Today was trekking day. We were going to follow a track up Mt Sefton to the Mueller mountain hut. The track was to take us 3.5 hours up, climbing all the way before returning 3.5 hours back down!
After a double ration of porridge for breakfast we started the climb up the track. For the first 10 minutes, we were led into a false sense of security as the track was nice and gentle ...
However, that soon changed! The next part was steps, followed by rock hopping, then by scrambling. On the way a group of inquisitive kea came to join us. Kea are a native, large green parrot type of bird. When they open their wings the under side are beautifully coloured with red, blue and orange.
Eventually, we reached the ridge at the top. No more climbing up but a 30 minute flat walk to the hut. The view was great from here. You could see Mt Cook in the distance, surrounded by other snow capped mountains. We could see the glaciers making their way down the valleys finally becoming streams....
We made it to the hut and were welcomed by the volunteer wardens, who kindly offered us a cup of tea. We chatted to them for a while and discovered they are coming to England soon to complete the famous Coast to Coast walk! Soon other people arrived and joined the conversation including 3 people from a Canadian circus travelling around New Zealand.
We saw a number of small avalanche slide down the mountain opposite the hut. When we finally decided to leave, we said goodbye and started back down the slippery slopes. We passed lots of people heading up but we were glad to be heading down! We reached the bottom in good time and had a short rest before a short (ish) drive to lake Ohau for the night. En route we stopped at the supermarket. We picked up some dessert ... chocolate iced Christmas cakes!
After a double ration of porridge for breakfast we started the climb up the track. For the first 10 minutes, we were led into a false sense of security as the track was nice and gentle ...
However, that soon changed! The next part was steps, followed by rock hopping, then by scrambling. On the way a group of inquisitive kea came to join us. Kea are a native, large green parrot type of bird. When they open their wings the under side are beautifully coloured with red, blue and orange.
Eventually, we reached the ridge at the top. No more climbing up but a 30 minute flat walk to the hut. The view was great from here. You could see Mt Cook in the distance, surrounded by other snow capped mountains. We could see the glaciers making their way down the valleys finally becoming streams....
We made it to the hut and were welcomed by the volunteer wardens, who kindly offered us a cup of tea. We chatted to them for a while and discovered they are coming to England soon to complete the famous Coast to Coast walk! Soon other people arrived and joined the conversation including 3 people from a Canadian circus travelling around New Zealand.
We saw a number of small avalanche slide down the mountain opposite the hut. When we finally decided to leave, we said goodbye and started back down the slippery slopes. We passed lots of people heading up but we were glad to be heading down! We reached the bottom in good time and had a short rest before a short (ish) drive to lake Ohau for the night. En route we stopped at the supermarket. We picked up some dessert ... chocolate iced Christmas cakes!
