First Fish, Big Hike!!!

Chad Post:  

Friday

I finally get the stripe off my back!!!  We start our morning with a nice breakfast and head up the road to Milford.  Although our tire is a little low, I pump it all up and away we go.  We drive up the winding road in search of the Earl Mountain Track walkwire.  A walkwire is a river crossing that consists of three wires, two for hands and one for your feet…very bouncy and very fun….it would be scary but it was not too high above the river.  

Kristie on the Walkwire

Anyhow after the walkwire we bushwhacked up the river a little ways and ripped streamers down through the pools.  I was excited when I got a bump, then Bam…fish on….It was a small eight inch 'bow.  So at that rate I am paying 20 NZD per inch of trout I've caught (or approximatly $200 per pound), but I've finally got the monkey off my back, in my defense I haven't fished much.  So it’s about 1 o’clock and we’ve had a successful day.  

Chad about to hook his first 'bow

Chad conquered the walkwire...but, where are the pictures!?

Walkwire…Done…Trout…Done….Hike…..let’s go hike Marian Lake.  1200-foot vertical straight up like the New Zealand norm. 

Beginning of the hike is along a raging river of glacial melt-off

We get to an alpine valley that is absolutely stunning.   

Lake Marian, Firodlands area South Island, NZ

We leave everyone and walk the extra mile to the end of the lake and we are by ourselves!!!  The water is incredibly clear, there are waterfalls everywhere that disappear into the ground and come up from underground springs into the lake.  

Going the extra mile, literally. :)

Sun's setting. Time to start our descent!

Classic Chad & Kristie Pose

Chaos & Karma at their best

There are no fish, it is too cold and not stocked, but the scenery is incredible.  On our way down we run into a Japanese couple lost off the trail; we were off the trail as well.  We get back on the trail and all hike down together.  It is interesting to hear their travel stories, they are traveler/workers…meaning they work a bit and travel a bit.  They tell us how lucky we have been with the weather.  It’s been perfect the entire way.  They were in Frans Josef waiting to hike to the glacier for two weeks, and for two weeks it rained and the trail was closed…so for two weeks they sat and waited and worked and never even got to see the glacier.  Our trip has been nothing but hitting it right!!!  We get down the mountain, the tire looks good so we go find a campsite.  We find a site with five other vehicles. The sun is setting and the valley is aglow. The mountains loom beneath a cotton candy sky with gold-stained fields laid at their feet. Everything is quiet.

The sunset from our campsite

Looking north (I think)

Kristie sets up the van and I trudge through the bog to get to the river, rip streamers going down three pools and throw a stimulator on the way up each pool…no fish…no looks…I didn’t even see one, but the water was incredibly cold, they may be down river.…A Chinese duo tried to get a fire going and failed sooooooooooooo what do we do?  Big Amercian outdoors-people of course, we get that baby roaring.  Gather wood and stoke it up.  Then we get accompanied by a German couple and a French couple.  We have a fun night of conversation. All in all it was a great day!!!