coroneljan.: Day 43: Te Anau: Kepler Track + Dead Marshes

Today I woke up a bit late, I was planning to head out and finish a part of the Kepler Track. My goal was to reach the first checkpoint of the Kepler Track, and turn back. The hike would have been around 8 hours total with the return, but since I woke up late I only had 6 hours to hike, since I wanted to meet up with a new friend to look for Kepler Mire (which was used as the Dead Marshes in LOTR).

I went up through the track, but had to turn back on the 3rd hour to make it back to the hostel in time. The longer I took to get to the top meant a longer hike back. Although I didn't make it to the alpine section of the hike, the views of the forest and the change in plant life as I climbed was interesting.

After the long hike, my knees started acting up again. I realized that downhill hiking causes a lot more stress to the knees than uphill since each step down causes a stronger sudden impact. When I got back I met up with my new friend, and another person to find this place. It was actually a big disappointment. It was only around 15 minutes away, but the view of the Mire really sucked. After the disappointment we headed back, and I had a chat with my new hostel roomies.

My new friend was actually a really cute german girl. It sucked that we were going different directions. I even considered going to the Caitlins with her, but I figured I should keep to my schedule and move up to Queenstown next. The worst part is I don't have any pictures with her and I didn't add her on facebook...

It's okay though, I took it as a chance to see how fast I can move on. Travelling is great because you get to meet lots of new people and you get to make friends really quickly. Unfortunately that also means you have to learn how to move on just as quickly.