Copland Track
On a whim, we signed up for a one night backpacking trip on the Copland Track, located in Tai Poutini National Park, and we couldn’t have been happier we did - definitely the highlight of the trip thus far! The way out was ten miles of steady incline following a bright blue glacial river and winding in and out of the lush rainforest. There were a few stream crossings, multiple rock scrambles, and two slightly sketchy wire suspension bridges with one person max loads that we had to maneuver our way across. Our end destination was the Welcome Flat Hut, a cute hut with the bare necessities that we’d be sleeping in that night, as well as natural hot springs a two minute walk away from the hut.
Upon arriving, we claimed a sleeping pad, laid out our sleeping bags, and headed to the springs. There were four different springs, just one being an appropriate temperature for people to relax in. Luckily as we approached the hut, a Dutch girl told us which spring to go in, so we avoided burning our little toes testing the others out for ourselves! We eased into the spring, immediately feeling our muscles relax, and sprawled out. The view was incredible; we looked out to a massive, beautiful snow-capped mountain range that was home to multiple waterfalls. While sitting in the 100 degree water, we even watched an avalanche high up in the range.
After some moments of solitude, a Swiss couple joined us in the water and we got to chatting; the girl had just completed medical school and this was her celebratory trip! Shortly after, the dreaded sandflies came out and wouldn’t leave us alone, so we decided to call it on the hot springs.
At 7:30pm, us backpackers had a mandatory safety meeting with the hut wardens, Herwig and Monika, the cutest elderly Austrian couple that you ever did see. They’ve been hut wardens at Welcome Flat for the past few seasons and we love their story - they still live in Austria full time, but come summer, they make their way up to the top of the mountain; Herwig, nearly 70 years old, still hikes the ten miles up the track, while his wife takes a helicopter up. The helicopter is loaded up with all of the belongings that they’ll need for the next month and a half - once they’re up, they don’t come down! For additional food, firewood, and cleaning supplies for the hut, they rely on delivery via copter. They enjoy it greatly and hope to continue being the hut wardens for years to come.
Once they finished their chat, Monika came around to all of the groups to confirm our bookings. Hans pulled up our confirmation email and upon seeing his name, Mr. Voostraack, as she pronounced it, asked where we were from. We told her the US, but she almost certainly did not hear us correctly as she then immediately started telling us a story in German! Since Kay took German through college, she picked up a few words here and there, but Monika was spurting out this story at a rapid pace, like we were natives, and so we both had pretty much no clue what she was saying to us. We politely smiled, chuckled, and nodded along, praying that she wasn’t saying anything that required an answer. The best part, however, was that our new Swiss friends were sitting directly across the table from us. They speak German fluently and so when Monika walked away, they asked us if we understood anything that she just said (knowing we hadn’t). We 100% did not, so he went ahead and translated. Apparently, she was saying that she likes to check the dates of everyone’s stay very closely because the previous month, they had had someone show up to the hut precisely one month early. We thanked them for explaining and were happy that our laughter was probably a sufficient response to the story! We told the couple Hans’ full name and they understood why Monika had launched into full German on us. We went on to laugh with them about the various struggles of van life. Our funniest shared experience being the constraints of a small self-contained car; specifically, that when it’s raining out around dinner time, we don’t have anywhere else to eat besides the front seats. Compared to other people sitting at full-on tables in larger camper vans, us sitting in the front seat passing our dehydrated meal back and forth is…a bit sad.
Before we knew it, it was late and given that the hut didn’t have electricity, was also pitch black, so we said goodnight and slept like logs. The following day, we awoke early and started on the ten miles back. It was as beautiful as the day before, but it definitely felt far longer and by the time we got back to Mayo, we were wiped out. Overall, not only was the track stunning, and the hot springs an added bonus, but it was a blast to chat with some folks in a warm hut in the mountains.
For more pictures, check out our Instagram, from_oakland_to_auckland, also linked below!