Sketching a Twisty Path on the Globe

Milford Track—”The justifiably famous Milford Track is a 53.5km walk often described as one of the finest in the world.” It is also described as one of the wettest in the world with brochures and guide books dampening your expectations with warning of rain and flooding and reminders to pack layers of raingear and plastic bags. What they didn’t prepare us for was four days of brilliant blue skies and sunshine. The scenery truly was just as spectacular as they’d stated and without need for imagination to look past clouds, fog or downpours. Strange that the only times I got wet during the trek were walking behind an enormously powerful waterfall, getting sprayed on the front of the departure boat, and sitting on my waterbottle.

Our sock drawer of fellow trampers included Kiwi families, young couples, old couples, and the token “mountain man” (who carries the lightest pack, eats the lightest food, and immediately began his next 4-day trek as soon as this one ended). And then there’s Kristin and I—aka “those Alaska girls”—usually the last to leave the huts in the morning, the ones bent over taking pictures of plants, and the only ones seen to pull potato chips and fresh vegetables out of their over-stuffed packs for dinner while everyone else ate out of rehydrated pouches. Other less-welcome mates on the trail included the clouds of sandflies that waited for us at each hut. Mosquitoes may pierce with pins, and black flies buzz and bother, but there is no other critter I believe who can so effectively chew chew chew away your deet-flavored skin and sanity until you are reduced to a manic serial killer. Luckily they sleep. Luckily hanging out in crowds distributes their bites. Luckily they don’t taste so bad with peanut butter and jelly. : )

Current stop:  After a flurry of buses and bookings and muscling our packs, we made it to Queenstown and then immediately to Glenorchy to take in some more mountain scenery (oh yawn) and to let horses carry our weight for a while.  Oddly the horses seemed to take on some of our own trail traits–constant snacking (mine managed a mouthful in the middle of cantering) and tripping over rocks.  

Since we’ve arrived here, we’ve also heard mumblings about this thing they call “Christmas.”  Not sure exactly what it is except it changed our travel plans on the 25th and seems the source of “orphan parties” around town.  ; )  Actually, Kristin and I are struggling to find Christmas in the odd weather, daylight, and absence of all those people and tastes that make us coo in nostalgia.  I hope though that all of you aren’t having to search as hard and that the things that make you coo are right within your grasp.  🙂 

Like an escaped prisoner, I skip across green hills and beaches, chocolate smudges on my lips, daring to bare my shoulders and shins. ; ) Truly a dramatic, welcome change from my month of grueling “self-improvement,” being back in New Zealand is a nice pocket of gifted time before I feel obliged to turn bootcamp lessons into goals. (I wouldn’t want to steal the effect of New Year’s Resolutions by starting them too early!) SO, now’s the time to sleep in late even when I’ve had enough rest, to eat food just because it takes good, to let my body slump into backrests, to read a novel that doesn’t contain a trace of Sanskrit.

I’m also loving the change from being mostly alone in a crowd of a couple hundred people to having the company of a best friend in a crowd of…well, a couple thousand sheep. Kristin was indeed waiting for me in Auckland. After shifting things into storage, out of storage (the common theme of the past year), we headed immediately to the South Island, specifically the area around Dunedin. Our first rainy day here we took a wildlife bus tour that fulfilled its sales pitch: we really DID see Royal Albatross (giant seabirds) soaring up cliff faces, a pack of fur seals and pups, sea lions loafing on a beach, and (the real treat), penguins walking in from the ocean after a day of fishing. [Kristin took some great pictures that I’ll upload soon.] No, these aren’t the giant Emperor penguins of Antarctica, but these smaller “yellow-eyed” penguins are still incredibly comical and cute as they shoot in from the waves like submarines and then hop and waddle their way up rocks and sand to their homes in the grass.

The next day we rented a car to drive to the Catlins. Although this somehow sounds like a snobby adventure (like going to the “Hamptons”) it really just means hitting the coastline south of Dunedin with all its picturesque lookout points, bays, and beaches. Although the waves weren’t agreeable to give Kristin her birthday surf, they did bring in playful creatures to watch. We watched a sea lion chase a group of swimmers onto the beach, dolphins swim circles around swimmers and surfers, and a sea lion ride a wave into the beach. While checking out the “Petrified Forest” another penguin also shot out of the water and casually waddled his way past us.

Today, although a much wetter version of the Catlins that sunburned us yesterday, was a peaceful day to drive back to Dunedin, with leisurely sidetrips for a big breakfast in a little town, a manual- and left-side driving experience for Kristin, and the discovery of a hidden beach perfect for warming ourselves with pumpkin soup on a campstove.  Although I’m sure there could be and have been more exciting ways for Kristin to spend her birthday, there is still joy in small discoveries and no one is better equipped to appreciate them than her.  : )   “Sweet As,” Kristin, you’re “good as gold” (to borrow Kiwi-speak).

A 3-hour essay exam, celebratory "feast," and graduation ceremony--I guess this means I'm a yoga teacher!  I can't believe this experience is over or that it ever began.  A mix of boarding school, boot camp, and the iconic "spiritual journey" ... [Continue reading this entry]