You will think I am kidding when I tell you this, but the desire to travel to the Southern Hemisphere began when I was watching cartoons as a child.  One character or another would furiously dig a hole in the ground, going deeper and deeper, until they would pop out upside down in China.  Always China.  One day I looked at a globe of the world and realized this was incorrect.  If I were to dig a hole straight down from where I lived, Michigan in the U.S.A., through the center of the Earth (never mind the heat), I would end up somewhere Southwest of Australia, out in the Indian Ocean.  Since I can only tread water for so long, Australia came to symbolize for me the "other side of the world".  It was as far away as I could go, without venturing off into space, and must be as exotic as any place can be.

When I became an adult (or at least got a lot older), I came to be aware just how big Australia was, and realized it would take a long time to see even a small fraction of it.  For this reason, New Zealand began to have more appeal, as it seemed a more manageable size for exploring.  I could conceivably cover the highlights in one trip, though even that would require about 2 months of time.  Still, I didn't want to fly all that way without seeing something of Australia, so I picked three spots there to visit at the beginning of my trip.

I began this excursion in mid-January of 1999.  One of the things I had to keep in mind is the way in which some of my notions get turned around in that part of the world.  While it was Winter when I left home, it would be summer when I touched down in Sydney.  And the further South I traveled in that region, the longer the days would get and the cooler the average temperatures.

My first stop was Tasmania, located off the Southeast corner of the main continent of Australia.  My goal was to hike a famous trail there called the Overland Track.  This path goes for 50 miles North-to-South through Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair national parks.  I had excellent weather and enjoyed almost continuous views on the Northern half of the Track.  The plantlife and animals were satisfyingly exotic.  I had only allowed for a week in Tasmania, and wish I could have explored more.

My next destination was Uluru in the "Red Centre" of the Australian Outback.  The first day I hiked the short "Valley of the Winds" trail at Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).

The next day I took a bus tour to a nearby site called Kings Canyon.  And on my third day there I walked the perimeter track around Uluru (Ayers Rock).  This monolith stands out so dramatically from the otherwise flat landscape, it is easy to understand why the local aborigines, the Anangu, consider it sacred.


My last stop in Australia was the town of Cairns on the Northeast coast.  I wanted to do some snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and had made arrangements to stay out on Fitzroy Island.  Unfortunately, I didn't have an underwater camera so I can't share with you the bright colors and the amazing creatures that inhabit the reef.  All I have is this parting shot of Fitzroy.  And then I was leaving Australia and heading to New Zealand.

My first destination in New Zealand was to the South Island and the city of Queenstown.  The "Adventure Capitol" offers bungy jumping, rafting, jet boat rides, and other thrills.  For me, it was a base to start my first hike in New Zealand, the Routeburn Track, which was probably my favorite.  I had clear weather and the scenery was spectacular, with the track staying above treeline much of the way to permit one to enjoy the views.


My next stop was the town of Te Anau, located on the Southeast shore of a large lake of the same name.  This was my base for starting the Milford Track.  Like the Routeburn, the Milford Track is one of New Zealand's "Great Walks".  Access to these tracks is controlled through issuing Great Walks passes, and several require reservations.  The Milford Track is so popular that I had made my reservations well before I left for the trip, and it determined why I headed directly to this region of the country in order to arrive by those dates.

The Milford Track leads from the North end of Lake Te Anau up the Clinton River valley, over McKinnon Pass, and down the Arthur River valley to Milford Sound.  The sound is one of a series of isolated inlets along the Southwest coast in a region known as Fiordland.  This area receives intense rain and it is almost unheard of to hike the entire Milford Track in dry weather.  But this was one of those years when the El Nino/La Nina phenomena were playing havoc with the weather patterns in the Pacific and elsewhere.  What I enjoyed as fine tramping weather, the farmers and ranchers suffered through as drought.

Whereas most of the people I tramped with on other tracks were fellow international travellers, mostly younger than myself, the makeup of the Milford Track group was largely New Zealanders, the majority older than me.  I think the Milford Track is sort of a national icon that Kiwi's feel they should do at least once in their lives, as a matter of pride.

Overall, I found New Zealand a very accomodating country to travel in.  Most towns have inexpensive lodgings, like hostels, or "backpackers".  Bus transportation is good between the larger cities, and the smaller towns are served by shuttle vans.  And most importantly, the people are quite friendly, even to a surly Yank such as myself.


After hiking the Kepler Track, I left Te Anau and traveled as far South as I could go in New Zealand, to Stewart Island.  With a population of only about 400, Stewart Island has a feeling of true wildness.  Many of the smaller islands around it are used as breeding colonies for protected species.

Stewart Island also has a Great Walk of its own, the Rakiura Track, and another, more rugged trail called the Northwest Circuit Track.  I didn't have time to do the latter, but I did visit Mason Bay on the West coast.  I took a trip over to Ulva Island in Paterson Inlet to check out the birds, and saw a school of dolphins on the return trip.  I also kayaked in Paterson Inlet and stopped at an old whaling base.  I thoroughly enjoyed Stewart Island and the people I met there.

From there, I took the ferry back to the South Island and joined a tour going through The Catlins on the Southeast coast.  This brought me to Dunedin, where I visited the Otago Peninsula.  And then on to Christchurch, where I got a shuttle to the town of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula.  I was there to hike the Banks Peninsula Track, which was created by the property owners, who charge a modest fee to trampers.

Then I took a train through Arthur's Pass across the Southern Alps to the West coast, and caught a shuttle to Punakaiki.  There, for the first time I had to cancel my plans due to forecast rain, as the Inland Pack Track is very prone to dangerous flooding.



So I headed up to the Northwest corner of the South Island to hike the Abel Tasman Coast Track.  Crowded, but beautiful, each beach on this track is more stunning than the last.  If you don't want to carry much gear with you, it is possible to use water taxis to dayhike sections of it.

Using Piction as a base, I hiked the Queen Charlotte Track and the Nydia Track in the Marlborough Sounds.  From Picton I then took the ferry to Wellington on the North Island.

I travelled to Turangi, near Lake Taupo, and secured transportation to do a long dayhike in Tongariro national park.  I'd never been in a volcanic area before, so I found the stark landscape quite fascinating.

There was more thermal activity to be seen in the town of Rotorua and the surrounding region.  I greatly enjoyed one particular swimming hole in a thermal river.  And the Waimangu Volcanic Valley was well worth a tour.  There was yet another opportunity for a relaxing soak on the Coromandel Peninsula at Hot Water Beach.

And then I went North of Auckland to visit Pahia on the Bay of Islands in Northland.  From there I arranged a tour to drop me off at Tepaki Stream on Ninety Mile Beach.  That was my starting point for hiking the Cape Reinga Walkway.  When I reached the Northernmost point of New Zealand I felt satisfied that I had seen as much as I could during the time that I was there, but I would gladly return one day if fate allowed me.