Now We're Cookin'

The wild and varied terrain of New Zealand's South Island.

By Peak Design

Avid readers of this Field Notes journal may recall us name-dropping Elizabeth and Jonathan Combs in a previous story about a grueling traverse of the "W" down in the depths of Chilean Patagonia. For the uninitiated, these two form two-thirds of a creative collective called The Great Northern (grtntn.com), which to our slight disappointment is not pronounced "Gert Nertern" as the URL would suggest. But hey, it's probably better that way.

Anywho, we're stoked that you get to meet Elizabeth and Jonathan in full-force. And what do you know, this is another story about the Southern Hemisphere. We just can't get enough of those backwards-flowing toilets. Alright, enough potty language. Enjoy the Great Northern's account of their recent trip to New Zealand's breathtaking South Island.

don't plan on it

We plan, we execute. That’s the way business is done and that’s a lot of what life is - especially when traveling. But for some reason, it’s when the plan goes awry or when you’re thrown off course that you find something far better than you expected. We’ve seen it over and over again as we travel, and we’ve learned to only plan so much. For it’s the in-between moments, the unplanned days that hold the richest of adventures.

Bag pictured: Everyday Backpack 20L by Peak Design

pack it in(land)

As we fell asleep in Hokitika, we made the call - forego the next day’s route, and trade the rest of the West Coast for an inland journey. After a quick sleep and a fresh cup of coffee, we were on the road. We more than doubled our drive time for the day, which all in all only really meant we had the pleasure of seeing and experiencing more of the wild variety that New Zealand had to offer.

Bag pictured: Everyday Tote by Peak Design

It was 11pm before we made it to our destination - the White Horse Hill Campsite. We threw up our tent, set an alarm for 4:30AM, and awoke to the most absurd cloud/mountain dance. We set out on the Hooker Valley trail before the sun had considered challenging the height of the peaks.

Oh you haven't heard of Kammok? Click this picture to learn more. They're the bomb.

fuzzy recollections

Along the trek, we had the company of only a few others, but an overwhelming amount of absurd fog and literal cloud cover. After an hour, we completed the trail, and arrived at the pay-off view which turned out to be a site of, well, clouds. The entire landscape was clouds.

now we're cookin'

So we waited. Soon enough, the sun rose above the towering peaks and warmed the valley until the clouds retreated wistfully, and there it was. The first full sight we had of Mt. Cook in all her beauty.