New Zealand delivers this with great amenities for backpackers. Their extensive backcountry hut system affords inexpensive comforts and international camaraderie throughout the countryside (you could sleep in a hut bed every night even on the remotest of tracks).
Overhead, Two wrists of white sandstone, Palms skyward, Fingers interwoven
The final leg to Perry Hut was growing on us. The trail cut across the spectacularly barren Gouland Downs, which offered uninterrupted vistas of the mountains around us. Although they were nothing more than hints of rugged slopes floating in the fog, I was enchanted nonetheless. I remember being enthralled with openness of the downs—there wasn’t a sign of shelter or cover in sight.
Melissa spent a couple months backpacking in New Zealand. Here are just a few of her favorite images from the trip.
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