North Island and the return to Australia

Wow – what a busy couple of weeks we have had since the last blog entry. So busy that there has not been a lot of time to actually sit down and write a blog. The emphasis on this part of the trip has definitely been beaches. While the South Island of New Zealand has the market cornered on awesome mountain tramping, the North Island and Australia come out the winners for the most amazing beaches and coastline.

We flew to Auckland, picked up our rental car and immediately headed for the coast, without ever even seeing the city except from afar. We first went to the west coast a little north of Auckland to the surfing community of Piha beach. Unfortunately, the rainy weather we had been having in the south followed us to the north – but at least it was now warmer. After a wet night in the tent, the weather cleared enough to enjoy the rugged headlands and sandy beaches the next morning. There were lots of Aucklanders out to enjoy the day as well. It was a surf club day, so all these little kids were running around doing surf drill competitions. They really get kids comfortable in the water at an early age here.

Piha in the rain

Piha beach headlands

Later in the day we headed farther north and checked out Bethell’s Beach – recommended to us by friends of a friend as one of their favorite places. It did not disappoint us – a beautiful pristine beach – perfect for a long walk. We also checked out a small inland lake in the area that you had to hike to. We were shocked when the trail led us over this amazing area of sand dunes. It was like a hundred acres of sand which formed a tall hill, completely surrounded by forest, with a lake at the bottom. Of course, Tammara went for a swim.

Crossing the giant dune

From here our plans were very loose and we weighed a few options of how to spend our limited time… head to the very north tip of the island, hike out overnight to a light house on Cape Britt, or even go back south and try to do part of another Great Walk. After much debate we decided to go to the Bay of Islands region and camp on the island of Urupukapuka. This is an amazing part of the northeast coast with beautiful small islands, turquoise bays and rocky headlands. We took a boat from the tourist town of Pahia about an hour out into the bay and got dropped off on Urupukapuka. The entire island is a national park. There are no roads, so all the camping is accessed by boat or by a wonderful network of trails.

Urupukapuka

Over-looking campground

Urupukapuka headlands

Since it is an island, there has been an ongoing project to eradicate all the invasive predators to protect the native birds. New Zealand evolved without any mammal predators, so the birds did not evolve strategies to protect themselves. With the introduction rats and weasels the bird populations were devastated. Through trapping and poisoning the mammals the bird numbers are starting to come back.  

From Urupukapuka we worked our way back to Auckland for a late afternoon flight to Brisbane, Australia. We had intentionally scheduled the trip in the order we did to be farther south while it was still warm and then to go north as the season moved towards the southern hemisphere winter. This also allowed us to be in Brisbane to visit Tammara’s cousins over Easter.

Yes, Tammara has cousins in Australia…Her father grew up in Holland and after World War II he immigrated to New York. He had a brother who immigrated to Paupa New Guinea and eventually to Australia where he raised his family…. Tammara’s cousins. The two brothers never saw each other after the war, but Tammara had some correspondence with the family over the years. This trip was an opportunity to finally meet them. We arrived at Esther’s house and within minutes felt like we had known her forever. We spent a lot of time looking at family photo albums and comparing stories. She and her partner George really made us feel welcome and at home.

Esther, Tammara and Louisa

 We used their home as a base to explore Brisbane and visit a few area National Parks. We camped overnight at Lambington National Park which is a rainforest situated at the top of a flat mountain. Really a unique and beautiful place.  We also visited cousin Louisa in Mount Tamborine and she toured us around the town, National Park, and botanical gardens. We really enjoyed the visiting and were sad to be moving on.

Awesome trees at Lambington National Park

 We had decided to finish the trip with a real vacation from all this vacation. So we headed north up the coast from Brisbane to the trendy beach town of Noosa. We arranged for three nights at an Air B&B in a “tree-house”. It’s not really a tree house, but our bed was at tree-top level and looked out over yet another National Park. It was really an awesome place to wake up. We’ve had a couple of relaxing days – walking the  beach, playing in the waves, canoeing the Noosa River and just enjoying life… because that’s what it’s all about.

Our tree house in Noosa

Sunset at Noosa beach

The Great Walks

Queenstown is the high adrenaline sport capital of New Zealand – from bungee jumping, sky-diving, hang-gliding, or jet-packing. We did none of these things; we walked around, ate ice cream and watched other people pay lots of money to risk their lives. We also shopped for more warm clothing as a cold rainy weather system was predicted to come ashore while we planned to start our first Great Walk. (Great deal on wool sweaters at the Salvation Army).

There are ten officially designated Great Walks in New Zealand. These are the most popular hikes in the country and are well laid out and meticulously maintained trails with mountain huts spaced a day’s walk apart along the way. You must book huts and campsites months in advance to do an over-night trip.

Our first outing was to the Routeburn Track which is located just across the valley from the famous Milford Track. There is a whole system of buses to connect hikers to the various trailheads, so it is possible to easily coordinate a one-way hike. This worked great for the Routeburn because the two ends of the trail are located six hours apart by bus. For this hike we opted to carry our tent and not stay in the huts. The huts are convenient and you have less to carry, but you are forced to sleep in bunk rooms, sometimes with as many as 30 other dirty, smelly, and potentially snoring hikers.

We spent two nights on the track and the scenery, of course, was breath-taking. The first night we slept near a glacial lake perched high above the valley. The next day the weather started to deteriorate – misty and foggy with some light rain. This was unfortunate because most of the hike was above tree-line and normally would have offered outstanding views of the high Southern Alps. Despite the weather, it was a wonderful hike – totally surreal hiking in and out of the clouds. It’s cliché, but it really did seem like Middle Earth.

We had a few extra days between the Routeburn Track and our next hike, so we decided to squeeze in a boat trip through the Milford Sound. This is probably the most iconic feature in all of New Zealand, which of course makes it the most visited. Literally hundreds of tour buses make the excursion every day. We hesitated going, but considering we were so close, we had to see it. We chose the earliest and cheapest boat we could find, and actually that worked out great. Milford Sound is the third rainiest place on the planet… so we were not surprised to have it raining on the morning of our cruise. The view of the soaring cliffs and mountains was a bit cut off due to the low clouds, but with all the rain there were waterfalls everywhere. After seeing the sound, it is easy to understand why it is so popular and we were glad we made the effort to get there.

After that we went on our second Great Walk – this time to the Kepler Track. This is a relatively new route that was developed to disperse some of the hiking pressure off of the Milford and Routeburn tracks. Some hikers say the scenery is also more spectacular than either of the other tracks. It is very well laid out, actually in a loop that can be started and ended from the town of Te Anau. Again, it was a two night trip, but this time we reserved space in the huts, just to get the full New Zealand tramping experience.

The trail climbs to its first hut located just above tree line. From there you can look back to Te Anau and the huge lake it is situated next to. From the hut, it is a 90 minute hike to the top of Mt. Luxmore. The weather on our first day was perfect – sunny, warm, and calm, so we took advantage of it and climbed to the peak. The views were unbelievable. The next day the weather again started to cloud up, so we were glad we did the extra climb the day before. This second day will rank up there with the most outstanding hikes we have ever done. The trail follows a steep twisting ridge line for nearly the whole day, offering views in all directions the whole time. You end the hike by dropping back to another valley and following a river back to the lakes. The last day turned to showers, but it was appropriate for walking through this amazing temperate rainforest.

We wrapped up our South Island portion of the trip by driving the southern coastal route and then up the east coast back to Christchurch. Unfortunately, the weather stayed rainy and cold, greatly limiting the sight-seeing and putting a damper on our excitement for camping. We spent an evening waiting in a blind for the very rare Yellow-eyed Penguins to return to the beach after their day feeding at sea… they never showed up, but we did have wine and crackers while waiting, so it was okay. We also went to the only breeding colony located on a mainland for the Royal Albatross, which we did see.

Miraculously, Oma Tui survived the trip, although she did present us with a flat tire the day before we returned her….Yes, we had grown fond of her, but we can’t say we were sad to have her safely returned to her nest.

Next, we are off to the North Island, so stay tuned.

The Adventures of Oma Tui

We arrived safely in New Zealand about a week ago; flying from Melbourne to Christchurch, located on the east coast of the south island. Our plan for this part of the trip was to rent a camper van for three weeks to explore the south island. There were many options available on the internet, so being the thrifty travelers that we are, we reserved the smallest, most affordable van we could find. Well, they say you get what you pay for, and that definitely held true in this situation. We were a little concerned with the condition of the van and were not sure it was up to the trip, but after spending a week crossing mountain passes and rocky creek fords, we have grown rather fond of the old girl. So fond that we felt inspired to name her Oma Tui (Grandma Tui) – Tui is a beautiful melodic bird of New Zealand and the name of the rental company.

Here is our Ode to Oma Tui:

The Tui-Backpacker Sleeper Van company had prices that could not be beat,

“Oma Tui,” our van, was the oldest in the fleet.

She was the most “experienced” van on the road,

At 475,000 kilometers we were seriously concerned whether she could carry the load.

She had cataracts for sure,

As her cracked headlights cast barely a blur.

She had creaks in her joints and dents in her butt,

The doors squeaked and had to be slammed to stay shut.

Her get up and go and long since got up and went,

And her transmission was quite spent.

Even though the outside had gone to rust, she had a heart of gold,

If you could look past the worn upholstery, dust and mold.

After 20 years of transporting tourists and doing her best,

We hope that the Tui-Backpacker Sleeper Van Company will give her a well-deserved rest.

We spent a night in Christchurch and then headed to the mountains the next morning. Our first destination was Arthur’s Pass, several hours to the northwest. The narrow highway twists and turns as it climbs to the pass, putting Oma Tui to the test from day one. There are designated camping areas located throughout the country, several located along the road to the pass. They are not the most scenic campgrounds, but they are cheap compared to the private “holiday caravan parks”. We parked the van and explored the little settlement of Authur’s Pass and hiked to a beautiful waterfall. The weather was quite foggy and drizzly, but it added a sense of mystery to the dramatic mountain scenery.

The next day we took a long hike up the Bealey Spur Track. This was a lovey trail that climbs a long gradual ridge above the wide glacial valley. Even with the clouds the views were spectacular.

We then continued our journey over the other side of the pass and down to the west coast. We decided to put in two long driving days so that we would have time to do a backpack trip farther south in Mt. Aspiring National Park. We did take the time to stop to see the Franz Josef Glacier one afternoon. The trail was packed with tourist, but I guess that is to be expected. The 45 minute hike is the shortest route to get reasonable close to a glacier in the country. Due to the retreat of the glacier even ten years ago this used to be a 20 minute walk, but the ice continues to recede up the valley more and more each year.

We got up early one morning to hike to Lake Matheson to view Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman perfectly reflected to the still morning water. This is one of the classic post card view spots.

We staged for our backpack in Wanaka and then drove the hour plus route over washboard gravel roads and across numerous creek fords (Go Oma Tui!) to get to the trailhead to Mt. Aspiring. We hiked for the first two hours through a gorgeous mountain valley pasture, past grazing sheep and cows. We soon reached the national park and arrived at the Mt. Aspiring Hut. We tented outside the hut and enjoyed one of the best campsite views we had ever had.

From the valley floor the only options for hiking onward is up, and I mean really up. The first afternoon we hiked a couple of hours up towards the Cascade Saddle, but turned around before reaching tree line because it was getting late. The trail was good practice for the next day’s destination, Liverpool Hut, located about 2000 feet above the valley. It is hard to really call this a trail. Much of the route is literally climbing hand over foot, clinging to roots the branches to haul yourself vertically up the mountain. After much effort we finally reached this remote hut, perched on a shelf just below a glacier. The weather was perfect and the sights of the surrounding peaks were justly rewarding. That being said, going up was the easy part, going down was nearly paralyzing, but somehow we managed it with the “one hiking pole, one hand on the mountain, crouching on your butt” hiking method. We were quite relived to return to our tent in the valley.

From that adventure we drove several hours south to Queenstown to clean up and prepare for our first “Great Walk” – the Routeburn Track. We will report on that when we return….

From the Sea to the Mountains

Mt. Stirling

The alternate title for this post would be “Driving on the Left”. We picked up our rental car in Melbourne and headed north for the mountains… very cautiously. As I’m sure you are aware, the convention in Australia is to drive on the left; this should be so simple, but how nerve-wracking it truly is. It’s like trying to learn to drive all over again. Even a week later I was still turning the windshield wipers on when I just wanted to signal a turn. We did eventually get used to it and managed not to kill ourselves or any Australian motorists.

Our destination for the past week was the “Australian Alps”, a modestly mountainous region a couple of hours drive to the northeast of Melbourne. While certainly not of Alps stature, the area does sprout up some respectable peaks – the highest being just under 6000 feet. It was a beautiful drive though winding back roads, quaint mountain villages, and farmstead wineries. It was a large area to explore, so we settled on three hikes along the “Great Alpine Road”, all within the Alpine National Park. 

Our first hike was to Mt. Stirling. We spent the night before the hike in Mansfield, a quiet tourist town at the base of Mt. Buller – which is actually a ski resort – who knew. It was a long winding road up the mountain just to get to the trailhead. In the summer this is a big destination for mountain biking, with a whole maze of bike trails, which totally confuse the casual hiker. We never did really find the trail we planned to hike, but we did manage to climb Mt. Stirling and enjoyed a picnic lunch on top whole taking in the views.

Mt. Buffalo National Park

 Late in the afternoon we continued on our way to Mount Buffalo National Park, the second oldest national park in the country, created in 1898. The park encompasses an unusual massif rising out on the edge of the main mountain chains. It was another long and winding climb to the top of the plateau where we camped at the public campground. We spent a full day exploring this beautiful park… hiking to a historical mountain hotel, the “Chateau”, climbing to the top of Mt. Dunn, and capping of the day with a sunset hike to the highest peak known as “The Horn”.

Mt. Dune

Sunest from the Horn

View from the Horn

The next day was a non-hiking day – it sort of felt like a day off. We spent a relaxing day walking around the lovely little town of Bright. We walked along the river, taking in the local gold mining history, and waiting out heavy downpours drinking coffee in the numerous cafes.

Our big hike for the week was up Mt. Feathertop along the razorback ridge – about a 22 km jaunt. This is one of the most popular hikes in the park, and for good reason. The Great Alpine Road climbs to a pass at Mt. Hotham, another ski resort, and the trail to Feathertop takes off from this high point. The trail follows the crest of the ridge all the way to the top of this second highest peak in Victoria state. There are definitely some ups and downs, but the vertical gains and losses are quite modest.

Our biggest challenge with this hike was the weather. It had rained the night before and the weather had not really cleared by morning. We set off in a dense fog with our full winter attire – down coats, wind jackets and pants, hats, and mittens. The wind was roaring and at times you could only see a few yards up the trail. Luckily the clouds eventually lifted and we were rewarded with some outstanding views in all directions. However, by the time we made it to the top the clouds lowered again and we ate lunch in the fog. About half way back the wind picked up like crazy and we literally struggled to walk upright. It was easily hurricane force winds. We were very thankful to make it back to the car with no mishaps.

After that ordeal we were ready to take it easy for a couple of days. We headed out of the mountains to the coastal lakes district, an area east of Melbourne that forms the largest inter-water way system in the country. We camped by one of the largest lakes and enjoyed the return of sunshine and warm temperatures. A highlight was a visit to Raymond Island to see the koalas. This is a small island, only about 100 yards from the mainland, but you still have to take a ferry to get there. On the island is a captive population to koalas – they are wild, but they can’t get off the island, so it is easy to find them and take pictures.

Oh yeah, we did see kangaroos too – the night before as they wandered into our campsite. Unfortunately they were a little too far away to get a decent picture….

And that was about it. Tonight we reorganize and repack for New Zealand in the morning. We will report again when we find a decent internet connection. Ciao.

The Great Ocean Walk

The Vagabond Farmers blog lives on! We have missed a few trips over the past couple of years, but a two month exploration of Australia and New Zealand seemed worthy of a blog. 

We left NYC on February 12 destined for Melbourne - an incredible 21 hours of flight time. I still can't figure out this dateline thing; somehow we landed here two days after we left and when we return, we arrive back in New York about six hours after we leave Australia. Crazy as the time difference is, we really did not have much trouble with jet lag - I think the body was just too confused, so it just adjusted. And how weird to travel all that way and find everyone speaking English.

We spent the first two days catching up on sleep and exploring the parks of Melbourne. We found it to be a very comfortable and livable city. We spent an afternoon wandering through the botanical gardens and walked along the Yara River that flows through town.

Our first hiking destination was The Great Ocean Walk. The entire walk is 100 km. along the Victoria south coast. It is located about three hours southwest of Melbourne via train and bus. We opted to only do the western section, covering about 40 km in three days. We staged in Apollo Bay the day before starting to get provisions and arrange for transportation.

We hiked with full packs and camped at remote designated campsites located along the trail. The route parallels the coast, but meanders mostly high above the cliff-lined headlands, occasionally dropping to unspoiled beaches or heading inland through remnant stands of native forest.

It was so interesting to hike through ecosystems that at first glance seemed familiar, but then you realize you cannot identify any of the the trees or plants. And of course, there are all the bizarre birds and wildlife... parrots and cockatoos instead of seagulls, kangaroos and koalas instead of deer and raccoons. And oh yeah, then there are the snakes... lots of big poisonous ones - here's a shot of our first encounter with a four foot long Tiger snake. It is the species responsible for the most snake-bite fatalities in Australia. Fortunately, another hiker had spotted this one before we got to it, so we could keep a safe distance away. Amazing how every stick and root in the trail started to look like snakes after that. 

Here are a couple of shots along the route where it heads inland...

....back up above the cliffs...

....up some steps - actually a lot of steps....

..but what a view at the top; time for a break.

The Great Ocean Walk ends at the iconic feature of the 12 Apostles - a group of impressive sea stacks. The last day of the hike you can view them at each viewpoint on the trail as they get closer and closer.

Finally, you reach the end of the hike.... to be greeted by literally thousands of Chinese tourists and sightseeing helicopters circling overhead. The 12 Apostles are a major tourist attraction - the most popular in the area. It turns out that this was also Chinese New Years, and many Chinese come here for vacation. Most arrive by tour bus or rented car via the Great Ocean Road, rather than the Great Ocean Walk. Even though this is one of Australia's most popular hikes, we encountered very few people during the hike. The first night the camping area was full, but this was only about 20 people.; the second night there were only five of us in camp.

It was a great hike and a great introduction to Australia. We returned to Melbourne to clean ourselves up and plan the next destination... the "Australian Alps"!