Otago

Here is some of the most glorious – and challenging – mountain scenery including the magnificent Motatapu Track, Breast Hill and the alternate Routeburn Track.

TA Day 104, Freehold Creek to Tin Hut, 30 km
Being alone is, we know, the best chance you have to be yourself, which is in turn the seed of
TA Day 105, Tin Hut to Stodys Hut, 27 km
A perfect sleep in a perfect, tiny historic musterer’s hut opens with pink clouds and orange light on the grassy
TA Day 106, Stodys Hut to Hawea, 22 km
The cure for loneliness, is solitude. —Marianne Moore Waking up this morning felt like a new start on a new
TA Day 107, Hawea to Wanaka, 25 km
It rained nearly all night on the alicoop in this odd carved out campground above the hotel. Self-contained vehicles hemmed
TA Day 108, side trip! Rob Roy Glacier, Mt. Aspiring National Park
Pink light glows on the mountains and glaciers. A perfect sky for a day trip. Harry and I have been
TA Day 109, ‘zero day’ Wanaka
Pink sky in the morning, hiker take warning. Good thing I planned a rest day as the clouds move in,
TA Day 110, Wanaka to Fern Burn Hut, 27 km
The morning is lazy because I have to wait for the bank to open. I load up on more calories,
TA Day 111, Fern Burn Hut to Roses Hut, 17 km
Walking is the natural recreation for a (wo)man who desires not absolutely to suppress (her) intellect but to turn it
TA Day 112, Roses Hut to Arrowtown, 24 km
The stars did not disappoint. I checked often through the night, the nearly full moon lighting up this wild landscape.
TA Day 113, Arrowtown to Routeburn Track, 30 km
I’m up before dawn, quietly moving my gear into the common room so I can pack loudly. Someone on the
TA Day 114, ‘detour’ Routeburn River to McKellar Hut, 38 km
It rained all night. I am dry and warm in the alicoop, but I don’t think I can hike an
TA Day 115, McKellar Hut to Taipo Hut, 28 km
It’s a night shared with smokers, door slammers and snorers, but it turns out to be pretty fun in a
TA Day 116, Taipo Hut to Mavora Lake, 27 km
The stars were electric last night, even as the super moon made a grand entrance, lighting up one stray cloud
TA audio narrative: trail detour
https://youtu.be/2PSy-g6vdyE
I didn't always find soulful campsites on the Te Araroa.
TA audio narrative: hitting a wall
We suffer thru-hiking for the transcendent, and appreciate it more because of our suffering.