Friends Don and Rebecca joined me, or perhaps the other way around, for a few weeks of roaming around the South Island. We left Wellington on a early morning ferry and hooned down to Glenorchy by way of Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, and Queenstown. We had a wild start actually, as I forgot one important bag (with food and some tramping gear) back at Cecile and William’s house. Lucky for us Cecile was kind enough to race down to the ferry terminal in under 15 minutes (still in her pajamas, with Minette by her side!) and bring me the bag. From there we drove all the way to Lake Tekapo, where we camped, and then drove all the next day to Glenorchy.

The following day we started the Rees-Dart track which would take us through wide open valleys, over mountain passes, past some glaciers, and through moss-covered forest. We had five days of beautiful sunshine for this tramp, when I had been bracing for rain, rain, and more rain. Don and Rebecca might have had the wrong idea about New Zealand weather if it had not been for the rain and snow to catch up with us later…