Sounds of Koewis Diaries

A New Zealand ''Heya'' to our blogging community. We are slowly nearing the end of our ''time out''. With the idea of excerpts from our diaries and photos of our adventures from 17th to 24th February 2018 (Queenstown to Te Anau), we would like to invite you to be curious again.

Have fun with the following bedtime reading

The Koewis

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Susi:

17th February 2018 (Day 110)

Walk Routeburn Track 32 km

"We plan to go from Queenstown via the Routeburn Track and the Greenstone Track to join the Te Araroa. The Routeburn Track is one of the most famous Great Walks. It is 32 km long and hikers are expected to take 2-3 days, the overnight stays in the huts must be booked in advance. Since these huts are booked out weeks in advance, we want to hike the track in one day.

We are taken to the start (Routeburn Shelter) by a shuttle. It's raining cats and dogs. Never mind, the nature in New Zealand is always beautiful 😂. 10:00 am start, 10:30 am first sun. The mountains/rocks are beautifully illuminated with waterfalls. And so it continues, the track deserves its name as one of the most beautiful in the world. Alpine terrain, huge waterfalls, steep rocks, lakes. The waterfalls are spectacular due to the rain in recent days. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to take in everything at a leisurely pace. The track is anything but a ''highway'' and requires a decent average speed for 32 km. We are heavily laden with food as it is the first of six hiking days. Andreas is still carrying the tent, so it's difficult for him and he can't enjoy the beauty of the track as much as I do. But we have to push through, the campsite is still far away. The hours pass. The huts are full of walkers with booked accommodation, but we keep going. Estimated arrival time 8:00 pm. We run and run, an impressive waterfall, we have to go under it, soaking wet 😁. The sun disappears behind the mountains, I start to panic, whether we will arrive before it gets dark. We have never been on the road for so long. Finally, we reach the last hut on the paid track (you are not allowed to camp here without a booking). Then we switch to the Greenstone Track, where a free campsite awaits us. And the sign says - 20 more minutes to the campsite. We muster all our strength once again and arrive at the campsite at 8:30 pm, all alone, the mountain peaks touched with gold. We still have enough energy to set up the tent, cold pasta from the day before and a small bottle of red wine, we don't need anything else to be happy. Just before it gets dark, we hear voices, another couple. But we don't look out again - we sleep!"

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Andreas:

22nd February 2018 (Day 115) -

Te Araroa Walk 15 km

"From Kiwiburn Hut to Te Anau

.....In addition to last night, our TA walker group has grown with a Kiwi family of two little Kiwis (2 and 4 years old). It was a wonderful hustle and bustle. A real hut atmosphere and very cozy.

So, today we are probably leaving the deep forests of New Zealand forever. There was a bit of melancholy. After 4 km, we reached the road (more like a gravel road) towards Te Anau. A swingbridge from the forest was the ''green conclusion''. From here on, it was hitchhiking and hoping. It's still 55 km to Te Anau. The weather was nice and we walked and walked. Unfortunately, only cars passed us. There was really not much traffic on the road. Sometimes a van stopped and asked about us. Really nice small talk. That's how the Kiwis are. And we were given 2 bars for the way. Yummy !! After 11 km of walking on the road, we called for a break. As soon as we sat down, a car actually came towards us and stopped. Two young Englishmen on a world trip had just come from Campsite Lake Mavora (we had a slightly restless night there during Cyclone Gita😯😁). We got our ''ride'' towards Te Anau, as the Brits wanted to go elsewhere at the highway intersection. But it didn't matter, the next 15 km went quickly. After about 3 km, suddenly 2 US boys (Graham and Steve) appeared on the road. They had chosen the way through the river and had a slight head start. But not anymore😉. They were the two from the Kiwiburn Hut last night. Very likeable. Graham responds to everything said with ''Exactly or absolutely''. Of course, with the typical American slang. We asked the young Englishmen if we could include the two in our hitchhiking. ''We'll do it'', they said. Really cool. A big ''hello'' on the road. The US boys: ''Hey, the Germans'' 😁 Suddenly, there were six of us in the car. Very cozy, because the Brits had been sleeping there. It was so cozy and funny. Buckling up? Nonsense, not possible. Hitchhiking at its best! 😁 And then the Englishmen suddenly said: ''We'll take you to Te Anau'' Amazing !!! Detour for the two of them - > 60km !! Just for us. At 12:30 pm, they dropped us off in Te Anau. We were just happy. Five days of relaxation here. And the place is really beautiful, located on the lake. We said goodbye to each other warmly and everyone went their separate ways. We arrived at Lake View Holiday Park at 1 pm. Our room was not ready yet. Okay, we left our backpacks there and went to the village. We had delicious chicken wings and a beer/wine. What a treat after days of ''outdoor food''☺. Susi went back to check-in and I went shopping. We have a nice room. The rest of the day was a time of arrival."

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In Te Anau, we have planned some really touristy things, including a visit to Milford Sounds. Here are a few impressions.

We reached Milford Sound by minibus, nice guide, many stops in breathtaking nature (including Mirror Lake) and a pleasantly small tour group. The ship was quite large, but not too crowded. There was a delicious buffet, like Christmas and Easter combined for our stomachs. The boat set off and for the next 90 minutes, we immersed ourselves in one of the most beautiful natural experiences of New Zealand. It was wonderful to sail through the mountains towards the Tasman Sea, we saw waterfalls, seals, and even a penguin - beautiful. Andreas also became an attraction, a Chinese woman was determined to have her picture taken with him👍. In the afternoon, we happily reached our accommodation. A funny anecdote: while taking pictures, our water bottle fell overboard. Instead of landing in the water, it luckily ended up in the lifeboat (that's what it's there for 😌). After arrival, we got the bottle back. It was a beautiful day!