hike – Page 3 – Steffi & Gerry: Trip around the World

Westcoast – Fox Glacier

We crossed the Southern Alps and drove along the west coast of New Zealand. Rainforests next to alpine mountains. Main goal for today was Fox Glacier. After a fatal accident and due to enormous retreats it is not possible anymore to access the glacier by foot. Only option would be a popular heli ride, but that’s over $450 and definitely not a very “green” option. The retreat of Fox Glacier is terrifying, not sure if our next generation will see anything at all from a glacier which once calved into the sea.

Before going to Franz Josef we did a nice walk around Lake Matheson.

Isthmus Peak / Blue Pools

Half-time! Wonderful, even relative hot weather. Time for a hike, especially in the Wanaka scenery. We got up early and hiked up till Isthmus Peak, a 5-hour-hike, 2.5 hours uphill to 1385m.a.s.l. Definitely worth the sweat, the scenery is magnificent, a 360° panorama with views on both Lake Wanaka and Lake Hāwea which makes scenic flights unnecessary.

View from Isthmus Peak Track on Lake Wanaka

Next stop was at the Blue Pools in Mount Aspiring National Park.

After a 10-minutes-walk to the pools we regretted not having our swimming outfits with us. On the way back to the parking lot we decided to use the chance for a jump into the fresh water, so we returned fully equipped. The water is really crystal-clear, and you might imagine, reeeally cold!

But too late to backtrack, especially considering our plan to use a “primitive” campground (no water, no power) for this night. Not a bad choice, the trade-off of comfort got payed back by much more wilderness feeling and a low price.

Milford Sound – Fiords, Sharks and a Hike

We joined a small group with Trips & Tramps. It’s a scenic drive to Milford Sound with some good photo stops, e.g the Mirror Lakes.

As written in the previous article, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world (up to 9 meter rain per year!). Travel guides write it basically rains every day. Might be a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea. However, we had a warm and cloudless day and a wonderful time cruising through the fiords. After spotting some seals we wondered if we could also view some dolphins. Well… no, but even better. Even the captain and the tour guide were surprised, as a tresher shark jumped out of the water – multiple times. Hard to believe, but we have the footage. Gerry’s theory: the beginning of a Sharknado!

The ride back to Te Anau had to be earned. We did the Key Summit Trail hike and enjoyed New Zealand’s alpine region. Well, that was a day, even to our (now very high) benchmarks! Thank you, land of Kiwis!

Mirror Lakes
Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Jumping Tresher Shark
Jumping Tresher Shark
Milford Sound Waterfall
Milford Sound
Trap for stoats and weasels
Key Summit
Key Summit

Magnetic Island – Koalas!

Captain Cook thought an island would disturb his compass. He was proven wrong later on, but the name remained: Magnetic Island, probably the main reason to stay for a while in Townsville. After a bumpy ferry ride we rented two rusty bikes and pedaled over some hills until we reached the trail head of the Forts Walk, which is famous for spotting koalas in their natural environment, as it is home of the largest free-roaming colony in the world. We saw four of those cute furry animals, which sleep around 14 hours per day. They also need 5 hours to relax… from their search to feed eucalyptus (gum tree) leaves.

Alma Bay
Scratch it!
“Zzzz!”
“Yawn!”
View from the fort
2 secs until wet feet…
Koalas everywhere!
Beach and bike
This really is a sh** car!
Castle Hill at dusk

Atherton Tableland (2/2) – Rainforest

From our bed & breakfast we had to drive till Townsville. In between, we did:
• Walked around crater lake Lake Eacham and saw a turtle
• Did the waterfall drive (Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa)
• Wandered in and above(!) rain forest at Mamu Tropical Skywalk
• Did nothing at Mission Beach (“Oops, still 3 hours till Townsville?!?”)
• Watched a vehicle parade of old-timers and tuned cars in Townsville

GORGEous spider walks in Karijini

Karijini National Park! Finally! One of the most expected highlights of the Western Australia part of our trip. What does it offer? Mainly amazing gorges – but not just viewpoints! You can basically hike into each of those many, many red gorges.

The Aussies use a scale of 1 to 5 for the severity of each hike. Luckily, even for a class 5 hike you don’t need to be Crocodile Dundee himself, just expect to climb some ladders and cross some ponds. Or should I say pool? Yes! Many gorges offer a natural swimming pool, and you’re absolutely invited to refresh yourself in the clean and clear water. Handrail Pool, Kermit’s Pool, Kalamina gorge / Rock Arch Pool. 3 x check.

Oh, one of those highlights involved a “spider walk” between the walls to reach the next point. Amazing.

The honest reviewer should also mention however that it is often a bumpy ride on unsealed roads. And today we used our fly masks for the first time before dinner, which we had prepared ourselves on the gas grills provided by the Karijini Eco Retreat, where we also parked our camper van for the night.

Karijini Eco Retreat Savannah Campground

Cape Range NP – Gorges and Snorkeling

We did short hikes into the Mandu Mandu gorge and Yardie Creek gorge (again, we did a suggested 2-hour, class 4 hike in under about 50 minutes). Sadly, we couldn’t spot any wallabies. To escape the hot temperatures (and the flies) we went snorkeling again, now at the Turquoise Bay where you are encouraged to do “drift snorkeling”: just walk a bit to the south, enter the sea, swim for maybe 20 meters and let the stream flow you over amazing coral reefs.

Kalbarri – Gorges and Kangaroos

On the way to Kalbarri National Park we spotted a few emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and frightened a kangaroo. Kalbarri NP is known for its gorges and stone structure forming a hole: Natures Window. We arrived just a few minutes before a coach with Chinese tourists. Our chance to do our mandatory “through the window” shots before it got crowded.

Other attractions in the park required a little bit of hiking – and guess what? Much less tourists and more time to actually enjoy the nature. Doing a “class 5” (out of 5) hike can be so rewarding. Close encounter with a kangaroo couple? Check.

In the afternoon we headed back to the coast and visited some points which we missed the day before. And we had a nice snorkeling time at a pristine sandy beach, almost for us alone. We returned to the same campground and enjoyed our private shower.