Te Araroa- Canterbury, NZ

At Lake McGregor with our favorite tramping friends, Sam and Linda!

Jacob eating Mt Cook!

The Good Shepherd Chapel on Lake Tekapo

Beautiful Valley along the Harper Pass Track

Love to wake up to a sunrise. Taken from Crooked Spurr Hut

Mt Cook and the other mountains too!

Coast to Coast participants...these athletes are amazing!

Crossing the river. Follow them up!

Hut Life

Overlooking the beautiful Rangatata River Valley.

Jacob on the Mingha Deceptino Track

Lake SUMNER, NZ. Reminds me of home :)

Overlooking the valley. LOVE

In Good Shepherd Chapel, overlooking Lake Tekapo

Holding Mt Cook

Act like a Moa! These animals are now extinct.

We Made it!

Leo and Rintui: our faithful packs!

There is no avoiding this poo bog!

Going up the Clent Hills Track

We love roadwalking!

Valentines Day: overlooking Lake Coleridge

Valentine's Dinner! Lamp Curry with Fresh Salad. Delicious!

We had to pull over to avoid the herds of sheep just wakling down the road

At the top of Stag Saddle

Canterbury

Since we have last updated our blog last, we have begun and nearly completed the Canterbury region of the Te Araroa. Since we left Hanmer Springs 18 days ago, we have tramped over 300 kilometers (1 mile = 1.6 km), crossed the Southern Alps, summited the highest point along the T.A. (over 2000m), walked and learned of many historic Maori routes, and met lots of incredible people-tramping, hitching, local kiwis, and other travelers in small towns we pass through. A lot has happened in the past 18 days...a lot happens every day. It's hard to wrap our minds around it, and even harder to look back and try to begin to describe it to you. But of course, we will try our best to give you a glimpse of our experience on the Te Araroa the past 18 days in the Caterbury Region.

In a nutshell, we would describe Canterbury as "Canterbarren." Lots of hills and open valleys. "Wide Open Spaces" by the dixie chicks is the song of the region. It is a windy region that reminds us of Eastern Washington-very dry and very dessert like. The terrain we walk is often tussocks (huge grassy knol), dirt, road, and as you have seen by the pictures, beautiful mountains and river valleys as well.

Highlights:
-Summitting the highest point along the Te Araroa trail-Stag Saddle (1950m). After climbing for 2 hours uphill, there is no way to describe the feeling when the view of the mountains gradually comes into view as you step onto the summit. It's overwhelming and exhilarating! After making it to the saddle, we climbed up a scree slope (rocks) to Beuzenberg Peak (2070m) to experience an even better view of Mt Cook! The highest mountain in New Zealand. AMAZING!

-Thermal hot pools were a highlight of the Harper Pass track and a great break to soak our legs in the natural thermal hot springs!

-Coast to Coast: We just so happened to be tramping the Mingha Deception Track the same time the Coast to Coast race was occurring. This is one of the most iconic multi-sport races in New Zealand-which includes biking, running, and kayaking from the West to East Coast of the Country. The track we were tramping was the running portion. What took these athletes 3 1/2 hours to complete the entire track, took us two days and 11 hours.

-We have gotten to stay in original huts that the early Maori people and European explorers have used for settlement and trading routes. We also stayed at the "Royal Hut" where Prince Charles and Princess Anne often visited during their childhood. Fun!

-Again, we have met lots of interesting people! While tramping we have met 2 other groups of fellow T.A. trampers-Arne and Nick, from the Colorado and Belgium, Shadow and Country Mouse, from Tennessee, and Robert and Holly, from Utah. It has been a huge blessing to be able to share our experience with not only Sam and Linda, but also cross paths with these other trampers. It's always fun to exchange trail ideas and share the joys and challenges of the trail. We have also met people from Seattle and Cheney, Washington at campsites we have stayed at in town. It is a small world and we enjoy these connections.

-Quesadillas! Our favorite tramping dinner we make and enjoy about once a week! Tortillas, cheese, tuna, and dried veggies are already in our packs, so we decided to put them all together for a flavorful meal! Yum!

-Valentine's Day: this year we got to spend Valentine's day camping along the trail. Thankfully we were passing through a town and got to eat some FRESH FOOD to celebrate! ha.

-34km. We walked the longest distance in one day, which was exhausting, but an accomplishment! These are the days we look back to for encouragement and reminders when times get a little rough.

Reflection:
Jacob and I are continually feeling in aw of the beautiful creation we are surrounded by. We live in a beautiful world and every day it seems we experience a different part of the vast and complex creation. WE LOVE IT! We feel incredibly blessed to have been able to tramp with Sam and Linda over the past month. It's been a treat to have an actual "Support Crew" and know that there is a cold drink at the end of the trail. We have recently decided to move ahead and are excited for the friends and new trampers we will meet and share the journey with. We have gained an entirely new appreciation for all the gracious people who have offered us meals, cold drinks, a shower, or a simple smile or kind word. After being on the trail for days there is nothing better than a hot shower, warm meal, and place to rest. We have been the most blessed with people who have really provided for us, brightened our day, or literally made our load a little lighter. We hope and are encouraged to do the same to others in the future. We are currently spending the day in Twizel, where we are restocking our food and resting. Tomorrow we will be back on the trail, and soon will begin the Otago Region! We are thinking that we will reach Bluff (the southern tip of NZ) in about a month (or hopefully whenever my parents can make it!). Thank you to all our friends and family for your support, encouragement, and prayers. As we go into the last month, we need it the most, as our bodies are feeling a bit exhausted and fatigued. We love and miss you all! Can't wait to catch up with you all, as the world keeps turning as we keep tramping.

Agape'
Jordan and Jacob :)