Every trip here in New Zealand is full of amazing views and landscapes. Last week, I visited the Cadbury chocolate factory which is located in central Dunedin, just a half hour walk from my flat. The food at the Cadbury cafe was out of this world, and their chocolate bars were discounted compared to the grocery store prices (so of course I bought 4). The “iced coffee” in New Zealand is a thick concoction of milk and ice cream and coffee, generally with whipped cream and chocolate on top. Crazy stuff. Pictured below is an iced mocha coffee and some giant chocolate pastry, and also me being happy because of all my Cadbury chocolate. I like to think that eating veggies and hummus sometimes balances out all this chocolate.
This weekend I went with a few friends and did the Copland Track, which is a gorgeous 36km tramp in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. Although my feet died and I got a few blisters, it was a stunning hike. The Copland River is ridiculously blue and you can drink right out of the river. Hands down the freshest, best tasting water I’ve ever had.
The track had several one-person suspension bridges which moved a lot while crossing them, which was slightly frightening. Pictured below is me crossing a bridge while carrying a giant pack filled with what felt like my body weight in clothes and food.
After hours of hiking uphill to the Welcome Flat Hut and campsites, we relaxed in some natural hot pools and watched the sunset. The friendly Warden Nick informed me that the hot pools are actually not from volcanic activity, like many are. Instead, a nearby fault line heats up the water which runs downhill into these pools. The water flowing into the pools is orange due to minerals and so hot that it’s painful to dip a foot in (which I did several times). The mud at the bottom of the hot pools is squishy and bright green… weird.
The clouds mostly cleared up in the morning, revealing a beautiful view of the “jagged peaks” as Warden Nick says. Supposedly you can see Mount Cook but all the mountains kinda looked the same to me so I have no clue which one it was.
The best part about New Zealand road trips is the gorgeous views. Even though the track was over 6 hours away from Dunedin, I never got tired of looking out the window. The landscapes are so diverse and this entire country is beautiful beyond words. Pictured below is Lake Hawea, the moon, and Fantail Falls.
After two pretty intense days of hiking the Copland Track, we went to Wanaka for the day. After putting band aids on my blisters, I hiked up Mount Iron, which is an easy tramp providing 360º views of Wanaka. Afterwards we went to Boa Boa Burger, which has some crazy humongous burgers. I got one with falafel, onion rings, lettuce, tomato, some sauces.. who even knows what else was on it. The sunset over Lake Wanaka was also absolutely stunning. Wanaka never ceases to amaze.
On the way home, I finally tried real fruit ice cream, which is a New Zealand specialty blending together ice cream and frozen fruit – delicious. All in all, another great weekend in New Zealand.
