IN THIS EDITION…

• Update from the base
• What's new
• Staff profile - Dan
• Feature trip - Hollyford Track
• Have you had a memorable adventure in NZ?

Update from those left at base over the winter

We are all struggling to believe that it is now August here at the base. That is by no means a reflection on the weather! It has most definitely been winter here in Christchurch – fantastic for all the skiers and snow boarders.

Glenys Erskine has been making the most of her weekends and heading up to the various ski fields in Canterbury. Juanita one of our guides has been joining her most weekends, in fact that could be a bone of contention seeing Juanita only turned her hand to skiing last year and is already cutting some pretty impressive tracks on the ski field.
André Booth has been staying a little closer to home as he and his partner await the arrival of their first baby in the next few weeks.
Mark Brabyn enjoyed his time lecturing to the tourism students at Waikato University and was impressed with the level of discussion from the students.
Daniel Murphy features in our staff profile this newsletter so what more can we say. It has certainly been a good winter for Daniel as he now owns his first horse. We will be putting in some restrictions on riding over the peak summer season as we can’t afford for Daniel to take a fall.
Anne Murphy is quietly getting a little nervous about speaking at the Backpack New Zealand conference. She was taking it all in her stride until she discovered the Prime Minister will be speaking as well.
Chris Steel also deserves a mention, although not technically at the base, Chris has been pounding the streets of London meeting with our various UK based agents. Chris will also be meeting some of our existing European agents as well as potential new agents. The stories of sunshine and summer are not always welcomed at the office.

Hiking New Zealand team

What’s new

New brochures – the new Great Hikes and Adventures brochure is out now. There has been the inclusion of some great new tours in this brochure, including Kayaking in Abel Tasman, the Kaikoura Wilderness Walk and the Ultimate Explorer. Order now.
The new Safari brochure saw the Eastern Epic Safari back on the departures list. The Eastern Epic is a favourite amongst the guides and many of our clients. As it is the most challenging of our safaris the numbers are not as high as many of the other safaris. But some decisions have to be made about stunning locations and client experiences rather than financial return.

Dusky Track – we have had requests to run the Dusky Track Expedition again this summer. It is such a gorgeous remote location and those that went last summer enjoyed it so much we have decided to put on another departure for this summer. Check it out on our website, or there is a video clip on the Hiking New Zealand Facebook Group page. Whilst you are on the Facebook page check out the new Secret South Safari video.

Lonely Planet – is now offering links through to Hiking New Zealand on their New Zealand Travel Services pages. We were thrilled to be approached by Lonely Planet, as like many people travelling the globe we have used their trustworthy guidebooks. What is included in the New Zealand Guidebook is completely separate to their website so please do remember to send them an email or postcard letting them know we deserve a great mention in the book. Of course the same goes for Rough Guide, Lets Go etc.

New look website – watch this space. We are in the midst of redesigning our website. Don’t worry we will be keeping all the valuable content the same we just want to give it a fresh new look. Thanks to many of our past clients who have sent us some stunning images, some of which will be going up on the new site.

Profile
Daniel - Guide / Director / Horseman

Daniel has been with Hiking New Zealand since 2000. His guises are about as long as his guiding career, some may remember him with long curly locks or more recently with that terrible homespun woolly hat of his! Noted for early expeditions into nude rock climbing, he also likes to champion that he was one of the companies best joke tellers in his time. He has amassed quite a repertoire due to his brilliant memory and many days in the hills. Daniel has a top ten jokes of all time so a free t-shirt to the first person who can get Dan to tell his all time number one joke – it will leave you in stitches!

Dan started off at the company as a guide, then Operations Manager, and has since bought into the company with his wife Anne. Having a couple of children has not slowed him down and although he’s hung up his rugby boots he trains and competes in multi-sport events, orienteering and is often seen trotting around on his horse. His hiking boots certainly last a lot longer than they used to but he is always eager to get out into the hills whenever the opportunity arises.

Feature trip - Hollyford Track
Glenys joins a group on the Hollyford Track

Day 1: The day begins early, (6.40 am actually) as you are picked up from your accommodation and head off to the first stop for coffee and muffins in Te Anau. This is also where we meet our guide, Chris. His opening statement to us all is about the evolution of webbed feet in Fiordland National Park and in particular in the Hollyford Track. Thoughts run through your head like, “what are we in for and what does he know that we don’t?”

We arrive at the start of the track after a quick stop in at the historic Gunn’s Camp at the beginning of the Hollyford Valley. Packs are strapped to our backs, wet weather gear is handy and we head off. We walk through beech forest to the sounds of NZ birdlife. On the left hand side of the valley we catch glimpses of snow capped mountains and on the right hand side of the valley we pass an array of waterfalls as they cascade down the mountains to join the Hollyford River. Chris makes well timed stops along the way and has us eating red berries, listening for how the water is transported to the tree tops and pointing out lots of fauna and flora of which most of the Latin names have now gone from this brain of mine.

Lunch is at Sunshine Hut which is definitely well named as we are shrouded in sunshine. A fresh cup of tea is brewed and all is well with the world and our group of eight. We have a quick check of the feet and so far no webbing between the toes and I am now thinking about sunscreen.
The waterfalls seem to be getting bigger and more spectacular as we head west. At the start of the track the cameras are flashing away but by the end of the day we are almost becoming a little blasé. There are so many special places on this first day of hiking. Up and over Little Homer Pass, 120m above sea level is the high point of the track. Then it is down to Pyke River Lodge.

We are greeted by friendly staff, cool drink and hot showers. This is bliss and certainly a great way to go hiking in NZ. Three courses of local cuisine, which is very good. The BBQ vension steak is delicious. After some good conversation and a chance to feed eels and see glow worms, we all are off to our beds.

Day 2: We awake to rain and lots of it and a thought that I should check those feet again as I figure some webbing between the toes might come in very handy today, not to mention a snorkel. After a hearty breakfast we are off to check out Lake Alabaster and are told stories of Davey Gunn. He was an early pioneer who tried his hand at beef farming in this remote valley and then turned his hand to tourism and was the founder of the ‘Hollyford guided track’.

We have an hour out and about splashing through puddles, checking out the “Demon Trail” (a small part of the freedom walk), and soaking up the atmosphere before we take all our packs to the jet boat and board this powerful boat to join the Hollyford River and Lake MacKerrow. As we approach the river you can tell there has been a huge amount of rain over night as the colour of the river is a mud brown and there are a number of floating logs and branches in the swollen river. After an hour, with some careful manoeuvring by a very skilled driver we are deposited at the top end of Lake MacKerrow, where we splash through more puddles and wade through knee high streams. With weather like this, it really is Fiordland National Park at its best. Waterfalls are crashing down from sheer rock faces and the trees seem ‘greener’ and the mosses are alive and dancing with colour and movement with the rain that is coming down from above. Surprisingly the birds still sing their hearts out.

Our destination is Martins Bay Lodge but first we have to negotiate a couple of swollen streams and of course be immersed in rich West Coast Rainforest with towering Podocaps. Lunch and a hot cup of tea were very welcome.
After lunch we put on our wet weather gear again and we are off to visit a nearby fur seal colony. To get there we cross the estuary by boat as the usual route was flooded. After about 1½ hours we reach the northern part of Fiordland National Park to a place called Long Reef. It seems a busy day on the reef today with many pups and their mums loitering about.

Day Two finishes with a hot shower, another three course meal and relaxing by a roaring fire - another day in paradise.

Day 3: Awake to overcast skies and the occasional rain shower but this is nothing compared to yesterday.
A heart warming breakfast and then it is across the estuary again to Martins Bay and the true West Coast Beach.

I love the history here. The South Coast Maori were here for food and possibly greenstone collecting. Following them were the early pioneers – Mackenzie’s and Davey Gunn. We have lots of inspirational musing from our guide about these incredible people. They had to put up with dramatic and changeable weather conditions, bush that was determined to hold its ground, the loneliness of this place, millions of sandflies and then the occasional tourist in the latter years.

To finish our Hollyford experience we walk for a couple of hours down the beach. Time to think about the landscapes we have seen, the experiences we have had and all the fun and enjoyment. Sadly it is time to prepare for life back behind the computer in the ‘real’ world.

One final adventure awaits us as after lunch - we board our flight back into Milford Sound. This flight is stunning as you fly down this Sound with it sheer rock walls and thundering waterfalls. Our bus awaits and then it is homeward bound, with feet intact and no webbing! You leave behind awe-inspiring scenery and great people but you take with you a lifetime of memories and of course a desire to go back the next chance you get.

If you, like Glenys, have had an adventure that has been firmly planted in your memory, tell us about it. Published stories will win a Hiking New zealand merino.

Send your link to us at info@hikingnewzealand.com