Flying Far for Tremendous Trekking

Recently we did our first long haul travel with our Little Trekker Tiarnan (7 months). We escaped the cold Norwegian winter and traded it in with sun and summer in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The long travel was an adventure in itself, especially with a little one.

• Flights totalling over 30hrs in the air, each way!
• A 12hr shift in time zone
• Changes in food
• Jet-lag
• Moving about
• Lots of planning including: organizing travel cot, light weight push chair, food preparation kit, car seat, first aid kit, warm weather clothing, places to stay as well as car rental etc!

Well, once we pulled the door behind us and were on the road there was a great sense of relief, no more planning! For the next 6 weeks any obstacles we came across would just have to be dealt with on the fly!

Obviously we lived to tell the tale, we survived and had a wonderful time! We actually returned understanding Tiarnan better and after all the new things that were thrown his way he actually returned a much more flexible baby than before we left our familiar and safe surroundings.

The trip was filled with so many places, peoples and adventures, far too many to recount here but one day that stands out was our trek into the Hopkins Valley in the Ruataniwha Conservation Park.

We work to a warm morning that was a big contrast to the previous night’s storm, which had left most peaks with a shiny white carpet of new snow. At the start of the walk we could admire the majestic Mount Cook, which had been in the clouds for days. Most of the walk was along a massive rock bed, perfect terrain for carrying a baby on your front!

We met cattle and hundreds of almost invisible merino sheep along the trail. Near lunch time we spotted a lonely big tree near the trail, which provided us with a much needed shade for our mealtime. It was getting pretty hot for the three Vikings! At our lunch spot we found a huge dead dragonfly in perfect condition.

Perhaps the previous night storm had got the better of it? It was fun to study its wings, eyes and colours which you normally do not see when they swirl happily past you in a flash! After lunch we continued on up the valley and the scenery grew more and more spectacular as the valley narrowed and the bigger peaks of the upper valley came into view. Early afternoon we reached the Monument Hut, our goal for the day! It was time for another feed, before starting on the return walk to the car. Back at our rental house that evening, we did not only have stunning views of Lake Ohau and Mt Cook, we could also see the Hopkins Valley, and look back on a memorable day in the New Zealand Southern Alps!