New Zealand: Tasman Region (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our time in the Tasman Region of New Zealand’s South Island. If you don’t keep up with our other social media outlets- Facebook page and Instagram account– Jay and I just celebrated a momentous day. Five years ago on September 5, 2015, Jay and I went on a camping trip and then returned as partners. This following post recalls an exciting but stressful point in our relationship, but it’s been something that has pushed us towards better communication, compassion, and empathy in our relationship.

In the last post we were hiking 31 miles while staying 4 nights on the Abel Tasman Great Walk. After the backpacking adventure along the northern coast of the South Island, we stayed one more night at Old Mcdonalds Farm Holiday Park and then got driving later in the afternoon the following day. That night we stayed at a DOC campsite near Lake Rotoiti called Teetotal Campsite. The sky was clear of clouds that night so the stars were visible in full force. The above photo is the result of Jay experimenting with the shutter speed on his Canon DSLR.

We stayed at this campsite for a few nights and started planning all the details for our next backpacking trip: hiking up to Angelus Hut at 5,400ft. with an elevation gain of 2,600ft. On October 24th we started hiking at 8am. Our packs were filled with layers; including hats, gloves, and rain gear for the inevitable snow.

The trail begins in a forested environment that eventually opens up to shorter trees and grassy hills that turn into rocky mountain sides once you reach speargrass hut. This hut would be our “Plan B” if the snow made the trek to Angelus Hut impassable or if either of us were unable to do the strenuous hike- when I say that I’m mainly speaking about me. Above Speargrass hut the trail weaves its way through an area that has flash flooded in the past and then crosses the valley stream a few times.

It was very precarious and cold crossing the stream in our bear feet. We had to be very careful not to fall in while crossing since we’d only be encountering colder temperatures from there on out. At a certain point the trail turns in to mainly gravel and sand making it hard not to scramble your way up. After scrambling we took a quick break to collect our selves and it began to rain. The time was about 3pm and we started to think that we still had a ways to go. We always knew that there was a chance that the weather would turn bad, and thats why we had our “Plan B”. I was starting to get tired and worried so while I rested longer, Jay hiked a bit farther to gauge how far we were from the snow line. Apparently we weren’t very far, so as we kept hiking and gained elevation, the rain turned into heavy wet snowflakes. By the time we were able to see the snow patches, I had become soaked in my rain gear, and of course Jay saw this as an opportune photo moment.

Once we reached the snow, the falling snowflakes subsided and the clouds began to part, offering us a beautiful view of the valley slopes and hills in the distance. To reach Angelus Hut the trail tops off at a ridge and then follows the ridge line down into a basin where the hut sits next to an alpine lake that is frozen during the spring time. Once we reached the ridge the clouds began to part even more and once the sun was able to peek through the clouds, a beautiful rainbow appeared making us so happy that we hadn’t decided to turn around.

After walking the ridge for a few minutes, Angelus came in to view. The trail was completely covered by snow and after gazing at the slope for awhile we realized that previous hikers had found an efficient and speedy way to get down to the hut. We took off our packs, sat down in the snow, put the packs on our laps, and slid down the slope like penguins- except we did it on our butts, not stomachs. Once we reached the hut we stripped off our wet clothing, that clung to our skin like adhesive, and sat down in front of the fire to eat one of our dehydrated meals and introduce ourselves to our fellow hikers. After eating we explored outside the hut and watched as a blanket of twilight covered the ridge in a cool blue hue.

That night we all brought mattresses out into the common area and surrounded the stove with them. It was so frigid that night. Even though I had layers of fleece accompanied by my 30 degree bag and my head a foot away from the stove- that I helped keep to during the night- I shivered the entire night and barely got any sleep. At 3am I had given up going to sleep and noticed that the sky had started to lighten up a small amount.

I quietly made my way out to the gear room to layer up and grab Jay’s DSLR. After scrambling up a ridge towards the direction of the rising sun, the valley and sunrise’s array of colors burst in to view. I’m not sure how many photos I ended up taking that morning, but I’m sure it was close to 100 that Jay had to sort through way later on once we had returned to New York. I played around with the settings so much to try to get the largest amount of oranges, pinks, blues, yellows and purples. Every few minutes I would just stand and stare with a feeling of stillness and calm bathing my senses at the beauty before me.

After watching the sunrise I made my way back down to the hut and tried to fill up our camelbacks through a hole in the ice that a fellow hiker had made. Because it was so cold the previous night, Jay and I decided to make our way back down to Speargrass hut and stay our second night there instead. The hike back down was a tad muddy at times from rain the previous night, but for once, hiking down was a lot easier than it had been hiking up.

We reached Speargrass Hut around noon because we had gotten hiking early since I had been fully awake by 4am in the morning. We ate lunch and wandered around the hut passing the time. Jay and I spent awhile hacking at a few logs with a subpar hatchet. With not much to do after chopping wood, Jay began taking loads of photos, experimenting with angles and settings, and ended up taking one of my favorite photos of me to this day. It captures the raw, gritty, and slightly sunburnt essence of a backpacker while also capturing the joy of being on an adventure.

Later in the afternoon a couple stopped by to eat lunch and get out of the rain that had begun. After they ate they got back on the trail up to Angelus Hut. Jay and I had warned them that the weather was forecasted to be getting worse as the day drew on. After a few hours, they reappeared because they had decided to stay the night. Jay and I began sleeping on the upper level of the sleeping area but ended up having to come down after the man from the couple had added more logs and made the upper level unbearably hot. That night I struggled to sleep- again- due to my sore aching body and the snoring echoing out of the man from the couple. The next morning, achy and groggy, I hiked back down to the car with Jay speeding ahead because he had gotten more sleep and because he generally hikes faster than me. By the time we reached the car I was pumped with adrenaline from the lack of sleep but knew that I needed to rest before driving. Jay began driving and I tried to rest.

Instead of resting, I ended up doing campsite research, driving navigation, and playing the occasional phone game. By the time it was my turn to drive I felt exhausted and way too tired to even think of driving, but I did. After driving for a bit, we stopped at a camping area to use the bathroom. As we were about to start driving again, I suggested we just stay there for the night. After trying to explain to Jay that I was too tired and that it would be best that we stay there instead of making him drive while also exhausted, I broke down and cried. I was starting to feel worn out from the trip, but knew it was mainly because I hadn’t really slept in 48 hours and had hiked several miles with a lot of elevation gain. We ended up staying there that night, but Jay and I were not on the best terms. It wasn’t one of our biggest fights, but it just felt so off between us, and was one of the most uncomfortable evenings of my life. To make things even worse- in the moment- the camp cat got between our tent and fly and tore holes in our tent.

The next morning, after we both were able to sleep well, everything started to feel better. We started driving again and eventually made it to the campsite we’d spend the next few nights at, another Macdonald campsite, called Otto/MacDonalds DOC Campsite. The next few days we’d be exploring the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, but that and our time in the West Coast Region of New Zealand’s South Island will be covered in the next post! Hope you enjoyed this adventure of trials and tribulations along with exciting moments of our backpacking trip up to Angelus Hut. Question for my readers: Where is the highest in elevation that you’ve camped or stayed at in a hut, and what is the most memorable memory from that experience? Thank you in advance for those who decide to answer with a comment below! See you next week.

Mahalo and Kia Ora!