THANK YOU!!!

Thank you to all of our parents and families for an epic Christmas gift!!

We started in Queenstown and after three different rides made it to the trailhead of the Caples track near Glenorchy, NZ. We spent 4 days hiking through the awe-inspiring Southern Alps, past the Key Divide (where the three surrounding river valleys flow to the East, South, and West Coasts), to the only road leading to Milford Sound. We hitchhiked the last 36 km until the road ended and we camped in the glacier-carved fjord where the Tasman Sea carves its way into the mile high peaks. We awoke at 5:30 the next morning to find blue skies (a rarity in Milford where they get over 200 days of rain a year) and fresh snow on the tops of the massive mountains all around. We were picked up at 7:00 by our guide, and suited up for a day of sea kayaking in what could quite possibly be the most beautiful place on earth. We pushed off right as the sun began to rise above the glacier-filled peaks to the east, and with the sun at our backs began paddling west up the 16km fjord toward the Tasman Sea. The trip was filled with one beautiful waterfall after the next, seals swimming alongside, a game of chicken with the 150 meter (nearly 500ft.) high Stirling Falls, and feelings of insignificance as we stared up from the base of the stunning 1,692 meter high Mitre Peak (the largest vertical rise off the ocean in the world, over a mile). The trip ended with a boat ride back to the dock, a night in Te Anau, the second Lord of the Rings, and a long ride back to Queenstown. This trip would not have been possible without the generous contributions from our families. Thank you again, we love and miss you all.

Caples Track

Milford Sound kayak adventure.




Back home in Queenstown, just in time for the sunset.