From the land down under to the land of kiwis and hobbits – New Zealand has proven itself as one of the great treasures of the world for me (as if we didn’t see this coming after say, the likes of Lord of the Rings and The Piano).

I was a bit heartbroken to leave my dear old Outback, and it was with a heavy heart but resolved spirit that I stepped foot onto Kiwi soil. I arrived very late on a Thursday evening, and after learning that my Aussie phone would not work in NZ, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to find Joey easily, and was contemplating this dilemma when POOF! He emerged from the elevator of our hostel. We spent the next few hours jabbering excitedly about our adventures; after all we hadn’t seen each other since Brisbane three months earlier, when he headed to Cairns and ended up becoming a chef, gardener, scuba diving master and repo-man, among other things…and we all know where my journey took me. The next day or so was spent catching up and buying camping equipment for the tramps we were about to undertake. Friday we caught some beautiful fireworks over Wellington Harbour in honor of Guy Fawkes Day. Apparently back in 1605 Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the King of England and members of parliament. He failed, and England, Australia, and New Zealand commemorate the attempt to this day. It was very unclear as to whether we were celebrating Mr. Fawkes failure or applauding his effort, but either way those were some rocking fireworks.

Saturday night was a real treat – thanks to Joey’s connections, we somehow found ourselves in the home of Murray, the quintessential laid-back hip Kiwi, who was hosting a private concert featuring Jackie Bristow. Why was this so exciting, you ask? Because Jackie Bristow is an Austin artist! Yes, from the eaves of the Saxon Pub to Mr. Murray’s house in Wellington, Austin Texas music REPRESENTS! She is actually a native of New Zealand but has been living and working in Austin the past few years. She was incredible, truly. A mesmerizing voice and her songwriting and guitar skills were paramount. Look for her to be playing in Austin around March – in fact, please join me in going to see her radiate some good vibrations, I’ll be there. :) That night was quite fun, and everyone was delighted to see and meet Joey and I, real live people from Austin, Texas, the musical wonderland they’ve all heard so much about.

We left Murray’s around 11:00 to check out the nightlife scene…for a few reasons. One, I had been living in isolation in the Outback, and was eager to get out into the mix of things again (though that hunger was quickly satisfied – I’m definitely over cities). Second, we heard that the All Blacks were playing England, and the game would be broadcasted live at 3:20 am in every bar in town. The All Blacks are New Zealand’s famous Rugby team, by far the most important and revered sports team New Zealand has. You might have heard of them for their Haka War Dance, a tribal challenge issued in the form of a dance and chant at the beginning of every game…this of course comes from the Maori heritage in New Zealand. It’s interesting to watch the opponents take in this challenge; some of them glare back with hate, some look around as if the grass on the field is far more interesting, and some just look plain befuddled. Anyway, Joey and I spent so much time discussing the possibility of staying up that before we knew it it was 2:00 am and we thought…well, why not? So at 3:20 AM we were stationed at a sports bar, two amongst at least 150, all fired up, all drunk, all cheering for the All Blacks. It was a good game, from what I can remember…which isn’t much. And no friends, it wasn’t due to alcohol, rather the result of going from being asleep every night at 8:30 pm to staying up almost to my normal waking hour! As I looked around at the people starting to fall asleep all around me, I told Joey that I was leaving at 5:00…he said, yep, I’ll be right behind you. He had to be; we had a 6:30 AM ferry to catch to Nelson the next morning. We made our ferry; it wasn’t pretty perhaps, and I’m afraid that we might have drooled on the ferry chairs we slept on, but still – we made it. And once we woke up, man that ferry ride was incredible. It only lasted a few hours but we got up just in time to see the incredible views of the Cook Strait.

After speaking to the Department of Conservation (DOC) in Nelson, we determined that we would do two tramps: the Heaphy and the Wangapeka. The Heaphy is what they call a “great walk”, meaning it is a treasured national feature, closely monitored, and superbly maintained. This also means that it is an extremely popular choice for tourists – especially as it is rated an “easy” trail. In contrast the Wangapeka is rated moderate, not nearly as kept or monitored, and takes around 5-7 days. Thankfully the two are located near each other…we opted to do the Heaphy first, then take a shuttle from there to the Wangapeka trail head, and push right on through.

Well now. The Heaphy was absolutely incredible. The trail was 78.4 kilometers, and because we were working against a deadline (my parents were arriving in Nelson to visit in 9 days) we pushed to do the Heaphy in 4 days. We marched through mossy downs, grasslands, rainforests, and along the beach of the Tasman Sea on the final day. Came across a lagoon that was only accessible by foot, and tread through moss forests that seemed from another world. The most astounding thing to me is the water; absolutely crystal clear, even in extremely deep places. We stumbled upon one such swimming hole on our second day, and even though it was DAMN COLD outside we couldn’t resist the urge. So, taking turns we shimmied out of our clothes and dove on in. There is something incredibly freeing and joyful in the act of stripping naked in the middle of a magnificent wilderness, where you know that no one could possibly see you, and jumping in to the most crystal clear water you’ve ever seen being fed by a waterfall. As glorious as it was, I have to admit that as soon as I made contact with the water instant PANIC AND TERROR seized me as I thought my heart and lungs were going to freeze in that split second. This ain’t no Barton Springs people; this was more like liquid ice. Joey did a good job of hiding his pain and stifling his screams while I gave him his privacy to jump in - I had no idea what was coming. But it was worth it all the same and it certainly gave me that extra energy I needed to carry on through the day with a bounce in my step.

We were very fortunate in that we did not pass many people on the Heaphy, in fact we only saw others walking on the trail the last day. We would pass a few here or there, but they were always going the opposite direction. If you look at pictures online of the Heaphy, you can see what looks like hundreds of people hiking on the trail at once…we embarked on the trail early in the season, braving the cold – and thus reaped the

benefits of having it to ourselves.

We camped at the various hut stops along the trail, and as I said it is heavily monitored – so wardens would come to check our camping passes every evening once we pitched tents. On our first night the warden asked where we were headed the next day; when we told him – three huts down the path, 24 kilometers away – he seemed surprised. We explained that we were pushing to do the trail in 4 days as we were catching a shuttle the fourth day to the Wangapeka track…he raised his eyebrows. “Wow, I’m impressed. I’ve never done the Wangapeka.” I chalked it up to the general ease and “laid-backness” of the kiwis (truly the most mellow, Zenned- out people I’ve ever met), meaning that he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. This nice warden radioed ahead to let the other wardens know of our plans, and they would come to quietly congratulate us, and one even offered us use of the hut kitchen to cook our food in, which greatly appreciated as we were high in the mountains by that time and extremely cold. (As we were camping, we did not pay for use of hut utilities or bunks; we cooked all of our food outside.) I thought this was all very nice and friendly of them, but in the back of my mind I began to worry about the Wangapeka…I mean who are we but some random Texas backpackers, doing these tracks with not nearly the proper gear and carrying EVERYTHING we own on our backs, not just our necessary equipment? Hmm.

After the Heaphy, we caught a shuttle to Little Wanganui, where we stayed one night at the local pub, doing laundry, eating, refueling for our next tramp. In the morning the owner drove us to the Wangapeka trail head, and thus our second journey began. As I mentioned before, the Wangapeka is classified as “moderate” by the DOC. I knew Joey and I were up for it; the Heaphy was a good warm up, and I was ready to be challenged even more. What’s that saying, be careful what you wish for? The first day was good, hard but good – the trail is not nearly as kept as the Heaphy, there were dangerous river crossings and one ledge that had recently given way to the valley below that we had to tip toe across…try doing that with a big load on your back. :) It was an intense first day, but nothing, absolutely NOTHING could have prepared us for what came next. The second day we knew would be our toughest – only 10.2 kilometers to go, but rising around 900 meters in only 3 kilometers. What could make this even more exciting? The most intense, torrential downpour of a rainstorm that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. For about 2.5 kilometers there we were basically climbing straight up a mountain, and because of all the rain had waterfalls gushing in our face, pulling at our legs, causing rocks and trees to become dislodged…one boulder came loose and went tumbling down the mountain, hitting Joey’s leg and injuring him – however it was thisclose to landing ON him, and well we don’t want to think what would have happened then. Truly, it was like Extreme Sports New Zealand. There was absolutely no time to be scared; you have to just concentrate on one foot in front of the other, one hand after the other, and focus on the task at hand. Plus, the absolute raw power of nature when she’s mad is one of the most magnificent and awe inspiring things I’ve ever been a part of. I say a part of, because I was in it. There was a waterfall that we were climbing upwards next to, and of course it grew larger and larger, to the point where you were nervous it would explode with it’s flood and carry you down the mountain with it…to death or paradise. Finally, finally, we made it to the top of Perry Saddle…and stood, stunned. The entire saddle was transformed into one huge, calm lake, feeding that monster of a waterfall we had been climbing next to all day. Being up that high, you could see the rain come in waves from the clouds, truly like Poseidon’s black curtains closing one after the other. I believe DOC said this is where we would see incredible views of the mountains, which we missed – you couldn’t see far past the saddle because of the rain, and obviously I could take no pictures (Haley, I wish I had bought that underwater camera now!!) but Joey and I agree that it was worth it. Absolutely worth it to have experienced that raw force, to have fought against it and then be a part of it…the challenge, the adrenaline, and the supreme sense of accomplishment when we finally made it to our destination hut hours later. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life, and one that I am most thankful for. I’m hooked, that’s all I have to say. :)

The rest of the trail was fantastic and challenging – though nothing could compare to that second day. Once back in civilization five days later I asked DOC if they had many people remark that the Wangapeka should be classified as “difficult”. They said yes, they had, and took down my name…looking back it was the storm, of course, that made it so challenging for us…but also our loads. It is one thing to be a tramper here, get all your gear and food together and strap it on your back…it is quite another to be a backpacker, who has been living out of their pack for a year, and have nowhere to store most of it. I was able to leave a few things - like my computer- at a hostel in storage, but other than that…everything was on my back, baby. I think something like 40-50 kilos (kilos, not pounds). Yeah. That certainly made it more difficult. Tell you what though I felt like a champ when it was all through!

Ahh, back in Nelson then, the best gift possible at the end of such a taxing and rewarding journey…MY PARENTS CAME TO VISIT! They came for one week, and we soaked up everything the area had to offer; swimming with dolphins, a boat cruise around the famous Abel-Tasman National park where we saw seals, penguins, incredible views…we checked out the Nelson Lakes and, most importantly, cooked up the best Thanksgiving Dinner possible for being so far away from home. It was a delight. After not having seen them in 9 months, it was a little surreal – and much needed.

After they left, Joey and I headed to Christchurch…nice city, but I was itching to get back to wilderness. (It’s hard to go back to concrete and…well, PEOPLE after spending so much time in the Outback and then a New Zealand wilderness!) We went to a Christmas Festival – it’s a strange thing to see kids running around in shorts, flip flops, and santa hats whilst singing Christmas Carols in the heat!

Currently, I’m back in Australia, in Brisbane. I was meant to go back to Windorah a week ago, but they’ve had severe flooding in the good ole Channel Country and the roads have only opened up this week – I’m about to hop on a bus out there (18 hour ride, thank you very much.) I’ve been staying with my friend Helen, she and her family have taken me graciously into their home and made me feel a part of the family…lots of fun family dinners with the grandkids, decorating Christmas trees, putting up Christmas lights…oh and they have me completely hooked on True Blood, but that’s another story.

So, off I am to the Outback once again! It’s where I would like to stay until I leave in early February, though I’ll move around to different parts of it. Last night I was showing Helen’s grandkids pictures of Christmas in Austin, and with my family, and was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude and homesickness. I hope you guys all have an absolutely amazing Christmas, that you are able to see and feel and cherish the mountains of blessings we all
have before our very eyes, and that you and your loved ones are happy. Merry Christmas!!

All my love, Nancy

PS – If you want a taste of stereotypical Aussie Christmas humor, YouTube Kevin Bloody Wilson. “Hey Santa” is a good place to start. Mature audiences only, please. :)