Glaciers!

You know you are in some real mountains when they have glaciers. Yesterday evening I hiked up a valley to Rob Roy Mountain, which has a glacier. Nearby Mt Aspiring also hosts a glacier.

I have learned that when the Dept of Conservation description of a trail says “moderate” difficulty, it actually means “difficult” (or at least “moderate”, with many difficult sections). When it says “difficult”, it really means “deadly”.

The road to get to the trailhead was surprisingly primitive, too. Over half of the 50km distance was one lane of gravel, with creek fords! I guess New Zealand’s population is too low to support a lot of infrastructure.

I think I have caught a cold. I am feeling tired and weak, and my nose is even more stuffed up than usual (from hayfever). I am probably losing three litres of water a day just from blowing my nose.

I think tonight I will check in to a “luxury” campground (ie. one with showers and a kitchen, rather than nothing but an outhouse – or not even that). I haven’t had a shower for five days!

I will be continuing on through glacier country, as my route will take me to the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers.