Trekking in New Zealand and Passover in Sri Lanka

Goodbye southern hemisphere, hello again Asia price-tags

Since my last post, I went from Aus to New Zealand to Sri Lanka. I’m writing this in Nepal (top-left star on map).

My margarita-making days in Aus are officially behind me. Since the beginning of my trip, nearby New Zealand’s landscapes and remoteness piqued my curiosity. I shipped over there as my next stop.

A couple weeks before I left, I caught up with my Australian friend Dom. I met him in the Gili Islands in Indonesia. I offered for him to join my already booked solo trip to NZ, mostly as a joke. To my surprise, he said: “I’ll ride the bus.”

All of a sudden, I had a New Zealand companion. As Paulo Coelho would say, the universe was conspiring for my benefit.

Trekking in New Zealand

Most of the camping in NZ is done on multi-day treks. You pack your food and gear, trek for most of the day, then set up camp before repeating the next day. I grew up canoe camping in Canada and always wanted to try multi-day trekking. Here was my opportunity.

Dom and I did one of the 10 Great Walks of New Zealand called the Tongariro Northern Circuit. It’s a 3-day trek through a national park centered around 3 volcanoes including Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings, known as the sacred Mount Ngauruhoe to the Aboriginals.

Mount Doom at sunrise. No sightings of Golem or Frodo though.

We battled all the elements during our 3 days. The first day we trekked through torrential downpour. We were soaked by the end. Our clothes and shoes maintained a light dampness for the rest of the trek.

The second day we climbed to the main crossing. At the top, we were met with single digit temperatures and brutal winds. Ice was forming on the patches of our exposed skin. Eventually it cleared and gave us beautiful views of the volcanoes and geothermal lakes.

The smell of sulfur was not as fun as the view.

On day 3 we battled a hot sun. We went from jackets and gloves to single layers and the temptation to walk shirtless (which I proudly resisted). We took a cold plunge in a waterfall at the end as a reward.

Multi-day treks introduce new challenges. For example: packing. You have to fit everything you need to survive in your bag, while making sure it’s light enough to carry for hours of trekking. I was lucky that Dom is an outdoor educator in Aus. He takes kids camping for a living. I learned a lot from him about packing and self-sufficiency while trekking.

One of our campsites on the trek, including Dom’s signature tarp setup.

I think back to how I was initially was going to do this alone. At the last moment, the perfect companion joined in the form of a human named Dom. I definitely would not have been nearly as entertained and perhaps would not have survived the elements without him.

The homies after a sunrise hike in the Coromandel. Bet you weren’t expecting that mullet.

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After New Zealand, I celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover in Sri Lanka.

I’m writing this from an elevation of 4400 meters in Nepal. I’m 5 days into a hike up to Everest Base Camp. More on that in my next post.

For all the folks back home, I hope you’re enjoying the start of warm weather. I’ll check back in soon.

Thanks for joining me on the adventure 🏔