Day Two

This was to be the moment of truth, the day it began for real. No 4wd access, home baked lunches, hot shower in the morning or real coffee. Nothing but the wilderness and us. It was to be a long day, 22km and roughly 1400m height gain. Our packs were heavy but we were fresh and keen so off we set. Within 20 minutes we had lost our way in the morning mist. Trying to find "garbage gully" a rocky morraine descent used frequently to get on and off the glacier, and we couldn't find it. After scrambling up and down various steep gullies we pulled out the GPS, hoped nobody saw us and got on our way.

Mike Descending Garbage Gully

Photo: Ben Necklen

Then began the endless plod up the glacier, it began with endless piles of morraine (Rock ground up and carried by the glacier), merged slowly into white ice, and then into soft snow with small crevasses that sucked your leg in up to your knee. This in turn caused your tired body to lurch shockloading your legs with the heavy pack. Lovely! Thankfully there were some phenomenal views as the mist began to rise. Which was lucky as by the end of the day is was in pain! Ben was an absolute fit maniac, who thankfully I think plugged most of the steps late that afternoon. We would alternate, I would plug 10 steps, Ben would plug steps for 10 minutes. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" became my mantra for the day. Step by step I quoted it as I forced my way up the white baking hot glacier. 12 hours later we finally arrived at the hut. It felt good to have survived the first day, however I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do the next. My entire body ached, I could only hobble around the hut. However arriving at the hut was amazing. We dumped our packs outside and began to pull out our tent (as we knew the hut was very full). A guide then came round the corner bearing cups of raro for us both! Asked if we had come from Ball Shelter which we confirmed we had. He then congratulated us, told us there was hot tea inside for us, asked us if we wanted milk or sugar, and then proceeded to tell us not to worry about the tent they were busy moving their clients inside so we could have beds! What a welcome. Raro followed by hot sugary tea was amazing. It was New Years eve and what a way to spend it. Sitting in the middle of the most beautiful scenary imaginable. At 9:30pm Kelman Hut did a countdown celebrated New Years then went off to bed. Tomorrow was a good forecast so much climbing / travelling was planned by all parties!

Packs on Morraine

Photo: Ben Necklen

Drinks Break

Photo: Ben Necklen

Ben Resting on the White Ice

Looking upwards at the never-ending journey

Photo: Ben Necklen

Mike taking a drink

Photo: Ben Necklen

Footprints of our journey at dusk

Photo: Ben Necklen

View over the hut toilet

Photo: Ben Necklen

Sunset from the hut

Photo: Ben Necklen

Day 1 - The Day of Reckoning (30/12/07)

6am and my alarm begins to beep. As I wade through the sleepyness clouding my mind I begin to realise what the alarm means today. After a frantic christmas, 2 day drive the length of the country, one days fast organisation and attending a wedding the night before today is the day. A year and a half of dreaming, six months of sporadic organisation and it will all be on by this evening. I haul myself from bed and daze through the mornings tasks. A goodbye hug for Rosie and I leave Dunedin, destination Alexandra, then Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park. Several hours mornin drive finds me at Ben's house in Alexandra. Surrealy we try to pack, realising a) we have a lot of stuff to fit in our bags and b) if we forget anything important it could be a long trip with plenty of time to regret our mistakes. Before we know it the bags are packed, our fate, food, and life sealed in the packs for the best part of the next month. Ben's parents arrive home and prepare an amazing lunch, the last good meal for a long time. It is then another 3 or so hours drive up to Mount Cook Village (where we quickly purhase a plastic spork realising neither of us have eating utensils!) then up the Tasman Valley as far as the 4wd track allows. A quick goodbye, some parting photos of the unsmelly, less fit and generally cleaner and tidier versions of Ben and I, and we are off.

Ben and Mike about to depart

A brief hour or so walk and we arrive at Ball shelter, a short start after a long day of travel and still its enough to realise we have heavy packs. As we sit admiring the view on a beautiful evening the trip is all a bit surreal. It's hard to appreciate the size of it, the fact its actually happening, how will we feel in two weeks time, where will we be and what are we going to see along the way? The challenge will be huge, of that I am sure. Ben is most definately fitter then I, and our packs seem like lead. Yet the view is amazing, the chance to reflect on God's amazing world and enjoy a simple life will be great. After the first of many dehy dinners to come and watching dusk change to darkness we head to bed.

Mike sitting after dinner admiring the view - The white patch lowest down is the start of the white ice on the Tasman Glacier (along our route for the next day)

The view back down to the terminal lake of the Tasman Glacier



BACKGROUND

Okay sorry for some of you that may be slightly confused. In January I completed a trip tramping and climbing our way from Mount Cook to Arthurs Pass with Ben Necklen (an old flatmate). This is a brief account of the journey along with photos (more of an excuse and slightly more informative way of showing photos to you all). Almost all of the photos were taken by Ben.

The Epic

Life has been busy, however I have many tales, photos and thoughts that need to be shared still from January. For those that have not caught up, I am now living in Dunedin, studying chemistry and generally running myself off my feet with helping run youth group, working selling kayaks and what not and trying to keep fit despite the sedintary life. (e.g. desperately wanting to escape to the hills).

As such I am slowly going to transcibe my diary from January on to here, with annotations, adaptions and photos of course.