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Tramping New Zealand |
DAY 5 - Rob Roy Glacier
It's a perfect day outside this morning — the best
yet. Over at the Big Fig, though, I am told that I need
cash because their card-device isn't working. Well,
I don't have any of that; so I head off in the car to find an
ATM, finally locating one just two doors down from the coffee
house — in the other direction.
I order my coffee ($2.70 U.S., no refill), then discover that their Internet service is down as well. By the time I finish my little log, however, order has been restored.
Today's venue is touted in the brochures as the
Best Half-Day Tramp in New Zealand. By now
Dave and I know that 'Half-Day' means half a day for
youngsters, but a full day for us. Someone's thinking
seems geared to a 20-mile standard for a typical hiker,
yet I never have done that long a day-hike in my life.
The access road
It's forty-five minute drive out of town past the turnoffs for two of our previous outings; then the "sealed road" ends and the washboards commence for the next 18 miles. One brochure had issued a dire warning about having to cross rivers and whatnot; but we must try it anyway.
As predicted, half a dozen small fords are encountered, but
nothing is more than about four inches deep; so even this
non-off-road-worthy vehicle of ours can handle it.
The greater problem is the washboards themselves, which
occasionally slow us down to as little as ten miles per hour.
The trailhead parking lot is full
Map of our walk
They don't call them trails here, but tracks. Does that make this place a trackhead?
Traversing a big meadow
Shortly after starting out, I opt to stash my walking stick beside a remote bush. This route being so popular, how bad could it be?
West Branch Makutituki River
This man drowned while saving his son's life
You can read more about it here:
<nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article>
End of the easy strolling
We just came from there
Fun stuff ahead
Looking up the valley
Now we're following the Rob Roy Stream
No rocks are encountered today
Preview of coming attractions
It is a thousand-foot climb through deep forest to the Lower Lookout.
Rob Roy Glacier. Note the waterfall in front
Along with many others, we pause here for a snack. Should we continue upward? Of course! The signpost says that it's just another 30 minutes, but we know better.
The view gets better, and better
This is why I go hiking
Photographs really fail me here, mostly because we're staring directly toward the sun. In view are a dozen waterfalls of various shapes and sizes.
One of many
A pretty unusual tattoo, for a man
Off to the right is another section with its own grouping of waterfalls. A trail heads over toward it, but most hikers are content to stop right here.
Basking in the warm sun
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One almost hates to leave this place, but it has to happen.
Starting back
Rob Roy Stream
Along the trail the late-season flowers are, as previously mentioned, quite familiar: dandelions, clover, and thistles. I had expected to encounter a lot of new varieties, as was the case in Italy; but nothing has caught my eye as yet.
St. John's Wort
The hard stuff is nearly over
Makutituki River
The Swinging Bridge was built in 1987
and renovated in 2013
I stop to retrieve my walking stick. Someone actually has moved it, but at least it was left there for me.
The end is in sight
§: What a great walk! Some alpine scenery
at last. This one has lived up to its hype as the best
shorter hike in the country.
The drive back seems to take forever; for the wash-boarded
road seems worse than on the way in. I for one am quite pleased
to be done with it. It was in a great cause, though.
Back in town, Dave and I immediately stop at the supermarket.
I am resolved to have but a salad for dinner, to which I will add a can
of flavored tuna. Dave says that he never has made a tuna salad;
but he cuts up my veggies anyway, while preparing a concoction of
curry-flavored chicken and cabbage for himself. The salad is
delicious, but will the left-over ingredients last another day?
My phone-calling software hassles me for a time over passwords and
the like; but it finally lets me call home at nearly 11 p.m.,
Sacramento time. My sweetie informs me that all is well excepting
one thing: no photos have been posted of me. Dave resolves to
rectify that oversight tomorrow.
The sidewalk in the Wanaka city park features a history lesson of sorts with a long series of sponsored flagstones. Here is the 16th century in a nutshell:
