Before going, everyone told me New Zealand is the land of adventure. After studying abroad there, I can confirm that this is, in fact, the truth. Here are my top three favorite New Zealand adventures.
- Mueller Hut
Mueller hut and some of the mountains surrounding it.
When I used to think about alpine hikes, I thought a person had to have mountaineering experience to do them. I imagined month-long ventures filled with severe temperatures and problems around every corner. Maybe I was watching too many adventure movies, because getting up to the alpine hut called Mueller Hut in Aoraki/ Mt. Cook National park was nothing like that. Instead it was a two-and-a-half-hour-long hike. The first hour and a half was an ascent up a very steep staircase. A couple told us on our way up that it was 2,000 stairs total. The next part of the hike was still straight up, but instead of stairs this part was on a vertical snow flat. We were lucky enough to have loose snow and premade
The hike to Mueller Hut.
foot holes to make the ascent easier. After 45 minutes of that, we reached a flat bit that curved around the side of one of the mountains and opened up into a large alpine valley where you could see the red hut in the far corner.
The snow flat we had to climb up.
It felt like a movie being up in the mountains, except for the fact that you could see and hear the avalanches happening in the mountains around you. The avalanche prone area we were in, along with the fact that it was going to be 70 and sunny the next day, made us quite nervous for our descent. When we woke up all we could hear was thunder but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The noises we heard were the avalanches happening. We decided it would be best to get going before anything got more melted. As we approached the vertical snow flat we climbed up, we decided to use a different strategy for going down. Instead of stepping down in the foot holds, we sat next to them and slid down
the mountain. It was the best sledding I’ve ever done.
- Liverpool Hut
What we saw when we approached Liverpool Hut.
There’s something magical about Mt. Aspiring National Park. From the moment you enter the park to when you’re traversing sheer rock face, you feel small. The mountains are ruggedly beautiful, better than anything from National Geographic. The hike to Liverpool hut started with a four hour long walk through the valley. It was amazing because the first time I had walked in that valley everything was covered by clouds and it was raining, but this time it was misting and sunny. There were rainbows
My boyfriend and I outside of Liverpool hut in the morning.
everywhere. After the valley walk, you reach the hour and a half long straight up climb. I had read online that this track was built by rock climbers, so no switchbacks and only roots to grab onto to haul yourself up. It was great fun though. Figuring out footholds, testing different hand placements, pushing yourself up the mountain, all took your mind off of how hard it was. As we summited, the hut came into view and beautiful she was. After fifteen minutes more of walking we were inside the hut playing cards with two Swedes and a Canadian. The next day was even better.
Liverpool Hut in the morning.
We woke up to thunder and rain but soon after we ate breakfast the clouds cleared and revealed the mountain views Liverpool Hut had. The walk down was sweaty, hot, and downright gorgeous. You couldn’t complain about carrying a heavy pack or walking in a valley for four hours because the views were like no other.
- Abel Tasman
One of the beaches at Abel Tasman National Park.
This was what I imagined New Zealand to be before going. Tropical beaches surrounded by mountainous jungles. Abel Tasman National Park resides on the Northern coast of the South Island. Its staples are crystal clear waters, warm temperatures, and sea creatures as far as the eye can see. The trail throughout the park is hikeable or kayakable. We chose to kayak, which is something I would highly recommend. Kayaking was fun since the waters were fairly calm and allowed us to go to remote kayak-only accessible campsites as well as to beaches that only appeared as the tide moved in and out. Our five days spent in the national park was the perfect amount of time to explore the coast.
Sandfly Bay Campsite at Abel Tasman National Park
The only downside of camping on the Abel Tasman is the weka birds. Wekas are flightless birds that look like smaller versions of the Native Kiwi bird. Wekas, unlike Kiwis, are nuisances. They try to steal your loose items as well as get into your tent. If you kayak the Abel Tasman, make sure you Weka-proof your tent and watch out for your stuff!
Although I only listed three adventures here, I had many more that I would recommend as well. Overall, every experience I had in New Zealand was an adventure in and of itself.