(11/9 – 11/21/2023)
New Zealand was finally open for tourism after the long Covid shutdown! We have always wanted to book The Classic with Ultimate Hikes. However, the booking involved a non-refundable deposit, and Ultimate Hikes warned customers that they were responsible for getting their own visa to enter New Zealand, therefore, we didn’t book the trip until this year.
The Classic included two of New Zealand’s Great Walks (there are nine in total): Milford Track and Routeburn Track. It was very expensive (around $7,000 USD for both of us in a private room; dorm option was cheaper). However, it was the only option that included a private room with en-suite bathroom and hot showers, three meals a day, and laundry facilities. The public huts only had dorm rooms and cold water, and we would have to carry and cook our own food; therefore, we decided to splurge. This tour was super popular. We booked seven months ago when Ultimate Hikes opened for the 2023-2024 season. (Their website crashed on the first day, and I had to return a few hours later to complete the booking!)
Even though this was a guided tour with all transportation and meals included, we still needed to carry our own backpacks. Rei was unhappy about carrying own backpacks. However, he had to acquiesce when he realized that luggage transfer did not exist.
Day 1: Arriving in Queenstown, NZ
We encountered various cases of changed and delayed flights and missing luggage after the pandemic and would prefer to travel with carry-on luggage only. However, we needed our hiking poles for the trekking, and airlines didn’t allow hiking poles in carry-on luggage, we couldn’t travel without checked luggage. Therefore, we decided to arrive in Queenstown one day earlier just in case. Moreover, Queenstown was a charming little city by Lake Wakatipu with several great hiking trails. We appreciated the extra time in Queenstown.
We arrived in Queenstown airport before noon and took a taxi to our lodge. The friendly taxi driver informed us that New Zealand situated under an O-zone hole, and it was essential to put on sunscreen when doing outdoor activities. This was great advice, because Rei generally refused to put on sunscreen until he got sunburned! (No common sense.)
We were staying at the Garden Court Suites & Apartments. It was still too early to check in, so we simply left the luggage there and walked to the city center. We walked through the Queenstown Garden, which was full of beautiful flowers, plants and birds, to reach the lake shore. Even though it’s still early in the season, there were quite some tourists taking pictures by the lake.
It was around noon time, and we found a long line in front of the famous Fergburger. Rei’s theory was that the longer the line was, the more delicious the food tasted. Therefore, we had to wait in line to order our lunch. Rei ordered a Ferg Deluxe, and I had Sweet Julie chicken burger. Both were quite big and very delicious. Rei also had his first New Zealand beer.
After lunch, we walked back to the hotel to check in. We had a one-bedroom apartment with balcony. It was very spacious. The most important thing was that there was a washer and dryer, which proved to be very convenient for us.
I didn’t feel like to go out for dinner, so Rei went to get some Chinese food to-go to bring back to the apartment. We washed up and went to bed after dinner.
Day 2: Queenstown
We woke up very early in the morning due to jetlag. There’s a pre-hike briefing at 2:45pm; otherwise, we would be free for the day. We walked to Fergbaker to have croissants and coffee for breakfast. On the way we saw a crested grebe on the lake. It was not very close to the shore, but I still managed to take some photos! There was also a family of Paradise Shelduck on the Queenstown Garden lawn.
There was a famous Ben Lomond Track starting at the top of the Skyline Gondola. It was only 8:30am when we reached the Skyline Gondola station, and the rides wouldn’t start until 9am. So, we decided to hike the Tiki Trail up instead (and to avoid the expensive gondola rides). The Tiki Trail was very steep, and part of the trail was under construction for a new zipline adventure.
It took us more than an hour to reach the top Skyline Gondola station. The station had restrooms, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a viewing platform. Many people were at the platform taking pictures. It offered a panorama view of Queenstown. We also saw several people paragliding!
The Ben Lomond Track wasn’t as steep as the Tiki Trail, even though it’s longer. We reached the Saddle after 11am and had our packed lunch there. The view was splendid from the Saddle. It would involve a steep climb to reach the Ben Lomond peak. Since we had to return to Queenstown for the 2:45pm briefing, we didn’t think we would have enough time. Therefore, we started our descending after lunch.
We reached Queenstown around 2pm. There was still time for an ice cream break before going to the Ultimate Hikes office. When we arrived, we saw many hikers waiting there for the briefing. The office provided us with information and rental equipment at the briefing. We got a sturdy orange plastic bag to line the inside of our backpack, which proved to be extremely useful during our very wet hike.
We still got last night’s leftover Chinese food. Rei bought another Fergburger and some donuts from the next-door Fergbaker for dinner. We had to do a load of laundry and packing in preparation for the trekking starting tomorrow. We only needed to bring the essential items for the trekking and could leave the rest in the hotel to pick up after returning.
Day 3: Starting Milford Track
We woke up before 6am again due to jetlag, so we decided to go out to have breakfast. After breakfast, we returned to the hotel to check out after 8am, left some luggage at the hotel, and walked to the Ultimate Hikes office.
We met the 4 guides (Scot, Blair, Bridget, Sabrina) and fellow hikers at the office. The bus left before 10am. It was a very long bus ride, with a short bathroom stop in between. It was a scenic ride with fantastic view. We saw many animals on the way. In addition to the “regular” sheep and cow, we also saw deer and even alpacas!
We had a buffet lunch after 12 noon at the Alpine Cafe. There was a small alpaca farm right by the cafe. After lunch, we boarded the bus again to reach the boat dock.
There was a one-hour boat ride on Te Anau Lake to reach the trail head. The group originally stayed at the upper deck of the boat for sightseeing, then it became super windy with lots of water spray! So, we all retreated to the covered lower deck.
Tonight’s lodge, Glade House, was only less than one mile from the trail head. It was also a flat trail. After arrival and checking into our room, the guides took us on a nature hike. We saw several bush robins on the way. This was a beech forest with red beeches, silver beeches and mountain beeches. The three kinds of beech trees coexisted in this forest, sometime right by one another. There was also a creek flowed by. Several people drank from the creek, but I didn’t want to risk it.
It was already past 5pm when we returned to the lodge. That didn’t give us enough time to get ready for dinner at 6pm. Rei and I were the last ones to arrive. Since we already selected our dinner choices on the bus ride, there was very little waiting time. The guides told us that it’s the way to avoid waste, since they knew beforehand what we wanted to order. There were always 3 options to choose from: red meat (steak, venison or lamb), fish or chicken, or vegetarian. For tonight’s dinner, Rei had venison, and I had salmon. Dessert was apple strudel with ice cream.
After dinner, we got together to listen to the briefing from the guides about tomorrow’s hike. We also made tomorrow’s dinner choice during the briefing. This would become a routine. The guides asked us to introduce ourselves after the briefing. Our group had 29 hikers. The largest group was from Australia. There were 4 Kiwis. It’s interesting to find out that the second largest group was from Taiwan! There were a few Europeans. A lady hiker came from Canada, and Rei and I were the only ones from the United States.
I did some laundry after dinner. All lodges had wash basins and a drying room with a giant fan blowing. It’s very convenient. The generator was off at 10pm.
Day 4: To Pompolona Lodge
We woke up before 6am. Breakfast was at 7am. There was a lunch station for us to make sandwiches or wraps for lunch. They provided cheese, eggs, different kinds of meat, and a plethora of veggies for us to choose from. There were also desserts and fruits (apples and oranges).
On the way back to our room, we saw two wekas on the grass lawn. We originally thought they were kiwis, but the guides told us they were wekas. Kiwis were nocturnal and very rare. Some guides walked the trails for 10 years without seeing a kiwi!
We started today’s hike around 8:30am. It was already drizzling, so everyone put on their rain jackets, rain pants, and backpack covers. The trail was quite flat. However, the first section was sandy. There were mile marks along the trail.
We had a short bathroom break at the Clinton Hut before continuing the walk. We walked along the Clinton River and admired the gorgeous scenery. The guides took us on a side Wetland Walk to see the ecosystem. There were several short cuts to the riverbanks. We were very lucky to see five Blue Ducks at a sandbar.
The lunch was at the Hirere Falls Lunch Hut between mileposts 7 and 8. There were many beautiful waterfalls nearby — some were actually runoffs due to the rain. The Ultimate Hikes guides served hot drinks at the lunch hut — coffee, tea, Milo, and even miso soup!
There were two optional loop walks to see the Hidden Lake and the Prairie Lake, respectively. We did both. They were amazing, and we took a lot of photos.
The last section of the trail to reach the Pompolona Hut involved climbing on a rocky trail, which reminded me of our Mount Tam hikes. We arrived at the hut before 3pm.
Everybody was very wet, so we all put backpacks, shoes, rain jackets, etc. in a drying room, and went to take a hot water shower. There was another warmer drying room for clothing after laundry. These were perks of staying in a private lodge. I did laundry before going to the community room to have tea. They served very delicious scones with butter, cream and jam.
Among the three dinner options, Rei always picked the red meat option. He had beef tonight, which he said was very delicious. I had quinoa fritter, which was also very good. Dessert was crème brûlée. After dinner, we went through the similar briefing and dinner pre-order process before retiring to our room.
Day 5: To Quinton Lodge
It’s just our luck — we had the most challenging section of Milford Track today, and we also had the worst weather. It rained very hard this morning. We all put on all the rain gear before the hike. The guides originally planned to start at 7:30am. However, they weren’t sure about the weather and the trail condition and had to contact the office using radio. We finally started around 8am.
The trail was flooded. The water reached my knees at certain point. The guides said that we should just wade through the water with our hiking boots on. There was no point taking off the boots and putting them on again because there were too many water crossings and there was no way we could keep our boots dry. I really hated hiking with wet feet! I tripped over a tree root, fell, and unfortunately hit my head on a flat rock to get a bump above my left brow. Ugh!
The McKinnon Pass at 1,154m was the traverse route by explorer Quinton McKinnon. The trail to the McKinnon Pass required a very challenging climb, especially in such stormy weather. We saw a lot of waterfalls/runoffs, but it was difficult to take photos especially when my camera was malfunctioning. Later I realized that our path actually involved walking across some runoffs!
One of the Ultimate Hikes guides was stationed in the Quinton Lodge. His daily duty was to bring hot drinks to the pass for the hikers and then guide them to the lunch shelter and the Quinton Lodge. We accepted a drink from the guide (and felt quite pampered) then continued to the lunch shelter. We managed to take a few photos at the pass, but we didn’t stop the walk to admire the scenery because it was too cold and foggy. The lunch shelter was very primitive. I was very wet and cold, and seriously worried about the possibility of hypothermia. The guides told us that we should change into a spare, dry shirt, so we were all undressing in the shelter! I also put on my puff jacket to keep warm. Rei wanted to see Sutherland Falls, so we only grabbed a few bites of our sandwiches and then joined the previous group to continue walking.
We had to take the “Emergency Route” down between Milepost 17 and Milepost 19, because the regular route was closed during the avalanche season. The emergency route down was rocky, wet, steep, and very slippery. Rei and I both slipped and fell a few times. We finally reached Quinton Lodge at 3:45pm and were told that the Sutherland Falls area was closed due to the flood. The water reached the chest level! Moreover, we learned that the helicopter we saw at the lodge wasn’t delivering supplies, but to fly the people out. The group before us couldn’t continue their walk and had to be helicoptered out to Milford Sound! Bummer!
A lady in our group couldn’t manage the climb to the pass. She returned to the Pompolona Lodge with a guide and was helicoptered out as well. A guy in the group fell, broke his hiking pole and hurt his wrist. (Ouch!) Overall, it was a challenging situation, and we learned that some group members didn’t reach the lodge until 6pm. It was fortunate that we joined a guided hike and could get assistance from the experienced guides.
I was very wet and cold, so I immediately went to take a hot shower, and changed into clean, dry clothes. After Rei also took a shower, I started to wash all our wet clothes, and it took me about 1.5 hours!
When we went to dinner at 6:45pm, there weren’t too many people there. Rei had steak tonight, and I had fried fish fillet. Again, the food was very delicious. Rei also had a glass of red wine. The dessert was crumble with fresh whipped cream. After dinner, we were all very exhausted and immediately went to bed.
Day 6: To Mitre Peak Lodge
Finally, we had better weather today. Although the hike was longer (13.5 mi), it was mostly a flat forest trail with soil, leaves and small rocks. The flood drained amazingly fast. The trail was still wet with many puddles, but we could manage stepping on rocks to cross to avoid stepping into the water.
We passed numerous impressive waterfalls (or runoffs) today and took many photos. This section of hike involved crossing many rivers on swinging bridges with raging water below. We had a short bathroom stop at the public Dumpling Hut with sandflies galore. We also had a mid-morning break at the Boatshed. The guides told us to have plenty of snacks because we would not have lunch until after 1:30pm.
We continued walking on the lush forest trail until we reached the very impressive Mackay Falls. A guide was waiting there to make sure that we didn’t miss the waterfalls and the nearby Bell Rock (with a hole inside). A fellow hiker also showed us a tree trunk full of glowworms that a guide showed her previously.
With the rain gone, sandflies came out in droves. We originally planned to have a lunch stop at the Giants Gate Waterfalls, but we had to give up because the place was swamped with sandflies! We only had a short photo stop there before continuing to walk.
Rei wanted to catch the 3pm boat ride at the Sandfly Point to Mitre Peak, so we power walked the last two miles with reduced photo stops. We managed to arrive at the 33.5-mile end point before the boat departed. It was a short boat ride, so we arrived at the lodge before 4pm.
We took turns to take hot water showers and wash the clothes. Today’s briefing was at 6pm. There were hot drinks and yummy coconut cookies. After the briefing, we found out that there was only one other hiker besides us to continue the Routeburn Track!
The guides dined with us tonight. Rei had lamb shank dinner and was very pleased. He also ordered a glass of red wine to celebrate. I had mushrooms, and the dish was very tasty too. Dessert was brownie and ice cream. There wasn’t much to do, and we were exhausted, so we went to bed after dinner.
Day 7: Milford Sound to Te Anau
Today was the “no walk” day. We boarded the bus at 8:20am to reach the cruise terminal, then boarded the Milford Sovereign for our Milford Sound sightseeing trip. There was a little bit of rain, but it was light enough so that we were able to still stay on the upper deck of the boat.
The views were splendid wherever we saw! A guide told us that Milford Sound was at its best when it rained. We also saw a seal lying on a giant rock, and a dolphin swam by our boat. There were many waterwalls on both sides of the cliffs, and a few of them were quite large. The captain managed to steer the boat very close to some waterfalls so that we could take amazing pictures.
On our way to Te Anau, the bus had to stop for red light before entering a one-lane tunnel. There were three Keas on the road right outside of my windows! The red-light stop was long enough for us to take photos of the Keas. We felt so lucky!
Only three members in the group were doing The Classic, including Rei and me. We were dropped at Te Anau hotel along with a couple hikers who chose to stay in Te Anau after the hike.
We ate the sandwiches we prepared this morning and then went out to explore. The Bird Sanctuary was not too far away, so we walked along Lake Te Anau to reach the sanctuary. On the way, we saw several fantails flying around and were able to take a few photos. I also saw a blue bird Tui on a tree. The Bird Sanctuary was famous for a pair of Takahe. We also saw two green parakeets and some other birds. Rei went to visit the Fjordland National Park Visitor Center. I decided to skip because I was very cold and wanted to return to the hotel.
Te Anau had a famous glowworm cave that some of our fellow hikers decided to visit. Rei and I already saw the bigger Waitomo Glowworm Caves in the North Island in our previous visit to New Zealand, so we decided not to go.
Day 8: Starting Routeburn Track
The weather was good in Te Anau this morning. We went to a local bakery to pick up a breakfast biscuit, a raisin scone and a raspberry, white chocolate muffin to have a quick breakfast in our room.
The Ultimate Hikes driver picked us up at 9am to take us to the Alpine Café (the same one we visited previously). The rest of the group from Queenstown were already there having breakfast tea. There were a total of 16 hikers including us. This group seemed to be older than the Milford group, and most were couples. We had four new guides: Campbell, Sofya, Kim and Georgie.
We arrived at the Divide (the Routeburn Track trailhead) around 10:30am. It was drizzling again! So, we all put on our rain gear before starting to hike. They provided chicken sandwiches from Fergburger for lunch.
The hike started on an easy uphill dirt and rock trail. It was pretty easy. We reached the Key Summit turnoff in a short time. It was raining and foggy. Rei and I decided to take the optional hike up to the Summit lookout, but we couldn’t see anything there. We have summitted several mountains in questionable condition only to see fog everywhere at the top, and we just added one more peak to the list!
The lunch was at the Lake Howden Shelter, which was in a beautiful setting. Lake Howden was very charming. The guides were already in the shelter preparing hot drinks for us: coffee, tea or Milo.
After lunch, we restarted hiking around 1pm. Tonight’s lodge was 3 hours away. The start of the trail was easy, but it became a rocky, uphill road. We arrived at the first waterfall in an hour, and at Earland Falls after another half an hour. The Earland Falls was magnificent in the rain. It was very high and there were lots of water sprays. A very wet guide was waiting by the waterfalls to take photos of us.
Then there was a flat stretch, and we could see snowcapped mountains peeking out from the cloud. Hikers all stopped to take photos of the scene. We reached a steep, downhill stretch around 3:40pm. This was the most difficult part of the day. Around 4pm, the sun came out a bit, and we still haven’t reached the lodge yet, so we were “below average.”
We finally arrived 10 minutes later. The lodge was near Mackenzie Lake. There were high snowcapped mountains around the area. After we checked into the lodge, we decided to go to the lake to take some photos, because we were not sure what kind of weather we would get tomorrow.
Mackenzie Lodge seemed to be smaller compared with the Milford lodges. The food choices were similar. Rei had steak (“very juicy”), and he also ordered a glass of red wine to go with the steak. I had fish. My food was excellent too.
Day 9: To Routeburn Falls Lodge
It rained very hard last night, so I was reasonably concerned. Fortunately, the rain stopped. Routeburn Track had shorter and easier daily hikes when compared with Milford Track, so we didn’t need to start as early. We only started hiking after taking a group photo around 9:20am at Lake Mackenzie.
The hike started with a rocky, uphill trail. We had to climb over some big rocks, so some hikers decided to slow down. The weather was foggy with occasional sunshine and drizzles. We could see the emerald green Lake Mackenzie below, surrounded by snowcapped mountains. Everyone stopped to take a few amazing photos of the view.
On the way we saw two memorial plaques on a big rock: one was for two teenagers perished in a storm, and the other was for a man. So, even though Routeburn Track wasn’t very challenging, it still could be deadly in inclement weather due to lack of sheltering places.
We continued our hike on a balcony route. The track was a gentle soil and rock route. There was even a section of via ferrata. However, there wasn’t much to see due to the foggy conditions. Then it started to rain and even hailed a bit! I started to worry that we could get drenched again, which would be very unpleasant. Two hikers passed by from the opposite direction. I asked them how far it was to reach the lunch shelter, and they replied: 45 minutes!
We finally reached the Harris Saddle Shelter after 12:30pm and had our lunch there. Again, the guides were there to provide hot drinks. There was an optional hike to Conical Hill, but no one was interested due to the weather conditions. We restarted after lunch around 1pm.
Just when I decided that I did not enjoy the Routeburn Track, the sun came out! It was so bright that we had to stop to put on some sunscreen. The view of Lake Harris was splendid under the sunlight. We saw several beautiful waterfalls as well.
When we were very close to tonight’s lodge, a guide was waiting there to inform us that we could do an optional climb to see a spectacular view, and Rei decided to give it a try since we skipped Conical Hill. However, this was probably not a good idea. The first part of the track was actually on a runoff! The climb was steep and very wet. When we finally reached flat terrain, it was very windy too. I considered this to be the craziest idea of the day.
We met members of the group who have already reached the top. They told us that we were close, and the view was indeed magnificent, so we persevered. A guide was with that group, and she led us to the top. Yes, the view from the top was indeed very impressive, but it was super windy too. We both got wet on the way down. A lady continued to the top after us. Overall, only about half of the group decided to do this crazy hike.
Tonight’s lodge, Routeburn Falls Lodge, was only less than 20 minutes away. When we arrived at the lodge, we saw some pretty waterfalls nearby and decided to take photos before checking in. We saw a rainbow too!
When we finally checked into the hut, the host told us that we were the last of the group to arrive (due to the crazy climb and the extra time at the waterfalls). Since we were both wet, the top priority was to take a hot water show and to wash our wet clothes.
We had mushroom soup, lamb shank, salmon, and chocolate tart for dinner. Since tonight was the last dinner of this trek, the guides joined us for dinner. There was a general sense of accomplishment because we were near the end of the hike.
Day 10: The Last Section of the Routeburn Track
We woke up to a bright morning with lots of sunshine, which was a great improvement to the last couple days. We had an easier hike today, and therefore a late start time.
Rei and I went to the waterfalls to take more photos in the early morning before hiking. Besides the brilliant waterfalls, we could also see the pretty valley below, which made me question the wisdom of yesterday’s crazy hike to a mountain top for a similar view.
We started hiking around 9am. The trail was mostly a gentle dirt and rocky road with slight ups and downs though it’s mainly downhill. We also crossed some small wooden bridges that could only support limited weight. A humorous sign showed what would happen if more than 5 people were on the bridge. After about an hour’s walk, we reached Routeburn Flats and had the morning snack and bathroom stop there.
Then we continued hiking for another hour or so to reach our lunch spot, Forge Flat. The place was by a river with amazing views. A couple of robins approached us to afford us some close photo shots. Two guys changed into their swimming pants and went plunging into the river. “It was cold!“
The last stretch was a wider, gentle downhill track that took a bit more than an hour. Rei and I started before the rest of group and were the first ones to arrive at the finish line behind two of the guides.
On the bus back to Queenstown, we had a short break in a bar, where people ordered beer or wine for celebration. When we reached Queenstown around 3:30pm, there was an event going on and some streets were closed to car traffic. After checking into the Garden Court Suites & Apartments again, we first took a hot water shower and then started laundry.
Afterwards, Rei and I went to the downtown area to do some shopping. We shared a delicious ice cream cone (Patagonia chocolate and strawberry cream) from Patagonia Chocolates – Ice Creamery & Chocolaterie (which we considered the best in Queenstown). We bought some New Zealand chocolate, cookies and candies to bring home. Since today’s Saturday and there were many people in town for the event, it didn’t seem that we could get a dinner reservation in a good restaurant, so it’s Fergburger again! Since we would be leaving early tomorrow morning for the coach tour, we also bought some bakeries.
Day 11: Coach Tour to Franz Josef
I booked an expensive 2-day coach and train tour with New Zealand Coach Tours. Rei kept complaining about the cost. However, I really could not trust him driving “on the other side of the road,” so I would consider the extra cost as insurance. I thought it was a group tour on a big bus, but it turned out that Rei and I were the only two tourists on a private tour. John from Gracier Valley Shuttle picked us up from the hotel at 8am in a minivan to drive to Franz Josef.
The first stop was in Wanaka by the lake. Wanaka was a charming little town. We took several photos by the serene and beautiful Lake Wanaka. There were many waterfowls on the lake. We also saw big fish and eels in the clear water, which was very interesting.
Then we had a short stop at the Thunder Creek Falls, which was a pretty big and beautiful waterfall. Lunch was at Hard Antlers. Rei and I shared a white bait meal, which was recommended to us by fellow hikers and the driver. It was basically an egg pancake with small white fish. Even though it tasted good, it’s not really special in my opinion.
After lunch, we visited a salmon farm and had a photo stop by the coast to see the Tasman Sea, before finally reaching the Franz Josef Glacier. It took us about 15 minutes to arrive at the viewpoint. We could see the glacier high above in the mountains, but it was very far away. It would require a helicopter ride (which would cost about 250 to 450 NZD we later found out) to reach the glacier. Then the driver dropped us at Punga Grove for the night.
Rei and I went to the West Coast Wild Life Center to see live kiwis. I won a postcard by correctly guessing the number of kiwi species in New Zealand. (The answer was 5.) There were supposed to be two kiwis inside, however we only saw one. Photos were not allowed inside the kiwi habitat.
Dinner was at the Landing. We arrived at Happy Hours, so Rei ordered a large beer. We had pizza and steamed mussels.
Day 12: TranzAlpine Train to Christchurch
We had good weather today. The driver wouldn’t pick us up until 10am this morning, so Rei and I decided to explore the area after having breakfast at the Monsoon restaurant. We first took the short Terrace Walk and then walked along the Waiho River to enjoy more magnificent views.
The driver was 15 minutes late because he had to pick up two other passengers first. So, there were a total of four passengers on the minivan. The other two people were from Australia. We drove on Highway 6 all the way to Greymouth, where the west end of the TranzAlpine train station was located. This route was along the coast with Tasman Sea constantly visible on our left. This part of the country played an important role in the New Zealand Gold Rush between 1861 and 1864 with several gold rush towns such as Ross and Greymouth.
The driver dropped us off at the Greymouth train station to get our train tickets and to check in luggage. The train ride was at 2pm, and it didn’t give us enough time to have a sit-down lunch, so we simply picked up some snacks from a nearby supermarket. The TranzAlpine train had a cafe, where Rei got a meat pie and a beer. We were at the last passenger car, Carriage E. It wasn’t full, so we had 4 seats and a table all to ourselves. At the end of the train, there was an open-air carriage for passengers to enjoy panoramic view and to take photos.
The train ride came with a narrative audio system to introduce the route. The train passed along the Grey River. We first passed the Brunner Mine Memorial Site, where a tragic disaster happened in 1896 that many miners were killed. We also saw many pasture lands with cows and some sheep. When the audio system announced Lake Brunner, I went to the sightseeing car with many other passengers to take photos. Overall, I thought this part of the ride between Greymouth and the Arthur Pass was very scenic.
Many cautions were taken when we approached the Arthur’s Pass. The train needed to go through a long Otira Tunnel with potential harmful air inside the tunnel, so they closed the cafe car, toilets and the open-air sightseeing cars, and we were told to remain in our seats. When the train finally arrived at Arthur’s Pass station, we were allowed to get off the train to stretch our legs for a short period of time.
More passengers boarded the train at the station because the section between Arthur’s Pass and Christchurch was more popular with the tourists. The two parts of the train ride were distinct, with second part on lower land and with many tunnels.
We finally arrived in Christchurch around 7pm and took a taxi to our hotel near the main bus station. Christchurch had a famous botanic garden where Rei wanted to visit before it got dark, so we left the hotel after checking-in to walk to the botanic garden. The garden was only a short walk away. There were several gorgeous buildings near the garden. Inside the garden, there was a very large water mountain. The botanic garden had many plants though it was still too early to view the full blooms (it’s spring in New Zealand). There were also many birds at dusk: we saw Paradise Shelducks, ducks and even quails and Canada Geese! This was the only Christchurch sightseeing for us, since we’re catching an early flight tomorrow morning to go home for Thanksgiving. We really wished we had more time in Christchurch — maybe next time?
Afterthoughts
The main purpose of this trip was to hike the famous Milford Track and Routeburn Track. The hikes with the Ultimate Hikes were very expensive, but well worth the cost. Their lodges were very comfortable, and we were extremely satisfied with the food. The laundry facilities and drying rooms were vital after a long day hiking in the rain. Though the trails were well marked and it was impossible to get lost, the guides still provided essential services. Their help with crossing many runoffs on the Milford Track and the hot drinks they provided in the huts were highly appreciated. We would strongly recommend booking Ultimate Hikes.
I preferred Milford Track due to the plethora of waterfalls and runoffs we saw on the trail, while Rei liked Routeburn Track better because he preferred mountains. However, we both agreed that Routeburn Track was no better than many Sierra hikes we did in California and Neveda.
New Zealand is verdant with numerous waterfalls and runoffs primarily due to the amount of rain it receives annually. Places like Milford Sound have 300 days of rain per year! One will see very different views on sunny days versus rainy days on both Milford Track and Routeburn Track. Since there is very limited availability on both tracks, hikers have to book months ahead. Therefore, it’s impossible to know in advance what kind of weather it would be — just as one of the fellow hikers told us, they had perfectly good weather while the next group encountered chest-level water on the trail. You just need to be prepared for all kinds of weather conditions. Good equipment was indispensable for New Zealand hikes.
The coach and train tour we took was very enjoyable too, though it was costly. More adventurous travelers would be able to take public buses and/or rent a car to DIY; however, I didn’t think we could handle that.
Amy 'n Rei 