Up the West Coast- Wanaka and the Copland Track

After Queenstown, we started our road trip up the west coast of the south island. We stayed in Wanaka for a night with Alice Hill, a frisbee friend formerly of Rice University.

Wanaka is an awesome little lakeside mountain town with tons of outdoor adventures and day hikes around. We woke up and ran up a local mountain and vista point, Mt. Iron for some exercise and good views of the town before heading on north.

We spent the next three days on the first part of the Copland Track; we couldn't hike all of it because a recent avalanche changed the terrain and you need ice/glacier hiking equipment and training, neither of which we have. We split it up into three days and two nights, 48 kilometeres all together.

A lot of the track to Welcome Flat Hut, our camping destination the first night, was tramping through bush like this.

The rest of the track was rock hopping along the banks of this baby blue glacial river.

The water is the most magnificant sky blue but creamy looking because of the "glacial flour", ground up rock particles that are suspended in the water and reflect this incredible color.

Why Welcome Flat Hut is awesome: natural thermal pools with a view. We went for a soak at night, around 9:00 pm because it was cooler outside and the sand flies aren't as bad at night. And again during the day on the long way back out.

The source of the hot springs, around 50 degree Celcius! Feels so good after a long day on the trail.

We climbed up this valley and to the left of the picture to get to Douglas Hut, our second night destination.

Douglas Hut, a backcountry hut right before the Copland Pass. We spent a night there so we could do a day hike exploring the glaciers and catching a view of Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.

Inside Douglas Hut cooking our new favorite Ramen Noodle flavor, vegetarian curry! It was a quaint little mountain cabin.

The view of Mt. Cook and the valley we hiked into. We scrambled up a big pile of scree (rivers of rock deposited by glaciers, erosion, rock slides, avalanches, etc.) to get a better view.

We hiked out the 24 km. back to the car park in one day yesterday, so we're spending the next few days relaxing and exploring the glaciers around the area, Fox and Franz Joseph, and then heading up north for more adventure! We have exactly one month left here before we head off for exotic Southeast Asia! We figured since we are so close we can't pass up the chance; we're going to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia so far.