Hitch Hiker's Guide to Canterbury

(karen)
After our love affair with Dunedin we headed further up the east coast to Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. In a way, though, it was just another city and we weren't as enthralled as we had hoped. It's considered the most English city in New Zealand but to me it seemed the most American. Come to think of it, we didn't take a single picture during our time in the city. Maybe that's because almost all our pictures have been from the wild corners of New Zealand and we aren't used to photographing city life . . . or maybe it's just because we have over 900 photos so far and we're getting lazy. Who knows. Woe to those whom I ensnare in my slide show when I return!!!

Now I don't want to give Christchurch a bad rap, it was actually a nice city. We spent a great morning exploring the International Antarctic Center which included a five minute "Antarctic storm" in their wind chill chamber. I know it's pared down for tourists, but it was still 24 degF with about 50 mph winds. (Just your average winter day in Colorado, eh?) After that we headed to the Orana Wild Animal Reserve which is similar, but on a smaller scale, to the one in San Diego. It was worth it to finally see some kiwi birds. Steve also especially enjoyed the cheetah chase where they quickly drag a hefty rope the length of a football field and let the cats bound after it (with nice tasty flesh treats at the end).




We used Christchurch as a base for our next backpacking trip into the Southern Alps via Arthurs Pass. We took a train to the pass so we arrived at our destination without a vehicle. This was both a blessing and a curse. Due to a strong southerly storm (southerly = Antarctica) that was threatening snow, we chose a two day backpacking trip that would be less exposed in the alpine areas. The only problem was that the trail head was 20 minutes away from the town...and us without a car. So we did what any normal world travelers would do and stood on the side of the road with our thumbs out. I had a big innocent grin on my face that was supposed to imply, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person! My husband and I are rocket scientists and we just need a quick ride down the road! Cheers mate!" The first car did not take the bait. Nor the second. I detached myself from my body and thought, "Yeah right, who would want to pick up not one, but two strangers with huge backpacks standing on the side of the road in the pouring rain??" After half an hour Steve went to the info center to inquire about the cost of a taxi, and lo and behold once by myself a very nice railroad worker stopped to give me a ride. When I asked, he even agreed to let Steve come along. We've agreed to be more forgiving to those we see on the side of the road in the future. At least in New Zealand, though. Doing that in the States would bee too creepy!

The two day hike we did, the Cass-Lagoon Saddle, was like a final fling in the Southern Alps before we head up to the North Island. This was classified as a more difficult hike than those we've done previously, mostly because parts of the route follow a river flood plain or are above tree line so the you have to follow markers instead of a nicely cut trail.


We enjoyed the solitude and the majestic beauty of the area as we climbed along rivers, through moss covered beech forest, and over the alpine Cass saddle to our first hut. Although it was designed to sleep 20 there was only one other person so it felt like our own private cabin in the mountains.




The second day was passed quite like the first, but we (I) had the added pleasure of squishing through deep mud at the Laggon Saddle. The mud here beat even what we encountered on Stewart Island; at one point (and of course before I put my gaiters on) I literally took a step down and ended up to my knees in a bog. I'm telling you, there was bog bits in my boots and my socks turned black. But what can you do but laugh? It was pretty funny. Through serendipity we ran into a couple of guys day hiking and they actually asked us if we needed a ride back to town, so we were spared having to stick our thumbs out again.


And that, my friends, is how we concluded our two month journey in the South Island. Many fond memories, may some kind wind blow us back this way!