So two weekends ago marks the beginning of my tramping experiences in New Zealand. And it was hands down the best way to kick off the tramping season. I honestly think it must be illegal to have as much fun as we had on this trip. The tramping (back packing) club at the university plans trips basically every weekend and they are a super easy and cheap way to get rides to amazing places all around the country. The Otehake hot springs trip is an annual ordeal and so about thirty people signed up this year.
We left on an early Saturday morning for about a two hour drive, that lead us into the windy roads and snow capped mountains of Arthur's Pass. Before we left we were warned that there would be several river crossing through out the hike for which all of us newbie trampers were a little worried about. And as soon as we saw how cold and snowy it was around the peaks of Arthur's Pass we started getting anxious and preparing to freeze the night away in the snow...
But! To much relief and deep sighing once we finally reached the start of the track we realized the trail was going through the valleys of the Pass which were not snow capped at all.
The group before we set out!
But this is where the river crossings began.... dun.. dun. dunnn... The first one was honestly the worst. You think that there is going to be some sort of way to keep your feet moderately dry... False. But once you come to terms with the fact that your shoes, socks, and your pants up past your knee are going to be soaked it's not that bad :)
Having way too good of a time to even care if I'm getting soaked.
Hayley and I braving one of the last river crossings, holding on to each in some sort of attempt to not slip on the wet rocks and fall into freezing water.
The rest of the trail aside from the river crossings was also pretty exciting. In New Zealand all trails are marked with these sketchy little orange triangles that are not super obvious or easy to see. Some parts of the trail were sinusoidal curving up and down for much longer than would be desirable and for a lot of time we had to tramp across annoying rocky shores which were a haven for ankle twisting and tripping over ones' toes.
An example of what most of the trail looked like...
After somewhere between four to five hours of hiking and wading in freezing water the trek finally came to an end and we were at our wonderful destination of the amazing Otehake Hot pools - so, so, so worth possibly risking getting frozen toes just to reach the sweet as hot pool. We set up camp on some raised ground right next to the springs and spent the rest of the night enjoying the warmth of the springs and admiring the clear New Zealand night sky..
About half the group chillin in the hot pools.
Hayley struggling to put her feet into the water at first because our frozen toes were going into shock at how warm the water suddenly was.
Life is soooo GOOOOOD.
The next morning the biggest struggle after waking up was coming to terms with the fact that we now had to put back on our soaked wool socks and our soaked hiking boots and trudge back to our car, with no hot pools to greet us at the end. :(
Zak and I sticking our soaked feet in the springs before we were forced to head out...
In conclusion, this trip was amazing, and made me fall in love with this country and people even more. Can't wait for my next tramp! :)
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