Today Morgan and I ran some errands to get everything we need for the Kepler Track. On Wednesday we have a 5.5 hour drive down South, and then we’ll begin hiking on Thursday Morning.
The Kepler is one of the 9 Great Walks of New Zealand. It starts in a town called Te Anau, and is a 60km (37.3 miles) loop. On the first day, we hike for about 10 miles and will also have to make it to the top of a mountain. That means we’ll change elevation by about 1000 meters, or 3280 feet.
Needless to say, we’ve had to do some training! Over the past few months, we’ve done a decent bit of working out and running. We have also gone on 3 beautiful walks to test out our new hiking boots and practice going up hills.
The first walk was the Temple Basin trek in Arthur’s Pass. It was about a 3 hour round trip and had a pretty steep incline. The ground was pretty loose, which made it difficult, but we made it to the top and had a great view (click any image to enlarge):
Our second walk was a bit easier. We went on the newly renovated Godley Head walk along the cost. It was a fairly cloudy day, but the waves were hitting the cliffs pretty hard, which was cool. We walked for about two hours along the coast and turned around when we reached some gun turrets used for protection during World War 2. Probably our favorite walk that is local to Christchurch.
For our third walk we drove back to Arthur’s Pass. There we had a steep climb! We went up to the top of Avalanche Peak. Overall, we changed climbed over 1,000 meters to reach the top. There were no flat parts, only steep and up. We did take a break to eat lunch, however, so that was nice.
And of course, the view was spectacular. I don’t get to the top of a mountain very often, but I think I might start to make a habit of it. The 360 degree views are just spectacular, and there is a great sense of accomplishment when you reach the top. I highly recommend the experience.
We can’t wait to do the Kepler track! Will have some incredible pictures (supposing we don’t walk in the rain for 3.5 days!) and I look forward to conquering some more mountains!
3 comments