howdy fellas.  this is d-u-g comin at you directly from queenstown, south island, en zed.  life down here is chill.  last week i hit up two 4 day walks which were pretty sweet.  the first one was the greenstone-caples loop which was at low elevation so the track was in good condition.  the first day was a monster of a walk, about 35 kilometers.  but the hut was nice and there were quite a few people there.  ~a dozen i guess.  the next day was up and over the saddle (elevation 950 meters) and i got some great vistas of the ailsa range and another one just west which i can't remember without a map here.  huge snow capped beauties that i couldn't help yearning for my boards to get some big ol' turns in the couloirs.  they were untouched and just calling to have some loco local ascend to the summit and tear the mountain down. 

those thoughts quickly faded as i descended to a lush mossy tree and firn ridden tropical forest.  well, not so tropical but super lush anyway.  there were some raging rivers that i had to ford via moving stones to walk on or bush wack up or down river till i found an island to assist the crossing.  lots of snow melting off the peaks.  it was pretty amazing walking along this river with mountains rising 1500 meters almost vertically directly across the river.  then cutting back east i made my way to the upper caples hut for an evening of killing sand flies (these little buggers swarm in the 10's of thousands and bite creating some super itchy post hiking days.  the next day was short so i explored up kay creek up toward death valley hut.  but this was an unmaintained trail with extensive winter damage.  trees over a meter thick blocking the path which meant climbing up and around the root balls which were enormous and on steep terrain, but hiking down meant navagating 100 foot cliffs. i only made it around a few before the river crossing just above the falls with no way to cross without getting wet, and the water was moving so i turned back and retreived my bag from the upper caples and tramped down to the mid caples.  it would have been a short walk out that day but i had nothing but time so i stayed.  spent that afternoon chatting with a couple from the czeck republic and throwing cards.  not too exciting but the views up the valley were intense.  big mountains above big rivers in a huge glacial valley.  pretty cool.

the last day was a short walk to the road but then a 15k hike down the road till i hitched a ride back to queenstown. 

the next morning some mates and me set off for the kepler track.  this is one of the famous walks down here with a knife edge ridge at 1300 meters.  we spent two days on the approach and the second morning we awoke to falling snow at 500 meters and nasty winds.  thus we decided against heading up the ridge.  one high pressure system had just passed and there were two more lined up right behind it.  the clouds and rain and snow didn't stop for the four days we were on the track. 

it was still beautiful though because we were in the fiordlands and it's the most rainy region of NZ so it seemed fitting to experience those forests in the rain.  we finally got a decent fire the third night at this little hut at shallow bay.  this hut was not more than 100 sq feet with three bunks and a fireplace.  the door opened facing NW with the waves of the lake just 50 feet out.  beautiful little place, and quite cozy with 4 guys and a fire.  feasting of all the extra food and trying to dry clothes like mad.  a very good walk even without finishing the loop and getting the ridge vistas.  without the clouds the views are supposed to be spectacular. 

now i've got two more walks lined up, then i'll probably be moving towns trying to get some wwoof work.  hope all is well in the states.  more soon.