April 2019: Huts, Hills, and Endless Generosity

A love affair

It may sound cliche. Every American and their mother is obsessed with New Zealand, maybe even more than Ireland or the U.K. But we fell hopelessly, haplessly in love with the place.

I thought, in writing this, that I could pick one or two experiences that epitomized our time there. Turns out, I could not. Let’s go over just a few of the magical things that happened:

• we met Craig, perhaps the kindest Couchsurfing host in history, who took us on trips to far off coves, shared his secret pepper sauce, and generally took pity on our tired travelling bones

• we met Grace while working at our favorite little lodge in Marlborough Sounds, and we later spent a lovely few days meeting all her doctor friends, drinking wine, and baking cooking in her beautiful flat overlooking Nelson

• we met Vaughn and Tim, two Kiwi dads reuniting on a long weekend of tramping, and proceeded to finish an entire 5-day loop together (Vaughn later took our smelly selves into his home for beer and venison when we couldn’t afford Arrowtown)

• we met Aref, who along with Craig is in the running for the kindest man in the world, and saw Christchurch’s Afghani community thriving despite everything while eating cows feet and traditional bread made in a garage turned makeshift oven

• we met Hank, and later his splendid wife Melanie, who drove us all the way from Blenheim to Christchurch, let us into their cozy home, and whipped us around in their insane vintage Mini Cooper and Land Rover

• we met Kam, who gave us a much needed ride (twice), and treated us to the best Indian curry we’d had in ages so we could meet his wife and see the life they were starting in Te Anau

• we met Dustin and company, who took Stefan out deer hunting after an hour of introduction, and made us do a whole lot of thinking about sustainability and alternative ways of living

More than great

You may have noticed something about that list. New Zealand was made by all the absolutely spectacular human beings we met. Ironic, for an island so sparsely populated (yes, there are still more sheep than people, but the cow population is on the up and up too).

However, we can’t keep from addressing the fabulous natural beauty of the place. From the picture perfect Marlborough Sounds, with rolling green hills descending spectacular into blue ocean, to the white capped stunners of the Southern Alps.

We spent almost a month hiking, and none of it (except three day hikes) was on a so called “great walk.” These are the hikes NZ is most popular for. While they are spectacular, they’re also overrun with people at times and very, very expensive - we’re talking $90 a night per person to stay in a basic hut along the way.

There are many ways to see this country, more than the average traveller would have you believe: camper, car, hitch, foot. And all are completely worthwhile.

Homes Sweet Homes

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fabulous backcountry hut system in the country - Stefan’s pictured packing up in one of our favorites, Hunters hut, above.

Not many foreigners understand the vast network of huts in the country. They’re everywhere, on practically every trail you can walk, and there are a whole lotta trails.

We lived out of huts for about 40 nights in the country, all for the one time price of $90. Not a bad deal in this very expensive country.

Not fancy, but always clean, cozy, and warm, we will forever have a soft spot for our many homes. THANK YOU to all the department of conservation workers and volunteers that make the huts possible.

Maybe one day we’ll build our own little cabin in the hills;)

♡ Stef and Tor