the three tramps... i mean trampers...

So one of the things my dad mentioned that he wanted to do in New Zealand was go on an overnight camping trip... where we hike in, camp, and then hike out. So that we did. After our cruise we picked up some supplies, packed up the ol' backpacks and headed out near the starting point of the Doubtful Sound send off. It was a 3 hour or so hike in and then we were to stay at a hut named Hope Arm hut. It was situated on a lake and we ended up sharing it with a Dutch/Kiwi family. They had 2 sons - 18 and 16 years old - that were super into hunting and fishing.. and that they did. They went out and shot themselves a deer that night and caught a trout earlier in the trip. A little different than the 18 and 16 year olds in Santa Barbara, eh?

On the second day of the trip we took a different route home that took about 4 hours and crossed over a 3 wire bridge - meaning it was 2 wires for your hands and 1 wire to walk on... all over a raging river... well, not so raging, but definitely a river.

That wire crossing was followed by a very VERY muddy trip back to the water taxi area... it had rained during the night and mucked up the trail we ended up taking back to the start. Our boots/bottom of the pantlegs were filthy. But we made it and were tougher because of it. That dad - he's hardcore! It was back to Queenstown for some laundry, showers, and pizza. Yes Please!