So What Exactly IS Tramping???

Just shy of 4 months without seeing family, The Prancers were so excited to be in the presence of John and Judy Baisch --- Tom's mum (as they say here) and stepdad. John, taking the longest holiday of his life, and Judy taking full advantage of her first year of retirement after teaching 25 years planned to be with us for just over 2 weeks before heading to Sydney for a brief stay. It was almost surreal to be together again - and in a nice hotel with our OWN bathroom!!! - and despite the long hair and stinky clothes, they loved us just as much as when we left!!! Before we could take off on our clockwise loop of the south island, we spent a few days in Christchurch visiting some local spots and testing out fire alarms! Our first night, we were woke up by a full-on fire alarm. Poor John and Judy, having just arrived from St. Louis, the last thing they wanted to do was get up at 3 in the morning to go stand outside in their pajamas. It turned out to be nothing...but the break in our sleep was a drag. We also met up with some friends of some friends before we left Christchurch, Nanny (a Dutch woman who has lived in New Zealand for 30 years) and her 3 kids, Bella, Felice and Max. They gave us some much needed supplies to prepare us for our first "tramp" on the west side of the island and a nice evening out on the town.

Us Americans use the word "tramp" in a much different manner than the Kiwis do here. The New Zealand version is in reference to their national sport of "tramping", what we call treking, backpacking or hiking back home. There are literally heaps of tramps all over the country and a select few of them are classified as "Great Walks." These 9 tracks are well maintained routes that have well-serviced huts every so often along the way to give the weary tramper a much needed rest or overnight stay. The most popular tramps include the Milford Track, Abel Tasman Coast Track, Tongariro Circuit (volcanic region used for filming Mordor in "Lord of the Rings") and the Routeburn Track. We chose the Routeburn, a 32km 3-day track that actually lies within two national parks. The track is sub-alpine terrain and very technical in many spots. We chose this one as our introduction to the sport of tramping and it was a fine choice.

We blasted towards Queenstown (QT) after leaving Christchurch and spent a day and a half there preparing for the Routeburn. QT is the capital of adventure sports in New Zealand and is very reminiscent of Whistler and any other high-end adventure resort area in the world. QT is also the home of bungee jumping. It started there years ago and is still a huge destination point for people wanting to hurl themselves downward with a bungee as their only lifeline. (Tom still wants to do this) QT is also the launch point for several tramps in the area, including the Routeburn. The southwest part of the south island is known for having wild weather patterns and anyone and everyone should be prepared for all types of conditions. Our preperation day saw moments of rain, snow, 30+mph winds, hot, cold, you name it...it happened type-weather. We kept looking at each other as if wondering if we had lost it when deciding to do this tramp. Forging ahead - right or wrong - we found ourselves at the Routeburn shelter about to get day number one underway the following morning.

Getting acquainted with our packs the first few hours, we found ourselves traveling upwards towards scenery that we have never seen before. Trying desperately to ignore John's childish comments - "Hey look, guys, it's Middle Earth's BOOB!" - and keeping up with Mom's blistering pace as "lead dog" we found ourselves at our first night's hut before we knew it. The setting was majestic. The hut was at the base of a huge waterfall and overlooked a valley that was breathtaking. The sunset was gorgeous as we warmed our bodies, played cards and recharged our batteries for the next day's leg. Day 2 started out straight uphill and we reached the highest point of the tramp on Harris Saddle within a few hours. The winds topped out at 80km an hour at one point and we became diagonal objects within seconds as we forged towards the shelter for lunch. The views continued to marvel our minds as day two ended beside Lake Mackenzie, a sweet little alpine lake. We got an early start the 3rd morning in order to hook up with our transportation at the finish point. The day was a great way to end an incredibly memorable family tramp, one in which we laughed nonstop, soaked in the gorgeous weather and viewed scenery that will never leave our memory banks.

We were due to be picked up by 1pm on the last day by Real Journeys, a tour group that organizes roundtrip transportation from Queenstown to Milford Sound, including an overnight cruise on the fiord. Milford Sound was misnamed a sound and is actually a fiord (carved out by a glacier instead of a river) and is a huge destination point for tourists when coming to New Zealand. The views are stunning and we pegged some great weather as the waterfalls were massive after the recent rains days before. We set sail on a small boat of only 12 people (6 people per bunkroom) and enjoyed an afternoon cruise on the water, a perfect sunset while eating dinner and a kayak the following morning. Many fur seals layed lazily on the rocks throughout Milford's sound and we got an upclose look at one swimming the following morning about 6 feet from our kayaks. The little guy just cruised right on by us, visibly full and tired after a night of eating and swimming and looking for a spot to lounge on for the coming day. Once we got back to shore, we rode the chartered bus back to QT while taking in the spectacle that is the Milford Road, a road-building feat that includes a 3/4km long Homer tunnel that took almost 9yrs to build back in the 50's. Once back in Queenstown, we hightailed it to Wanaka (the next Queenstown...but not yet!) and enjoyed an apartment that put us back on track --- except for poor 'ol John.

Maybe it was because he carried practically double his body weight over the Routeburn or maybe it was just bad luck...either way John came down with a nasty fever that night in Wanaka. Having to leave Wanaka way earlier than we would have liked (a booming city set aside gorgeous Lake Wanaka about 40km north of Queenstown), we set our sights on Nelson in the northwest part of the island. 700+ kilometers later and lots and lots of west coast rain, we finally arrived into what is known as the sunniest city in New Zealand. Nelson is a thriving region that is known for its arts, wine and its golden beaches! We spent two days in Nelson: the first letting John recover from his illness and the second sampling wine and beer all day long! A great way for John to recover, right? Well, you know what they say about alcohol and its ability to fight colds... (wink) The time in Nelson was great and with John fully recovered, we made our way to the north island and the capital city of Wellington.