Day 18: Wakatipu track

We had an easy day ahead of us and we're in no rush to depart our fancy motel accommodation at the Wyndham Gardens in Frankton. We sauntered out to check-out at 10:00, and noticed it was raining outside so opted for some brunch. I had a really nice Jalapeno omellete, and Emma had eggs bene. Then it was off at around 11:00.

A food shop was required, amidst the Christmas Eve chaos. We estimated we still had around a 8,000 calories, or about a day's supply, in the packs. We figured we'd live on town food today, so two more days food should see us through the Motatapu track and to Wanaka's door step.

After stocking up we soon found our first golf course that we would have to walk through on the Te Araroa, it was at the Queenstown events center. A little 9 hole par 30 (with 6 par 3's... practically a pitch and putt). We were quite tempted to play a round, and I could feel Jamie's dissatisfaction with me for opting to carry on through... golfless.

From there the trail shortly found the cycleway that we had been on yesterday. This would take us on a scenic, easy-walking, though slightly indirect path, all the way to Arrowtown. There were a few information posts up about some of the history of the whenua. Notable amoung these was the story of the 3 shotover bridges. The first was washed away quite early on and a second was constructed shortly after; which we crossed; it was recently restored as a walking and cycling bridge. The third bridge was constructed slightly downriver for use by cars.

We stopped for first lunch by the Kawarau river, flowing quite quickly with its glacial hue. I quite distinctly remember wondering to myself why on earth anyone would opt to drive to and around Queenstown when there is this lovely and severely underutilised cycling track adjacent, that takes you just about everywhere you would need to go. Traffic was chaos, and parking was worse. You'd get there quicker on a bike, and have a far more enjoyable experience.

The track continued up through suburbia where we stopped for second lunch at the Hayes cafè (nachos). Then it followed on around Lake Hayes, which has some wetland and plantings of a Kōwhai grove.

After the lake we would climb a hill to our second golf course of the day. A far more upmarket and severely private affair. It was complete with droves of holiday housing that was shuttered off to sit empty but for the few times a year their owners might ordain to travel from wherever they exist in the world. Much of Queenstown is like this, a lot of shuttered housing. I'm not sure if it were exacerbated by this year's happenings, but the reality of it is quite plain to see. The workers are forced to live two or three to a bedroom earning pittance wages, contrasted against grand estates left unutilised next door. The labour wasted in building and maintaining all these grand houses, both in Queenstown and on the golf course, only to sit idle for the majority of their lifetimes in a period in which we supposedly have a housing crisis and a tradesperson shortage is a thought that sours the stomach. I posit instead that what we have is a distribution and an appropriation crisis, an utter waste of labour and resources in vain shows of unsustainable self-affluence to the detriment of all. This place was utterly abhorrent, a monument to all that will be the ruin of our species. Walking through it was by far my least enjoyable experience of the Te Araroa thus far... and I love golf.

Finally we would reach Arrowtown, the camp ground would close reception at 19:00 so we would need to head straight there to check in and setup the tent.

After setting up camp we walked back to town to pick up some takeaway pizza, wedges, and salad which we ate at camp along with some Christmas Eve wine. Steep mountains lay ahead for the next few days as we tackle the Motatapu. A track which Emma's sister Ang had a hand in forging.

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