Keep up with us on our six month adventure to the other side of the world. We may have very well lost our minds, but that won't keep this from being the trip of a lifetime. We hope you'll join us!
April 16
YES, WE CONSIDER THIS A GOOD TIME! On a tip from Bob, we left Windsong Orchard and headed out on a two day hike up Mt. Fishtail, which was just a half hour drive away. It was only about a four hour hike up, but “up” is an understatement. It wasn’t unlike the Mueller Hut track we did a month ago out of Mt. Cook Village — short but steep. Our hiking legs had maybe gotten a bit too much rest at the Blueberry Cottage and it took us much longer than usual to get warmed up to the walk. The conditions, which had previously looked to be nice and clear, turned out to be a bit cold and cloudy with lots of harsh winds that worsened throughout the day. There was some beautiful scenery before the weather got too bad, but once we lost visibility we never got it back. We made it up to the Fishtail Hut (which is about a 7X10 ft room with 4 bunks and a countertop) around 4PM, but unfortunately by that time the extra half hour climb up to the summit wasn’t worth attempting with so much cloud cover. We spent the night playing cards and reading by candlelight and crossing our fingers that the hut didn’t blow away off the side of the mountain. It felt at times like we were lost at sea in a small fishing boat riding out a storm. May sound terrible to some, but we really enjoyed it and loved having the place all to ourselves for the night. This morning we left the hut in cold rain and visibility of no more than 30 or 40 feet in any direction. The first half hour was the most uncomfortable, walking along a slope of rocks on about a 50º angle with no shelter from the wind or rain. But, once we made it off the ridge and got back down below tree line, it wasn’t bad at all and we made it down in nearly half the time it took us to get to the top. Except for the cloudy conditions taking away from the view, it was a beautiful walk and hut with a lot of personality. Particularly the outhouse bolted down with cables to the edge of the mountain. Given enough time, I would certainly consider trying it again with nicer weather. Once we got down, we headed back to Windsong to gather up our things and say goodbye to Bob before heading to Picton, where it all began on the South Island. Picton is the port city for the ferry from the North Island and the first place we set foot on the island that has been our home for the past three months. We aren’t done with her quite yet though, and have a three-day hike (Queen Charlotte Track) planned to start tomorrow before we take the ferry back to Wellington on Monday.

YES, WE CONSIDER THIS A GOOD TIME!

On a tip from Bob, we left Windsong Orchard and headed out on a two day hike up Mt. Fishtail, which was just a half hour drive away. It was only about a four hour hike up, but “up” is an understatement. It wasn’t unlike the Mueller Hut track we did a month ago out of Mt. Cook Village — short but steep.

Our hiking legs had maybe gotten a bit too much rest at the Blueberry Cottage and it took us much longer than usual to get warmed up to the walk. The conditions, which had previously looked to be nice and clear, turned out to be a bit cold and cloudy with lots of harsh winds that worsened throughout the day. There was some beautiful scenery before the weather got too bad, but once we lost visibility we never got it back. We made it up to the Fishtail Hut (which is about a 7X10 ft room with 4 bunks and a countertop) around 4PM, but unfortunately by that time the extra half hour climb up to the summit wasn’t worth attempting with so much cloud cover.

We spent the night playing cards and reading by candlelight and crossing our fingers that the hut didn’t blow away off the side of the mountain. It felt at times like we were lost at sea in a small fishing boat riding out a storm. May sound terrible to some, but we really enjoyed it and loved having the place all to ourselves for the night.

This morning we left the hut in cold rain and visibility of no more than 30 or 40 feet in any direction. The first half hour was the most uncomfortable, walking along a slope of rocks on about a 50º angle with no shelter from the wind or rain. But, once we made it off the ridge and got back down below tree line, it wasn’t bad at all and we made it down in nearly half the time it took us to get to the top. Except for the cloudy conditions taking away from the view, it was a beautiful walk and hut with a lot of personality. Particularly the outhouse bolted down with cables to the edge of the mountain. Given enough time, I would certainly consider trying it again with nicer weather.

Once we got down, we headed back to Windsong to gather up our things and say goodbye to Bob before heading to Picton, where it all began on the South Island. Picton is the port city for the ferry from the North Island and the first place we set foot on the island that has been our home for the past three months. We aren’t done with her quite yet though, and have a three-day hike (Queen Charlotte Track) planned to start tomorrow before we take the ferry back to Wellington on Monday.