Hiking Around Wanaka & Updates

The torrential rains here on the west coast of the South Island have been messing with our hiking plans.  Parts of Fiordland have received a meter of rain in only a few days.  This is one of the rainiest parts of the world, but even a meter of rain has people saying that it's been a wet few weeks.  Many tracks are closed due to infrastructure damage (to bridges, huts, and trails).  The Milford track, which we hope to tramp in the next few weeks, has sections drowned in waist-high flood waters.

We got lucky, with three dry days.  We did a short half-day hike around Diamond Lake to Rocky Peak, and then we did an overnight trip to Fern Burn Hut on the Motatapu Track.  Here are some pictures and comments:



Now, a few updates...

(1) I just posted a bunch of stuff I had written previously, while I was still staying up in the Coromandel.  Posts from here forward will be about the road trip...  so no more auto-posts while I'm away from the internet.  If nothing appears here for a week or two, it doesn't mean I'm dead.  Just means I'm playing outside!

(2)  With any luck at all, we'll take off for a multi-day tramp soon.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rains stay on the other side of the Southern Alps and the trails dry out.  Until next time...  onward and upwards, and happy trails!