|
Tramping New Zealand |
DAY 10 - To Queenstown
All that Dave and I must do today is to travel back to Queenstown, return the rental car, and await the morrow.
I might have to purchase the tire that went flat, pending an "evaluation" by the company. Either way, they have my money at the moment.
After settling in, Dave and I walk the half-mile downtown to a
local cafe called Queenie's Dumplings, and eat some —
dumplings! I even have to ask for a fork.
Later on at the hostel, Bob MacArthur, a hydraulic consultant from Davis, repairs Dave's broken backpack with a pen knife and some zip ties. Then Bob and Dave share some wine while I work on this page. What a deal.
Dave watches Bob repair a strap that is ready to break
Tomorrow starts the real reason we came to New Zealand —
to tramp some of the Great Walks. At 8 a.m. a bus will whisk
us to the start of the Routeburn Track, a three-day venture with
two overnight stays at mountain huts. It's not as primitive an
outing as it might sound like, though; for these huts provide shelter,
cots, gas stoves, and potties. All that we must bring is food and
sleeping bags.
Of course, we also must be prepared for any kind of weather, which is projected to be pretty good for the duration of the upcoming tramp.
For lack of other photos, here is the rest of the History Walk from the city park in Wanaka:
