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….