Ken and Dave hiking the Rees-Dart
The second major trip for Dave's visit was a trip to Queenstown and then a tramp on the Rees-Dart. Sarah was taking a class during this time so she was unable to go with us. It was a shame not to have Sarah with us but it allowed for some good brotherly bonding...and more freedom with flatulence. We didn't have many quality pictures of us in Queenstown so this blog is going to focus more on our tramp. We will certainly be back to Queenstown again in the future and will be sure to give some highlights. It is a great town mixed with romance, crazy adventure, and something for everyone so it certainly deserves a posting of its own.
For our tramp we had to travel 45 minutes to Glenorchy by bus and then hop in a shuttle van that would take us to the trailhead. At first we were worried that our plans would fall through due to some recent rain fall in the area that was causing the Department of Conservation to place warnings to all trampers not to attempt to cross the streams. Our first day did include a lot of stream crossings not to mention a flooded trail. We hiked for the first 4 hours in our chacos due to the flooded trail. When we arrived at 25 mile creek we thought we would have to turn around and hike back out...the stream was high and the spot we were supposed to cross would have swept us down stream. but after poking around for a while we found a much safer place to cross and made it with little effort. From then on our trip was much dryer. We hiked up the Rees Valley on day one and crossed over to Dart Valley on the Second day. Spectacular views were everywhere and on both sides of the valley we saw and endless number of waterfalls flowing from the snow melt and Glaciers high above us.
Day 3 we climbed the Cascade Saddle. We passed Glaciers, angry birds, and plenty of side streams. It was a long and grueling hike but once we reached the top we realized we would have gone twice as far just to see the view. It was one of the most amazing views I have every seen in my life...I don't have words to describe it but anyone who has seen it can relate. the weather was perfect and offered a perfect setting to sit and enjoy. After spending 45 minutes at the top we turned around and hiked back to camp. then we made our first mistake. We decided to keep hiking on to the next hut. In total we hiked about 11 hours that day and were angry and tired near the end. We should have added a day so that we could have enjoyed ourselves. It was still a great day. the final day we followed the dart river out of the valley through forest and fields. it was relatively uneventful but a very enjoyable walk. Such a great trail!
the last 3 days of our week in queenstown we spent in the city relaxing, sight seeing, and doing some day walks. it was a great week and I look forward to going back and seeing more of the south island. I hope you all get to see it someday!
Ken is doing the traditional "Kiwi double fist pump". Dave is doing some kind of unusual double fist pump. I'm not sure where he learned that one from!
We climbed the Ben Lamond track which is overlooking Queenstown. It is an absolutely magical, panoramic view of all the surrounding mountains and lakes. The trail marker said it takes 8 hours return...we did it in 4! In your face Ben Lamond!
This picture is from the top of the Cascade Saddle. You can't tell from the picture but this side of the saddle is a huge cliff drop off. Possibly big enough to base jump off. If you ever get the chance to climb this...DO IT! it was absolutely amazing. Oh yeah! Dave was nearly pushed off the cliff by some birds that were dive bombing us!
