Tramping on the Tracks!

Ted.  New Zealand is a sparsely populated country and 30% of all Kiwis live in Auckland, the largest city. So, there are vast stretches of farms and woodlands. With their love of nature, it makes sense that there are many hiking trails. Several famous ones are near Te Anau in the Fiordland National Forest; notably the Milford Track.

 

To paraphrase Shaw, “New Zealand and America are two countries separated by a common language. “ So, when I say that we tramped three times along two tracks in the bush, that means we have taken three hikes on two different trails in the woods. Got it? 

We did two days on the Kepler Track and one day hiking from The Divide to Key Summit on the Routeburn Track. Search them on Google or YouTube for better photos and videos.

To minimize the impact of humans on these trails, no trailside camping is allowed. For an overnight stay, you book a bed in a “hut”. 

The hikers seem to respect the trails more than in our country and we saw virtually no “rubbish.”

What we did see was a landscape that was totally different from anywhere that we had ever been.

This area gets a ton of rain (like the Pacific Northwest) but the vegetation is unique. 

Most of the trees are beeches and everything is covered with moss but what really looks alien are the ferns the size of dogwood trees!

A dinosaur would not look out of place.  Another unusual aspect is that the tree line/snow line is just 3,500 ft above sea level so mountains in the 4,000-5,000 ft range get a fresh dusting of snow every time it rains.

While we were at elevations that we see in Georgia, the landscape looked more like the high country of Colorado. 

And then there are the birds. We don’t ever recall having heard so many birds singing merrily away as we hike through forests in the States.

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Yes, it is a hassle traveling with our hiking boots and poles but the payback is priceless!