The Routeburn Track - one of the many 'Great Walks' in NZ

Erin took this video from Key Summit, which is a high point near the end of the Routeburn Track - one of the 'Great Walks' in NZ. The tall, pyramid-shaped peak is Mt. Christina, which to my knowledge is the tallest mountain in Fiordland National Park. After hiking for three days in mixed weather (rain, sun, some fresh snow ), the weather forecast called for clear skies and we decided to make a sunrise run up the hill. The effort paid off. Although there was a good deal of fog moving down the valley that morning, we were granted the occasional unobstructed view of the craggy, glaciated peaks that characterize New Zealand's Southern Alps.

The trek itself was fabulous, both in scenery and in structure. Hikers arrive at a spartan hut at the end of each leg of the trek, which are essentially open kitchen and common areas attached to bunk rooms. Quite a nice change from the typical soggy-tent backpacking that we usually did in Seattle! Each hut is located at a beautiful nook along the trail, either along a river, up on a bluff overlooking the valley, or nestled up against an alpine lake. We met some really enjoyable hut companions along the way, which was especially nice on our one rainy day.

In all, the trek took us five days (we liked up the Routeburn with another track called the Greenstone), and we arrived at our final destination thoroughly tired but extremely happy for the experience. We are spending the next few days relaxing and gearing up for our next trek, which will be another five-day trip up into Mt. Aspiring National park. Supposedly you can see some impressive glaciers along the way, so we're hoping the weather cooperates!

Merry Chistmas to you all!