Made it to Te Anau

Bus transportation in New Zealand is interesting. Whether you want to or not you will be stopping at least once for a snack and a visit to a road side cafe. In order for the drivers to get a break they pull in for regular scheduled stops in little towns with names like Bull, Harihari, Waimangaroa and yes, even Charleston. This is a good thing, as it simply means that my driver, who is operating a very large bus, is relaxed and refreshed as he drives along a winding dirt road spiraling eternally around a very steep mountain.

After departing Dunedin at 1:55pm, I arrived in Te Anau at around 6:30pm. I understand that this may be becoming somewhat cliche at this point but once you get past Invercargill, the surrounding country side is stunning. Before that it is just plain beautiful. Rolling green mountains on either side, frame a variety of farm lands inhabited by sheep, cows and oddly enough deer. (That's right folks deer farms....a very strange sight to behold). The mountains are gentle and sloping at first, as if formed out of liquid magma. they take on these undulating rounded forms that seem to intentionally frame the lower grasslands and funnel the eye forward towards the approaching Alpine landscape.

The closer you get to Te Anau, the larger the looming mountains begin to appear. On this day it is grey and cloudy with moments of heavy rain. The massive Alpine mountains seem all the more imposing as the peaks are once again, shrouded in clouds and mist. As if this wasn't enough to stir the emotions, thunder is roaring in the distance. Once again I disembark the bus, look up at the peaks and think to myself. Here we go again.

This will be my base for the next two and a half weeks as I attempt to complete three of the nine great walks. Arguably the most famous walk "The Milford Track," followed by the "Routeburn," and finally the "Keppler track." I have no illusions about how challenging this is going to be as some bad weather is inevitable and these are all difficult walks indeed.

If I can successfully get through these, I will be a very happy fellow as I will have completed seven of the nine walks. After that I plan to find my way to Stewart Island and then all the way back up to the North Island and Ohakune so I can Kayak the Whanganui.