When a cute boy asks you if you want to go tramping for 4 days in the back country, DO NOT fall for his puppy dog eyes and kiwi accent!!! When he says the track will be nice and easy, this is by New Zealand standards only. For us Americans, this means nice and hard!!
By now, you should have an idea how this is going to go. The past 4 days and 3 nights on the Greenstone and Routeburn Track have been one of the most challenging experiences of my life. On Thursday night, I met a guy in the communal room of my hostel. We did the typical chat, "Where are you from, what do you do, what are you doing here..." and he invited me to go tramping in the bush. I know, I know. It sounds dirty. But the translation is backpacking in the forest. It took me all of 5 seconds to make my decision. Afterall, what am I here for?. Had I known what was to come, I would have thought about it A LOT harder.
There is no way for me to convey what this experience was like in writing, but here is a summary; In four days, I have climbed two mountains, trudged through swamps, rock hopped (I thankfully still have both of my ankles), slipped on a mudslide, waded through streams, walked through rainforest and subalpine terrain, crossed many wire suspended bridges, leaped and ducked over and under and over and under logs, boulders, and bushes, and tiptoed across ledges. I encountered almost all weather elements possible at this time of year including gail forced winds, hail, thunder, lightning, rain, rain, rain, rainbows galore, and one lucky day of sunshine. I saw more waterfalls than I could have counted, scenery I thought was only possible through digitally enhanced movies, snow capped peaks, alpine lakes, mountain parrots and of course cows and sheep. The only wild mammal I saw was a lone rabbit in which my kiwi friend said he'd shoot if he had a gun. Tomtits were the most abundant birds I saw. They are quite curious and will hop right up to your feet. I saw but two worms on the entire trail and other than the mosquitoes at night, were the only invertebrates I encountered. I lived off of ramen noodles, crackers, granola bars and drank directly from streams. One hundred and six kilometers later, I am still alive, but my entire body aches including what little muscle I have on the bottom of my feet. Let me just say, New Zealanders are CRAZY!!! When I was climbing a summit in wind and hail wearing two layers of clothing and all the waterproofness I had, there were guys and gals wearing shorts and a rain coat. SHORTS!!! Why??? I'm still asking myself this.
After trudging with wet feet, no showers and four days of life essentials on my back, getting back into a town of a couple thousand people and sleeping in a hostel seems like paradise on Earth! Despite being on the verge of an emotional breakdown by the third day, I look back on this adventure with satisfaction. If I could do it over again, I would...but it would take quite a bit more of convincing. Afterall, I came to New Zealand to experience new things. Without doing the work and taking chances, this is not possible. And even though I have experienced a lot in the past four days, I can't help feeling I've only just begun.
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