A Real Hobbit Experience

Within the first month of arriving in New Zealand, I had already checked several things off my bucket list, some of which I didn’t even know were on there! One of those adventures was a trip to the West Coast.
After a class that went 3 hours past its scheduled time my entire flat and one other in our complex set out for what turned out to be the most challenging and rewarding trip of my life, so far. We drove about 4 hours from Dunedin and camped right outside Wanaka. It was the middle of winter and FREEZING! We piled into tents after throwing on a few extra layers and woke up in time to watch the sunrise. Had it been just a little warmer, it would have been the perfect start to the trip.
After another long drive, we arrived on the West Coast at the start of the Copland Track. This 23km track to the hut we stayed at began on a beach. We were surrounded by tropical foliage for the first hour or so of the hike. Through the course of the track, we crossed several rivers, both on wire bridges and by just walking through the middle of them, we climbed boulders, and we saw the foliage and birds change as we climbed in elevation. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, however, I was in terrible shape and felt like my legs were going to give out at any time. It took us about 6 hours to arrive at the hut and I haven’t was ecstatic to sit down! I felt like I had just conquered the world, while everyone else had just barely broken a sweat. We spent the night hanging out in the hot spring, admiring the snowcapped mountain and getting to know each other. I made several new friends that night and got closer to others.
That night, the warden came to the hut and told us that the track had closed while we were on it due to weather and that we could stay an extra day or be extremely careful the next day. We decided to trek through the rain. The rivers had rose and the mud was terrible, but we made it out without any problems. The 45kms total were the most strenuous thing I have ever gone through, but afterwards I was ready for the next one. I ended up doing 3 of the great walks, as well as many other hikes. Without the Copland track, I definitely wouldn’t have seen the beautiful nature that I was exposed to.