(written on the 11th from notes)
The day started off with an update on the news and spending a fair amount of time working on my journal catch-up efforts.
I’m a little frustrated with myself for getting behind again. There’s no reason for it other than constant overload and the resultant continual effort to escape the internal overload.
I want to be able to do hard things again.
I used to attack challenges head on, fight through it with passion and strength.
I’ll get back there.
After getting one journal entry posted, I decided to head out and go explore a little bit. I realized that I had missed a few Lord of the Rings filming locations that I had passed on my way in, so I decided to check them out just for fun on my way out.
So after recrossing several fords, as I made my way down the road south in the direction of Glenorchy, I started pulling over to take in each of the viewpoints shown on Google Maps.
The first stop was labeled “Gandalf’s approach to Isengard,” which makes perfect sense, as I remember stopping off at the Isengard overlook near where the Dart River enters Lake Wakatipu last trip with Chase.
The second and third stops were at the forest’s edge at the base of Mount Earnslaw, where I guess scenes for Lothlorien were filmed.
It was beautiful forest, the thick overhead canopy of the towering trees significantly reducing the undergrowth, making it feel more open, similar to the forest by Harwoods Hole up north.
I decided to drive from there over to the Earnslaw Burn Track, the hike that led to the most memorable view in all of New Zealand for me last time (a hike that was also the most painful of my life, at last for the last several kilometers, with my knees hurting so badly that I sometimes tried to walk backwards to reduce the pain, even the tiniest of down steps causing stabbing pain.).
The track’s dirt/grass car park was jam packed, overflowing onto the sides of the dirt road. 😶
Pretty sure it wasn’t anywhere near that packed last time.
I’d like to do the hike again, maybe over two days this time, but after the impromptu 10 miler yesterday, my body having been right on the edge physically since, I don’t fancy being down for multiple days in a row with migraines. Not to mention my water filter bottle isn’t working properly (which means I’d have to carry all my water on my back), my food stores lack sustenance suitable for long hiking trips, and I don’t have a tent to spread out the grueling hike.
And I don’t know if the sign was there last time, but I guess you’re not allowed to camp anywhere in the red, which severely limits the good places to camp. 🙃
I thought the road to the car park was the same road that led over to Rees Valley, but it wasn’t. That being my next destination, I backtracked down the dirt road and then over toward Rees Valley (the next river valley over).
The road led up and along the side of the mountain, overlooking the river valley below and was surprisingly well maintained.
And the views were stellar. 😍
It seems a regular occurrence when I go up new river valleys that find myself wondering if this is my new favorite spot.
Wonderful problem to have. 🙃
Periodically, there were fords to cross, some that were a little technical, but none that were of any significant concern, and of course I stopped here and there, as per usual, to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. 😁
Stunning, make-me-smile views. ☺️
The last ford I crossed ended up being a bit more adventurous than I expected. The water was deeper than the other Fords, but I didn’t think it was as deep as apparently it turned out to be.
As the nose of my van went down the riverbank and plunged into the water, I saw a wave of water roll up onto the hood. 😶
To which my response was to immediately cut off the engine, so as not to suck water through my intake and into my cylinders, which could easily waterlock the engine (ruin it by bending, even grenading piston rods).
Gratefully, I had just enough momentum to roll up the other bank and perch at the top.
I had definitely shut the engine off in time to prevent damage. The question was how much water had gotten where it shouldn’t.
So I popped the hood and was surprised to find not a single drop of water had gone into my intake!
How? 🙃
With water going up over my hood… my intake is below my hood.
But hey, I’m not going to argue. 🙃
I figured that it was likely that I had gotten enough water in the engine to mess with the spark plugs and coils like had happened twice over at Lake Tekapo, but with no water in the intake, I figured I might as well fire up the engine and just let the misfire symptoms present themselves if they showed up, and I would deal with them then.
The old girl fired up just fine, and I drove maybe a couple hundred more meters before realizing I was at the end of the line.
The land was private property, but the owners had given permission for people to use it, provided they didn’t hunt, build fires, or camp. I think maybe there were some tourist tents or something at the far side of the valley, as there were a whole bunch of horses, and I’d seen a lot of horse poop on the road on the way in. I also saw what looked like a handful of heavy duty tents and a small group of people walking from the direction of the horses and tents down to the river for a quick dip.
As for me, I didn’t take a dip. I snapped some pictures and then mostly just sat inside my van enjoying the view, journaling, catching up on the news, and… avoiding the sandflies. 🙃
Oh, I also scouted out the river crossing again, hoping to find a better place to cross, and gratefully, I found a much wider spot where the river was quite shallow. 🙏
As the evening wore on, I hopped out of my van, braving the sand flies, and snapped more pictures, some from down by the part of the river where people had been taking a dip, and some from the riverbank where I had been parked.
Such a beautiful vista to just stare at. ☺️
The lateness of the hour combined with my desire to find a toilet and avoid having to use Micro John, if possible, prompted my departure.
Gratefully, I didn’t have the tiniest issue crossing the new spot I had discovered, and with none of the other fords posting any real concern, I was home free. 🙏
I was happy to find a long drop just a little bit down the road, and surprised to see my first wild deer of my entire New Zealand experience!
I’ve probably seen thousands of stock deer but no wild deer, this one a buck with maybe a medium-sized rack.
Cool. 😊
I snapped a handful more pictures before descending the last hillside down to the flat terrain.
As I was driving back, I saw a hiker walking along the dirt road. She (Mary, from France) turned out to be the same hiker with whom I’d briefly chatted while parked at the side of the river at the end of the road. I asked her if she was ok, as she’d been walking all day. She asked where I was headed, and we were going basically the same direction, at least for a little while, so she hopped in, as she was still about 10 kilometers from her destination and had already been walking for something like 10 or 12 hours.
I ended up giving her a ride all the way to Glenorchy, as our paths would have diverged with her still needing to go another seven-plus kilometers, and since it was only going to take me 10 minutes out of my way, it seemed like the nicer thing to do.
After dropping her off, I debated whether or not to try going up the other canyon that I had on my list, and after looking it up and seeing that it was a relatively short drive, I decided to head on up, despite the lateness of the hour.
I stopped to take pictures on the side of the road in a couple of different places, the viewpoint to Isengard from the south. 🙃
Such a beautiful view. ☺️
And some other pictures…
Funny enough, after having seen my first deer probably less than an hour before, I saw a wild doe on the drive up Routeburn Road to the Routeburn Trailhead. 🙃
At the end of the road, I found a pretty view, a waterfall on the mountainside in the distance, and a river running beside the road.
It was late, so shadows dominated the mountainous landscape, but I still snapped a handful of pictures.
Though beautiful, the scenery was not so stunning that I felt I would need a return trip at a sunnier hour of the day, so I had no qualms about calling it a day.
The next question was simply where to sleep for the night. There was a freedom-camping spot only a handful of kilometers away from me on the west side of the lake, so I figured I’d check it out.
Unfortunately, when I got there, it was pretty much full. I possibly could have squished in at the very end of the row a little awkwardly, but I just… wasn’t feeling it, so I made the drive all the way back to Chinaman’s Bluff, where I’ve been staying for the last two nights.
And what do you suppose I saw on the drive back?
Yup! A large buck with an impressive rack.
After not seeing a single deer over the more than 6 months of my life that I’ve spent in New Zealand up to this point, I saw three just tonight. 😊
It was nice to roll back into an empty camping area. Apparently, very few people come this way, despite it being relatively easy access.
But that’s just fine by me. 🙃
I was a little concerned about the rules for how many nights I could stay, but there weren’t any signs at all that I saw entering the little car park turnaround area, and there weren’t any restrictions that I could find listed on the CamperMate description.
Hopefully, I’m good. 😅
After newsing, journaling, and veging, my eyes got heavy, and I called it a night.
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 