A boat trip on lake Powell or how to die in the Utah desert

Veröffentlicht am 26. August 2015 von Steffi

In the 1950’s somebody had the great idea to build the Glen Canyon dam and collect thousands of cubic meters of water rushing in from the the Colorado River into the Glen Canyon. It took 11 years to fill the Glen Canyon to it’s high water mark (the white colouring of the red sandstone walls that you see on the pictures) now being one of the most outstanding landmarks at the boarder between Utah and Arizona.

It’s a crazy landscape. 300 feet water below and 300 sandstone above. Dead tree trunks testify that this wasn’t always the case.

Tom decided to trade floating in a boat for some solitude time in the Rocky Mountains. Santos had to work. So with tents, bathing suits, a cooler filled with wine and beer and two bags of snacks Jen and me boarded Nicks Pickup and we were on our way to lake Powell in south Utah. I got a warning that we will travel with dogs, which however didn’t prepare me for Nikita, Sage, and Patina which were going to be a quite entertaining part of the trip. The three dogs were in the bigger end of the scale and very skilled in taking up every space you would allow them, resulting in a car ride were I frequently had a dog head or ass in my lap (not to talk about old Nikita’s gas problems).

Traveling with three dogs in a Pickup is surely one of my more unusual experiences.

Traveling with three dogs in a Pickup is surely one of my more rare experiences.

We arrived after a five hours drive. When all our stuff was stored on the very spacey pontoon boat we headed out to find a camping spot. We found a flat beach in iceberg canyon which should become a quite significant choice during the coming days.

Nothing looking like icebergs in Iceberg Canyon – yet.

As Nick stated the dam was on of the greatest idiocies done in south Utah but it led to some of the most outstanding landscapes. 500-600 feet canyons of red sandstones are filled halfway with greenish blue water mesmerizing you while cruising through the narrow channels. If you are tired of cruising you can stop and climb up a wall of sandstone, hike into the dry ends if canyons, check out alcoves and arches, soak in the warm water or just hang out on the boat and enjoy your drink.

This is a very different way of enjoying great landscape compared to our usual hiking trips.

Our neighbours were even more professional in using existing circumstances for recreation.

But I find to use rubber duck as floating devices for cocktails pretty great too.

We managed to spent approximately 1.5 days with these very common activities while the other 2.5 days were dominated by trying to survive a little hurricane passing by lake Powell. Luckily Nick and Audra just got what we would call a glass house for their boat, so we could sit in the relatively safety and dryness watching the rain, the occurrence of waterfalls, and flash floods passing by.
At the evening if our second day just after we arrived back from a little kayak exploration the wind picked up dramatically, flipping over cooking tables, playing sail with the boat enclosure and flattening out our tents. Everything was over in about half an hour leaving a soaked Jen (trying to keep frying pans from flying away), one broken and several bend tent poles.

Enjoying the sunny morning paddling and hiking flooded canyon arms …

… Sage liking of my sun cream …

… before the first storm and heavy rain …

… forced us to to enjoy Nick’s and Audra’s new boat enclosure.

But after the rain comes the sun and in a canyon: waterfalls. So we went hunting waterfalls by boat. This one was my favourite.

And there is one more thing that I don't want to detain from. The first floating toilet that I ever saw in my life. Dammit smart.

So much running water, sometimes also reminds us of our needs. In that case just go for the floating toilet.

The next day the mayor storm was supposed to be hit us so we used the sunny morning hours to hike up iceberg canyon exploring the huge cathedral alcove at its end. As we were to turn around we saw the black wall of clouds approach us and decided it might be a good idea to head back to the boat. It wasn’t just a good but the wisest decision.

You don’t feel especially safe seeing this wall coming while hiking in a canyon.

Securely equipped with drinks and food we watched the heavy rain starting off waterfalls around us until the rain turned to hail, the falls started draining enormous amounts of water and a flash flood of hail and wood rushed down the canyon that we just hiked. I didn’t really know what was going on but the three freaked out Americans indicated that this was an once in a life time and pretty dangerous experience. Nick shot some movies that even made it to the news. Thank god we picked a beach that hold up to the flood and the boat was properly secured so we watched the „show“ from with a relative comfort. Even the tents survived without any further damage.

Ready for the show equipped with drinks and snacks.

It’s not about the tent but the drainage flushing into the canyon behind it.

And the Iceberg Canyon changed into a a river of gooseberry big hail living up to it’s name.

When the flood finally slowed down we found our selves locked in the canyon by a feet high layer of hail bergs, so the rest of the day was spent hanging out on the boat and resuming what just happened. The irony of floating hail bergs around our camp was that the ice in our cooler melted rapidly and we were afraid the food would spoil, so we used the „good“ fortune to fill them with hail.

Our way out was completely blocked by hail leaving us wondering with happened to the rest of lake Powell.

Our neighbour tried to get through as well, but in the end spend 1 h in his boat waiting for the hail to melt a little just to come back to his camp. Shovelling his way out with a wake board was rather unsuccessful.

Some freezing bags and a little hail worked wonder keeping our food and drinks cold.

Already the same evening conditions improved and the next day we could paddle our way out of wooden debris and cruise the canyons. But not enough with near death experience. Nick sent us climbing up a waterfall (after swimming through debris and foam of degrading organic material). We failed just about (getting cold in a pool at the feet of the waterfall we were not able the climb the fragile ladder of old rope). When we came back, our way was blocked by several screaming teenage girls so the best choice seemed to jump of the tiny cliff directly into the water in front of the boat. Audra cleared out the debris (Jen refused to jump on the floating cactus.) and I worked up all my courage and jumped. Cold and dripping back on the boat Audra pointed out an also very wet but very angry rattlesnake that hide under all the debris in the water making our hearts drop for a second (in worst circumstances the bit of a rattlesnake can be deadly).

So for the moment we were done with hiking around in water and longed for the comfort of a warm beach, which we should get and enjoy. After some more hiking in the evening we picked up one of Nicks friend who was hiking through the desert in these events and long and eventful day came to its end.

Good that we had a net and a rake. The engine didn’t really liked the debris.

My first time trying to climb a waterfall. I wasn’t quite aware off, that I would climb in the waterfall, when Nick proposed it.

But being back in the sun it was warm enough again for the pool noodles.

First from above the real dimensions of this place become clear.

The next day we packed up, cleaned up and started the long journey back to SLC.

But don’t forget, no trip to Lake Powell is complete without a swim in Lake Powell.

The south Utah road trip in a blue elephant boot

Veröffentlicht am 26. August 2015 von Steffi

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PSSST. Jen made me promise never ever to tell anybody about Utah. They don’t want to share it with the typical US tourist. So if anybody asks you: it wasn’t me who told you.

After consulting the lonely planet and talking to Jen and Santos it became clear that we wont be able to explore Utah without one of the most American cliches: our own car. So we rented the cheapest tiny car we could find for 330$ for two weeks. Far too small for the American standards it could anyway fit our backpacks a 6 gallon water jug (23l), a cooling box (many thanks to Jen and Santos) and food for several days. And off we went south.

Just big enough for two germans and a sheep, but it’s off road abilities could be improved.

The first six days we spend near Moab (Utahs outdoor hub) and the Arches National Park. The area is almost exclusively shaped from water biting its way through red sandstone resulting in deep canyons carrying sand loaded water framed by red cliffs, caves supposedly containing a caveman, stretches of never ending red walls, and the so famous spikes and arches. One of them even being Utahs emblem. I think it’s not overstated to say that it’s a huge playground for grown up outdoories. There are lots of camping grounds, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, 4WD, and ATV trails, climbing routes, skydiving, motorboat driving, kayaking, stand up paddling and whatever else you can imagine doing outdoors (BBQing, beer drinking, recreating).

Red sandstone stretches as far as your vision allows to distinguish from red sanddunes.

We visited south Utah in the beginning of May and found it to be surprisingly green and in this case yellow. Most of southern Utah is desert and only with a little luck and a wet spring you are able to see it flowering.

We spend two days hiking around holes in stones without having even seen 1% of the arches that are sprinkled over Arches National Park. Once an enormous field of sandstone was elevated and bend by an agglomeration of salt. Consequently the sandstone broke into slices which was the basis of forming arches by the continuous erosion by water and ice. It’s surely not the only place where you find natural arches but one with a pretty high density.

Delicate Arch – the most famous arch in the US and Utah’s emblem. Just between the two of us, this arch is so delicate that it need support from a metal frame, which can’t be seen from this perspective.

Double arch

Landscape Arch

Double O Arch

Navajo Arch

Partition Arch

Misused Arch – you are not allowed to walk over or even club an Arch.

As rough and hard as sandstone.

And of course where there are stones a phallus isn’t far (remember Chile?) even though they call this one the „black angel“.

We were then joined by Santos and his friend who really put an effort into keeping our adrenalin level up. Santos a climber himself offered to do some climbs with us, which especially Tom accepted with great excitement. Something he always wanted to try. I willingly tried a climb at the so called Wallstreet (a road with a wall of red stone to one side).

Just a little equipment for just a few meter up the wallstreet.

Looking pretty easy to climb a 2 cm broad slot, well?

Looking not quite …

… as graceful.

When I saw where Santos planned to take us the next day my adventure limit was passed. I know to much about climbing to ignore the risks of going up a very slim spike 200 m above ground, Tom doesn’t, so of course he went. I enjoyed the view of the red towers and a slightly frightened Tom from the safety of the ground. If you would like to get a more lively impression I got a link for you here. But don’t be over impressed these are not Tom and Santos, but two professionals.

When I saw the goal of today it was pretty clear to me that I wouldn’t go up there.

After about three hours Tom finally (though a little shaky) stand up on the Ancient Art.

One day later. But who is climbing with shorts and a beanie?

On our last day with Santos „a half day“ iSUP (inflatable stand up paddling) trip on the Colorado river kept us busy the whole day (a friend of Santos owned the company organizing tours). These paddle boards are pretty stable but the water on Colorado river has somewhat white water so I ended up in the water 4 times (I estimate Tom went in at least 10 times). It was pretty fun, but next time I will bring a wet suit (I was wet to the bone and freezing in the shadow of the deep canyon). The two had to head home the same day and we headed for laundry before crawling exhausted into our sleeping bags.

iSUPs ready to go for the next day. When I was falling into the river after one minute on the iSUP, I was happy I didn’t brought any device to take pictures onto the river.

The next day teached us what US distances mean. Despite the fact Escalante looked close on the map we spent half a day in the car getting there only to find out that the road we planned to take might be a piece of cake for a pickup but far to much for our little blue baby. We turned around after 10 miles of shaking gravel road and decided to drive to Bryce Canyon first thing the next morning (it should turn out to be the perfect decision).

Distances get a different dimension in this vast country.

Bryce Canyon is most famous for its hoodoos (Tom thinks it’s a reference to hoodie) and we understood why, when we arrived. I guess most of Utah’s beauty is about sandstone but these are special in the sense that one of its layers is especially hard preventing the layers underneath from eroding. The resulting formations indeed remember of deformed pillars with a hoodie of stone. And as typical for the US you don’t just find one but uncountable numbers in colors ranging from white to yellow to pink to red. One (with some imagination) even looks like a statue of Queen Victoria.

What ever we did, I got the impression all dimensions are scaled by a factor of ten in the US.

Solo standing hoodoo’s were the exception in Bryce national park.

Erosions reach sometimes so deep, that we already visited the second „Wallstreet“ in the US without having been to NewYork City.

And well, if stone reaches deep dimensions tree simply counter act.

A hot shower and a night’s sleep later we headed of to our last destination. Zion National Park, where we planned to do some more backpacking (overnight hiking). Well, you know the story: hiking, camping, hiking, camping …

For a long time, this was our first hiking trip without cold feet.

The landscape reminded us a lot of Yosemite, washed stones cut by canyons and sprinkled with trees with a few but distinct differences: the stones were mainly red sand stone, it was soaring hot up to 35°C, and black flies (biting flies) were hunting us the whole day making every break a pain. However, there were two more highlights waiting for us at the end if this trip:

1. Angles landing a rocky ridge dropping down on both sides as two vertical walls and supposedly so high that only angles could land there. Today a path equipped with metal chains lead up to the beautiful view over Zion Canyon, but after a 14 mile hike I wished I had wings to fly up there like an angel.

I wasn’t really aware of what I was buying into, when I agreed to climb up Angels landing.

Tom climbing a bit higher than his guardian can fly (my opinion).

The view into Zion Canyon is most impressive at sunrise or sunset (as usual). By the way according to the Mormons „Zion“ in general names a place where the righteous can escape all badness of this world. Well. They not just renamed this Place that was inhabited since thousands of years by native americans, but simultaneously gave all peaks names of mormon saints.

2. We returned to the valley the same evening and were really lucky to get a camp site and Tom a hitched ride back to the car which was on the other side of the park. Therefore, we were able to hike into the far end of Zion Canyon the so called „Narrows“ the next day. The name says it all, the canyon is a few meter wide slot between two steep walls of sandstone, the virgin river flowing to their feet. Don’t believe that you will have dry feets hiking here, we spend roughly 90% of the time wading through up to hip high water (from the point of swimming we turned around). Luckily it was a hot summer day making the shadowy wet canyons a real comfort zone.

Every kind of human excretion has to be buried 100 feet from any water source. not easy to find a spot in a place like this.

But it’s such an incredible place to hike. And if you are uncomfortable it is possible to rent water tight shoes in the visitor center.

If there is any kind of rain forecasted DON’T go in here. There is absolutely no escape in case of a flash flood.

Unbelievably two weeks of road trip were already over and we had to head back to SLC to return the car and prepare for our next adventures.

Yosemite (not dschosemeit but josimiti)

Veröffentlicht am 19. August 2015 von Steffi

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The Sierra Nevada is a 400 mi long and a up to 80 mi broad granite block mainly located in California. Some of its most astonishing features lay in the Yosemite National Park along it’s 800 mi of hiking paths. So of course Yosemite was a magnet for us.

The visitor center gives a little impression of what you by into, if you decide to hike in the Sierra Nevada – countless steep accents.

Glacier shaped granit stretches out before your eyes for miles and miles in Yosemite and you are allowed to hike every single one of them.

After six hours by bus and train (for a distance that you cover by car in 2 h) we arrived at the visitor center in Yosemite village (more an enormous camp ground than a village). Loaded with our hiking gear and food for seven days but otherwise completely unprepared we were standing there a little confused. The first sign wasn’t promising: campgrounds full! The very friendly and very gay ranger behind the desk sent me off to the wilderness office the second I asked for the wilderness permit and a bear canister. Against all hopes, here the also very friendly ranger provided everything: a wilderness permit including a permit to climb the halfdome (otherwise only given out by lottery and hard to get hands on), actually two bear canisters and the permit to sleep on the backpackers campground the first night. Fully equipped we headed for the backpackers campground to arrange all our food, toiletries and some of the pharmacy stuff (everything that gives of a scent) into our 10l bear canisters to find out, it won’t fit. So either bear canisters are not designed for a week hiking our we are simply eating to much (I guess the later).

Slightly overfilled bear canister. We squeezed it shut and ate the leftovers.

Bear canister inside my backpack. You just have to squeeze the rest of the equipment all around it.

The next evening after a beautiful but strenuous 3000 feet (yes we are in the US) ascent into Yosemite highlands with many day hikers we (actually Tom) found a cozy campground at the base of the North Dome overlooking the color changing Half Dome (exaggerated coloured as the background picture of the current MacOS software „Yosemite“) in sunset. When we finished the last pack of Asia noodles and it was getting dark we tried to pack our bear canisters again and only with a lot of good will and squeezing we could fit everything into them. And because we are little paranoid germans we jumped through the woods in or pyjamas to hide the canisters 100 m from the tent (The ranger told us to just through it a few yards away into the trees, but we didn’t found this sufficient.).

Little Halfdome in fading twilight. Familiar?

So even though we were already in the highlands the next day made us climb at least another 3000 feet in tough endless woods up to little lake May. There were two distinct features in these woods that made me wonder. Countless dead trees were blocking our path, as if some strange disease is killing them off (We later found out that the cause is a combination of drought weakened trees and very hungry douglas-fir tussock moth caterpillars). And then we crawled over increasing numbers if snow patches, leaving me with the fear of a cold night. I should be proven right, when we ended up in bed before 8 pm due to the freezing winds.

Lake May at the following starlit night (Tom toke the picture, I would never have left the tent at these temperatures.) And yes thats snow in the lower left corner.

The weird thing was, the warmer the day, the wetter the socks.

We survived the second night without being eaten by a bear which caused for Tom doubts of their existence. Surely enough we were finding bear prints several times during the day leaving no doubt and a certain respect while packing our stuff up for the night. We finally left the big ascents behind and walked through leveled woods along impressive waterfalls and golden canyons. At a point we met the pacific crest trail (2500 mi from the Mexican to the Canadian boarder) and even a guy who already walked the 900 mi to here.

This dammit bear print was fresh, but to Toms disappointment we never met it’s owner.

White water rushing through a golden canyon before falling a thousand feet deep.

Our (my) coffee stock was running low and hopes were getting high, when we approached Toulumne Meadows the next day. Our map stated the presence of a shop and a visitor center. But at the beginning of May the road was nearly closed, the shop was still a half destructed barack, but the visitor center containing to rather unfriendly ranger was open so at least we could charge one phone before heading back to the wilderness. Since we had to get over the no camping zone (which we unknowingly violated the night before) we had another 7 mile hike to cathedral lake. It turned out to be a beautiful spot to camp for the night but the wind was unusually chilly and campfires prohibited.

Low season colours the highland meadows in a vivid khaki brown.

Setting up our home for one night at Cathedral lake got a cold venture after sunset.

The chill that froze our tent at night continued the whole next day. So though the highland meadows are amazing we kept our breaks pretty short. The original plan was to hike up Clouds Rest (roughly 3300 m) continue to the Quarter Dome and camp somewhere up there. But wearing three layers, gloves and beanies at the foot of Clouds Rest, we continued into the direction of Yosemite Valley. Literally from the frying pan into the fire we found ourself in burned woods for miles. A thunderstorm (as claimed by the park rangers or a careless camper as told by the gossip) did a good job here and we ended up setting up the tent in ashes of burned trees. But at least we had a nice view (very important to Tom).

The white patches reminded us again and again, why we were the only hiker in this amazing place.

The burned land, definitely has it’s one beauty, but finding the path in the soft ashes wasn’t always easy.

And though burned the land is not death and gives space for new life. Next to the strange fungus why met hundreds of hungry ants on our campground.

Although burned, the land is not death and gives space for new life. Next to the strange fungus why met hundreds of hungry ants on our campground.

I don’t know a single place in Europe, where you get a view like this, while laying in your tent and even be the only person in this spot.

The next morning we were woken by a funny sound on our tent. A bit like rain but not exactly. A peer out revealed: snow! We had expected everything but not snow. The sad thing about it wasn’t actually the snow but the clouds bringing it. It wrapped the trail in fog making a climb to the top of half dome impossible (we turned around 300 m before the top, when we absolutely failed to make out the trail). So all we could do was to climb the 4000 feet down into Yosemite Valley, get a coffee to warm us up again, buy a toothbrush and wine and get a shower and laundry.

The beginning of 10 cm fresh snow going to fall during the day.

Can you make out the Halfdome behind this white wall?

I still believe that we made a wise decision. The hiker we met this day turned around the next day (on the second day of his 29 day trip), because he couldn’t find the path in 30 cm fresh snow.

By the way, the richest wildlife the we observe in Yosemite Valley. Pizza stealing squirrels, deeply relaxed deers, hungry wildcats and through the campsite strolling bears (actually we only heard the story from three days before).

By the way, the richest wildlife did we observe in Yosemite Valley. Pizza stealing squirrels, deeply relaxed deers, hungry wildcats and through the campsite strolling bears (actually we only heard the story from three days before).

Losses of the trip:

1. 3 kg each due to a pretty high energy consumption (should make trips like that into a new diet approach).
2. One pair of hiking socks forgotten at May lake.
3. One toothbrush fallen from a pocket at Cathedral lake.
4. One water filter frozen to death at Cathedral lake.

A mini road trip in a mini trailer

Veröffentlicht am 9. August 2015 von Steffi

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After our great experience with translocation cars in NewZealand and because Tom couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be to drive over the bad, unbelievable straight and never ending roads of the US (You see, I was bored and couldn’t read, because Tom needed entertainment, because he was bored too.), we rented a small translocation trailer for five days to go from Las Vegas to San Francisco.

Our tiny ‚recreation vehicle‘ measured only 25 feet (around 8 m).

When we arrived at the rental we realized McDonalds meals are not the only supersized items in the US. Our trailer was a little house on wheels, with a bed room, bathroom, shower, kitchen, fridge and even a sofa :). on our first day we didn’t came very far and therefore decided to stay in a little town very typical on a Walmart parking ground. Walmart allows campers to stay overnight on their parking ground. Its a quite noisy and not very privat place to spend the night but a good spot to buy dinner and breakfast supplies.

May I show you our living room. The dinning area is to the left and our recreation area to the right.

Tom taking a picture of the bath room, while standing in the shower (The water was hot!).

Because it was more or less on the way, we went through the lowest and hottest place in the US: Death Valley. Actually Death Valley is not just a very hot valley (and it is hot even in April). It is a valley located in the biggest national park of the US, where you can visit canyons, colored mountains and sand dunes. You can spent days in the park exploring all the hidden natural wonders, but because we only had a few hours and a vehicle unsuitable for the rough gravel roads we just visited the most popular ones: bad water, artist drive and the golden canyon.

The hottest point of the US is covered in salt and cryptobiotic soil (ancient slow growing black bacteria).

The golden sand dunes go on for miles before turning into massive red sandstone walls.

And then because we still had a far way to go we drove until bed time, found a hidden spot with other trailers (driving trailers seems to be a popular sport in the US), took a shower ;), and fell into bed.
The next day led us through the beautiful mountains of the sequoia national forest dotted with trees and wind power wheels, criss crossed with ATV tracks and the Pacific Crest trail. We rolled through more hills covered in wine and signs offering wine tastings to every side that leveled off to a coastline covered in lion seals and before we could turn around we found ourselves on the scenic part of highway no. 1 with mountains to one side and cliffs to the other. The overnight parking was prohibited over the next 72 miles and we had a time and mood that did not allow for driving into the night again. After half the way we found a tiny gas station and shop very the nice lady behind the counter told us that we will find a road 7 miles from here where we can stop overnight in one of the many shoulders. So we did not got only a parking spot for free but even one with view over the ocean.

There were a few elephant seals on this beach. Humans were not allowed there.

Our last day in the RV (recreation vehicle) we spent mostly out of the RV hiking the beautiful hills along Highway number one, before we had to go on the hunt for a parking lot for the night again. We found it down a road to a beach but sadly it was not only already getting dark but also cloudy.

It’s a really really beautiful highway. Just the cliffs are a tiny bit scary.

Our last day ended in a little rush. We needed some breakfast, a dumping station for the waste water (ALWAYS the black water first) and to fill up the petrol (can get a bit more time intensive to find a cheap station but it’s worth since the RV was very very thirsty and prices varied by 50ct per gallon (roughly 3.8l)). Against all odds we managed to hand our little car back by 10:55 before heading of to beautiful San Francisco.

MachuPicchu – you can’t go to Peru without going to MachuPicchu

Veröffentlicht am 10. Mai 2015 von Steffi

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So we went. I really like a citation from Tom „yeah it’s a lot of old stones, but you have to admit that the Incas really had a great taste for locations“.

MachuPicchu – Scientist believe it was kind of a resort for important Incas. I can understand that somehow.

They really had! We already found out when the minivan after a 8h journey from Cusco dropped us next to the old hydroelectric power plant from where you walk over train tracks to now officially MachuPicchu pueblo (formerly Aguas Calientes). The surrounding valley is characterized by very steep very green hills through which a torrential river is bitting its way (in 2010 the river rose that high that it was flooding Aguas Calientes and tourists had to be evacuated). After 3h (1h drizzle rain) we arrived in MachuPicchu pueblo, found a very affordable hotel, dinner and waited for the next day to come.

The official foot path to MachuPicchu, as the sign indicates.

The next day started as was to be expected: rainy. So we first headed out around 9 am and were lucky with the rain stopping when we arrived (by bus) at the gates to MachuPicchu. We climbed MachuPicchu mountain, went to the sun gate and the Inca bridge and walked around between the many old stones and after a short while had spend 6 h in this sight. The only real negative thing to say, you can’t buy food our drinks anywhere and we were starving after 4 h („yeah it’s really beautiful, but I am hungry“ and you are officially not allowed to bring food inside though nobody cares).

It’s a beautiful place, but why all this fuss about old stones?

And of course as with all beautiful places, you are never alone :).

The Inca bridge is to the far right (and closed for tourist because a few years ago one surprising fall down). The bigger wonder: where does it lead to?

I am hungry! Me too.

These funny fellows are actually at work. Job title: lawn-mower.

The amazing thing about this old stones is that they were worked to fit perfectly together and by that stand solid since Inca times.

At 4 pm we decided to head back, missing the stairs (right next to the hotel) and therefore enjoying bend for bend the beautiful nature around us. Though we didn’t felt the spirit of MachuPicchu as many before described to us we really enjoyed the trip, though I still think it’s a bit a rip off.

Around 3 pm the clouds rolled in, giving the sight an even more mysterious look.

The next day we took the train back and the only thing I can say about it. If you have the time, take the bus, more scenic, a lot cheaper but very slow.

Looks nice, but is just a crowded train without view.

Tarabucco – an unforgettable trip

Veröffentlicht am 16. April 2015 von Steffi

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This small village 1h bus ride from Sucre is popular for it’s every Sunday market and it’s festivities on the third weekend in March for Bolivias Independence Day. By chance we happened to be in Sucre on the third weekend in March and our Homestay „mum“ recommended us to take a trip to Tarabuco with a guy she knows. You can go their independently, but she told us, that it will be hard to find accommodation in Tarabucco on that weekend.

Our trip started on Saturday afternoon at 3:15 pm with me feeling quit ill (I really considered skipping the trip.) Together with Sanchia, Lucia and Sean we enter the diverging bus (Yeah well it’s Bolivia.). After we collected more people including our guide we headed off for Tarabucco. Unfortunately not for long, because after a short stop to check the conditions of a wheel we heard an explosion, saw the dust creeping into the bus before the bus stopped next to the cliff. On front wheel exploded. Yeah no reason to worry. Even though the driver couldn’t get the extra wheel loose he managed to exchange the broken one with one of the back twin tires.

Having a flat tire on a bus ride in Bolivia is a common part of the trip, so better bring some food.

We used the time to get to know the rest of the people in our group. I mean it was sunny and the landscape amazing.

This one lasted for more or less 200m before it broke down with a puncture so we went for the safe version and loaded our backpacks and a stack of mattresses from the bus on the road and the bus was heading back to Sucre. A new one was to come.

No it’s not the same tire from a different angel.

If it wouldn’t be for the hunger and the setting sun there were worse places to hang out and we seemed to be a good amusement for all Bolivians going to Tarabucco.

With a delay if three hours we arrived at the main plaza in Tarabuco. Unloaded the backpacks and mattresses that we only had to carry another 500 m down a by now dark dusty street to a small blue door. Behind the door waited what was to be our camp for the night. A moldy room that had to fit all 12 off us + 2 guides + 2 people that showed up during the night. We unrolled the 30 cm to short stained mattresses and prepared for the party to come.
First the guide let us to a rather simple restaurant were they severed us food of questionable quality. But the two chicken wings were deep fried so at least nothing was living in them. And then we headed off the the concert that was taking place in the huge sport hall. This was a weird thing in the beginning. Everybody was sitting on cold stone steps waiting for the concert to begin and stayed there even when the concert started. After an hour everybody in the group was so cold, that they wanted to head on. Our guide somehow seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by the requirements of his group since he let us to something that should be a party but was just a noisy dark room. And they actually wanted to charge us extra 10 BOV. So Tom and me decided go back to the concert and blended with the dancing locals which finally turned out to be quite fun. Funnily every single band had at least one guy playing the pan flute. Didn’t know that pan flutes are that popular in Bolivia. After the concert we just went for some more calories in form of a grilled street pizza before settling a bit uncomfortably in our room. At some point in the night also our guides returned drunken and noisy. And fell asleep were they falling. Meaning one of them next to Sanchia.

If he ever offers to be your guide, run!

The next day started as the previous promised. A confused guide trying to find breakfast for twelve people, surprised that the market is crowded on a day like this and then tried to fed us on one roll and a coffee. On the question when the ceremonial dancing starts he didn’t know the answer either, so we finally gave up on him and walked around the city in our own, finally found the dancers and the festival square with the it’s eatable tower (after the festival the mayor distributes the food between the people).

The dancers had a little extra feature, there shows were capable of leaving you deaf behind.

Ice creme was next to everything that can be fried to most consumed energy source on this festival. Interestingly most people didn’t drink alcohol during the dancing for Pachemama (mother earth). Only saw „gringos“ with beer cans in their hands.

A typical scene found around the festival place, with dancers (only men), woman in their traditional clothing and a few out of place tourists.

We were supposed to leave at two so we had some backed through food before heading back to the house with the blue door. There the guide was waiting for us to take us out for lunch. We skipped that and according to the face of one of the French guys we didn’t missed out on something. So now we only had to carry our mattresses back the 20 min to the official bus station before we could drive back to Sucre without any further incidents. It was by far the worst „tour“ we ever attended.

Happy to leave?

At this point I have to say that Tarabucco and the festival of independence is really worth a visit. Alone the bus drive offering views of the open landscape of the bolivian plateau is great and with regular punctures you usually even have photo stops. The village has a big market selling whatever you can think of and the traditions of dancing to honor Mother Earth is something you rarely experience. Just book an accommodation in advance and take the public bus (Guys that took it the told us they had a puncture too, but only one.).

Salar de Uyuni – tons of salt at 4000 m

Veröffentlicht am 15. April 2015 von Steffi

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Entering the minivan at 7:30 am several tiered faces that would accompany us the next three days greeted us.

The Party companions: Pyria, Jen, Lisa, Gigi, Tom, me and of course of lovely guide and driver.

Great guy, always in good mood, with a little knowledge of English, and a save and most important sober driver.

First stop: Police station San Pedro for the emigration stamp from Chile.
Second stop: At already 4000 m for the immigration stamp to Bolivia and finally breakfast. By that time Gigi our Italian companion was already starting to feel sick.

We were definitely not the only ones going on this triṕ.

At the border to Bolivia we realized that we were definitely not the only ones going on this trip. Citation Tom: „Must be good, when so many people go there.“

Third stop: Laguna Blanca and Verde. Their colour is determined by different salts and shows up when the wind disrupts the mirroring surface.

I think based on the color that this is Laguna Verde (I was quite confused after five lakes on one day.).

Fourth stop: Dieserto Dali looking like one if Dali’s pictures and thereby getting this name.
Fifth stop: Agua termales a small hot pool set in the beautiful landscape of a salt lake.

This time I refused to get undressed, but Tom had a good time …

… while I couldn’t stop taking pictures of this amazing colors.

Sixth stop: Geyser Sol de Mañana getting its name from the colored ground surrounding the grey mud pools.

Okay, Tom always cheats with his polarisation filter, but the colors are impressive.

They don’t drive a single meter any more but make for a really good motive. Dead trains on their cemetery.

Seventh stop: Lunch finally at 3 pm.
Eighth stop: Laguna Colorada a salt lake colored like the polish flag. White from the borax salts and red from the algae growing in the flat water, sprinkled with hundreds of pink flamingos.

I am not quit sure, whether I got the English/Spanish right, but I think the color is supposed to come from the red algae growing in the lake.

And there were lots of them and we took dozens of pictures so you have to cope a least with the three here.

Hmm, wonder what the green one had to eat?

In between our tight schedule we were driving through a landscape formed of sand and white, yellow and red salt. By the end of the day I had to consult our schedule to remember what we all did. We settled down for the night at 4300 m and slowly the altitude was hitting in. Gigi that didn’t felt well all day were suffering the most not even able to drink a sip of coke no talking of eating or breathing. But no one could really fall a sleep, so we spent hours listening music, watching TopGear and going to the toilet. No wonder everybody was a bit destroyed the next day.

The morning was cold and despite the rainy season beautiful. So off we went to our safari through more desert and salt.

What a beautiful morning! just took a little effort to walk the 100 m to take the picture :).

First stop: funny stones washed out by time that everybody was keen to climb except the holly one.

The little mermaid in the desert.

Second stop: more stones that represent the habitat of some ancient plants looking like moos but being hard like stone.

Don’t really know why the form this knobs. Maybe the wind.

Third to fifth stop: salt lagunes of different size and color all coming with a bunch of flamingos.

You just get the picture of one here.

Sixth stop: an active Vulcan, by now 60% of the Group were already to tired to get out of the Jeep to take pictures.

And then around the corner it showed up. The biggest salt lake of the world: Salar de Uyuni. The view was impressive and we only got a tiny glimpse of it. Thank to the sunny weather we were able to drive through the salt lake to our final destination: a hostel made of salt. Driving through the endlessness of salt gave us a first taste of what was to come the next day: water like illusions all over the horizon gave a feeling of riding over the sea.

The first glimpse of the salar: not a lake, but a sea of salt.

Found new friends during our shopping break.

The dinning room in our salt hotel. Even the deco was mad of this corrosive material. And i found the stuff between my toes after dinner.

The next morning after a good nights sleep we entered the jeep at 5 am for our first stop sunrise at the isla de pescada home of hundreds kakti. Unfortunately we missed the sunrise but the scenery was anyway paying of for that.

An almost sunrise over the salt sea.

A kind of special location for a breakfast.

And than the illusions began first in the whiteness of the salt and than on the thin watery surface on some part of the salt lake. I have never seen something like that.

Only time in my life, that I am taller and stronger than Tom :).

Maybe we should have baptised the blog „with apple travelling the trains and busses of the world“.

An here the whole team. Some really are skilled jumpers for pictures.

The most popular salt hotel had be to turned into museum due to sanitation issues. Guess it{s not easy to build a sewer into salt.

If you don’t have some obstacles …

… you can’t determine where sky stops.

By the way, some of the salt is indeed used form nutritional and cosmetic purposes. Here it’s build into hills to dry before harvesting.

A perfect lunch and a few old trains later we arrived in Uyuni, relaxing with beer and pizza before our bus left for Sucre.

The dead trains close to Uyuni.

Tom couldn’t resist climbing them.

San Pedro and it’s Tours

Veröffentlicht am 15. April 2015 von Steffi

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After a short visit of Kristin in our favourite SA city we headed off north to San Pedro the Atacama.

After a short stop in at Kristin’s in our favourite south american city we headed off north to San Pedro the Atacama.

At the time of visit 63 travel agencies, running the most popular tours, were located in the town. Some destinations can unfortunately only be reached by a tour so we had the great fun of picking some that hopefully wouldn’t at least kill us (several dangers lay in front if us: altitude sickness, boiling geysers, unpaved roads, the simple fact of being in a desert and the likeliness of a drunken driver somewhere in Bolivia). We chose based on tripadviser and a funny/creepy book to be found in the tourist office if SPDA (Sam Pedro de Atacama) collecting complains and praises of travel agencies in town.

Some questions you would want to keep in mind will talking to any 
tour operator:

Which tour company is it?
How Many thanks to Tom apeople are going to be on the tour?
Does the guide speak English?
How long does the tour last?
How much time are we going to have at the POI?
What does the tour include?
Are there extra fees to be paid?
Is water included in the tour?
What do you have to bring?
Do the driver drink alcohol?

Roaming the main street of SPDA. You will find a few locals, many tourist, 63 tour operators and even more eateries (quite good and cheap though), many hostles and lots of sand.

It’s 4:30 in the morning. Busses of all sizes are roaming the through the streets of clay and sand. Tourist are squatting in front of every hostel desperately watching bus after bus go by until at one point one is stopping and feeding them into its belly and heads off to the mountains.

It’s 4.30 in the morning but the streets are busy with tourist and minivans. Get the feeling everybody booked a tour for this day.

The advise from Paco against altItsitude sickness was to breath slowly and deeply and wait for your brain to tell the body what to do. And of course chewing coca leaves. It’s perfectly legal in Chile but don’t try to pass a drug test soon after.

Still in the middle of the night we arrived at the geysers at 4000m because you get the best lights for pictures is during sunrise. Not for us, fog wrapped us tightly making the the whole place kind of spooky. Our guide again told us that you have to come here early because the geysers stopp spitting water after 9 am (by the end of the day I didn’t believed half of what he was telling us but it was entertaining anyway).

Not sure whether it’s fog or steam? Better keep an eye out for the boiling geysers.

Heading down again provided some more or less worth visiting attractions. Some hot pots of dazzling blue color and boiling hot temperature, a hot pool that was rather cool and of dubious hygienic conditions, a adean village build for tourist with locals selling lama BBQ of unclear origins (we had one anyway), a 4000 year old ruins of another village looking like build yesterday (as I said I did not take everything for real by that time) and lots of beautiful scenery, vicuñas (wild lamas), flamingos, and viscachas (a relative of the chinchilla). By the time we got back to the hostel we were so exhausted that we spent the rest of the day eating and sleeping.

Tom got me to go in there despite the freezing temperatures outside. I regretted it immediately. Cold, slimy and my skin started itching right away.

And than finally the sun came out, unfortunately we already left the geysers behind.

A volcano relfecting it self in a puddle of water (we found quite a lot water around here, despite the fact being in a desert).

Vincunas, the desert lama. By now they are protected in Chile and only a few people have the licence to cut the fur and use it for handicraft for tourists, of course.

Lama BBQ. A bit chewy, but okay. Now way right here to proof its really lama.

But they look happy enough to not be the source for the BBQ.

Viscachas are pretty shy, so we were pretty lucky to see one. To me it looks a bit like a mix of rabbit and guinea pig („Meerninchen“ in german).

The next morning (rather night) at 3:40 we were picked up by Jorge to do what Tom said he wanted to do. Watching the stars. Jorge explained us quite a lot about the southern sky and astronomy in general. Let us play with his telescopes and pointed out stars and planets for us (we saw Jupiter and it’s moons as well as Saturn) which was really amazing and paid of for the lack of sleep.

It’s not that often you can catch a glimps of the milky way, but here you can nearly ervery night.

Saturn as we saw it through the telescope. Really impressive.

You could probably spent several weeks here enjoying this incredible landscape but we just had time for one more small trip with Tom and Jeanette from Canada. The took us up to the salt flats and insulting rock formations around San Pedro including a some acclimatization time at 4600 m. Time just flew by while chatting in their car and soon our last day in San Pedro was over. After a finally a refreshing sleep of 8 h we headed of for Salar de Uyuni the next day.

Many thanks to Tom and Jeanette for taking us to the STONES :).

Don’t tell me, what is the first thing you are thinking of, when you see this. Oh yeah a rock by a salt lake!

We always thought its not raining in the desert. We were kind of wrong, but luckily missed the floods that were to come a few days later to Atacama.

Around los Torres

Veröffentlicht am 7. März 2015 von Steffi

The journey from Santiago to the National Park Torres del Paine was quite a long one. Getting up 4 am to take the bus to the airport were a plane (I still think it was one that easyjet discharged.) took us to Puerto Montt and then to Punta Arenas. From there we wanted to take the shuttle bus to puerto natales, the harbor to Torres del Paine. Stupidly enough you have to pre-book this bus which we didn’t. So we ended up taking the shuttle bus to Punta Arenas. Arriving there we were told all buses to Puerto Natalas were booked for the afternoon. At least we found one taking us there at 6:30 pm and we used the time to eat the last greasy Chilean meat for the next days.

Since we planned on a 8-9 days hike on the track around the Torres (tower) of Paine (Paine is the river in the National Park) we stocked up our supplies in Santiago to cover for the calories that we are going to burn during the next days. For the complete list see below.

Essentials
392 kcal coffee
910 kcal coffee mate (coffee whitener)

Breakfast
2665 kcal Müsli
1984 kcal milk powder
2143 kcal instant oats
778 kcal oats
117 kcal cornflakes
1152 kcal almonds
748 kcal rasins

Lunch
6006 kcal Wraps
250 kcal bread
960 kcal rolls
3007 kcal Salami
3103 kcal cheese
632 kcal coca cola
750 kcal ice creme
3125 kcal peanut butter

Dinner
1800 kcal Couscous
416 kcal tuna
480 kcal avocado
372 kcal butter
1156 kcal rice with champions
1104 kcal rice chicken
1112 kcal Asia instant noodles
369 kcal pumpkin soup
343 kcal broccoli soup
2052 kcal pasta
389 kcal bolognese sauce
680 kcal red wine

Snacks
768 kcal gran cereal bars
636 kcal trailMix bars
1610 kcal snickers
545 kcal chocolate
1020 kcal muffin max bars
606 kcal cookies
869 kcal creme
620 kcal milk

This gives a total of 45669 kcal for 8 days of hiking meaning 2854 kcal per day and person. We were never hungry, but we could always have eaten more.

Day one
Started just a little hectic. We needed some more money, the last packing and finally some breakfast before we jumped on the bus at 7:30 am. The view at the bus station was awesome. From every direction little Trekkers (terrercitos in spanish) were approaching the bus station and filled up numberous busses to be shuttled to Torres del Paine including us.
I am sure the bus ride was breathtaking but I slept most of the time until the 4 step entry process:
1. Filling the form with you details and the commitment not to destroy the park
2. Pay the fee (18.000 CLP ~ 25 USD)
3. Get a stamp from the ranger
4. Watch a 3 min movie about what not to do in the park

And then you are ready to go. Most people start their trek from here. We anyway took the bus to the western end of the park and hiked the 2 h to the tiny campsite las Carretas (no free camping in the park).

The first scenic view on day one of nine. Wherever you are in the park the scenery is rarely hidden by trees.

Day two
Started a lot later. We wanted to get up at 7 but first made it to 8:30 am. It’s really no wonder so many people come here. To me the most beautiful thing is actually the view you have constantly. Now trees blocking the sight of the rushing glacier rivers, lakes and snow capped mountains.

What was to become Tom’s favourite lake.

We arrived at the campsite of the day we found our neighbors to a little family hiking the W in 7 days. Pretty amazing considering the fact that their daughter is three years and their son four months old.

Campamento Italiano were in principle just a hundred coloured tents between even more trees.

Day three

Meant leaving the tent behind and hiking up „Valles Frances“ not knowing what was waiting at the end. The soundtrack was composed by the several avalanches coming down the glacier right next to us. Unbelievable how small they seem and how much noise they make. Anyway you will only see them when you look for them, when the sound waves finally reach you the avalanche is already gone.

And this is what was waiting at the end of Valle Frances. A long chain of mountain peaks. One man was enthusiastic enough to name every single one to his wife, who was more interested in her cheese sandwich.

View of Lago Nordenkjold from Valles Frances. Wonder which norwegian had his finger in the pie of giving this lake a name.

Back on the campsite we hauled the heavy bags again on our backs and headed off for the next campground (this one charged us 15 USD each but at least offered hot showers :)).

Day four
Started with rain pouring down, so despite an early rise we decided to take it slow an prolonged our breakfast until it stopped half past nine (how wise ;)).
The path went along the mesmerizing blue lake until during a long left turn it went up the hill and up the hill. We reached Campamento Torres at 4 pm time enough to went up to the rock formation that gave the park it’s name. And who wouldn’t in this perfect sunshine. Alone our legs were moaning about the steep ascent, but getting around the corner and suddenly see the mountains „tower“ above a small mountain lake is paying off every step.

Torres del Paine in the shadow of the afternoon sun.

Despite the sun gave the strong and icy wind already a taste of what was to come the next day.

Day five
Started really early, and when I say really early I mean 3:30 am. We boiled water for coffee grabbed sleeping mattress, sleeping bag and the pre-prepared wraps and headed off for the towers a second time in complete darkness (I was really glad we did the track the day before because it got even trickier in the dark.).
5:15 wrapped in several layers of clothing and with a coffee in the hand we waited for the sun to rise. It should take another hour before the tower gleamed in red light. By that time the strong winds had cooled us down to freezing and we stopped taking pictures and crawled in the sleeping bags to just enjoy the view and escape the wind.

The towers before sunrise.

The towers after sunrise.

Tom and Steffi after 1 h waiting for the sunrise.

Then we made us on the long descent with a hotel, little kiosk and ice creme waiting for us at the end. For the last four hours of the day we pimped us with sugary calories that fueled us for ten of the twelve kilometers before we finally hit the wall feeling that it was a long day. 1.5 peanut butter wraps later we arrived at the lovely Campamento Seron. The only real low point, there is no cooking shelter making cooking in this windy conditions a real challenge.

Day six
Meant walking through endless Daisy fields surrounded by the river Paine and chains of different colored snow capped mountains.

Thousands of daisys teem with the icy antarctic wind giving this side of the park a very idyllic face.

Our first expirence with the real Patagonian wind waited one hour behind the campsite on top of a little hill. The valley here us so windy it’s blowing the snot out of your nose. In a constant up and down through more daisys we made out way until we saw from a little cap camp Dickson in the edge if a lake having the glacier Dickson in its backyard.

Camp Dickson showing off with it’s scenery.

Day seven
Was an uneventfull and short day hiking through the green woods along a rushing river that was finished off by some hours if relaxed reading in the tent and eating :).

Here we learned how all the supplies of beer, wine and chocolate reach the remote campsites, by horse and gaucho. No further complaints about cold showers.

Day eight
Turned out to be a bit too long for us. We got up early to go over the John gardener Pass that separated us from the last bit of our trip. We were surprised how easy we proceeded and how less wind there were (supposed to be very windy!). When we arrived at the top of the pass we were hit be the enormousness of glacier grey waiting for us on the other side spreading out over dozens of kilometers.

It’s huge, really huge. try to make out the two people standing on the edge.

The next hours we hiked along the glacier with ever new points of view. When we arrived at the next campground it was still early so we decided to walk another six kilometers to the next one, just after six kilometres there was no campground. The last four k became very long which we only survived on an extra wrap and more snacks. Therefore the day was celebrated in the evening with wine and cookies from the shop at Campamento Grey.

The last four kilometres were a good up and down, but we were not prepared for the climb through valleys on water pipes.

A few years earlier a bit part of the park burned down due to a camp fire that got out of control. Since then camp fires are prohibited and fireman train more regularly. But seriously, they are not very fast hiking with their water tubes.

Day nine
Was going to be our last day. A leisure hike offered some views if the glacier lake (rock walls blocking it most of the time) and than around the corner there was already the small landing for the ferry bring us back to the bus station and back to beds, vegetables and endless supply of hot water.

Looking back at glacier grey.

Waiting for the ferry with a hot coffee and the last salami wraps.

It’s a truly wonderful hike, even tough it gets quite busy during high season. At least my pronunciation of ‚hola‘ was perfect after greeting hundreds of trekker.

The Heaphy-Tasman track

Veröffentlicht am 24. Januar 2015 von Steffi

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Road trip snack – pie with curry and meat filling. Yummi.

After my unsuccessful Tongairo hike I adapted a little to the newzealandic way of travel and actually planned my hikes on the Heaphy and Able-Tasman track. The idea to first go to the Able-Tasman, spend New Year’s Eve in Golden bay and than go to the Heaphy should not happen because everybody seems to walk the Able-Tasman between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. However, I could work out a way by walking both tracks into the opposite direction, even though the transport to the Heaphy became quite pricy that way.

It was raining the whole morning in the bus ride to Kohaihai and I already feared a soaked backpack for this day, but when I started walking (the bus was late and I first started 2 pm) it reduced to a slight drizzle making the 20 km along the coast really enjoyable.

20 km along the coast in a slight drizzle rain were mot to bad.

And in the end of the day some sun even colored the sky red.

Unfortunately most of the rest of the track lead through (quite different styles of, but still) forest lacking any kind of view. The walk in it self was compared to the Te Araora leisure walk with huts every few hours and lots of friendly kiwis to talk to showing me all the reasons why I actually like hiking.

In the beginning of the track the forest mainly reminded of a safari though the jungle …

… but turned later into something overgrown with moss (maybe that’s why they call it rain forest).

I shared a little hut with these lovely ladies for one night (They made me going to bed at 8 pm and getting up 5.30 am.).

I decided to spent New Year’s Eve in Collingwood a tiny place at the end of the golden bay mainly because I would be able to walk from the Heaphy track there in one day, if I couldn’t get a lift. Anyway I got one from Noah and was very grateful, because exactly this morning it was again pouring down. He also showed me the tiny shop just by the road, making a great coffee and selling little pieces of art that existed at least as long as the Heaphy track and looked exactly the same.

New Year’s Eve in Golden Bay turned out to great fun. Standing in front of the sad bar in Collingwood left only one reasonable option: heading to the Mussel Inn, a bar everybody was talking about. And it is so different to the European New Years Eve. People are camping in front of the bar to avoid driving home, girls are swinging in light summer dresses, and the rest is drinking beer around the bone fire. And when the night finds an end you still can go back to the beach and watch the first sunrise if the year.

I couldn’t believe it, but people were indeed camping in front of the bar. A bit like a tiny festival.

My first New Years Eve in short trousers.

Indian pale ale is my usual favorite, but this one was the perfect choice for the night.

The first day, though hard couldn’t be spent in bed. The sun shine left no excuse and the bikes could be borrowed for free from the hostel. So we biked the 25 km to farewell split wandering around on the longest dune I have seen so far. After the long 25 km back it was then also okay to finish the day with the greasiest fish&chips I have eaten so far.

The dune is that long, that many people don’t bother to walk, but take the bus.

The next leg if this journey meant walking four days along the coast on the Able Tasman track. I could only book the campsites and got therefore very cheerful when I saw the sun promising weather forecast. So we headed out the first morning our thumbs ready the find a lift to wainui beach (24$ for a 22km bus ride seemed just a bit to much). It took just 4 hours and four rides to get there, but all the nice chats on the way were worth the little hazzel of hitch hiking.

We are walking in the sand lalala. Pretty hard but luckily only part of the track.

The track has definitely one feature lacking all other hiking tracks I have been to before: astonishing golden beaches and crystal green water (pretty cold though). On the other hand it meant quite some up and down and low tide bay crossings, but nothing you couldn’t manage even while pushing a trolley (saw a few on the track). I guess that was the bad thing about it. The beauty and accessibility if the area draw many people (only a small percentage being hikers) here, but on the other you don’t have to be the lonely fighter all the time.

You have to plan your trip carefully otherwise you and up with wet feets, trousers, shirts, backpack and hair while crossing the bays.

Boats are swimming again at high tide, otherwise they are just laying around in the sand.

If you don’t want to walk, you can also paddle around. But be aware you are never alone.

But the view is unique.

Steffi and Tom on the Road

With Tommy traveling in the trains of this World.

Archiv der Kategorie: Trips

A boat trip on lake Powell or how to die in the Utah desert

The south Utah road trip in a blue elephant boot

Yosemite (not dschosemeit but josimiti)

A mini road trip in a mini trailer

MachuPicchu – you can’t go to Peru without going to MachuPicchu

Tarabucco – an unforgettable trip

Salar de Uyuni – tons of salt at 4000 m

San Pedro and it’s Tours

Around los Torres

The Heaphy-Tasman track