Queenstown, Wanaka, Mt Aspiring NP

After a scary drive to Queenstown we were finally there. For eight days we had been dreaming about this town! First stop, mechanic. There we realized that we had almost damaged the car by the journey from Te Anau, but that was the risk anw.

The next day we decided to have a tiny holiday while traveling and checked in a hotel with grab one voucher, of course:-). We spent the evening wandering around Queenstown and filling our stomachs with Ferg Burger (after an enormous queue; but it was worth the wait). After so long it was great to be out in a town, but we were certainly looking forwards our hotel too. We had a spa pool in a hotel that we had to try and Lukas had his bath after two months again:-).

The following day our car was finally fixed...after ten horrendous days! As a treat we booked ourselves in with AJ Hackett for Nevis Bungee (Katka, 134m) and Nevis Swing (Lukas, 120m, highest swing in the world). To be honest, I was really scared. 134m above the gorge is pretty high and the preparation took almost one hour. It is also nice when one coordinator tells you that she jumped six times and that she was always scared:-). After two deep breaths I jumped. The freefall lasted over 8s, from which I don't remember much:-). The bouncing back was great, as always I was enjoying the nature while they were lifting me back to the cabin (you are not being lowered down like other bungees, because of the height). Then it was Luky's turn. The preparation was quite quick as he was alone so it was a surprise for both of us when they just released him. They say that swing is more fun than bungee but for more comments you have to ask Lukas.

Our last day in Queenstown we had decided to spend in nearby Arrowtown as there was Autumn Festival with various attractions such as vintage car display, street theatre, kiwi haka, parade etc. We had to check out also an old Chinese settlement with old cottages and even an old privy:-).

On the way to Wanaka we stopped to see Kawarau Bridge where first commercial bungee took place. Because of our delay with car we did not spend too much time in Wanaka (sadly tho). Almost the only thing that we managed to do was Puzzling World. The maze was great, we managed to complete the task in less than 30mins! While one of the rooms made us a bit dizzy and sick:-). But we still had a visit to Mt Aspiring NP ahead of us.

Wilkin-Young Valley Circuit was recommended to us and with river and alpine crossings ahead of us we were really excited. The only disadvantage was that the track was actually semi-circuit and thus we had to hitchhike from the point where we left our car to the start of the track. And with our luck we walked almost 5km before somebody stopped. The weather was great recently so Makarora river was shallow and relatively easy to cross. It was freezing but we managed our official first NZ river crossing. It was almost noon and we had over 20km ahead of us so we speed up and reached Young Hut in less than five and half hours. Second part of the track was full of land slides and ups and steep climbs so we could not feel our legs and the last kilometers were sufferings; even Lukas slowed down to my speed:-); and that was only the first day! The smoke was already coming out of the hut signaling that the stove is on and that somebody is inside (funny that we had met already three people on the track and a DOC lady was warning us that we will be alone on this track). Even though we were looking forwards to be alone in the hut, in the end we were happy as we had the privilege to share the hut with former and future NZ Mt Everest climbers and mountain guides. 

In the morning we climbed to the top of the Young valley and after necessary refreshments headed towards Gillespie Pass that was almost 1000m in elevation above us. Mt Awful was looking down on us while climbing sometimes very unsteady track. The wind was picking up its speed and I felt that this track is on the edge of our abilities and most importantly equipment. 

Fortunately, after two hours we reached the top and small lunch with views of glacier and Siberia Valley were well deserved. The descent was ok, only Luky started to suffer with knee pain. But Siberia Stream Flat was so rewarding after so long day. This huge valley covered with yellow grass between dark green slopes of trees and snowy ridges is just unforgettable. After one hour of easy walk along the river we reached Siberia Hut, modern DOC hut, but again with missing drying hangers inside:-), a common complaint about new huts.

We were a bit worried about the last stretch of the track. It is 26km long tramp along the Wilkin river valley and most people use jetboat/plane/helicopter to avoid it. In the end we were almost flying across it. We managed to walk the first 20km in just over four hours. But the last kilometers were really long again. We could see our car parked on the river bench but no sign of the river. After one hour we get to the river, but we still had to cross it. In both huts there were good instructions on how to cross the river so we used some of it to improve our style and crossed it relatively safely. Unfortunately after a few meters we realized that there is another river fleet and we had to get wet again. Hypothermia successfully avoided by hot tea and early bed time....


More photos can be seen here.