I wrote the Spanish
version of my trip and I did not want to be impolite with the English people so
I am writing it now in English so you can enjoy it too.
I just finished one of
the best experiences of my life. It begun on 7th of April on the way
back from a weekend trip when discussing with my friend possible trips in the
south island. I was expecting to do this trip in winter so I would have time to
save and the whole month to travel but they showed me that maybe many places
would be not accessible or very hard to get because of the weather conditions
or the amount of snow in the mountains. So I quickly reconsider the trip and
decided to do it taking the advantage of the mid semester break, so I will not
miss as much class. I started to plan everything and found a cheap flight from
Auckland to Christchurch for 126$ with the luggage included. I did not have a
tent or a bivouac bag (bivi bag) to get myself covered from the rain so I went
to buy one. Finally I decided to get a bivouac because was less weight and
easier to transport and to carry it back home. After buying the plane ticket and the bivi bag
I notice that I had expended all the money I had left till the first of May. So
my only option was to go to my trip just with the 40$ in cash I had left in my
pocket, walking and Hitch hiking.
So I had to plan
everything and prepare all my stuff in a bit more than one day. The only big
problem was that I had to take all my food for the 14 days I was going to be
away in my backpack which made things much heavier.
In order to save weight
all my food was dehydrated as rice, mashed potatoes and noodles. I had also
cooked 1 egg per day for the whole trip and I had seasoned already the rice so
I did not have to bring the spices to the trip. For the breakfast I had oats,
tea and lots of sugar. For vitamins I had carrots and apples.
Day
1- Auckland-Christchurch-Arthur’s Pass
So there I was, with my
big backpack going into the luggage carousel with the tag of “last bag” as I
had to run through the airport to catch the plane. With a smile on my face, the
backpack on my back and 30$ in my pocket, I exited the airport. The first thing
I needed to was to go buying a gas bottle and some food with the little money I
had left. After the shopping my budget was reduced to 10$. I was pretty lucky
and Maori guy called Manu, which means bird, gave me a ride even if he had to
go in the opposite direction to take me out of the city in order to get better
rides. I had no problems with the rides till I pass the last town of the east
of the Southern Alps, where I walked a lot without a ride. I was already
checking the sides of the road to find a place to crash when I got a ride which
brought me just to the place I needed to go, a free campsite in the end of the
route I was planning to do the next day. I had some special dinner for the first
night as I brought some meat and tomatoes which I could mix with the rice. I
could not use the egg I had prepared for that night as a New Zealand parrot
called Kea stole it when I was looking in my backpack for some water for
cooking.
Day
2- Crow River- Avalanche Peak Route (day 1)
I got up before the sun
and started walking when the sun was burning with its sunshine the marvellous
peaks of the Southern Alps. The track was not marked, so it was basically walking
up the riverbed which was very rocky. I had to cross the Waimakariri River a
couple of times. At this time of the year it is almost dry but still enough
water to make it tricky to cross. Probably because I still was a little bit
sleepy and I could not think with clarity, I got wet in the first stream I had
to cross. I slipped in a rock and my foot went into the water and so I did with
the other and I crossed it walking through the water. I kept going and soon I
reached the crow river valley where the track was alternating between a wild
forest and the rocky riverbed. I was an easy path, sometimes not well marked,
that took me to the Crow Hut in about 4 hours, so I was at the hut at roughly
11.30. The only person left in the hut was leaving soon so I will be alone,
which was not that bad as I did not had money to pay the hut. Around 12.30
started to pour and it did not stop till the next morning so everything I could
do was to light a fire, read some magazines which were in the hut, some yoga,
and playing ukulele. Pretty random things! And so I did. The only problem was
that the toilet was outside so I had to take a leak from the door of the hut in
order to not get wet. Fortunately I had not to go for something bigger.
Day
3- Crow River- Avalanche Peak Route (day 2)
This was one of the
hardest days in my trip and for sure one of the scariest days in my life. The
rain stopped just before the sunshine started to illuminate the sky, so I was
lucky enough to continue my tramp. I was
exiting the hut at 8.00am and around 8.20am I was at the bottom of a very big
scree slope. It was only 1km of distance but had a gradient of 50% as it goes
up more than 500m. The route was clearly made to do it in the opposite
direction, but as I had no money to stay close to the other end I did it
backwards. I started to climb, everything was falling apart and the weight of
the backpack did not help to keep my balance. At the beginning the inclination
was kind of ok, but a bit before half way it increased considerably and I had to
go all the time helping myself with my hands in order to not be another rolling
stone downhill. When I was little 200m from the top, I decided to get close to
one of the sides as there was not that much looses rocks. Unconsciously I
started to climb in the cliff as I was following the path with fewer rocks in
the way. After a while I noticed that I was in the cliff about 6m high of the
bottom of a small scree slope which ended in another 20m cliff. I was shocked
at that very moment. Only 5 meter laterally there was a “safe place” and after
thinking in turning around, I determined that was much more difficult. I tried
to move, but a couple of times I got myself almost hanging from the cliff due
to the rocks falling from my feet. I did not know what to do I was trapped in
the cliff and it did not seem to be a very busy route. I was just expecting to
fall in my back so the backpack could stop a little bit my fall. After a while
I decided to keep going to the safe place, so I climbed very, very slow to not
grab one of the falling rocks. I had been climbing a lot before my trip so I
felt strong enough to keep going but the backpack was a handicap that I have
never had and was disturbing my balance. Finally I could reach the safe edge
and take a deep breath before keep going. When I got to the top of the scree
slope my heart was pumping hard and my breathing was irregular, and the stunning
views did not produce any effect on me till I calmed down. I did it, I survive!
I kept going in the path going through the crest of the mountain, now a little
more indicated. Once and for all I got to the Avalanche peak were an amazing
view delighted me in exchange of the effort done. The way back was not less
hard as I had to hurry to try to get to the road soon enough to get a ride to
my next destination, Mt Cook. Unfortunately I was not lucky that afternoon and
fact that there are no close towns to the village did not help so after 3 hours
in the shoulder of the road without getting a ride, I decided to walk back the
10 km that there was from where I was till the free campsite I stayed the night
before. This night I was aware about the Keas so I filled my pockets with rocks
and let them know that there was no food for them today. They gave up after a
few tries to get close end went to bother other campers, so I was happy. The
night came and the impressive view of the stars made me sleep so well after the
tough day.
Day
4- Arthur’s Pass-Lake Pukaki
I woke up pretty early,
so I could walk if I did not get a ride as the day before I was not so lucky.
Surprisingly I got a ride with the first car that passed by. The man was a
former motorbike gangster who told me some interesting stories about how he
could leave the band 30 years ago and not get killed as would have been now a
day. He also told me about the jail and gave me some useful tips for life.
After a couple of rides from where the gangster a guy who was going from Christchurch
to Dunedin for an epic party, apparently 10.000 students in the street. He left
me in the shoulder of the junction with the road I had to take to follow my
direction with a beer in my hand. I started to walk in my direction in a not
very busy road so walked for a while until a man picked me up. He was a dairy
farmer, and we had a very nice chat about ourselves. When he dropped me off he
told me that apart from dairy farmer he was the Chancellor of the Lincoln University
and he offered me money. I refused it as I normally only accept food and drinks
but he really insisted so I accepted the 60$ he was giving me (In life you have
to be honest but not stupid!). As I knew that I will not have money till first
of May and still had to survive in Auckland after I finished my trip I put the
money in a “safe pocket” to not expend it. So I thanked him so much and kept
going in my way. My plan had changed as in the summit of the Avalanche Peak, a
German guy I meet at the top told me to go to a nice spot in Lake Pukaki rather
than Lake Tekapo that is the one I had planned. I spend a couple of hours at
Lake Tekapo and even if it was a very beautiful place, I decided to keep going
to the next one, Lake Pukaki. An old man of 76 years old gave me a ride this time;
he was a former climber and guide to go to the top of Mt Cook, the highest peak
in New Zealand. He offered me to drive me to my next destination, Mt Cook
Village, but I declined it as I was very curious about the very nice spot the
German guy told me, and the views were already stunning. The German guy was
totally correct, the views from the free campsite were amazing, a beautiful
blue lake due to the sediments enclosed in the ice of the glacier which fills
the lake, and the highest peak of New Zealand reflecting at the bottom of the lake.
All of that was companied with an incredible sunset, and a better star spangled
sky!
Day
5- Lake Pukaki-Mueller’s hut-Queenstown
As the night before I
woke up with an impressive view of the Mt cook. At 7:00am I was already walking
in the road heading Mt Cook Village. I was pretty lucky and just arrive to the
junction of the road going there I got picked up by one of the pilots of one of
those companies that flies to the glacier and land on it. We had a nice chat
and he gave me some tips about the weather and explained me that was getting
worst that afternoon. He dropped me just at the beginning of my next route the Muller’s
hut. In the car park I found a dollar!
So I started to go up through the around 1800 steps that there is to the top.
It took me 2.20h again gaining time to the statistics. When I got to the top I
could contemplate the marvellous views from the top where you can see the Lake
Pukaki valley, some glaciers and of course the impressive Mt Cook, looking
after the Southern Alps. Again the Way back was really tough and the weather
was changing. It started to get really, really windy. In the way back I met
again the man who gave me a ride the night before, The 76 year old guide. He
offered me to give me a ride to a small town in my way to Queenstown and also
gave me a couple of beers and a bottle of wine, as he had to take all the
things left from a birthday party he had been the night before. There I was
again, in the shoulder of the road with my thumb up waiting for the next ride.
A very kind American guy, who is working in Afghanistan gave me
the ride to Queenstown and in the way we picked up another two hitch hikers one
of them invite me diner in exchange of one of the beers, pretty nice deal.
Because they were back from the epic party and were so tired did not want to go
out for a while so I hid my backpack in a holiday park I had gate-crashed and
went to town with the American guy and the bottle of wine that I had left. We
hit a couple of bars till we found one we liked and stayed there for a while.
The American guy invited me to pitcher of beer, and we were playing some games and
dancing with mostly foreign girls. I went back to the place I have spotted to
sleep, a little bit of grass between two trees and two apartments buildings. As
the place looked very sheltered and the sky was pretty clear, and I was tired
and tipsy, I did not use the bivi bag. That night I felt sleep pretty easily.
Day
6- Queenstown-Routeburn Track
I did not need an alarm
that morning as I woke up with the rain hitting my face and feeling cold and
wet. Unfortunately, it rained and my sleeping bag got so wet. It was already
7.30 and there was light enough for people to see me sleeping like a homeless
in the holiday park so I packed all my things pretty quick except for the
sleeping bag that I needed to dry, so I bought a token for the dryer which cost
me 4$ for only 30 min, That left me with “only” 5$. I paid expensively for my
mistake. I hit the road again, this time pretty late as I had to wait for the
sleeping bag to dry a little bit. In 3 rides and about 10km of walking I got to
arrive to the beginning of the Routeburn Track. It was 12.30pm very late to
start a tramp but I had no choice so I started the Track. It starts in a jungle
forest and follows the river upstream through the whole valley. Nice swinging
bridges cross the multiple streams that go into the river. As I was already
late for the day and because I had no money to pay the huts or the campsites, I
had planned to stay in the middle of the track and either use the Harris saddle
hut or look for some bivouac rocks that a woman who picked me up recommended me.
When I was leaving Routeburn Falls Hut, a Warden from the DOC (Department of
Conservation) stopped me in the track and asked me for the ticket for the hut.
As I did not have any and did explain him my situation expecting some
understanding, he told me that the next free campsite was in Lake Howden Hut
about 20km from where I was and it was already 3.00pm. He alerted me not to
sleep in the emergency shelter as he was going to check it and that he was calling
the warden in Lake Mackenzie to check if he arrive or not. Such a stupid man!
So I had no choice, I had to try to walk all the way to pass Lake Mackenzie Hut.
In a little more than 3 hours I was already at around Lake Mackenzie hut where
I found a nice bivouac rock to sleep. I was already dark and I could not switch
on my head lamp as I did not want to attract attention from the wardens in the
hut so I just did everything without light, prepared my food and waited till it
got really dark to set up my camp. That night I slept a little bit worried about
the wardens checking the place.
Day
7- Routeburn track- Te Anau- Kepler Track
Normally I woke up
before the sunrise but this day I woke up a little bit earlier just to walk in
the dark passing by the hut. I was lucky and nobody saw me so I kept going to
the Howden Hut where I stopped to have breakfast and prepare a tea. As it was pretty
early and I had time enough I decided to go up to Key Summit where I could
contemplate the beautiful landscape of the fjord and some of the Southern Alps
Peaks. The Trip to Te Anau was very nice as the man who picked me up was
friendly and we had a good chat. I told him about my trip and he told me about
how he taught his dog to be a rescue dog. He also gave me a couple of apples! I
was expecting to find a free place to sleep in Te Anau but unfortunately when I
went to the visitor centre there was no free camping and was prohibited to camp
anywhere around the town or the beginning of the track. So again I had no place
to sleep. As it was early in the day and I was missing meat so much I decided
to go to the supermarket where I bought packed ham and some bread so I could
have some proteins. I walked nicely around the lake all the way to the track
start. I decided to camp hidden from the track close to the first campsite of
the track, about 5 km from the start. I hide between the bushes in the beach in
a very nice spot with lake views. When I was just about to start setting up my
camp, I saw a DOC boat patrolling the beach so I quickly put everything in my
backpack and this on the bushes and taking advantage of my dark clothes I
pretend to be a rock so they could not see me. The boat took about 15 min to
check the beach and so I was a rock, but the sandflies were biting me all over
the uncovered spots of my body, my ankles, my wrist and hands and my face,
taking advantage of my rock emulation. Finally they left the beach without
knowing that I was there and I could set up my camp and get into the sleeping
bag closing it to the top to avoid insect to bite me!
Day
8- Kepler Track
No doubt the hardest
day physically! After the Routeburn Track I noticed that was not going to be as
easy to sleep in the emergency shelters that there where in the track so I
decided to go directly from Brod Bay, where I was, till Shallow Bay in the
other lake, 42km away. It was going to be a hard day but I will avoid paying in
the huts or in the campgrounds and also from getting caught in the emergency shelters.
In order to not be suspicious if got too early to the first hut, I calculated
the time to be there in a time that seems reasonable to have been done in the
day. I left Brod Bay at 6.30am, so if they ask me, I could say I left at 5.30
from the parking. I arrived to the first hut, around 9.30, made a coffee with a
lot of sugar in order to have energy and took a good breakfast. After 20 min of
rest I kept going uphill as I could not lose much more time if I wanted to
arrive in time to Shallow Bay. It was very cloudy and foggy with not much visibility
but finally I crossed the clouds limit and the day was very clear, I was above
the clouds. It looked like the clouds were the sea and all the peaks and mountains
that were breaking through it seemed to be islands. For one moment I felt like
one of the Greek gods in Mount Olympus. After a while in the top of Mt Luxmore
I had to move due to my lack of time. The rocky landscape converted back again
in the jungle after I got lower than 1200m where the tree line is. At 2.00pm I
got to hit the second hut, Iris Burn Hut. Everything was going good but I was
starting to feel exhausted. The signpost in the hut was indication 6 hours to
the next hut that was close to where the free campsite was, but I needed to do it
in four as around 6.30pm it gets dark. So I started walking fast in order to
achieve the goal, get there by 6.30pm. Around 4.00pm my feet were totally
destroyed, a huge pain was invading my body but my mind still had the control
of my body so I had to keep going, I was a little depressed because I expected
to get to Rocky Point Shelter, which was in the middle of the way by 4.00pm. I
took a 20 min rest to grab some food because I had not eaten anything since
12.30pm and I kept going. Surprisingly the Rocky Point Shelter was 300m far
from the point where I had stopped. My moral was mended so I restore my fast rhythm
to get to Shallow Bay before it got really dark. At 6.05pm I was already at the
last hut, Moturau Hut and the hoped signpost was there reminding me that I
still needed to keep going for 35 more minutes, but I was so happy that my body
did not hurt anymore, I was that happy that in some moment I just wanted to run
all the way just to get there and have that moment I had been waiting so bad to
happen, the finish of the journey. By the campsite there was also a basic hut.
I check if there was anybody sleeping inside and also the visitors book to check
how often the warden came to the hut. I was lucky and also was the middle of
the week and the warden will not come till Friday so I was able to stay in the
hut without paying. I rest sitting for half an hour and when I tried to stand
up my feet were not responding, they had too much for the day so I had to move
crawling within the room to prepare my dinner and to start a fire, which was
nice to finish drying the sleeping bag. That night I sleep so well!
Day
9- Kepler Track- Invercargill- Fortrose
That morning I was not in a
hurry at all so I woke up late made a fire in the beach and had a nice
breakfast. I was by the lake and there was some special soap to stop spreading
a kind of bacteria from both Islands, so I used it as a gel and had a bath by
the lake. There were also two really big tents in the campsite, the only two in
there. I saw them the night before but I did not pay much attention, but now I
was rested, my curiosity was bigger too so I asked if there was somebody.
Nobody answered and the tent seemed abandoned so I open one to check. In the
first one there was nothing inside, in the second one there was a very big
kitchen set up and some food left. I looked around and picked some minor stuff
as cheese 2 cereal bars and mandarins, just enough to complete my diet a little
bit and respect the people food. I walked so quietly that morning, it was the
first time in the trip that I spent the same amount of time that the one
indicated in the signs, even a little bit more. I had finished all my tracks
for the trip, now was mainly road and seaside. I got a ride back to Te Anau and
another one from Te Anau directly to Invercargill. The man was a hunter and
told me that he had to stop to make a couple of jobs before heading to
Invercargill. I was not in a rush so I accepted. We stopped in a diary farm and
while he was tinting one window to avoid some kind of light reflecting in a
camera, I was outside watching how 1000 cows entered in the installations to
get rid of their milk. I was so amazed how much milk they can produce in this
kind of farms. The man dropped me at the junction of Fortrose road and gave me
some fresh venison from his trophy. From there I got another ride all the
way to Fortrose where I was delighted with a marvelous sunset.
Day
10 Fortrose- Nugget Point
Something woke me up,
was the raining hitting the bivouac bag. Fortunately I had it this time. I waited
a little bit for the rain to easy off in order to pack all my stuff and leave
without getting so wet. Luckily it stopped during ten minutes, time enough to
get up and pack all my things. It was a very bad day, rainy and cold, but I had
to keep going so I started to walk in the shoulder as usual. I got a ride which took me to the next town in
the road where I had breakfast and some tea, covered in a bus stop. I waited a
little bit to dry before going again under the rain. In another ride I was in Waikawa
the closest town to Curio Bay where I would be able to see penguins and
dolphins in the beach. I started to walk the 5km from Waikawa to Curio bay
after a while waiting for the rain to easy off. In the middle of the way I met
a Japanese girl in her bike. She had been touring with her bike for the last 3
months. She told me that there was nothing at curio bay because of the
meteorological conditions so I decided not to go and keep going to the next
place where I could see penguins, seals and sea lions. I got a couple of
cookies from the Japanese girl, we exchange information because she was coming to
Auckland and I followed my way to nugget point. There were not so much cars but
I was pretty lucky and I get two rides, the second one took me directly to
Nugget point even through the 6 km gravel road which leads you to the
lighthouse. Even the weather was not good the landscape was impressive. The
wind, which was blowing really fast, making difficult even to stand up, so after
a few minutes I went back to the place where you could watch penguins just 5
min walking from the car park close to the lighthouse. There was a shed to
watch the penguins as they are very shy which was the perfect shelter for me to
stay on that night as the weather was really bad and it is always better to
sleep dry. People started to arrive around 4.00pm when the penguins come back
from fishing in to the beach to get to their nests. A very friendly young
couple from England arrived and we were chatting while observing the penguins
jump from rock to rock. After refusing sometimes their invitation to offer me 3
dollars to pick me to a campsite with them and then a ride to Dunedin the next
day I accepted as I was not sure if they will check the shelter for observing
the penguins. In the campground the owner, which was so kind, let me sleep in a
shed that was under construction, so I could sleep dry. I had dinner with the English
couple and I shared my venison which led to a delightful food. They had a
camper van with a bed inside and a small kitchen in the back so after dinner we
went inside to watch a movie. That night I had a really nice rest!
Day
11- Nugget Point- Dunedin
The next day they
invite us to a wonderful English breakfast and we get on the road. The owner of
the campsite also advised us to go to Cannibal Bay, where we will be able to
see elephant seals. The weather was still cold, windy and rainy but we arrived
to Cannibal Bay where we saw seals and sea lions but not elephant seals. Anyway
we kept our way to Dunedin. When we got there we realize that there were not
much to do so they ask me to stay with them as they will keep going to Christchurch
I did not want to bother them but they insisted so I accepted, I will have
company and a ride for the next day. We did some shopping in Dunedin and camp
in a campsite outside of the city in the way to Christchurch. It was raining
outside and I have already looked for a nice place to sleep under a tree and
between the bushes that will cover me so good, but again, so kind of them, they
invited me to sleep inside the van, in the front part where the seats are. I
did refuse again till they insisted a little. So we had dinner together and
watch another movie. That night was not as comfortable as the previous one but
at least I was dry.
Day
12- Dunedin- Winchester
We were getting along
so well and did a good team so now they asked me for my opinion and whether I
wanted to stop in a place or not. I did not want to change their plans so I was
always up to everything they propose. We went to Timaru, a city half way
between Dunedin and Christchurch. There we did some shopping, fixed the fuses
of the car that broke due to an overload, and visit the local museum. Also in
the visitor centre they advised us to go to a free campsite an hour away from Christchurch.
As I did not have anything to do because I had seen everything I planned, I
agree to stay with them another night, and I could get a ride for the next day
too. The weather was really bad but we decided to make a fire to get ourselves
warm. Luckily I had my survival knife so we started to chop some branches. A
man who was walking his dog saw us and came back few minutes later with a box
full of dry wood so we could start the fire easily. We had a great night,
chatting by the fire and again they asked me to sleep in the van. This night I
had already the posture pretty much known so I slept so much better.
Day
13- Winchester- Lake Pukaki
Apparently they were
not in a rush so I was not either. They decided to go to Lake Pukaki as they
missed that and they did not want to come back because they were going to
Christchurch to work to earn a little bit of money before going to Australia for
the ski season. As I did not have a place to stay in Christchurch and people
told me that there was not much to see due to the earthquake, I decided to go
with them and guide them to the very nice spot that the German guy had told me.
We got there pretty soon, around 12.00pm but the day was not so good. Too many
clouds to see the beauty of that place. As they had check the weather
report and was suppose to be sunny in the next morning, we decided to stay
there for the night. We did not have anything to do so we started a fire and
sit around even when it was raining for almost 12 hours. We were just waiting
for the next day to come with the good weather just to see the stoning views.
Day
14- Lake Pukaki- Christchurch
The day woke up still a
little bit cloudy but started to clear pretty fast so they could see the
wonderful landscape and I could enjoy it one more time. I think I will never get
tired of the beauty of that place. So we were heading finally to
Christchurch. It took us about 4 hours to get from Lake Pukaki to Christchurch.
When we got there we were able to see the truth of all of those scary stories
that people told us about the earthquake. You could feel it in the environment,
the desolation of the whole city, gravel piles, closed roads, empty buildings cracks
in the roads and all kind of damage you can imagine from a very bad and strong
earthquake. We went to the information office where we said goodbye and
exchange the contact information. There were a very nice couple, so kind and
helpful, Thank you! I asked in the information point for all the free
activities in the city but as I expected there was not much. Anyway was enough
to keep me entertained for the afternoon before going to the airport to expend
the night there. I meet a Spanish guy outside the office who was in his honey moon,
we chat for a while exchanging our stories and points of view of the country,
which were very different. I went to the
museum which was free and surprisingly the building haven’t been damage (or at
least apparently). There was a very interesting exhibition of the Antarctic,
how was discovered and all the improvement in the techniques. After that I
wander around the central mall in the “ground Cero” which was built with
shipping containers. Very impressive how the people get so creative to solve
problems in hard moments. The wife of the Spanish guy I met in the information
point saw me there and offer me money that I refused, but she really insisted
to take 5 dollars just to get to the airport, which I finally took. We chat for
a while and then she left. I went also to a place which was a bar, exhibition,
and concert place at the same which was built with wooden “pallets”. I hanged
around the commercial mall which was mostly the only thing around the centre
and I had my last dinner there. A mix with all the things left was my menu. I
do not know if it was because I was really starving but it tasted really good
to me, almost a gourmet meal. With the apple I had left and the flavour of the
noodles I did a sauce where I fried the last carrot, and then boiled the rice
and the carrot with the sauce, everything together. When the rice was ready I
just add the noodles and after these were cooked the mashed potatoes which took
the flavour of all the sauce and the spices from the rice. All of this was
topped with my last hardboiled egg. Simply delicious!
I took then the bus to
the airport and get off one stop before in order to not pay the special rate
they have for it and also to stop at McDonalds where I spend all my coins left
in 60cent Ice creams. I walked back to the airport where I camped one last time.
Day
15- Christchurch- Auckland
This morning I woke up a little bit
rebellious as nobody ask me for my passport or any document in the way there.
So I decided to check the security of the airports in New Zealand. I woke up
and prepare the stove and start toasting the last 2 bread slices in my pot.
Even with the characteristic smell from toast nobody tell me anything about
cooking inside the terminal. I was surprised so I decided to go a little bit
more in deep in my research and I placed the gas bottle inside the bag in order
to see if they will check and remove the dangerous artifact. I leaved it easy
to take it so they do not have to mess so much with my stuff. Guess what
happened, the gas bottle was intact when I arrived to Auckland. A smile of
success and happiness was draw in my face, I had one more very exciting story
to tell my future kids, and the most important, I had survived and had a very
good time. I have to thank to everyone who helped me to achieve all my goals in
this trip and to share your time and stories with me.
Thank you all from
the bottom of my heart!
Approximate data from
the trip
Total
Distance
|
2170km
(1348 miles)
|
Walked
Distance
|
170km
(106 miles)
|
Walked
in tracks and paths
|
127km
(79 miles)
|
Walked
in shoulders
|
43km
(27 miles)
|
Time
|
15
days (328 hours)
|
Money
invested
|
43
NZ$
|
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