D53 -- Traveling to the track

We, along with 41 fellow hikers, boarded a bus in Queenstown and rode to a place called Te Anau Downs, where we would catch a boat to the head of the trail. We stopped for lunch and sat with a couple from Hawaii, two women from New Zealand, and a man from Switzerland. I always find those first conversations a bit awkward, but everyone was nice and it was a pleasant time.

After the boat ride we walked about 15 minutes to get to our first lodge, the Glade House. It was a series of buildings next to a small river. A pretty setting.

There were some rooms with bathrooms "en suite" but most of us stayed in the cheaper dorm rooms and used a shared bathroom. We learned that we were to bunk with Mike and Jill, the couple from Maui. After we got settled we went on a nature walk through the forest with one of our guides, Neil. He pointed out different types of beech trees and orchids, and had us try a leaf that had a Maori name. He said the name meant “sweet.” After several of us had started chewing it he said it meant “pepper plant.” It tasted horrible, and ended up making me feel pretty sick. I guess I should have spit it out instead of swallowing it – not funny, Neil!!!

When we got back there was cheese and crackers waiting for us and we had the option to purchase wine and beer. This was already shaping up to be quite a different experience than Torres del Paine! We were shown a slide show about tomorrow's hike and given an orientation by our four young guides: Nikki, Junko, Shaun, and Neil. They had us come up by country to introduce ourselves and sing a song from our country. The 11 Australians went first, and they were a rowdy, funny bunch. The 15 Americans were second, and I gotta say we looked pretty reserved compared to the Aussies. Along with those folks, there were 4 from the UK, 2 from Canada, 1 from Switzerland, 4 from Japan, 2 from Korea, and 4 from New Zealand.

Dinner was a pretty fancy considering the fact that we were out in the middle of nowhere. A 3-course meal with ice cream for dessert! After dinner we went to get ready for bed, where Jill warned us that Mike snores. She actually said "there isn't a word for what he does." Fantastic!

-Elva