Sojourneyers – One family's adventure

Abel Tasman

Swimming at Apple Tree Bay

Apple Tree Bay

Abel Tasman hike

Summit Track

Summit Track in Fiordland

We made it – Summit Track

Lunch (sans water) at Summit Track

Hooker Glacier

Mt. Cook/Hooker Glacier walk

One of the activities that Jonathan and I most missed in the early A.Z. (“after Z”) years was hiking. She just wasn’t one of those babies or toddlers who took to a sling, although we tried them all, so hiking was put on hold for a few years. Once we started planning this adventure, however, one of our goals was for her to be able to hike several miles without too much whinging.  Because she had taken to the colored ribbon achievement scheme at her swim school like a fish to water (couldn’t resist), we implemented a parallel hiking certificate system. Her initial rainbow ribbon was earned after a 3-mile hike at age 3 — fast-forward to age 6 and we now have a girl who (according to a close friend) could “probably hike competitively.”  Perhaps, but only if the route was lined with chocolate incentives.  As luck would have it, there IS a Cadbury factory in Dunedin.

Abel Tasman to Apple Tree Bay:  As became our habit, we started the tramp mid-afternoon. (In the A.Z. world, we are no longer morning people and were unable to even once meet the 10am departure deadline from any campsite, which pained me each time but didn’t seem to ruffle Jonathan at all.)  Fortunately, the days still are long here but at first it was disconcerting to see people returning from their tramps as we were the lone ones setting off.  This one got off to a bad start. It was hot, and not just by NZ standards and yet, despite having packed enough food for 3 days and rain jackets when there was not a cloud in sight, 30 minutes in I realized that I’d left all of our water in the van due to a  misunderstanding about who was responsible for the drinks.  Jonathan had half a bottle of warm Grape Powerade and Z had a small amount of water in her pink thermos, but when I hike I sweat and need my water.  I spent a few annoyed minutes grumbling about needing to turn back but the day was ultimately too inviting for this to spoil our adventure.  When Z asked for water, I rationed out small sips accompanied by carrots on the theory that they were rehydrating and we powered on.  Fortunately, the track proved to be an easy coastal route, nicely shaded, and with gentle elevation gains and losses as we curved around the coast that regularly provided us with sparkling coastal vistas.  We stopped at Apple Tree Bay, a little over three miles in, for lunch and a bracing but gorgeous swim.  Except for the water’s temperature, we could have been in the Caribbean.  A handful of sailboats dotted the horizon, but the long, white-sand beach had only a handful of other visitors.  (Later I realized that some of those insidious sandflies first dined on me while I was eating lunch, but at the moment, I was blissfully unaware of these menaces.)  On the way back, Z serenaded us with songs from the Muppet Movie and we were fortunate to spot a family of Kiwis (the birds, not the people).  Total distance: 6.8 miles.

J and Z on Buller Canyon Swing – whereas I had been left paralyzed with vertigo on the other side of the longest swing bridge in NZ

Tied to a chair – canyon swing drop

Summit Track

Summit Track

Shotover Jet

Gondola above Queenstown

Luging above Queenstown

J and Z on Hooker Glacier Walk

Zara near Mt. Cook

Before the fall

“One of them just fell!“ shouted Jonathan and in the second it took for my heart to drop, Jonathan and Steffan were already shooting the 100-meters across the boulder-strewn landscape towards Zara and Ana-Marie.

Of course, we’ve also had our share of  manufactured adrenaline rushes in recent weeks. Queenstown is world-reknowned as the adrenaline capital of NZ, where bungy-jumping was born.  I guess being enclosed in a small camper van for several weeks with me and Z had pushed Jonathan over the edge, as he chose to celebrate Valentine’s Day by throwing himself off of a cliff 109 meters high (twice!) at Shotover Canyon.  His first jump he elected a forward dive so that he could have an unobstructed view of the fall (exactly the opposite of what I would have done if forced to dive off a cliff) and for his second “jump” he was strapped to a chair and pushed backwards over the ledge. Given my recent bouts of vertigo and height-induced panic attacks, I chose to abstain from the “fun”. Jonathan has a fabulous time, although Zara was bummed that the minimum age was 10.

So it is proving harder to update the blog regularly while on the road, between hours spent driving and the worst wifi availability we have encountered so far on our travels.  But, rest assured we are having a fabulous adventure exploring this country that looks like it has been photoshopped at every bend, with turquoise dye dropped into its rivers and lakes, tropical-colored seas, countless shades of green splattered against its hillsides and vibrant flowers placed strategically alongside the winding roads.  The North Island scenery recalls the most attractive parts of California, Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest and the UK Lake District but condensed into a small geographic area and improved upon. It really is extraordinary.