{"id":5020,"date":"2024-03-03T22:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T09:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=5020"},"modified":"2024-03-20T21:18:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T08:18:59","slug":"ready-set-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/03\/ready-set-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready. Set. Hike! (Milford Track, Day 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ready. Set. Hike.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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March 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first day of our hiking trip didn\u2019t involve much hiking at all. We arrived at the Ultimate Hikes Centre<\/a> in the morning and boarded the bus with 46 other hikers and four guides. We drove a few hours to Te Anau<\/a>, stopped for lunch and carried on to Te Anau Downs, where an hour on the boat finally landed us at the start of the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stepped into a disinfectant bucket and dipped in our hiking sticks to kill all the bacteria on our hiking gear. This is a big deal in NZ as they use these stations to help protect the wildlife and forests from disease. After snapping a few pics at the trailhead signs, we walked a whole mile to our first lodge, Glade House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disinfectant helps stop the spread of disease<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Glade House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We were given the option of doing a short nature walk around the property and everyone joined in. It was good to stretch our legs after the long bus and boat rides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nature walk after arriving at Glade House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mushrooms \/ fungi eat the trees from the inside out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fallen trees from \u2018shrooms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Reminder – don\u2019t forget to stretch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ultimate Hikes chef and kitchen team cooked up an excellent three course dinner, as was the case every evening of our stay. Choices included venison, fish, ribeye, lamb or a vegetarian option. Fine dining seemingly in the middle of nowhere thanks to helicopter deliveries every Wednesday. Amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guides gave us a post dinner briefing, informing us of the following day\u2019s agenda, route and weather. There was one minor issue we suddenly encountered during this first briefing that quickly became a major one for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forecast wasn\u2019t looking favorable. Heavy rain was expected throughout the night, possibly flooding one section of the track, rendering it unsafe to pass on foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex, the lead guide, said in this rare instance, we may need to be airlifted by helicopter over the flooded area, and then we could continue on with the hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sorry, what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jokes were flying (argh!) and they were funny. Can I request a window or aisle seat? When will the air miles appear in my account?Will duty-free shopping be available before or after our flight?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people were excited about the prospect of potentially getting to ride in a helicopter. I was not one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all thought Alex was joking until he pulled out the scale and the helicopter passenger manifest and started recording all the details. And then we were weighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More jokes ensued. Will this be published or publicly announced?Can you add the weight of my backpack to my overall weight?Why weren\u2019t we weighed before dinner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitch and I were in a multi-share room with just one other person. An adventurous, skydiving, bungee jumping South Korean young woman named Eunhye Kim. Mitch was thrilled to have someone to reminisce about Seoul with since he lived there back in the 90\u2019s. We chatted for a bit, said our goodnights, the generator was turned off at 10 p.m. sharp and we turned in for the night, not knowing our fate for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I climbed down from the top bunk at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom, I had to walk outside as it was down the hall. It was raining. A lot. Puddles of water were forming across the grass. Reality was starting to set in. Our friend Jim, who is a captain for Southwest, said the only way he would ever fly in a helicopter is if he were being medically transported against his will. In other words, unconscious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Will this be us?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t fall back to sleep, thinking about that unwanted ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 3 March 3 The first day of our hiking trip didn\u2019t involve much hiking at all. We arrived at the Ultimate Hikes Centre in the morning and boarded the bus with 46 other hikers and four guides. We drove a few hours to Te Anau, stopped for lunch and carried on to Te Anau … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-south-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2564-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":615,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/31\/punga-cove-to-portage-hotel\/","url_meta":{"origin":5020,"position":0},"title":"Punga Cove to Portage Hotel","author":"Victoria","date":"31 January 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"January 31 For those who have been following along every day, you may have noticed that the blog skipped a day. I was so exhausted after the third hike that I couldn\u2019t muster the energy to write about it. So I\u2019ll back up a day to get you caught up.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_4841-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_4841-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_4841-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_4841-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_4841-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9023,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/abel-tasman-national-park-day-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":5020,"position":1},"title":"Abel Tasman National Park – Day 4","author":"Victoria","date":"5 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 5 It\u2019s great to have an off day in the middle of our hikes, but an 8 a.m. set breakfast time defeats the opportunity to sleep in. We roused ourselves and headed downstairs to join the group. We were the last ones to arrive and slunk into the dining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9861-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9861-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9861-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9861-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9861-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6584,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/09\/look-around-look-around-at-how-lucky-we-are-to-be-alive-right-now-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5020,"position":2},"title":"\u201cLook around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.\u201d (Routeburn Track, Day 2)","author":"Mitch","date":"9 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 9 Hollyford Valley Lookout This lyric from Lin-Manuel Miranda\u2019s musical, Hamilton, has been drifting in and out of my head since we arrived in NZ, and even more so today, the second and most memorable day of the Routeburn Track. It was another picture-perfect blue sky day for our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_4423-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_4423-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_4423-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_4423-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_4423-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4471,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/01\/__trashed-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":5020,"position":3},"title":"On The Road Again","author":"Victoria","date":"1 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 1 A road trip with a view! We were sad to leave the beautiful Otago Peninsula this morning. We headed towards Queenstown and stopped first for a late lunch at Mt Difficulty winery. 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