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| Prologue | Diary | Route Maps |
Evan Hunter, 4 Feb - 8 Mar 2003
The South Island of New Zealand is an amazingly beautiful place, and great for hiking! I especially liked the mountains (Australia has no mountains with permanent ice), and the cool temperate rainforests. I spent 32 days in the south island. I had intended to see the whole south island, but after my first tramp I decided to skip the northern part to give me more time for other tramps. I'm sure I could have easilly spent five times as long there as I did, but unfortunately I only had 5 weeks off work. I packed quite a lot into the time I had however, spending 19 of the days hiking various trails, covering over 250km. More.... 
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| Prologue | Planning & what I took |
| 4 Feb | Arrived Christchurch 2:30pm local time (3 hour flight from Sydney) and explored Christchurch a little |
| 5 Feb | Explored Christchurch - visited Antarctic experience, and Gondola and the botanic garden. |
| 6 Feb | Took the Tranzalpine train to Greymouth, then the Bus back to Arthurs Pass village (amazing scenery) |
| 7 Feb | Started the Harman Pass Tramp, Stayed in Carrington Hut |
| 8 Feb | Harman Pass Tramp Day 2, Stayed in Julia Hut |
| 9 Feb | Harman Pass Tramp Day 3, Stayed in New Seven Mile Hut |
| 10 Feb | Harman Pass Tramp Day 4, Hiked out via 4WD track Stayed in Arthurs Pass - Mountain House Hostel |
| 11 Feb | Climbed Avalanche peak Stayed at Mountain House Hostel |
| 12 Feb | Bus back to Christchurch, shopping, etc. Stayed at Rolleston House YHA |
| 13 Feb | Bus to Mount Cook Village, Day walk out to Mueller and Hooker Glaciers, Stayed at Hermitage Chalet |
| 14 Feb | Mueller Hut Tramp day 1, Stayed at Mueller hut |
| 15 Feb | Mueller Hut Tramp day 2, Scenic Flight, Bus to Queenstown Stayed at Lakeview Holiday Park (tent) |
| 16 Feb | Started Rees-Dart Track, Stayed at Shelter Rock Hut |
| 17 Feb | Rees-Dart Day 2, Skipped Dart Hut, extreme wind and rain Stayed at Daleys Flat Hut |
| 18 Feb | Rees-Dart Day 3, Hiked out to Chinamans Bluff. Stayed at Lakeview Holiday Park (tent) |
| 19 Feb | Shopping, washing, etc, in Queenstown. Stayed at Lakeview Holiday Park (tent) |
| 20 Feb | Bottom Bus to Dunedin, Stayed at Dunedin Central Backpackers |
| 21 Feb | Bottom Bus to Invercargill, via Catlins, Stayed at Southern Comfort Hostel |
| 22 Feb | Plane to Stewart Island, Day walks around Oban, Stayed at Innes Place |
| 23 Feb | Walked around Ulva Island, Plane back to Invercargill, Bottom bus to Riverton Stayed at The Globe |
| 24 Feb | Bottom Bus to Te-Anau, via Manapouri Stayed at Lakefront Backpackers |
| 25 Feb | Bus to Te-Anau Downs, Boat to start of Milford Track Stayed at Glade House |
| 26 Feb | Milford Track Day 2, Walked along Clinton River, Stayed at Pomplona Lodge |
| 27 Feb | Milford Track Day 3, Crossed Mackinnon Pass, saw Sutherland Falls. Stayed at Quintin Lodge |
| 28 Feb | Milford Track Day 4, Walked along Arthur River to Milford Sound. Stayed at Milford Lodge |
| 1 Mar | Milford Sound cruise, Bus to Te-Anau, Stayed at Lakefront backpackers |
| 2 Mar | Started Kepler Track. Stayed at Luxmore Hut |
| 3 Mar | Kepler Track Day 2, Stuck in Luxmore Hut with track closed due to high wind Stayed at Luxmore Hut |
| 4 Mar | Kepler Track Day 3, Hiked through snow, skipped Iris Burn Hut, 34km walk. Stayed at Moturau Hut |
| 5 Mar | Kepler Track Day 4, Hiked out to control gates, Bus to Queenstown Stayed at Southern Laughter Hostel |
| 6 Mar | Jet Boating, Bungee Jumping in Queenstown, Stayed at Southern Laughter Hostel |
| 7 Mar | Kiwi Experience Bus to Christchurch Stayed at Rolleston House |
| 8 Mar | Visited Museum, Departed Christchurch 3:30pm Air New Zealand Flight NZ183 Arrive Sydney 5:00pm (flight time 3.5 hours) |
Email me your comments or questions: evan@ozhiker.com
Updated 16/1/04