Trampers?

Tramper noun 1. a person who tramps 2.  New Zealand, a person who walks long distances, often over rough terrain, for recreation

If you day-hike for ten days in a row, does that make you an official New Zealand tramper? Probably not. But considering we’re more than double the age of most people we met at the summits—and given our final ascent of Ben Lomond (a 4,734ft gain that put us well above the clouds)—we are smugly bestowing the honorary title upon ourselves anyway.

It’s been quite a week on the South Island. We kicked things off by lunching with Kea birds and hiking Arthur’s Pass in the driving rain.

The weather could only improve from there—and as we headed southwest, it did.

Feeling bold, after completing Robertson’s multi-suspension bridge track, we decided to break out our tent for the first time in over a decade. And you know what? Camping at the White Horse Campground under the watchful eye of Aoraki Glacier (Mt Cook) was a true privilege. So, too, was conquering the Mueller Hut Track—all 2,200 steps and 3,609ft of elevation gain.

Between the moonlit night over our “tiny nylon house,” the good morning lupines, and the snow, it was nothing short of wondrous.

We had moved seamlessly between glaciers, rainforests, and beaches on the west coast. So, you can imagine our surprise when we hit a double-header of sheep-traffic jams near Wanaka. To think we thought New York City had a gridlock problem!

Now that we’ve finally gotten all that tramping out of our system, the question is: what—or rather who—is next?

Last Remarks

• Many thanks to Gerty’s rescue squad, Phil, and Jacqui SV Skylark. I can’t believe we left a hatch open—You are our saviors!
• Cheers to meeting friends in far-off places! It was great to share dinner with Joren, Simone (sv Vlinder), and their daughter Kika in Fox Glacier.