Even if you have limited experience captaining a kayak, you should consider at least a morning or afternoon paddle along the shorelines, lagoons, and estuaries of Abel Tasman. The water along most of the coastline is quite calm, and guides are available if you have any trepidation about being on the water. Your reward will be a richer perspective of the shoreline and a dazzling display of color beneath the surface. Pink algae coats the rocks in protected waters, providing a bright backdrop for a host of smaller creatures, ranging from periwinkles, tube worms, Neptune’s necklace (also known as sea grapes), sea urchins, and Cook’s turban shells. You’ll glide past a host of waterbirds, like shags, oyster-catchers, herons, and pūkeko (purple swamphen) and may even spy dolphins. Bigger surprises might await you—Hugh has come upon pods of orcas sweeping into the shallows to feed on stingrays!
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HUGH AND PAM MYTTON are Totaranui’s only permanent inhabitants, and they manage the Department of Conservation campground at Abel Tasman National Park. Hugh is a passionate rugby fan, and he enjoys bird watching, fishing, and hunting. Pam enjoys family time with her new granddaughter, as well as bush walking and gardening. Off-season, the Myttons enjoy traveling with their family to the South Pacific.
If You Go
Getting There: Most visitors will fly into Nelson, which is served via Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington by Air New Zealand (+64 9 357 3000; www.airnewzealand.co.nz). Marahau, near Abel Tasman National Park, is a ninety-minute drive from Nelson.
Best Time to Visit: Most visitors paddle between October and mid-April, with the austral summer being the busiest season.
Campgrounds: Totaranui Campground (within the park) can accommodate up to 850 campers and provides flush toilets, potable water, cold showers, and fire pits. Reservations can be made by calling +64 3 528 8083 or visiting www.doc.govt.nz. Fees in the high season are $15 (NZD).
Activities: Hiking, swimming, kayaking, fishing.
Many campers visiting New Zealand will rent RVs to explore the lakes and mountains around Queenstown.
New Zealand—Otago
GREATER QUEENSTOWN
RECOMMENDED BY Dave Macleod
“I was drawn to Queenstown in the early nineties because there was lots of rock around, but not much of an infrastructure for climbers,” Dave Macleod recalled. “I saw an opportunity to develop rock climbing as a pastime. At that time, Queenstown had a few nice bars and one movie theater. Now it has two theaters, two casinos, and a hundred bars. When I leave to go to work, people are making their way home from the night before! Though it’s grown, Queenstown has a tremendous energy. The views take your breath away when you land here. It’s like Whistler or Interlaken, Switzerland, just an abundance of geographical features. And it’s such a great base for all forms of outdoor activities—mountain biking, road biking, climbing, hiking, rafting, fishing—the list goes on! Ten minutes from town, you can be by yourself. It’s so easy to escape into the backcountry from Queenstown.”
Queenstown rests along the shores of crystal-clear, mountain-bordered Lake Wakatipu, in the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Near the heart of the Otago region, it’s tucked between Mount Aspiring National Park (to the north), Fiordland National Park (to the south), and Milford Sound (to the west). Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy showed the world what most Kiwis already knew—that this region is an area of incomparable natural beauty. (Moviegoers will recognize many scenes from Middle Earth upon touching down there!) The combination of steep mountains, dark-green forests, snow-capped peaks, foaming waterfalls, and fingers of blue fjords make the region one of the most visually stunning temperate areas in the world. The region is home to what many consider to be the world’s most beautiful hike, the Milford Track. Anglers regularly make the pilgrimage to the South Island to fish its clear, uncrowded streams. Wineries are thriving in this former gold-mining area. And, as you may recall, bungee jumping was conceived there.
Queenstown has heartily embraced its modern identity as adventure capital of the southern hemisphere, though not all the adventures involve jumping off bridges. “There’s a new network of mountain-biking trails that radiate out from Queenstown,” Dave continued. “They’re meant to encourage the average family to get out on a bike, and they are wide and well graded, and lead to a host of other activities—bungee bridges, lakes, and wineries. There are also many fine hikes that begin at the edge of town. The Ben Lomond walkway is one. It’s a long hike to the top, though you can take a gondola part of the way. If you make it to the top, there’s a superb view of the entire Queenstown basin and many of New Zealand’s biggest peaks. Queenstown Hill is another nice half-day walk that begins from town.”
Given all of its natural amenities, it’s no surprise that the region around Queenstown offers an abundance of camping opportunities. The New Zealand Department of Conservation operates nineteen high-quality campgrounds in the Otago region. Dave described a few of his favorites. “Moke Lake is just a fifteen-minute drive from Queenstown. It’s a beautiful, horseshoe-shaped lake, surrounded by low, forested mountains. There are hiking and mountain-biking trails into the hills and a host of lake activities—trout fishing, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding, which has become very popular in recent years. Moke Lake is very quiet, great for families. Twelve-Mile Delta Campground is on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, where Twelve-Mile Creek enters the lake. It’s a popular fishing spot and has several nice hiking/biking trails. There’s also a commercial canyoning operation nearby.” (Canyoning entails rappelling down waterfalls to gain access to swimmable pools.) Lake Wakatipu has a unique, lightning bolt–like shape, thanks to its glacial origins. Due to its shape, the lake gives the illusion of having a tide—really a standing wave—that causes the water to rise and fall six inches every thirty minutes. The Maori people believe this is due to the heartbeat of a large monster, Matau, who is napping on the lake’s bottom.
“Kinloch campground is a little further afield, also on Lake Wakatipu,” Dave continued. “It’s very remote; you feel like you’re in a different part of the South Island. It’s very popular for trout fishing.” (It would be an understatement to say that the trout introduced to New Zealand waters have thrived. With no natural predators and ample feed, fish grow to outsize proportions in many streams and lakes.) Just to the north of Kinloch, you’ll find Sylvan campground, which rests along banks of the Routeburn River and is a short stroll from Lake Sylvan. There, you’re near the border of Mount Aspiring National Park and at the beginning point of the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand’s “Eight Great Walks.” (The Routeburn Track winds twenty-three miles through wild mountain country at the base of the Southern Alps and connects Mount Aspiring to Fiordland National Park. Trampers generally make the trek over three days, and spend their nights in designated huts along the way.) Campers at Sylvan can opt to walk part of the first day on the Routeburn, select a different hike, or ply the Routeburn River for trout. To the northeast of Queenstown, Dave recommends Macetown. “Macetown is the site of an old gold-mining settlement that thrived more than one hundred years ago,” he explained. “Several structures from that time [including the bakehouse and the schoolmaster’s cottage] have been restored. One catch is that you need a four-wheel-drive vehicle with high clearance to get there, as it’s an unpaved road that crosses a number of creeks. There are great hikes here, and you can also try your hand at panning for gold.”
One other option—if you’re game for a short hike—is Lake Alta, in the Remarkables mountain range. “You get to the trailhead via the Remarkables Ski Area road,” Dave continued. “You’re starting out at an elevation near five thousand feet. From here, it’s a hike of about twenty-five minutes. But your reward is a very beautiful glacial lake in the heart of a mountain range that Americans might liken to the Sierras. You need to be a bit heartier to camp here, but the climbing and photography options are awesome.”
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DAVE “SPOON” MACLEOD is owner/operator of Independent Moun
tain Guides based in Queenstown, New Zealand. He has achieved more than one hundred first ascents in the North and South Island on rock, skied the first descent of Couloir Peak in the Arrowsmith Range, climbed the first winter ascent of the southwest face of Cloudy Peak in the Rangitata Range, climbed the first ascent of the east face of Big Mac in the Fox Névé, and has more than two hundred ascents of all the Cones on the Remarkables range. Dave has served as the safety officer for the Southern Traverse adventure race for ten years, culminating in being the chief alpine and ropes safety officer on the Adventure Racing World Series in Switzerland 2001 and chief safety officer for the Eco Seagate Adventure Race Challenge 2006–7. He also developed the world’s first helicopter cliff swing with Chuck Berry and the IMG crew, supervised and built the first Tyrolean Traverse at Double Cone on the Remarkables for a BBC television show, introduced snowshoeing as a commercial winter activity to Queenstown in 1992, and built, conceived, developed, and managed/guided on the southern hemisphere’s first via ferrata in Queenstown 2003–5. He has worked on several motion pictures—including Fearless, Vertical Limit, and 10,000 BC—and many television commercials and documentaries, and starred in Mount Cook: Footsteps to the Sky with Kim Logan, Ann Palmer, Bruce Grant, and Gavin Wills, a reenactment of the first ascent of Mount Cook. When Dave is not on the hill, he is taking care of his family, bodyboarding the surf of the deep south, playing his bagpipes, and hiking and biking the magnificent Queenstown trails. He is a member of the New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association, the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, and the Industrial Rope Access Association of New Zealand.
If You Go
Getting There: Visitors fly into Queenstown, which is served by Air New Zealand (800-262-1234; www.airnewzealand.com) and Jetstar (866-397-8170; www.jetstar.com) via Auckland and Christchurch.
Best Time to Visit: December, January, and February signify the austral summer and are fine times to visit, though fairly clement conditions prevail from October to April.
Campgrounds: The New Zealand Department of Conservation (www.doc.govt.nz) highlights the campgrounds discussed above. Fees begin at $10 (NZD) per adult per night.
Activities: Hiking, fishing, biking, rock climbing, swimming, boating, bungee jumping . . . the list of outdoor activities around Queenstown is nearly endless.
The Cabot Trail, which cuts through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, is regularly recognized as one of the world’s most beautiful roads.
Nova Scotia
CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK
RECOMMENDED BY Mariève Therriault
Cape Breton makes up the northeastern section of the Canadian Maritime province of Nova Scotia. An island unto itself (separated from the mainland of Nova Scotia by the narrow Strait of Canso), Cape Breton is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the west, and is blessed with tree-covered mountains, deep river canyons, and steep cliffs that fall away to the sea; it’s regularly recognized as one of the northern hemisphere’s most beautiful islands. Much of the northern section of the island—some 367 square miles—is protected by Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Thanks to a cool maritime climate and mountainous terrain, the park hosts a unique blend of Acadian, boreal, and taiga habitats, and an incomparable blend of mountain and seascapes. For many, the grandeur of the Highlands comes from the way the mountains seem to touch the sea. Many park features, from trails to campgrounds, were designed to accentuate this feature.
“When you think of Cape Breton, your mind goes to the spectacular scenery,” began Mariève Therriault. “It’s all very accessible. The Cabot Trail [a 180-mile road on the island of Cape Breton, a third of which runs along the perimeter of the park] takes visitors up and down, hugging mountains and skirting the ocean in places. If you’re less mobile, you can enjoy the park from the car. If you really want to see the gems of the park, it’s best to explore it by foot. There are twenty-six trails for hikers of all different abilities. There are also glorious beaches, a host of waterfalls, fine trout fishing, and a world-class golf course. I think Cape Breton has something for everyone, that it’s the best playground there is. The island’s tourism slogan is ‘Your Heart Will Never Leave.’ That’s certainly how I feel. I first came here for a three-month assignment with the Parks Canada, and now I’ve been here for ten years.
Cape Breton Highlands is celebrated for its rich assemblage of half-day hikes. One can take a pleasant nature walk in the morning, have lunch in a Celtic pub, and do another modest hike in the afternoon. One relatively short but saucy trail is Franey, on the east side of the park. It climbs 1,400 feet in two miles, but you’re rewarded at the top with splendid views of the town of Ingonish, the Clyburn Valley, and Franey Mountain behind, and the open Atlantic before you, with Middle Head Peninsula jutting right below, out into the sea. Middle Head Trail, which starts near the historic Keltic Lodge, is a finger that extends into the Atlantic and offers great ocean views and vistas of Ingonish Island. Many people like to visit the lodge, have lunch, and then walk Middle Head, which takes less than two hours. (The adjoining golf course, Highlands Links, opened in 1941 and was designed by the celebrated golf designer Stanley Thompson. The course was commissioned by the Canadian National Park Service to attract visitors in the waning years of the Great Depression and is considered one of Canada’s top courses and one of Thompson’s masterpieces.) “The Middle Head Trail has some great picnicking spots too,” Mariève continued. “You can watch the gannets dive, maybe see a whale if you’re lucky.” Hiking is so popular in Cape Breton that the island conducts the ten-day Hike the Highlands Festival each September, which hosts guided hikes and programs of interest to hikers.
There are five front-country campgrounds in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The two largest are Broad Cove (on the east side of the park, with 202 sites) and Chéticamp (on the west side, with 117 sites). Broad Cove is set a short walk from the Atlantic near the village of Ingonish and offers both tent sites and RV sites (with hookups), plus hot showers and kitchen shelters. Chéticamp Campground is nestled between the mountains and the Chéticamp River, not far from the village of Chéticamp and from beaches, and offers the same amenities available at Broad Cove. Both Broad Cove and Chéticamp offer five oTENTiks, a spacious blend of tent and rustic cabin equipped with beds and furniture on a raised floor, for people easing into camping. “My personal favorite in the park is Corney Brook Campground,” Mariève shared. “It’s right off the Cabot Trail, so it’s very accessible, but it’s very intimate. The sites are right by the ocean, and there’s a private beach. You have the mountains to the east and can watch the sun set over the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It’s the best of both worlds.” For people who have little camping experience, Cape Breton Highlands National Park offers a “Learn to Camp” weekend. Novices can learn how to set up a tent, make a campfire, and cook outdoors, among other camping basics.
There are also hikes and campfire activities. “It’s a great way for new campers to learn about camping and gain confidence, as there’s the support of park employees and other novices,” Mariève added. (Like several other Canadian national parks, Cape Breton Highlands National Park also offers equipped camping. Visitors just show up with food and bedding; everything else is provided.)
Part of the allure of a visit to Cape Breton is a chance to partake of the region’s thriving Celtic culture. With strong Mi’kmaq and French cultures, Cape Breton Island has also been shaped by Scottish immigrants, who arrived in the early 1800s. (Oddly enough, geologists believe that Cape Breton may have initially been connected to Scotland millions of years ago!) These Scots, forcibly displaced from the Scottish Highlands, have managed to maintain much of their way of life. While the number of citizens speaking Gaelic is shrinking, the region’s culture is being passionately preserved in its music, especially a style of violin playing that’s been branded “Cape Breton Fiddling,” characterized by such artists as Natalie MacMaster. The region’s music and scenic beauty are celebrated with
Celtic Colours, an island-wide festival held each October.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park interpreters lead a number of activities throughout the summer season. One of the most popular is the Skyline Sunset Hike. “The Skyline trail is relatively flat and not too long—about five miles to the end and back,” Mariève described. “You head through the boreal forest, and when you reach the end, you’re at the top of a mountain that falls off more than thirteen hundred feet to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Interpreters begin the hike two hours before sunset so you reach the headland just as the sun is dropping. Sometimes you’ll see whales down below from the boardwalk at the trail’s end. It’s not uncommon to see moose or black bear from this trail, though the bears are generally on a distant hillside. The interpreter leads the way back, and you reach your car by dark.”
Fifty Places to Camp Before You Die Page 14