tramping new zealand

It drizzled or rained most of the night.

I was away early in the gloom and drizzle and threw my wet tent in the back seat of the car. Due to the early start, there were a few cars on the road until I approached Lake Tekapo. Time for breakfast and a decent coffee.

I sat in a cafe for about two hours, writing away, until an influx of paying customers arrived and it was time to get on the move.

Lunch at the salmon farm, just past Twizel.

Not every day had to be tramping up hills.

With the forecast for heavy rain for two days, a cabin was a sensible idea, even if in the end, not much rain ever arrived.

The following day, I left early to go up to Mt Cook and attempt to visit Ball Hut.

No real research as usual, but I was surprised to see the sign stated five hours. My early start would allow for a long day, and maybe without a pack, I would be quicker.

Actually, I was feeling frisky without an overnight pack load.

About halfway in distance, around an hour in, I was wondering about the timing. Then I met a Nepalese guy who said he had to turn back because the track had washed away.

I wasn’t gonna let that stop me.

Was it ever!

The retreat of the 80 m deep Tasman Glacier of about 6 km in recent decades had led to the collapse of the moraine in places, and I found myself looking down a 60 m cliff with no obvious workaround without plenty of danger. The view at the head of the lake and over to the Murchison Valley was exhilarating, with plenty of icebergs in the bright blue lake.

Standing on the edge of the boulder-stacked precipice wasn’t so good, so I peeled off back and went to the other end of the lake for some rock hopping.

I thought back to the first time I came up here, decades ago, when the glacier was down at the other end of the lake and I was able to cross it and make my way to the old Gorilla Hut.

I remember it had some graffiti from famous New Zealand climbers, including Ed Hillary and Frida du Flaur, who had just made a first ascent of a nearby mountain in 1909. I foolishly added my name to the wall of luminaries, what’s more, in a ballpoint pen, something I was relentlessly teased about by a friend who noticed it for years to come. Sadly, all the evidence was washed away in a later flood.

To be honest, Ball Hut was an excuse to go somewhere, and it was not at all disappointing to turn back early.

The predicted rain failed to eventuate, but all in all, it was a remarkable day with the views of the lake and the surrounding mountains.