My trip has been plagued with rain. For the past 19 days, I’ve had 1 sunny day, 1 overcast day, and 17 rainy days. It’s definitely becoming discouraging as all this water makes river crossings dangerous, but I’m pressing on and taking alternate routes as I can.
Even in the rain, New Zealand is absolutely beautiful. I’ve seen more birds than I can count and I’ve fought off a curious Weka bird who came to examine my backpack when I stopped to eat lunch along the Queen Charlotte Track. Ok, it wasn’t a fight, I simply walked over to my pack and he ran away.
I’ve decided to take another side trip to Nelson while I wait for the rains to quit east of me. The hut I was staying in to ride out some of the storms was ideally situated for this little jaunt. A quick 5 hour walk across the mountains and I found myself back in a city.
I’m very glad I took this little side trip because the very end of the trail brought me through a beautiful Redwood forest. I’ve never seen these trees in the US, but know they are majestic and now that I’ve seen them close up, I really appreciate their beauty. I was glad to see that Nelson has turned the Redwoods into a park that allows mountain biking and hiking but has posted signs that they will not be expanding the trail system so the trees can continue to flourish.
New Zealand never ceases to amaze me with it’s grandeur. Truly a paradise to treasure.
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Backpacking The World 