them away and Alex was happy to take them. They were lighter than his own and he planned to continue the track.

We went for a late breakfast to the Olive Tree Cafe again. Things there had changed in the last 36 hours as well: we got single use menu printouts, that we throw away after ordering and we had to sign in with our contact data.

When the bus arrived, the driver gave us good information about rules. He would not touch any of our luggage and we would try to spread over the bus as far apart from others as possible. The bus would be disinfected before and after each trip. Hopefully that will be good enough. A good time to develop some paranoia.

During the drive one of the passengers informed us about the latest announcement (she had just received on her phone) of the New Zealand prime minister. New Zealand just moved to alert level 3 of their corona virus response plan and would move to level 4 (out of 4) in 48 hours. We did some research and level 4 meant lockdown, no local travel after tomorrow night, 23:59. The lockdown will persist for at least 4 weeks.

So we will just make it to Wellington (as long as our flight in not cancelled) and then have to stay in our Airbnb for the time of the lockdown. It seems we made our decision just in time to still be able to do that.

When we got to Queenstown airport, we split up. Kirby and Ben went to their flights and we had to say good bye. We were all a bit overwhelmed (remember, we have been off grid-ish for months and now hearing that we are going into a Level 4 lockdown), and we totally forgot to give each other hugs, but expected to see each other in Wellington on the next day anyway.

Our Airbnb was inWellington. All of our things that we did not bring on the trail (computer, extra clothes, toiletries, etc.) were being stored at Angela and Matthias' place in Auckland. We (Mathias) were panicking a little. Typing on a phone for four weeks, that sounded like hell (#firstworldproblems), so Mathias decided to buy a cheap laptop and a mouse. Never has he made a decision on hardware that quickly. Leah panicked in a different direction: going last minute clothing shopping and ended up with a bra and a shirt. We also bought a few groceries, so that we wouldn't have to go out into the crazy world after we got to the hotel.

We checked into the hotel. It seemed pretty dead, but we got a really nice room. It was still early, but with no intention to leave the hotel again, we had time to call family and Mathias started to set up the computer - Windows 10 - not his favorite 😉.

Day 123 - Queenstown to Wellington

Inspired by Kirby's idea and by Maria saying that supermarkets were sold out of many items in Palmerston North, we thought we should buy a few groceries (as we knew from yesterday that the store in Queenstown was still well stocked) before heading to the airport. We filled up our backpacks with canned foods, pasta, rice and such. Better safe than sorry. And after hearing how bad the cheap laptop's speakers were, we also invested in a bluetooth speaker. We're ready for the lockdown. Well at least as ready as we will be.

The mood at the airport was weird: Checks at the door to only allow people in that had a ticket, a long long line in front of the ticket desk - luckily we already had our e-tickets, and all stores at the airport either closed or just closing - one cafe was nice and gave away everything they had to the airport employees for free, including bottles of liquor.

We checked the bags and hid in a far corner where not too many people were hanging out. After many times of sanitizing our hands, standing in line for the security check at the gate, we finally got on board and were happy that in the end, we had three seats all to ourselves. Paranoia told us, not to touch anything like the tray table, but otherwise the flight was quite normal with some turbulence just before the landing in Wellington. The Cook Straight (separating north and south island) is windy!

We were happy to see that Uber was still working and we were able to get a ride to the Airbnb where we were warmly welcomed by Kris aka. Jasper. We were feeling anxious, especially after being on a bus and an airplane, at wanted to keep our distance. We felt that she was coming a little close - not everyone was as paranoid or alert as we were - and showed us around. Leah was a little shocked by how small the place that we would call home for the next (at least) four weeks was, but then - on the other hand - we do not have a lot of things with us. The place is tiny, but cute and it will work out...

So this is the end of our Te Araroa adventure. Who would have thought it would end this way? But then we think - a global pandemic is probably an okay reason to stop a through hike. And with 91.4% done, we feel like we would have been able to finish it for sure. Maybe some other day we will do the remaining bit - then again: it's not the most beautiful part that is left, so will we go half way around the world for that stretch again? - we will see.

Thanks for reading about our adventures along the way. It has been such an extraordinary journey and although we are heartbroken that we were unable to complete the trail, we know that we did our best and met incredible people along the way. A special shout out to Maria, Hans, Chris & Kim - thanks for a beautiful start. Julia and Sarah - we hiked almost 1500 km together and loved our time with you. Kirby - thanks for letting us adopt you. You brought so much fun and laughter to our family. And for the rest of you awesome TAers - so thankful we crossed paths: Nat, Tash, Ben, Claire, Su, Alex, Tom, Giulia, Yoni, Noah, Brittney, Dennis, Anouk, Tessa, Adam, Ilona, the Sheriff and more. If y'all are ever in Zurich, you have a place to stay (if we find a place).

Only a broken leg or a pandemic was going to stop us. Also, it was announced that hikers should stop (a day after we made our decision). Cross your fingers, that we will soon both be able to get to Switzerland and start our next adventure there: finally living together. 😍