Three Aussies in NZ - Lewis Pass region.

I've just arrived back in Sydney after 4 glorious days walking in the Lewis Pass region of the South Island. We were very fortunate to have near perfect conditions and enjoyed one of the most scenic and enjoyable trips one could wish for. We arrived at Lewis Pass at 10:00AM last Thursday 19th March having flown into Ch. Ch. late the night before. Having acquired all our gear in the 70's and 80's, long before the lightweight backpacking revolution, our backs groaned as we shouldered packs and headed off under overcast skies and scudding rain. The track is in excellent condition and spends most of its time well above the river before dropping down to the Cannibal Gorge Hut where we stopped for lunch and dried out our gear. I have to say that we have nothing in Australia to match the quality of your walking infrastructure. This hut came complete with plumbed water to an internal sink! A full third of the world's population don't have homes this good. With no one in occupation to engage in conversation we were on our way soon after lunch and a brew of hot tea. In what seemed like no time at all Ada Pass Hut came into view. The hour since lunch had flown by. The river scenery was just enchanting with grassy flats and shingle banks interspersed with pockets of forest. Picture book stuff. Again the hut was empty but as it was early we decided to press on. It had been our original intention to leave the St James Walkway at this point and head up the Maruia River and over Three Tarns Pass but as the tops were shrouded in cloud and it was still raining we elected to do the trip in the reverse direction. As things would turn out this proved to be a very good decision. Ada Pass proved to be, by a considerable margin, the easiest of the whole trip and before long we were trundling happily along grassy banks admiring the sombre bulk of the Faerie Queen rising steeply above Camera Gully. The livestock of StJames Station all seemed in excellent condition. The station horses were magnificent as they galloped across the open paddocks. Perhaps though they will all soon be removed as I understand the run has been resumed by the government? By now the sun was making its first appearance for the day and the Christopher River fairly sparkled in the late afternoon glow as it wound its way across the plains before emptying into the Ada below the track. Even from a height of over a hundred metres the rocky bed was clearly visible beneath the gin coloured water. We have nothing like this in Aus. Alas. Soon Christopher Hut came into view tucked into the bush edge on the fringe of a great sweeping riverine plain. Two parties both from Christchurch were already in residence but quickly made us feel very welcome even after it was established that we were Australians. To our amazement even though we are all on the wrong side of 50 we were by some margin the youngest there! As things would have it we were to see only one person younger than ourselves on the whole trip. Is that how it is in the NZ back country? We were also surprised by the number of wmen out walking, sorry tramping. One party consisted of just three women. This would be unheard of in Australia and I suspect most other parts of the world. They were all very friendly though and were enjoying their annual March trip away together. More strength to them. One of the ladies in the other party was at least 70 and received us warmly proclaiming that as she had several sons and many grandsons she knew all about "young" boys like us.Her only regret she confided was that she had taken up tramping too late in life. Better late than never I consoled her. As we had a big day following we bid our new friends goodnight and took up sleeping quarters on the verandah outside. This was not because we were not made welcome but because they seemed set for a long session around the card table. Wilfred though would retreat to the hut before long when a possum invaded his personal space. The night was very dark with the moon not rising to well after midnight. As I looked up to the stars it was hard to conceive that barely 24 hours before I had been sitting in my Sydney office. How wonderful the day had been. Could it get any better than this? TBC K.