This week I was able to explore the other major lake in Nelson Lakes National Park- Lake Rotoroa. If you recall from a 
few weeks ago, I went for a hike around Lake Rotoiti, which was incredibly scenic and a great introduction to the area where I am living. I decided to venture slightly farther this time, and drove about 40 minutes… or what should have been 40 minutes if I didn’t manage to get a little lost…. to another beautiful lake nestled in between lush green hillsides. After some research before-hand, I decided to do the Braeburn Track hike, which is meant to take about two hours round-trip and goes up to a pretty little waterfall in the woods. I struggled a bit at first to find the start of the hike because it really isn’t a very well marked park, but once I figured it out, I was off! In retrospect I really wasn’t doing very well following directions that day….
The path was well maintained at first despite how wet everything was from all the rain we’ve been having, and I found myself missing my horse, because it would have been a perfect horse-riding trail! Once in the thick of the woods, the trail narrowed and I was again surrounded by lush greenery and plants that I have never seen anywhere else. I don’t have the slightest clue what this tree (is it even a tree?) is, but I am completely fascinated by it! It looks like it has fern leaves, but is growing like a tree? The hike was wonderfully quiet with just the constant 
sound of running water from the stream and the occasional bird. Somehow even when I’m alone, hiking never feels lonely, and I think it’s because there is always something familiar about it. The refreshing smell of the wet earth, the comfortable squish of mud under my hiking boots, the feel of tree bark in my hands when I have to grab onto a tree to keep from falling into that same mud…. really, I’m just as clumsy here as I am everywhere else in the world. But seriously, the hiking here as all been so beautiful and the Braeburn track at Lake Rotoroa was no different.
The last part of the path was not as steep as I would have thought and came out to a view of a long, skinny waterfall that gracefully fell down into a stream below. I had the option to climb down to the bottom of it, but with how wet, muddy and generally bad the footing was, I decided 
to just turn around and follow the path back. The return loop followed the stream most of the way and there were some lovely views of the water as it cascaded over rocks on it’s way to the lake. The whole trek took only about an hour and fifteen minutes, but every second of it was beautifully serene.
What a week for small adventures. I drove five hours in heavy rain and fog to the new town that I’ll be living in. I learned how to put chains on a car… and what to do when they break going up a steep, dirt road covered in wet, heavy snow. I realized how much of an adventure just going to the grocery store can be when you’re in a country where you don’t even know the names of the grocery stores, let alone how to get there. And best of all, I discovered that I’m living only five minutes from a national park and I got to experience my first bit of “tramping” in NZ!
I have officially moved into the house I will be living in for the rest of my time working in New 
Zealand. I am staying in the incredibly small town – I’m talking one hotel and one gas station/ convenience store, small – of St. Arnaud. What this town lacks in population and amenities though, it more than makes up for in raw, natural beauty. St. Arnaud is nestled within a short drive of three different National Parks: Kahurangi, Abel Tasman and Nelson Lakes. I am lucky enough to be living only a five minute drive from Nelson Lakes National Park which is full of hiking trails around one of the most scenic lakes I have ever seen, Lake Rotoiti. (Rumor has it there are some massive fresh water eels that are over a hundred years old swimming around in this lake, but since I didn’t know to look on my first trip, I’ll have to make a return and [warily] go check them out!)
Real quick though, before we get too excited about the proximity of some good hiking, let’s go back to a “real life” adventure I experienced. After you move into a new apartment, one of the first things you obviously have to do is stock the cabinets/ fridge! Well, when you’re in a country you’re familiar with, a run to the grocery store is usually pretty simple, you know the food you need, you know the brands you like and most importantly, you know what the grocery store is CALLED. When you’re traveling…. let’s just say, it isn’t quite as simple. Luckily, one of our ski team sponsors is a discount grocery store called Pak n’ Save, which is basically similar in layout to a Costco, but you don’t have to buy in bulk. While this information was helpful, it doesn’t fully prepare you for walking into a store where nothing but the produce looks familiar (and even some of that is different… sweet potatoes are apparently called kumaras in NZ). On another note: HOLY MOLY is food expensive here. Even in the discount store! Honestly 11 NZD for a four pack of tomatoes. Ugh. So, between trying to do conversions from kilos to pounds, and then NZD to USD and just generally staring at all the different brands for everything (I about had a meltdown trying to figure out which of the hundred different brands/ types of bread I should buy) – I definitely left with a bit of a headache… but also a full car’s worth of groceries! The struggle was real, but I’m going to chalk that one up as a success!
Now on to a far more fun and (more importantly) scenic adventure!! As previously mentioned, I am living only five minutes from Nelson Lakes National Park, and while it unfortunately rained most of the past week, it did clear up long enough for me to go on a short hike, or “tramp” as they call it 
here. There are many hikes of varying difficulties and lengths in this National Park and for my first one, I chose to take it a little easier and did one called The Loop Track. The track starts along the shore line of Lake Rotoiti and then ventures up into the thick, but lush green woods that are protected by the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project. Everywhere I went, there were a million different hues of green, from the moss,
to the tree leaves to the different types of grasses and shrubs, but there was also a surprising amount of black. Many of the trees had black bark, and the mud was so saturated and dark it almost appeared black as well. It was all so overwhelmingly beautiful though, what should have been an easy 2 hour hike, quickly became three because I was constantly stopping to take pictures and just breathe in my incredible surroundings. There were constant songs and noises from birds and little creatures shuffling around, but the shrubbery was so thick that I could only rarely catch sight of them. And while I knew there were animals around, I was shocked that during my whole time in the park (nearly 4 hours by the end of it), I only saw two other people!
The walk through the forest was enchanting, but the real magic was the sight of the lake when the clouds cleared and I could see the glass surface of the water with the rugged, snowy mountains as
far as you could see in the distance. I actually stopped short at my first sight and just stood there for a few minutes while it all seeped into my memory. This was probably the first time since I’ve been here that it finally hit me. I am HERE. I am in New Zealand! A place that I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. And it is AMAZING. As I sat on the smooth stone beach on the lake shore, a pair of black swans swam up and were feeding only about 30 feet from where I was sitting. Everything was so peaceful that I completely lost track of time and couldn’t even guess at how long I sat there, just taking the occasional picture and staring at the beauty in front of me. You can look at all the pictures on the internet, but nothing really prepares you for being here.
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