A normal Sunday evening. One of those evenings I've had so many of. I'm working in the restaurant again. Everything seems to be as it always used to be...
But it only seems so. Something is different. I'm standing behind the bar, staring at my half emptied glass of beer... I can feel it. It seems to grow, to become stronger, to take control. I can feel it spread from my stomach over my chest, slowly approaching my head. A shiver is running down my spine... My senses are sharpened. The silent drops from the tab ... the smell of the woman's perfume at table 3 ... nothing seems to escape. Everything is present.
In my mind I let myself fall, let this feeling take over. I have to put down my glass. My colleague asks me if everything is all right with me. I look at him and with a grin on my face I whisper: "It is time again!"

Two days later the enquiries were made and a flight was found.
It is going to be New Zealand!

Sunday, 16.11.03
The tickets have finally arrived. Frankfurt - Dubai - Auckland and back with Emirates.
16.02. - 9.04. ... that should give me enough time to see a reasonable amount of New Zealand and to do a lot of hiking.
I ordered the Lonely Planet New Zealand and the additional book "Tramping in New Zealand" which I can strongly recommend to anyone intending to go hiking in NZ.
The plan was to fly down there, buy a motorcycle and get to know the country.
Although it would have been nice to have a motorcycle down there I changed my mind and rather go for an old car. It's safer, easier to get (and sell afterwards), more comfortable (all my luggage!) and gives me shelter (I heard that it should rain down there from time to time). Not speaking of the possibility to sleep in the car which will safe me some money and will protect me from midges.

I haven't planned which tramp I will do when... I guess I will make up my mind when I'm down there. Anyway much more fun not having an exact plan of what to do ;-)

18th February 2004
Happily arrived in Auckland after 30 hours of journey. From Frankfurt to Dubai I got to sit in business class because I'd asked for some more space for my legs. Very nice. But because of this, the shock of being in economic class from Dubai to Auckland was even greater. This is just not comfortable at all.
In Auckland I checked in at ACB. A rather large youth hostel.
After being drunk after 1 pint and ending up in Burger King I fell asleep rather early at 830.

Thursday, 19th February 2004
What an exhausting day.
I managed to buy a car quite easily for $1,100 from a Swiss couple. Opel Astra.
Not so easily was the act of withdrawing the money from my bank account because you can only withdraw a maximum of $800 a day. So I had to use the VISA.
Started to get depressed by Auckland, that's why I checked out of ACB and started to drive up north. Direction Waitiki Landing.
Stopped a couple of kilometres north of Kaitaia. Car runs well.
Slept in the tent behind a petrol station. At 4 o'clock in the morning I woke up because of a strong storm and heavy rainfall which eventually managed to pull out one of the herrings of my tent. Wonderful.

Friday, 20.02.04
Arrived in Waitiki Landing where I parked the car and paid for a lift to Te Paki stream. The beginning of Cape Reinga Walkway. Paying for the lift paid off ;-) On the one hand, because there is hardly any traffic to be hitch-hiking and on the other, because the women who gave me a lift also gave me some very good tips for the track. I chose not to take the path but to cross directly to the seashore through the dunes. Great stuff, although pretty nasty to walk. Did not regret it, although it sometimes felt like being in the Sahara desert.
The rest of the day I spent walking on the Ninety-Miles-Beach, Scott Point and finally Twighlight Beach where I found an acceptable campsite on the northern end. The whole beach just for myself!
Believe it, or not. When I reached the end of Twighlight Beach I got undressed to take a quick dip in the sea to get the sandy crust from my body. And as I was running down towards the water (feeling like one of those Baywatch guys) I got shit on by a seagull. And not just a little bit. It hit me straight on my chest and some more bits and pieces landed on my right leg.
Well... One more reason to get a wash.
There is only a little stream here, so I had to dig a little hole in the sand, wait until it was filled with water, gather it and boil it in the end. It smells awful and tastes quite salty, but there is no alternative. Right now I am cursing myself for not bringing my water filter to New Zealand.

Saturday, 21.02.2004
Sitting at Cape Reinga at the moment. Have to give up here, because my left foot seemed to have taken some damage from the first day when I was walking through the dunes with my sandals. Started limping after a couple of hours today.
I actually managed to cross Te Werahi Stream at high tide. Just needed to wait for the right moment between two waves. But still... Not really a wise thing to do. Even between the waves, the water was as high as my hips. If a wave would have caught me ... it would have probably carried me away.
Anyways... it was not much good, because, shortly before the way up to Cape Reinga the waves were too strong and trying to walk along the cliffs would have been suicidal at high tide (I know, because I tried it). So, not being patient enough to be waiting for low tide I fought my way up the hill through thick bushes which ended up with plenty of slightly bleeding cuts on my arms and legs.
One more thing I would like to mention. There is no way of refreshing your water supplies (no stream, no shop) around Cape Reinga. I was quite lucky that one of the bus drivers had mercy with me and gave me a litre of water from his own supplies.
The weather is tropical. Only the strong winds make walking endurable. Limping and with no more water, continuing the tour is not an option.

Tuesday, 24.02.2004
Could not stand another day in Auckland, but my foot is still not well enough to be hiking again. I will do the Rangitoto Island trip at the end of my time here. Hit the road towards Thames and the Kaueranga Kauri Trail. At the trailhead I paid my 7$ into the "honesty" box and put up my tent. Hope that the foot will be all right tomorrow. If not, I will have to wait another day at the trailhead. Still way better then sitting in ACB.

0:30
Woke up because there were some very strange and unusual noises. There is a "cage" on the campsite meant as a trashcan for cans. Someone or something seemed to be playing with the cans inside. Although you know that there must be a reasonable explanation to it, your fantasies start to create images of god knows what. Using the torch to lighten things up did only have a temporary effect. So after overcoming my fear (big man... I know), I grabbed my knife, went out of the tent, into my car and drove down to the cage to investigate things and put an end to those scary noises. There was a large, brown and fat animal (a possum... meet the locals) trapped in the cage and seemed to be a lot more frightened than I was. Releasing the poor bugger gave me and him finally peace. What did I learn? Next time I will wash out my cans (baked beans... Yummi) before I throw them away.

Wednesday, 25.02.2004
Not an easy decision, but I chose to stay here for one more day because my foot is still not ready for hours and hours of walking.
I fear that it won't be much better tomorrow. But tomorrow I will begin the Kaueranga Kauri Trail, no matter what!
Once again I get to know what is very hard for me to achieve: Peace of mind! It is barely possible for me to let my thoughts rest, not thinking of anything. There is always something that wanders through my thoughts. Always a tune of a song I like (or sometimes even worse... of a song I don't like). Concentrating on not thinking of anything doesn’t work either as a matter of fact.
But these moments of peace do exist. I had one of them at Cape Reinga, when I was walking through the dunes... And when I was sitting at Twighlight Beach, listening to the sea.
Maybe it’s the longing for those moments that makes me seek solitude at remote places in nature again and again...
That bloody possum woke me up again. First it was mocking about with the aluminium cans again and then it was around my tent. Should have made a dinner out of your instead of setting you free ;-)

Thursday, 26.02.2004
Oh what a day! A bit of everything in it. Started at 10:45 with the Kaueranga Kauri Trail. Foot is all right. Still hurting, but at least it does not seem to get worse.
Going up to Pinnacles Hut (especially the "Stairs") was bloody tough for me. Nearly died there... and it is so damn hot again.
Took me 2 1/4 h instead of the stated 3h. Can not have been that slow. The hut is state of the art. So is the campsite, right next to the big Kauri Dam. Met Harry and Christina here. A German couple visiting New Zealand for 5 weeks. We went up to the Pinnacles together, which is not really the easiest track I could imagine. There was a considerable amount of easy climbing to do... but great fun. The view from up there was amazing and worth every drop of sweat (which is in my case quite a lot). Back at the campsite I had a nice little chat with the hut warden. He brought some of his home-brewed beer down to us and we had a cup each. Tasted like heaven!
Exploring the area close-by, I found the remainings of an old kauri tree. More than 4 meters of diameter... impressive!
Depending on how I will feel tomorrow, I will take an alternative route back. It is either an 8h trip or, if I split it in two days, 5 h to Moss Creek campsite and 2 h to the car park the next day.
I do not have enough food for tomorrow, because one pasta snack contained bacon, which I only found out today. Wonderful. Let’s see...
The alternative way is rated 'demanding' as to the condition of the track which is rather difficult and very steep at some places.
Got a bit of a headache. Must have been the heat and the intense sun.

Wednesday, 27.02.04
Started early. Weather looked all right so far. Clouded but warm enough and most important: not raining! So I chose to walk the demanding way over Moss Creek and find out 'what I am made of'. I told myself in a joke, that I can always be crawling up the hill if it gets too steep. And bloody crawling I was. This was by far the most difficult way I have tried to hike so far. Mostly because it was so bloody muddy and slippery like hell.
I stopped counting the times I slipped and my trousers were caked in mud up to my hips.

After two hours of struggle it happened then. I slipped and tried to catch myself with my right hand, not knowing that there was a stick standing up and covered under moss where my hand hit the ground. Before I even realized what was going on, I had blood pouring out of a nice finger-thick hole in the middle of my right hand. Luckily it didn't come out the other side, must have hit one of the bones.
Sick, isn't it? Before I even tried to stop the bleeding the first thing I did was taking a photo... and after that wondering, if I could possibly see the bones through the hole.
I put on a pressure bandage and stopped the bleeding. Considering the fact that Ii had another six hours of tough terrain in front of me and 'only' 2 behind with an additional 2 to take the easy way I decided to go back which was more or less hell but the only reasonable thing to do.
So after four more hours of hiking through the bush (just had a fruit bar for breakfast and no intention to stop for eating after the accident) I finally managed to reach the car park where I jumped into the car and drove another 15 minutes to the close by visitor centre where right after entering the door my body put a stop to this madness and I had a breakdown.
After getting my system running again, the girls there put me in their car and drove me to the hospital. Took the doctor almost half an hour to stitch up my hand and get the rest of wood and moss out of there. He said that the nerves did not receive any damage but the muscles did. The wound did not look too bad from the outside... but I was amazed how much "stuff" the doc took out of it.

So here I am, sitting in a backpackers in Thames being on antibiotics and painkillers and not even being able to hold a pen. Don't know how this will go on... guess I should have chosen another hobby like collecting stamps or something like it...

Wednesday, 3.03.04
I am just sitting on Mangatepopo hut on the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Spent 4 days in Thames to give my hand some time to heal.
Drove down to Rotorua to meet Gabi (friend of mine from Heidelberg). Very nice to be having a couple of beers with a friend!
Anyways... Thought about doing a skydive, but being over 100kg did not leave me a choice. Drove down to Whakapapa Village and started the Tongariro Northern Circuit.
Weather is great so far. Just a bit too windy. But here we are again. Back into business. Felt so great to be walking in the open fields again, with the volcanic mountains on my side. The wound at my hand cracked open again a wee bit, but the suturing is still in place and prevents me from falling apart ;-)
Put a dressing on again.

Thursday, 4.03.04
Although I started quite early (7:15), the first wave of 20 to 30 day-walkers overtook me after only half an hour. I really wonder what (if at all) some people think, when going up such a mountain. Many of them were walking in sneakers with thin 'trendy' trousers and wannabe jackets. The wind was quite strong and freezing cold.
The first bit up the south crater almost knocked the air out of me. Bloody steep and the ground is covered with frozen snow and dew. Beautiful scenery.
Going up red crater after crossing the south crater was more tricky than tough because of the small path along the ridge combined with a strong wind and icy slopes. It was here at the latest that those earlier mentioned day-walkers stopped laughing at me with my ski mask and gloves. This must have definitely been hell for them and for everyone else without gloves, hat and proper warm clothing. Those poor people... Wish, I could have felt sorry for them ;-)
Having arrived at the Emerald Lakes, I could smell Red Crater, but visibility was poor. But then, within 2 minutes, we had blue sky and no cloud around. Breathtaking! Can't say more than that.
Being at Blue Lake, I decided not to go to Ketetahi Hut, but instead to take advantage of the great weather and head for Waihohonu Hut. Also saves me one day and a lot of day-walkers.
Tramping through the lava desert was wonderful. No sign of civilization besides the path, as far as the eye can see. Had a nice little break at Otuere Hut and arrived at Waihohonu Hut at 16:30.
Just a perfect day today. Wish every day could work out like that.

Friday, 5.03.04
What a night. This old lady who was sleeping in the same room as me was just snoring like hell. Even the earplugs did not manage to shut out the noise.
I woke up at 12.00 and seriously considered relieving her and me permanently of her snoring by use of raw force… but considering that I'm usually a nice guy, I rather changed rooms.
The day was quite exhausting and not nearly as spectacular as the day before, but still very nice. After about 5 hours (I went the side trips to the Ohinepango Springs which were not worth it) I reached the Taranaki Falls where I gladly would have liked to take a quick bath but being considerate of the other hikers around I could not bring myself to spoil their holiday pictures by putting my naked body on them… So I just took some pics and went on.
At the car park I met the nice Dutch chap again from Waihohonu Hut and gave him a lift to National Park (what a name for a village) where he caught the train to Wellington.
I hit the road for Mt. Taranaki where I planned to do the Pouakai Track.
Arrived at the North Egmont Visitor Centre and met Julia and Flo, a very lovely couple from the very south of Germany. Had a great time talking to them and sharing experiences while having a couple of beers and some good self rolled cigis.
Flo had actually just done the Mt. Taranaki summit tour. Hearing this, seeing the pics on his digi-cam and reassuring myself at the Visitors Centre's weather forecast board that tomorrow will be alright I changed plans and intended to do the summit tour instead of the Pouakai Track.

Got rather late with all the talking and socializing ;o) but nice enough the North Egmont Visitor Centre had an open room with a carpet to sleep in .

Saturday, 6.03.04
The clouds are beneath us and the sun is rising. What a sight. Where's the nice girl to hug and kiss when the moment is just so perfect for it? Nothing to do about that. Said goodbye to Julia and Flo and headed for the summit track to the peak of Mt Taranaki. Took me about an hour to get to Tahurangi Lodge. Already pretty steep the way up to the lodge but it came far worse. Getting up these never-ending stairs behind the lodge was tiring and very exhausting but nothing compared to what came after that. A long, long way of going very steeply up the mountain on very loose and light lava stone combined with wind that knocked me over sometimes. This was just hell for me. Thought about turning back at one point because the wind was worrying me. But then I saw others going up there with trainers and on all fours. With my hiking boots and sticks it would have been rather bad for my ego to give up now. So on I went. After about 2 hours on the slippy stuff I reached the shoulder of the mountain where the walk went along a ridge on rocky surface. Better than the scrambling, but not less exhausting to be climbing now. I put the sticks away to be able to use both hands because the path sometimes went up straight for 2 meters with only some cracks to put the top of your foot in. Glad to be having the Himalaya from Meindl with the solid sole. Looking back, or rather down always gave me a good dose of adrenaline because I was way above the clouds with very long ways down to fall. After more than an hour I reached the “tricky” bit people have been talking about. A narrow slope with ice on it. But not too bad. Although I went parts of it on all fours.

And then I finally reached the summit crater. The wind was fierce and the temperatures low. After having a snack break behind a rock I went on the top of the crater ridge and the true summit of Mt Taranaki.
The height was breathtaking and so was the view, although the weather was very cloudy down there. After half an hour or so I went on my way down again which was a lot easier than I expected and also considerably faster than going up, until I reached the slippery part again with all the gravel. Three times I slipped and went on a rapid descent for 10-12 meters before I could stop myself again. During the last one I lost my beloved hat. Farewell my dear. Other results from those wild rides were several minor scratches at my hands and two holes in my favourite Fjällräven trousers. Clouds were closing in so I only took short breaks and headed towards the North Egmont Visitor Centre the shortest way.

All in all I am very tired and sore now. This mountain. really pushed me over any limits. But I'm glad to have managed it and I'm also glad that nothing happened to me, because every year there are people dying on Mt Taranaki. Anyways… that was enough mountaineering and adrenaline for a couple of days for me.
Hit the road until Stratford where I camped at the Holiday park (good and cheep!) and had a good wash and a nice self-made meal with a nice bottle of chilled beer afterwards.

Sunday, 7.03.04
Not much going on today. Just driving with a bag of salt’n vinegar crisps (yummi) and coke.
Drove until I reached the trailhead of the Mt Holdsworth Circuit. A track classified as “moderate-demanding”. Had a nice meal (guess what! Pasta again) and spend some time reading before I fell asleep in the car. By the way… got acquainted to the sand flies and not only one!

Monday, 8.03.04
Got woken up by the sun saying hello through my window. If a day starts like this it can only become a good day. And so it was.
Packed my stuff, bought an Annual Hut Pass from the nearby DOC ranger and set of on the track.
Already at Rocky Lookout I noticed that the wind is quite strong and dark clouds are hanging around Mt Holdsworth. But I could actually see Powell Hut and in the distance even Jumbo Hut.
The way up to Powell Hut was steep but to my surprise I managed it very well and fast. Had a little breakfast break there and decided to move on and do the crossing today despite of the fierce wind and low clouds because even stronger winds were reported tomorrow. The way up to Mt Holdsworth and especially over the ridge to Mt Jumbo and to Jumbo Hut was good to find but quite narrow in places and with this stormy winds a tricky thing to cross. Just a shame that visibility was so bad.
Jumbo Hut is a nice place above the bush line. Hope for a clear day tomorrow because the sunrises should be especially beautiful to watch from the small veranda.
When I looked outside I saw the moon rise at the horizon. A deep and rich glowing red. Mysterious. But it fits the scene. Slowly burning coals in the chimney, candles on the walls and a restless wind blowing around the house. Despite the high-end gear next to me and this well-built house I feel like someone else. Who knows… maybe a distant memory of a former life I lived. It feels good.

Tuesday, 9.03.04
Had to use my earplugs during the night because of the stormy winds outside which made the hut very loud. Somehow I woke up at 3.00 and couldn't fall asleep anymore. So I stood up, boiled some water for drinking, had a honey toast and made a nice fire while I was waiting for the sunrise. Shortly past 6.00 a.m. the spectacle began. I packed my sleeping bag and wrapped me in it while I was sitting on the small veranda, watching a great sunrise.
Got to bed for another 2 hours after that. Strange timing, I know.

At 10.00 a.m. I started the seemingly never-ending descent to the valley.
From there it was straight forward. Met a large school class with lots of fat kids. What a mass of humanity. Never mind. Some parts of the track were washed away or completely broken off into the river. But little paths had already been found around. Tired but happy I reached the car park and said hello again to the sand flies just before I suffocated them (so I hoped at least) with the exhaust fumes of my car.

Reached Wellington in the afternoon where I booked a ferry ticket the next day (for 210$) to Picton on the South Island.
I checked in an Roesmarie's Backpackers which is a great place to stay.
Basically spent the rest of the day with eating and going to the cinema. Didn't really enjoy either of it.

Wednesday, 10.03.04
Not much to say. Saw some more of Wellington, which I like more than Auckland but still not enough to be willing to stay here longer. Reached Picton at 6.00 p.m. and decided to do the Queen Charlotte Track. Just hope that the weather will be better the next days. Back in Wellington the winds were so strong that it felt like people were jumping around my car and the seagulls were skiing over the wooden pier…… because they couldn’t hold themselves. Now it’s better with the wind but raining.
Mis-used a playground to cook my dinner and prepared my stuff for the jet boat ride to the trailhead of Queen Charlotte Track with Cougar Lines at 8 a.m. the next day.
Saw some guy sitting at the other side of the street on the ground eating. Don’t know if it was because he chose to rather sit outside on the street to eat than sitting inside with masses of the people or because of something else, but I kind of liked him the moment I saw him. So I went over and we had a good chat and a cigarette. He was actually an ex-prisoner who now works with drug-addicted kids in Christchurch.
Slept in the car next to Atlantis Backpackers.

Thursday, 11.03.04
What a sight! No cloud as far as I can see.
Off I go on the small but fast passenger boat from Cougar Lines towards Ship Cove and the trailhead of the Queen Charlotte Track.
After visiting the monument which states some info on Captain Cook who arrived there a couple of times I hit the trail at a rather high pace because I wanted to do the track in 3 days which means that I will need to walk the first 2 day trips in one. 27 km on one day is rather much but the way should be straight forward.
Funny… my body must have adjusted to the climate. I was able to hold the pace and even overtook the day trampers (with only small bags) that started 20 minutes before me.
This is how the Caribbean must look like. Beautiful.
Had 3 brakes today, one of them was not really planned, but there it was… a remote cave with a little jetty in it and crystal clear green water. I just couldn’t let this one pass. Just had to take a quick swim in there ;-)

Arrived at the camp side at Punga Cove (holiday place for the richer ones) and put up my tent there. I decided that from now on I will kill the sand flies without a warning beforehand.
Annoying but brave little buggers. Met another local here. Came checking out my backpack while I was cooking. Those funny little wingless birds are called “Wekas” and are always good for a laugh. It always came sneaking from behind checking my campsite for leftover or droppings from my dinner and the moment it had found something it picked it up and went off like a rocket with this “uuck, uuck, uuck,…” sound towards the safe forest ... only to reappear moments later for the next bite.
Went to the resort pub, bought two small bottle of beer and happily drank them at the end of the jetty there with the lake all around me and the mountains being caught by submerging clouds.

Friday, 12.03.04
There you have it! Had to get up in the middle of the night to take a piss. No beer tomorrow just before bedtime. But the almost full moon with only scattered clouds in the sky made it worth it.
Woke up at 8.00 a.m. and kind of knew that this day would not be the best of all.
I was tired, my body felt wasted, thick dark clouds in the sky and a lot of condensed water inside my tent. My motivation of walking 23 km today dropped below zero. Killing some sand flies also didn’t bring me the necessary satisfaction to rise my mood. Ate some cereals with “delicious” milk powder, drank some iodine treated water, packed my tent and wondered why the heck I am doing this.
The first two hours I sort of separated my mind from my body and just kept on walking. There was even some slight drizzle at times. But with the sun coming through around noon my mood started to rise. When I reached the campsite at Portage Bay I was in a great mood although very exhausted. And there it was again. The perfect opportunity to take a swim in the crystal clear water on a small beach at the campsite. Put up my tent to dry and went straight for the water. It was very cold and standing in it up to my hip I thought about getting out again but right then some anglers saw me and shouted over that I shouldn’t be such a whooze and jump in.
Courageously defending my horror I jumped in. Took a while for my breathing to get normal again but once swimming it wasn’t too cold anymore. I swam a couple of meters and was just mocking around with an occasional yelp of joy when I noticed that the water actually carries you if you turn on your back and keep still.
There I was… felling like having defied gravity just floating on the crystal clear water with the thick and green forest all around me. Do I need to say more? Probably the best time so far on the entire holidays.

Saturday, 13.03.04
Motivation is good today :o)
From Portage Bay to Mistletoe Bay it took me only 1 h ¾ instead of the signposted 4 hours. Took it a lot easier the other half of the way up to Tirimouna where the pick up with Cougar Lines was arranged at 4.00 p.m. Had to change to my rain trousers after this “run” in the morning because the others were just too wet. Also got my first blister today. Nice little thing! Must have been the Tschibo socks. Used them the first time today. Probably have about 20 sand fly bites by now. Not too bad. Otherwise a nice walk today with lots of nice views and only 2 little hills to climb. Still, I feel tired but happy. So that was the Queen Charlotte Track. An easy track although long days and a lot of walking.

Sunday, 14.03.04
Left Blenham for St Arnaud.
Actually planned to stay the night at Jacks Backpackers in Blenham but after seeing the rooms there I sneaked to my car and hit the gas pedal. Looked more like an alternative flower-power-society. Mattresses on the floor and far too many people in one room. Rather slept in the car. Bought some washing powder and sneaked into the toilets of the supermarket to do my laundry. Not the fine way, but all the laundries in town were closed and the other backpacker did not allow me to use their washing machines.
Picked up Jo from Belgium on the way to St Arnaund and the trailhead of the Travers-Sabine-Circuit. He started today, but I need to prepare my things and to let my socks dry. My knee doesn’t feel too good either. I’ll start early tomorrow.
Sitting up here in my car, not daring to go outside I feel tired and lonely. Guess I just have to go through that.
I realized now that it is simply impossible to do one track after the other with only one day of break in-between. Or let it be two days. At one point your body simply puts a stop to it and I also feel a bit tired. Tired of all this: I need to do as many tracks as possible! After this track I will at the most do another three and definitely take some time off tramping when I feel I need it.

Monday, 15.03.04
I’m wasted. My knees feel like they won’t do another step within the next two weeks. Started at 8.00 a.m. from St Arnaud and arrived after 9 hours of tramping at Upper Travers hut doing the recommended 2 days in one. 27 km. The last hour I was just stumbling up the track totally low on energy and cursing myself for doing this.
Overtook Jo from yesterday and met him again in the John Tait hut where I was having a badly needed brake for half an hour. He stays there for tonight doing two days in one tomorrow. So we’ll probably meet again at West Sabine hut. The first couple of hours were nice walking though. Bit muddy from time to time but all right. Great thing to see the Travers Falls which is just a 3 min side trip after John Tait Hut. But also sitting at the porch of this hut now, watching the clouds descend into the valley and seeing high ridges all around me was truly awesome. Three ladies in the hut had mercy with me and made me a hot tea when I came in and a hot chocolate later on. Lovely! Just what I needed. Hope that my knees will be fine for tomorrow again. The sight from the saddle should be amazing in good weather. Depending on the weather I will have a rather late start tomorrow.

Tuesday, 16.03.04
No start at all today. Woke up this night at 11.00 p.m. with a funny feeling. 10 minutes later it started. From 11.00 p.m. to 3.30 a.m. I was massively vomiting and had severe diarrhoea. Lost an incredible amount of water. At one point I felt so bad that I couldn’t even speak anymore with the ladies who took lovingly care of me. Also my vision started to get blurry and I felt like fainting a couple of times. Every time I tried to drink some water (even just a small sip) ended up with vomiting shortly after. At 3.30 a.m. then the vomiting stopped and I gradually started to drink small sips of water.

In the morning after the others left I finally managed to find some sleep. I think between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. I spent as much time on the loo as I spent finally dressed lying on the bed. What a hell of a night. The ladies, who were nurses in fact, said that it is either a tummy bug or more likely a reaction of my body to the extreme exhaustion yesterday. Around mid-day Jo came up from John Tait hut and gave me some of his soup and salt, heading to West Sabine hut an hour later. Spent another four hours sleeping and will try to eat some pasta this evening, hoping to have enough strength again tomorrow for the way to St Arnaud although I will stop for the night in either John Tait hut or Lakehead Hut. I guess with all my bad luck so far, someone is trying to tell me that I should not overdo it.
Once I’m back by my car I will drive to the next larger city and spent a couple of days there relaxing. Just hope I will be strong enough again tomorrow to do the trip back.

Wednesday, 17.03.04
Feeling good. The night went over without problems. Only the mice (or rats?) in the hut were a bit annoying. But nothing Ohropax couldn’t deal with. Very misty and wet outside. Just started a fire and had some cereals. If everything stays fine with my tummy I will start around noon for John Tait Hut.
Sitting in John Tait hut right now. Although I felt fine this morning the 2 hour trip to here nearly brought me to my limits. Guess my body still hasn’t fully recovered. Found a book here which I greedily read.
Met an Englishman whom I met at the Tongarriro Northern Circuit as well.
What a coincidence.

By now I think that this illness was not all bad at all. Spending the day yesterday at Upper Travers Hut above the bush line and surrounded by mountains and spending the day here at Travers River made me appreciate the nature around me for the first time to its fullest extent it seems. I enjoyed these days of just being alone with nothing to care of but the little fire in the “Corker Cooker”. And I learned a lot for further tramps. Tramping means a lot more then just walking from A to B. Staying in huts can be a valuable time, as soul soothing as the walking itself is. Although I don’t want to go through such a night ever again I am kind of happy that this happened as only this seemed to have been able to open my eyes a bit further to what else there is to see.
Everything happens for a reason.

Thursday, 18.03.04
Hiking out went pretty well. Stopped at Lakehead Hut for lunch. The only thing that was not so nice is the fact that it started raining. By the time I reached the hut where I stopped for lunch I made funny noises with every step I took because the rainwater soaked through my trousers and was dripping in my shoes. The rest of me was not much drier. The nicer it was once I reached my car and hit the road towards Greymouth.
Enjoyed a beautiful sunset behind cloudy mountains, lying on my car, smoking a cigarette and listening to “Within Temptation”.

19.-20.03.04
Not much to say about those days. I was just totally relaxing in this truly cosy and just wonderful BBH Hostel called “Global Village”. Some events nevertheless were worth remembering. One of them happened when I bought a sixer of “local” beer. Back in the car, outside the supermarket I had a go on one of the beers. I almost started crying. Reading the ingredients part on the bottle proved my most feared speculation to be true. The beer tasted of coffee! I hate coffee… always had… always will. But nothing to do about that. Sobbing and feeling sorry for myself I drank the beer. One happy event was receiving an email from my brother in which he told me that his wife is pregnant. This family is growing.

Sunday, 21.03.04
Hit the road at 10.00 a.m. towards Queenstown. At Franz-Josef glacier I took a break and walked a bit towards the glacier. Bad weather and masses of humanity made me wish to be on the road again pretty soon.
Picked up 2 backpackers from Czech Republic who have been standing on the street for more than 2 hours. Turned out that there are 3 of them and their friend had taken a ride earlier. Otherwise the drive went very quiet because their English was rather bad. Very beautiful here! Dropping them at Wanaka. and meeting their friend I learned that he will go for the Cascade-Saddle Route. The only tramp in my Lonely Planet guidebook which is classified as very demanding and which involves a very difficult and steep climbing section. He asked me if I would like to join him. It was itching under my nails to say "yes". But thinking back of my accidents every time I tried to do something very demanding and listening to the feeling in my guts I gave it a pass and drove on to Queenstown. On the way I somehow “knew” that I had just taken the right decision. Maybe those accidents before happened to make me pass on the Cascade-Saddle Route which intentionally was part of my plan to do. Maybe I wouldn’t have come back from this track. I don’t know.

Queenstown: gosh, I like this town. Arrived there at 9 p.m. and found out that stores were still open. Went into an outdoor equipment store and bought the MH Venti-Gaiters I’ve been looking for since Wellington. After that I refreshed my supplies from a 24/7 supermarket and drove to the end of Queenstown where I parked in front of an seemingly expensive hotel to spent the night there.

Monday, 22.03.04
Drove to Glenorchy and from there towards Kinloch and from there then towards Greenstone car park.
The road was at the best a gravel field of humps. Two times after Kinloch I had to drive through water pools almost deep enough to be reaching the bottom of my door. The electronics behind the steering-wheel did not like that too much and went on saying that the battery is flat and that I’m driving with the handbrake fastened. But only for a short while. Met the German woman from the Kaueranga Kauri Trail again.
Now I’m sitting in the Upper Caples Hut which is far too full for my taste. Well, others have the right to be tramping as well. Smoking outside of the hut gives the slogan “smoking kills” a whole new perspective. You’d probably die because of the loss of blood. Yes there was the “occasional” sand fly out there. Smoking while running up and down the veranda with the people inside laughing at me didn’t feel too good, so I only smoked twice here.

Tuesday, 23.03.04
What a day! Started off at 8 a.m. in the morning from Upper Caples Hut. After some hours of walking through the bush and gradually going up I eventually reached the Mc Keller Saddle. Little to no view and strengthening rain made me change in my full Gortex-armor and move on without marvelling at the not-existing views. Going down from the saddle proved to be some bitchy thing. It’s very steep with lots of roots and the rain made it a very demanding thing to do. At one point the ground underneath my feet started to move and I took a non-voluntary express ride 2 or 3 meters downhill. I seem to have a sort of an issue with this slipping business.
It’s 4 p.m. now and Mc Keller Hut is already full. People will have to sleep on the benches.
Stupid that I didn’t pack a second pair of trousers. My only pair plus the rain-trousers are wet. I’m sitting here with just my pants on and my sleeping bag. Decided against doing the Keplar-Track. It’s supposed to be even more crowded than this one.
Thanx but no thanx.

Wednesday, 24.03.04
People started to be walking around quite early, so by 7 a.m. I was more than awake. Being ready to go I got to learn that Lea (Canadian girl from Vancouver Island) goes for the side trip to Peak 1538. She said I’d be welcome to join her and I said I’ll think about it. 10 minutes after she left I thought about this side trip. With the weather being just great, having had no views the day before and it barely being a 4-5 hour trip to the next hut I quickly packed my top- compartment of my bag and went after her. Going up there took me about 45 minutes and was quite steep at times. We didn’t actually go all the way up to Peak 1538, just up to that point when you have to descent a couple of meters again because the views here were already marvellous and it would have been a harder climb up the rest.
The moment I was on the top of this hill I just had to laugh and to shout. This view paid off for all the hassle the day before. Surrounded by mountains, the ones to the north even snow covered, and the Greenstone valley to our feet. Gorgeous.
Lea and me made our way down again to Mc Keller Hut and shared our supplies for a short early lunch brake. Me supplying nutella and her supplying cucumber and cheese. Very nice.
The way to Greenstone Hut took us 4 hours and it was great walking with someone else. Especially because we were walking about the same pace. I learned a lot about Canada and the more I learned the more I wanted to go there. Well, that’s something to be looking forward to. A new adventure. Next year in the summer maybe.

The new Greenstone Hut is very nice. Had plenty of pasta and shared potatoes and broccoli with Lea. Although one of the two potatoes we put in the coals turned out to be a coal itself, having been in there for too long.
A nice day, a great side-trip and a very pleasant company on the way. Got an open invitation to be showed around Vancouver Island now. Very nice.

Thursday, 25.03.04
Took Lea and me 3 hours to reach the car park from Greenstone Hut. We ran into a group of Keas on the way. Very nice. I was hoping to see those famous birds at one point. They were not afraid of us at all. Truly beautiful parrots, though bigger and more fearsome looking than I thought. On the way out with the car we had to ford this river again. Took it too fast and the last thing I noticed before the engine died was a lot of steam coming from the front. Thought I just flooded the engine so we waited for an hour to try to restart the car but it wouldn’t work.
Two guys from a farm than towed us out to Kinloch where I let the car dry in the sun for 3 hours but it still wouldn’t start. I could feel the rage and frustration building up inside me and not even a hot chocolate sponsored by Lea could rise my mood. At 3 p.m. I had enough and I phoned the garage in Glenorchy. The mechanic told me it would be 80 $ just to get the car to Glenorchy and to have a look. So I thought I better find someone here at Kinloch who could tow me out to Glenorchy but none would do it because of the bad roads. Almost loosing my temper I gathered all the friendliness I still had and asked a visitor if he could tow me out with his jeep. He said he couldn’t but he will have a look at the engine. 10 minutes later he basically had unscrewed the electrical parts of the engine, dried them and put them back together and started the car. All the anger and rage was released with a big “blopp” and I was shouting and dancing around the car with joy. This man had saved the day. He refused to let me buy him a bottle of wine though and said that it was nothing. Well… happier than ever I hit the road towards the south and now I’m standing in front of a grocery store in Invercargill where I will spend the night. Asked for permission and they said it’s fine being denied the same just 500 meters before in front of a supermarket.

Friday, 26.03.04
The drive around the scenic route in the south was nice. At Cannibal Bay I even saw some lazy sea lions laying in the sun. the weather was great until I reached Aoraki which was totally clouded and the wind was so strong that I had to be careful not to be blown off the street. Checked in at Unwin Lodge for 25 $ which is a great place to be staying. Weather forecast not too good.

Saturday, 27.03.04
Hearing thunder storm during the night. Weather forecast bad for today with winds up to 130 km/h and snow down to 900m in the evening. Heavy stuff. Forecast looks fine for tomorrow so I decided to give it one more day and see what the weather is like tomorrow. Maybe Mueller Hut is still possible. The views are supposed to be priceless if the weather is good. If it will be good tomorrow I’ll try to go for Mueller Hut. If not, I’m off to Christchurch to meet up with Gabi, Jojo and Janine... friends from Heidelberg.
Let’s hope for good weather.

Went for Kea Point in the afternoon because it suddenly cleared up. By the time I was there (ca. 45 mins) it was raining and hailing again. Weather forecast looks promising for tomorrow. The lodge warden said that going up for Mueller Hut tomorrow should be fine, although there will be snow on the ridge. Well… if it’s too dangerous I rather turn back than risking too much. The view up at the Sealy Tarns (half way) should be already be very good.

Sunday, 28.03.04
Woke up at 0.30 a.m. and couldn’t fall asleep anymore until 3 a.m. Excited?!
Great weather! Stood up at 6.30 and was on my way to hooker valley campsite by 7.15. Didn’t went for the up-to-date weather forecast but I was willing to take that risk. Looked good enough. Started for Mueller Hut at 7.30. Up to Sealy Tarns it was a pretty steep climb. But the built in stairs made it rather comfortable. Reached the Tarns at 8.30 and from there it got interesting. The way up to the boulder field was tricky. Snow and ice did their bit. The boulder field itself was probably the worst part. Because I was the first to be walking there this morning the fresh snow had no tracks to show the easiest way. And the cracks were sometimes hidden by the snow. Up the gravel field was steep but easy with the new snow on it. The ridge itself was again rather tricky because there were no signs for the safest way.

The view… priceless. Past Mueller Hut (which people call “the fridge on the ridge” because it has no means of heating) I ascended to Mt Oliver. Ever so often I could hear avalanches going off at the side of the mountains. This is the stuff dreams are made of. Surrounded by snow, high peaks and glaciers, looking over the Divide Mountain range throned by Mt Cook.
Had some toast and a nice chat with a German couple from Freiburg and started to descend at 12.00. Took me 2 ¾ hours up and 2 h down. A bit exhausted and with my knees in pain, I arrived at the car, very happy for the experience and the view I was able to get.

Hit the road to Christchurch, arriving there at 6.30 p.m. to meet with Gabi, Jojo and Janin.

Monday, 29.03.04
Didn’t meet my friends last night.
Got so tired that I just drove in a small street and fell asleep in the car. Had breakfast with Janin and Jojo this morning. Great to see them. Lots of stories were exchanged. Went for a test drive with my car and settled the price to 700 $ which is bloody cheap. But we have a little agreement what will happen to the money if they manage to sell it for more than 700$. The day went past with selling the car and all the formal stuff that needs to be done for that. Checked in at Stonehurst and went for a drink to Gabi’s place with him, his sister Julia, Janin and Jojo and a friend of them called Pip. Had a great time. Pretty drunk I went back at 11 p.m. already because my bus to Arthur’s Pass will leave at 7.10 a.m. next day.

Tuesday, 30.03.04
Gosh… got a hangover…
Arrived at Arthur’s Pass in the morning, checked in at the YHI and went for Avalanche Peak. Teamed up with a German girl what I regretted afterwards. I better don’t team up with German women anymore for tramping. Just doesn’t work out. Took us a bit more than two hours up to Avalanche Peak via Avalanche Peak Track. Tough one. Up all the time and pretty steep. Brought too little water along so I ended up eating snow which gave me a nice little rushed toilet in the evening. The views were really great, as expected. Just too many people up there. The last 30 m on a really narrow ridge I noticed again that I have a slight problem with heights. Kind of tricky those last meters. Guess I just love my life too much. On the way down I separated from my team mate. Just wanted to go faster which gave me the occasional slip. Nothing I wouldn’t be used to by now.

If the weather for the next 2 days will be forecasted as fine I’ll go for the Goat Pass Track. If it’ll start to rain the two rivers will become un-fordable and I’ll be stuck there. That’s why I need good weather for it. The Avalanche Peak Track was the 11 th track I’ve done so far.

Wednesday, 31.03.04
What a trip. Managed to get lift from Arthur’s Pass to the start of the Goat Pass Track and started down the Deception River at 10 a.m. Thought it’ll take me about 5 or 6 hours to get to Goat Pass Hut. Bugger. Took me 8 h and if I knew what would be expecting me I wouldn’t have done it. Had to be fording the Deception more than 10 times (water up to the knees) and every time I tried to avoid a fording I ended up free-climbing over huge boulders. Glad I didn’t slip there. Had to climb up more than 2 meters sometimes with the river underneath me and my pack on my back. When I think about it now it was totally stupid to take those risks. But still… kind of proud that I managed. The way was poorly marked and at some points I had to be crawling on my knees to get under fallen trees because it was the only possible way. This trip was probably the most demanding (concerning the difficulty of the way) that I’ve done so far. Rivalling with the alternative finish route for the Kauerangi Kauri Trail ;-)
I was more than relieved to see the hut at 6 p.m. Had a nice quiet time in the hut and a lot of noisy Keas outside. Ohropax can help.

Thursday, 01.04.04
Checked with the Visitor Centre at Arthur’s Pass over the radio in the hut what the weather will be like and if the Mingha river would be fordable. Rain in the early afternoon.
So I packed my stuff and made a quick departure.

The way was fine and a Sunday walk compared with the Deception path. Managed to reach the street just before the rain started. The river crossings were fine, although I didn’t bother anymore to put on my sandals so the water was standing in my shoes.
Buggered. Didn’t get a lift to Arthur’s Pass so I had to walk for 1,5 h from the end of Goat Pass Track to Arthur’s Pass. Glad to have finished the track.

Friday, 02.04.04
Took the shuttle to Christchurch and met with Gabi and Julia again, because our initially planned trip of the Cass-Lagoon-Saddle (Gabi and me) was not possible due to bad weather around Arthur’s Pass. Fair enough. Had a great time with Gabi and his friends (i.e. a couple of beers ;o)

Saturday, 03.04.04
Gabi and I decided to do the Mt Sommers Subalpine Walkway. Hitching out of Christchurch proved to be harder than I thought. We were walking a long time through the city with people showing me their middle finger and one even trying to throw water from a bottle at me, before we finally managed to get a lift.

From Mt Sommers Village we also had to walk a long time until we finally got a lift to the trailhead. We were sitting in the back of a small 4x4… well… I was more or less sitting on Gabi because there was no space. Great weather and a lot of mining history next to the track made this day remarkable. Going up Trig R was steep but not too long. After we arrived at Mt Sommers Hut we dropped our bags and went to the water caves a bit further on the track. Like a playground for adults ;o)
In the hut we met 3 Kiwis and had a good time talking about all sort of things.

Sunday, 04.04.04
Bloody rain!!! Mice ate up Gabi’s breakfast snack during the night. I learned from my mistakes earlier and put all my food in an airtight thick bag… well… the next step would have been to share the knowledge. We decided to go back to the car park with the Kiwis because the weather was shite and they offered us a lift back to Christchurch.
Went back the Canyon Rout this time which proved to be a lot more demanding and interesting than the one we took on the way up. Steep descents, boulder hopping and river fording. Gabi had a great time as well ;-).
The Kiwis dropped us right in front of the house we stayed after we invited them for a coffee. Perfect, isn’t it.