Queenstown
Day 1
The group for our other walk was again 40 people. Half of them were Americans, the other half Australians and New Zealanders plus one British. I expected to see a more diversified group. Apparently, other nationalities were not keen on traveling far.
The bus went along the already familiar route with a stop at Te Anau for lunch, then dropped us off at the pier. From there, it was a 1-hour boat ride across the lake to the trailhead.
The 1-hour walk in the virgin forest was enjoyable but not that informative. When dinnertime came, everyone was ravenous. The dinner was a serious affair, delicious and satisfying, probably to compensate for the modest lunch in Te Anau and it took 2 hours. After that, there was nothing to do and we all retired to our rooms. My friend Nina and I this time had a room for two with an individual bathroom and could rest very comfortably.
Our phones stopped getting the signal after we left Te Anau. There would be no connection until the last day when we got to Milford Sound.
Day 2
The meal on the previous night was so heavy that I could hardly eat breakfast.
The evening procedure already became standard for us after walking the Routeburn track: shower, laundry, drying, dinner, a briefing for next day, quiet time in the common area to get to know other hikers, going to bed.
The following day was going to be the most demanding out of all 5 days. It was another 15 km to Pompolona lodge and we would go over Mackinnon Pass. It also happened to be Christmas Day. It began drizzling at dinner; at night, the drizzle turned into a downpour.