Back to civilisation

Greetings from Queenstown, the adventure capital of NZ. It's a lovely little place - feels a lot like a ski village with outdoor shops, bars, internet cafes and lots of slate.

We've spent the past few days down in Fiordland, right down in the south west corner of NZ. It's a stunning area with lots of rugged mountains, lakes, waterfalls and of course, the fiords. Everything is kind of blurring into one so I'm not exactly sure what we did since I last blogged but will fill you in with what I can remember. On Friday night I upgraded to stay in a really cute little cabin at Gunn's Camp in the Hollyford Valley. The camp was originally used by the men who constructed the Homer Tunnel (through a mountain) many years ago and the cabins still have the original wood/coal-burning stoves - very smokey but nice and toasty. We had stroganoff and pasta for tea then sat round a camp fire and toasted marshmallows. The bad weather that was forecast didn't come to anything so the campers stayed dry that night.

The following morning we got up bright and early and drove down the valley to Milford Sound for a cruise. It was breathtaking. The cloud slowly cleared from the tops of the mountains and we were lucky enough to have a bottle-nose dolphin swimming infront of the boat at one point. They are much bigger than the dusky dolphins I was swimming with the other day - more like Flipper. The scenery was spectacular and we stopped by another pod of dolphins on the way back. Then it was back to the bus for a short drive back up the valley to the Divide, where 7 of us got off to start the Routeburn Track walk, a 38km (approx) walk through temperate rainforest, across the Harris Saddle and back down the other side.

We set off with our packs on our backs and climbed steeply through the rainforest. The trees were amazing. Dripping with mosses and lichens. It was quite hard going to start with, mainly getting used to carrying the weight. We needed our sleeping bags, food for 3 days and clothes etc. It was like Duke of Edinburgh all over again, although we did have the luxury of staying in Department of Conservation huts for the two nights so didn't need to carry or pitch tents.

We walked for approximately 3 hours before arriving at the Lake Mackenzie Hut, a big hut with 50 bunks 4 people to a platform. Fortunately there was only 2 of us on my platform so I didn't feel too penned in by random people. Flying Kiwi gave us loads of food and snacks - roast lamb and mash (out a packet) for tea, followed by chocolate dessert and condensed milk. Compared to the bothies we encountered on Duke of Edinburgh in Scotland, these huts were the height of luxury with electricity until 10pm, flushing toilets, gas hobs and matresses. There was a beautiful sunset which made the snow-topped mountains glow red. I slept remarkably well, all things considered, and those of you who know me well will be pleased to know that I'm kind of getting over my toilet phobia, or at least realising that I don't have much choice where I go on this trip!

After having our porridge and cappucino (complete with chocolate sprinkles), we set off to tackle the longest and steepest part of the walk, up and over Harris Saddle. It took us about 6 hours in total. The weather was kind to us and the cloud soon lifted so we were walking in brilliant sunshine. We left our pack in one of the other huts and climbed and scrambled up to the top of Conical Hill, which was really wortthwhile with amazing views. From then on it was all downhill to our next camp at Routeburn Flats. This hut was much smaller and there were only 10 of us staying. We had our chicken tikka masala and invited the warden in for chocolate dessert. It was interesting talking to him about the area and his job.

Despite having individual bunks and less people, I had a terrible night's sleep. The one guy in our dorm went straight to sleep and snored so I ended up taking my sleeping bag into the main room and trying to sleep there. The trouble was, we'd lit a fire earlier so it was boiling hot. I took my sleeping bag off and lay in my sleeping bag liner. Then the sandflies (like midges) started attacking me so I got up to spray repellent. Then I needed the loo. I eventually slept for a while but woke up cold. Got back in my sleeping bag. Then some keen hikers got up at the crack of dawn which woke me again. Eventually it was time to get up and we had a leisurely 1.5hr walk through the forest to the car park where we got a shuttle bus into Queenstown. I'm so pleased I did the Routeburn. It was a lovely walk, the weather was great, the scenery was spectacular and I got to see the NZ that I was expecting to see, not just another town. T would have loved it and I thought of him often.

So, my tent is pitched, we've had lunch and I've just paid for my Nevis Swing - a 130m canyon swing that I do tomorrow morning. I must be completely mad. It's just not me and I'm still not sure why I'm doing it but I'm sure I'll be grinning when it's over. I think maybe when T died a little bit of him jumped into me. It's the only explanation I've got for doing half the things I've done since he died. They are all T things and very few of them are Sarah things. But they all feel bizarrely right. I'm doing it tandem with a lovely German girl called Isa, who feels exactly the same as me about it. At least we can hold hands and scream together. You freefall for 70m. Holy shit. At least you're attached to a rope and I think the swinging bit will be good fun. See how I'm trying to kid myself it'll be OK?

Aside from all of that, I'm well and still enjoying being out here. It was definitely the right thing to do and I've got no regrets. I told a really nice Brummie girl called Rachel about T. Just because she asked me the wrong question at the wrong time. I feel relieved though. I thought it would all happen more publically and had been speaking to my counsellor about that and contingency plans. Rachel has been really sweet and talks to me about T if I want to. I don't know if she's told anyone else. But that doesn't really matter. The weather has been mixed. It got cold but warmed up on the Routeburn. Now it's mild but showery - a result of the typhoon in the Pacific, someone mentioned. Now I'm going to head back to the campsite and wash, dry and straighten my hair - what luxury. I can't wait. I haven't showered since Friday. Not pleasant. Tonight we're eating out and having a few beers as quite a few people leave the bus tomorrow. I guess that means we'll have some new people joining too. I will be sad to say goodbye to some of the people - it won't be the same without them.

I have a feeling I might not have the chance to do much blogging between here and Nelson so don't be surprised if I go AWOL again. I'll update you when I can but in the meantime, I hope you are all well. Sorry I haven't got round to replying to individual emails but thinking of you all and appreciate the texts and emails you've sent. Wish me luck for tomorrow. Listen out for the screaming. I reckon there's a good chance you'll hear it over the other side of the world.