Milford Sound is one of the must-see places in New Zealand, according to anyone who has ever heard of New Zealand. After coming off the Routeburn Track, I hopped on a bus to Milford Sound. The standard sound exploration is via boat cruise. I wanted something different; I wanted to work for my experience, so I booked a trip with Rosco’s Milford Kayaks for the Stirling Sunriser trip. I was going to kayak under a waterfall!
My trip to New Zealand was my first ever international solo trip. Well, my first real big solo trip, ever. The idea of figuring out transport from destination to destination was really daunting. Really, really daunting. Normally I’d be okay with renting a car but factor in hours and hours of driving and the whole driving on the other side of the road thing and that idea died pretty quickly. I hate driving, except for the fact that I can sing along to my favorite country songs.
I considered hopping on the Kiwi Experience for a good period of time as it touched a little bit of everything I wanted to do. As I kept researching, my itinerary ended up diverging from the trip’s itinerary, and frankly, I like the outdoors more than I like being outgoing. After booking my huts for the Routeburn track, I said hell with it, I’ll figure out how to travel around the South Island without a car. To my surprise, it was surprisingly easy.
When you’re huffing and puffing away in varying temperatures, you want insulation that works with you and not against you. The Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket does just that.
When Mountain Hardwear asks if you want to party with them in the desert, the only answer is yes! I booked a flight to Ontario, CA (closest “major” airport to Joshua Tree) and told my boyfriend to pick me up. The agenda was a chili cookoff, Ethan Pringle flipping pancakes and climbing with Cliffhanger Guides, aka a good freakin’ time.
Raise your hand if your stuff is forever covered in chalk. From early morning gym sessions to climbing trips, I’m really good at getting that good white stuff everywhere. This is when the Arc’teryx Aperture Chalk Bag comes in handy.