Written by Abby Hall and Heather Brock

We have been hearing about the Hump Ridge Track for quite awhile and nerves and anxiety have arisen as time has been getting closer for when we start. The Hump Ridge track was created by the community of Tuatapere and goes over the Hump Ridge located just inside Fiordland National Park. We have heard that the first day is the worst and that blood, sweat, and tears will be present. Scary! But other than those thoughts, we have also heard about how the tramp is worth it and how great the scenery is.

On Tuesday we arrived at the car park to start the track. For the first 3 or 4 hours we had a nice walk that was a only a gradual uphill increase. That first part of the walk was helpful, because it helped us to warm up our bodies. Right before we started our intense vertical uphill part of the walk, we stopped at Flat Creek to strip off our remaining layers of clothes. After layering down we, dun dun dun, started the known part of the Hump Ridge. It was a very tiring walk that required frequent stops for a breather. We stopped for lunch in the middle of the walk at Water Bridge Shelter. After taking a short lunch break, we started moving again and boy was it hard to start walking. We eventually made our next stop at Stag Point. The scenic view at this point was

The group taking a scenic break at Stag Point.

breathtaking and one of the students dropped their pack and exclaimed, "it was all worth it." After another walk uphill, we finally made it to our destination, Okaka Lodge. Immediately after arriving at the lodge, we all took off our boots and relaxed in the common area, while others took a nap in their living arrangements. Even though we walked basically up a wall, the real highlight of the day was celebrating my (Heather's) birthday. I woke up this morning to a chorus of the Happy Birthday Song and ended the day with a drink being bought for me. After a tiring day of walking, we all went to bed to get ready for the next day of walking.

The next day we woke up to sore bodies mixed with fatigue, but that did not stop us from starting our second day of walking. This day of walking consisted of mostly downhill with the occasional uphill. It was still a hard day of walking, because walking downhill is hard on the knees and it made our legs shake. Our first stop was at Luncheon Rock Shelter, which we did not have our lunch at, to take a break. We did not have as good of a view than at Stag Point, because it was very misty out and could not see very far out. After more downhill walking, we made it to our destination, Waitutu Hut.

Arrival at Waitutu Hut.

By the third day everyone had earned a break so we spent a day relaxing and learning more about south land Maori fishing practices from Tiny, a local who had actually built Waitutu Hut. He explained the decline of abalone or pauwa and about the Muttonbird Islands where the Maori hunt a seabird commonly called the sooty shearwater. After a short shore walk along the rocky shore near Waitutu and a good nights sleep, we said goodbye to Waitutu and continued our journey.

 
The fourth day of walking consisted of following an old tram-line that was used to move lumber from the south land forest to Port Craig on the coast, our destination. The tram-line was very muddy from the extensive rain that is the norm for this area, but it was flat which was a welcome change from the earlier walks. A beautiful view of the coast and the chance to see and swim with some Hector's Dolphins was our reward when we reached the hut at Port Craig.

Swimming with the dolphins at Port Craig.

For the final push from Port Craig to the parking lot, we began our journey in a hilly section of bush where we took the opportunity to have a "silent walk." Everyone had a chance to space out and spend a section of the tramp alone and in silence. After the silent walk everyone met on the first beach of the coastal portion of the Hump Ridge Track, and roasted some sausages and mussels, which were grabbed directly from the sea, over a fire for lunch before continuing. After going up and over several headlands and over three beaches everything started to look familiar, because we followed the loop and started back over the track from all those days before we headed up the ridge. In the end everyone made it safely back to the bus exhausted, but triumphant over the infamous Hump Ridge. We headed back to Tuatapere eager to shower and do laundry and continue our exploration of the south island.

Overlooking Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

The next day we all slept in, but not by much, then loaded onto the bus and said goodbye to Tuatapere and headed north towards our first stop, Lake Manapori. We learned about the outcry over an attempt to raise the lake significantly in order to increase production of power from a hydropower plant that uses flow from Manapori to a fjord called Doubtful Sound in Fiordland National Park. Luckily the protests prevented the lake from being raised and we got to see it at its natural level before we headed father north towards Queenstown. Queenstown is a bustling tourism town, but we only really stopped long enough to stretch our legs and get some pictures before we continued on to Wanaka where we would rest for the night. The next morning, after a little excitement caused by our bus running out of diesel halfway down the road, we made it to our stop for the day, Cromwell. There we learned about the Clyde Dam, the largest concrete dam in New Zealand, who construction prompted the creation of a new lake right over what used to be downtown Cromwell. Later that afternoon we met with a landscape architect from the Mackenzie Basin area who gave us a brief overview of the issues of that region we are planning to visit next. For dinner that day we had a BBQ, which ended with a bet being made between a student and the South Island program leader, Matthias. The bet consisted of who could last being a vegan until next Monday. Each person is given a vegan mentor, Heather or Adaobi, to help guide them through this learning experience of a bet. The loser of the bet must buy the winner a pack of their choice of drink. We are all watching with eager eyes at who will win while having a few laughs along the way. The winner will be posted in the next blog post.