為了準備11月去Patagonia之旅，我們決定回去New Zealand嘗試多日登山。本來是訂了去Routeburn Track（32公里長登高1635米）4天3夜，結果到了用去當天早上因為大雨淹水，那個區域 (Milford Sounds)的登山步道全部關閉，除了一條Kepler Track（61公里長登高2216米）3天2夜，所以臨時改去Kepler Track。

In order to prepare for our November trip to Patagonia, we decided to go back to New Zealand to try out multiday tramping. We originally booked Routeburn Track (32km elevation gain 1635m) for 4 day 3 nights, however on the morning to start trekking, all tracks in the Milford Sounds area including Routeburn Track were closed due to flooding, with the exception of Kepler Track (61km elevation gain 2216m) for 3 days 2 nights, so we decided to change over to trek Kepler Track last minute.

意思就是，本來一天走10公里變成一天走16公里，可留宿的營地也少一天所以按原計畫裝備反而多帶了食物加重了背囊。

What that means is, originally we planned to trek 10km per day, now it becomes 16km. With 1 night reduction in campsite availability, we have also brought too much food as packed according to original plan which in turn added to the weight of our backpacks.

第一天走5小時登高到1200米，風大雨大，留宿一宿。第二天應該沿著山峰過兩個嶺，結果因為連夜的大雨步道淹水甚至開始下雪，風速估計為120公里，步道關閉。只好按原路下山，另覓營地過夜。

Day 1, we trekked for 5 hours in the wind and rain, reaching elevation of 1200m, and stayed overnight in the cabin. Plan for Day 2 was to walk along the ridge to cross 2 summits, but because of the rain overnight which started to turn into snow, wind speed reaching 120km/ hour, remaining Kepler Track was closed for safety reason. We could only descend back down the same way we came from, and camped elsewhere.

難道這一切都是徒勞嗎？我可不這麼認為。我學到的教訓有：

自然的力量遠比人類大太多太多了
人不應該將計畫安排得滴水不漏並預期事情會按計劃發生
當事情不按計劃發生時，計劃其他的，然後好好享受吧。這所有的一切都是在一個超越了你我的宏大計劃之中

Was it all for nothing? I think not. I learnt that:

Nature is a much greater force than human
one should never plan too tightly and expect things to go according to plan
When plans don’t work out, just plan something else and enjoy. It’s all part of a plan bigger than you and me.

於是我們唱著Queen樂團的 “We Will Rock You” 和 “We Are the Champion” 上了又下了Kepler Track，後來又轉移地點去Wanaka爬山露營，好好的享受了我們的假期。

So we sang Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champion” up and down Kepler Track, ended up camping and trekking in Wanaka, and definitely enjoyed our holiday.

amazing sunset at Milford Sounds campsite

camping by Lake Wanaka has always been the most peaceful