A while ago I suggested that the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was the best day hike in all of New Zealand. I now think I may have to qualify that statement—it’s still the best day hike in the North Island. But the South Island? I think the Rob Roy track outside of Wanaka could give it a serious run for its money.
The Rob Roy track cuts through valleys and fields, winds its way through a forest, and ends beneath its namesake: the hanging Rob Roy Glacier. I’m told it got its name from the first European to see it. Apparently, he thought it looked like a Scotsman in a kilt, and Rob Roy was the only Scotsman he could think of off the top of his head. I, personally, think he must have been on the old poppy seed, because I couldn’t make out a Scotsman with or without a kilt.
Anyway, hiking the Rob Roy track made for one of my all-time favorite days in New Zealand. And it was made more so by the company of a lovely Scottish girl who I met at the Queenstown airport. That’s the thing I love about travelling alone—you never really are. In fact, most of the time you’re surrounded by truly wonderful people. But it’s not ‘til you’re alone that you’re fully receptive to meeting them.
No comments:
Post a Comment