The new ‘plastic yuppie outdoor wannabee’ track in NZ
Well I’m in the town which is the start of the Hump Ridge Track, but I’m not sure if I like being here just yet. I decided to head down here today from Te Anau, and even though it’s only about an hour’s drive, it took me 2.5 hours because I had such a hard time getting rides. The worst was getting out of Te Anau which took over an hour! I tried three different roads and finally a Kiwi couple pulled over and gave me a ride to Manapouri, just 20 km south. From there it took 3 more rides to get here. The scenery on the road was amazing so I enjoyed the times in between just sitting on the side of the road and taking it all in. I finally got here around 2:30pm and the couple who gave me the last ride took me right to the Hump Ridge office which was cool.
I went inside the office to register for the tramp thinking it would take just a minute and then I’d be on my way to hitch the 30 km to the trailhead where there is a farm stay, my destination for the night. Sounds easy enough, but not when you’re dealing with the beaurocracy of the Hump Ridge Trust. This tramp is actually a private track on public land which essentially means they are not regulated by DOC and can make whatever ridiculous rules they want. I should have smelled a rat when I called them last week and they said there is no camping allowed on the track. And the huts are $40 NZ/night which is more expensive than the Milford Track! I was starting to worry that it was oriented more towards plastic yuppie outdoor wannabees but I though no, I’m not going to let that stop me from doing a tramp I want to do.
So I go in today and told them that I wanted to do it in 2 days instead of 3 and they gave me a whole lowdown about how they advise against it and I said look I just did 30 km on the Kepler yesterday, at least let me try. Finally they agreed reluctantly (more upset that they were only getting $40 out of me and not $80) and they told me that I had to come back at 4:45pm to pick up my ticket and go to the mandatory 15-minute briefing. I was like WHAT? Why can’t you just give me the ticket now and tell me whatever’mandatory’ info that I need to know? ‘Sorry I can’t do that’, answered the robot. So I’ve got to sit around for 2 hours and wait for a 15-minute talk? ‘Yep’, robot.
Oh my God, get me out of here.
That means I won’t even be able to try to hitch out to the trailhead until 5pm and there goes my nice relaxing rest day. These people amaze me. I don’t think they’ve ever dealt with someone who didn’t have a car before. I don’t even want to do the track now out of principle but I spent half the day getting here so I’m just going to suck it up and make the best of it. And I’ll make it my new mission to tell as many people as I can to NOT do this track – that it’s just a commercial excuse for an outdoor excursion. It’s all about the money! Let’s just hope I make it to the farmstay tonight and that I don’t have to pay for any Hump Ridge money-sucking shuttle.
9pm late edition: So I suffered through the pointless 15-minutes briefing which basically warned trampers about mud and advised to wear gaiters (thanks, they work well with sandals – hah!), ran out as soon as I could, walked down the deserted junction to the 20 km road to the trailhead and waited. 20 minutes later first ride from a sheep farmer about 1/3 of the way; another 10 minutes second ride from another farmer and his daughter who took me all the way. Now I’m at the farmstay at the trailhead and I’m a happy tramper once again!
Not a bad place to sit and wait for a ride huh?
A weird place in Te Anau
Add comment January 6th, 2003