Pricey Showers

The Routeburn track is one of the most famous tramping tracks in New Zealand. It takes 3-4 days to traverse this popular rain forest hike. Amy and I didn't have that much time, so we opted to hike to the first hut (Flats Hut) which took about 2 1/2 hours. The trail is well-maintained by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and it was a lovely tramp mostly through thick forested areas until we got to the Flat (after much debate we decided a "Flat" is the equivalent to what we would call a "meadow.") As we ate our lunch in the flat, surrounded by the mountains, I had to admit that I was glad to be going back down the mountain instead of up and over the pass. The snow-capped peaks looked a little daunting to me. Amy, on the other hand wanted to go another 45 minutes to reach the top of the pass. I ended up winning that little disagreement and we headed back down the mountain to the car park.

Five hours of hiking leaves one feeling a bit grimy and dirty. Since we were still camping and didn't really feel like washing in the freezing lake, we decided to ask at the Kinlock Lodge if we could use their showers. They said that was no problem, however, it would cost us-$5.00 each! It's the most expensive shower I've ever had, but worth it. Considering the next day to be January 1, I wanted to start the new year off on a clean slate.

The venue for New Year's Eve at Kinlock Lake was fireworks off the dock at midnight. Amy and I didn't even try and stay up til midnight. We crawled into our sleeping bags after our dinner of soup and pasta. However, we did get up for the 10 minutes of fireworks and to see our rowdy neighbors go skinny dipping at the stroke of 12.