First tramp to NZ from Michigan USA - Resv at Huts

Great to hear you are enjoying yourselves. I hope the rest of the trip shakes out well and you get to see more of the (back)country.

Please be mindful of the weather. Big system hitting the South Island this Sunday. http://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=nzsi&noofdays=10

Hmm, a little reticent to ask since the weather at the bottom of the South Island has been atrocious for the last several weeks, but how did your trip go, Robert?

Sorry for the late response, was a little crazy once we returned to the USA-Detroit area after our 5 1/2 weeks in NZ/TAS. First, NZ was awesome and the people so friendly, we had an amazing trip. We hiked Abel from N to S, the entire trail with nothing but sunny skies! Then headed south, unfortunatelyMilford and Routeburn were closed due to MOTHER NATURE, so we adapted and did the HUMP Ridge trail, which was beautiful.. Then did the Doubtful Sound by boat, then the Kepler trek and then was able to do the Milford Sound by bus/boat. All were fantastic. Stayed in TeAnua at the Shakespeare B&B and eat at the Red Cliff for dinner and both were EXCEPTIONAL! Then we went to Queenstown for two days, Hiked Ben Loman trail and then headed off to Gibbston then to Mt Cook. We were able to hike to Mueller hut, spend the night and come back down, again, all with Blue Skiies, very lucky. The stars were amazing. Then we headed to Tasmania Your country is beautiful and so diverse. People so friendly, we had a GREAT time. Your fruit is very good! So much better than ours in the states. Only thing we didn’t like, unlike the USA, you better watch the gas gage, as distance between gas stations can be a long ways. We almost ran out of gas one time, but made it with 2 miles to go!!!! Exciting, our own fault. We can’t say enough about DOC , the huts, and the trails. ALL AMAZING. Thank you for providing us with an EPIC trip and memories for a life time. We hope you are all safe & healthy during these trying times. My wife and I are fine, but our state of Michigan is getting hit hard right now. We returned to the USA just hours before they tightened controls upon re-entry. We had no wait time to enter at Chicago, but hours later, the lines were 5-7 hours long to get through customs. Again, EPIC trip and be SAFE & Health New Zealand!

Glad to hear that you have made it home safe and sound and enjoyed your time here. Amazing to think that when this thread started the weather was the big concern!

Oops !. To clarify my smiley, so glad you both had a good time here, Robert. Sincere best wishes for the future.