Fiordland and the Routeburn Track.

The southwestern corner of New Zealand is a temperate rain forest just like the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and Vancouver Island in Canada. It is the first landfall for storms and moisture brought in by the roaring fourties with more than 250 rainy days a year. Get on a trail under the canopy and it is impossible to tell you are not hiking in the Olympic National Forest.

The area is well known for the fjiord like inlets from the Tasman Sea and at the other extreme its walks, treks, or “stomps” in the high mountains.

Today was off to do the Routeburn a 32 km track connecting Fiordland with the north end of Lake Wakatipu – the lake we looked at from Queenstown. Since neither Kath nor I wanted to carry a big pack, we did it with a company that has 2 quite nice lodges with warm showers, good food, and a liquor license.

First it was a 3 hour bus ride to the start at the western end of the track. It was to be a 3 day walk – 9, 9, and 6 miles. Day 1 weather was sunny and we got some great views.

But then the rain stated. Day 2 began and finished in the rain. We got to experience a fiordland storm firsthand with almost horizontal rain at times. The trails became small streams, and waterfalls appeared everywhere. The ground is so saturated that waterfalls appear with just a few hours of rainfall – but then disappear just as quickly when it stops. Although it was wet, really wet, we stayed warm and everyone agreed that it had its own mystical beauty.

The morning of the last day we awpoke to a suting of new snow on the peaks round us. The drizzle continued, but more a NW drizzle than the real gully washer of the day before. 

But after a stop at a pub on the way home, we headed to the motel and knew that with a warm shower and a good nights sleep, we would be ready for part 2 – Doubtful Sound.