The West Highland Way is a popular 96 mile multi-day hike in the west of Scotland stretching from Milngavie to Fort William.  I started the hike with my two friends, Thomas and Stewart and also Thomas’s  Jack Russell – Kyla.  It was also a kind of birthday hike for me and Stewart with Stewart’s birthday being in a few days and mine the following week.  We were also going to camp the whole way, we weren’t going to “cheat” like some people and have our bags transferred from B&B to B&B pfffft 😛

Day 1 – Milngalvie to Balmaha

The first day of hiking and the weather was pretty good for most of it.  It started off a bit wet in Milngavie and was really changeable (typical Scotland) but the second half of the day was glorious.  The hardest part of the day was going up and over conical hill which was tough but the views of Loch Lomond from it were amazing!  Shattered from the climb we had dinner and pints at the Oak Tree Inn.  Afterwards we still had a few miles to walk to the camp site and got there pretty late and setting up a tent in the dark when you are tired is always fun! 😛

Day 2 – Balmaha to Inversnaid

The next morning the weather was amazing and I sat for a while taking in the views of the loch.  Yesterday was a hard hike going over Conical Hill but that was nothing compared to today’s which involved hiking along the banks of Loch Lomond where the paths were very rocky, full of tree roots, up, down and everywhere and when you are carrying large packs this is pretty challenging.  Around about lunch time we did stop at Rowardennan Lodge which was pretty nice.  We ended up stopping for the day a little south of Inversnaid and wild camped just off the path.

Day 3 – Inversnaid to Crianlarich

We started off the day getting some breakfast at the Inversnaid hotel where I had an amazing veggie sausage roll.  The first half of the day was another tough slog along a difficult path of the banks of the loch but again the weather and views were great (sun cream was actually needed!).  The second half of the day was slightly easier as we moved north of the loch.  We stopped for dinner at the Beinn Glas Camp site and stocked up on Compeed!  We also chatted to a couple of friendly Kiwi’s.  For the night we camped in a field with mountain views just south of Crianlarich.

Day 4 – Crianlarich to Bridge of Orchy

So we had reached the half way point of the walk.  At this point though Thomas decided that he needed to take Kyla home as she was developing some sores and he was worried about infection.  So me and Stewart carried on with the walk.  The path for this part of the walk was a lot easier than what we had previously done.  Through the day we got some pretty good mountain views around Crianlarich and then towards Bridge of Orchy.  We stopped at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for dinner and pints and also decided to camp next to it.  It was a really nice camping spot next to the river and more mountain views were had.  The river was pretty loud but this was not an issue for a tired Andy.  At this point Stewart decided that he wasn’t going to have enough time to complete the walk and get back to Dundee for a wedding on Saturday.  So the next day I planned to set off on my own with the view of completing it in 2 or 3 days.

Day 5 – Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven

Another glorious morning J.  I set off early at 7am and the sun rising on the hills was beautiful.  The path was fairly easy going and I got some fantastic views of Munro’s I had previously climbed but from different angles.  I stopped at the Kings House Hotel for some lunch enjoying the weather and surroundings.  The reindeer were even getting fed apples when I was there.  The next part of the hike was a bit tougher.  Going through Glencoe was amazing but the hike up the Devil’s Staircase was pretty taxing.  The views from the top on the other hand, were totally worth it. The hike down to Kinlochleven seemed to take forrrreverrr and was very glad to finally stumble upon the Blackwater Campsite.

Day 6 – Kinlochleven to Fort William

Today was the day (hopefully) where I would finish the West Highland Way.  I couldn’t believe it and was well stoked! The first part of the walk climbed up and out of Kinlochleven where nice views of the Pap of Glencoe were had.  The path then curved around the mountain and got up close and personnel with Ben Nevis.  Now I thought the path yesterday from the Devils Staircase to Kinlochleven took forever but this was nothing compared to the path down through Nevis forest, along Glen Nevis and into Fort William.  But I made it and felt a massive sense of achievement and felt good to say I done this before I was 30. I was however, a little sad that I couldn’t complete it with my friends.  I couldn’t believe that I had 5 and a half days of glorious weather in the west of Scotland, something I have never had before and wouldn’t be surprised if I never get again.  I hung around Fort William for a while waiting for my train home.  Lying around on the grass in the sun with my boots off had never felt so good!

New Zealand and Australia, were two countries I have wanted to visit for a long time and I was about to make it happen.  I flew for two days and arrived in Auckland where I would stay with my cousin Lorna another travelling Grubb:P) for a few days.  She had been travelling in south east Asia, Australia and New Zealand and I hadn’t seen her since before she had left so it was really nice to catch up with her.  In my time there she showed me around Auckland and went to Albert Park, both her and her flatmate Helen’s works for dinner and drinks, “K” Street (hipster part of town) Waheke Island and up the sky tower for cocktails where we got a fantastic view of the city at sunset.

I also hired a car and travelled around both islands for a couple of weeks – which was not nearly enough time.  I travelled down the middle of the north island where I stopped at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland (an active volcanic area) and was awesome to see crazy coloured bubbling lakes but it did absolutely stink of rotten eggs!

The next day I hiked across the Tongariro crossing (see hiking section for more photos) which was a 19.4km hike up and over ridges in a volcanic area.  The hike was amazing and I got stunning weather and views.  The crazy colour lakes were cool to see here too.

I headed south down towards Wellington enjoying the scenery along the way.  Unfortunately I didn’t get too long here as I was getting a ferry to the south island the next morning.  The views from the ferry across were beautiful and made me think of Vancouver with tree covered hills next to the sea.

I then travelled down the west coast of the island making my way towards Queenstown while stopping and enjoying views along the way at the likes of Nelson Lakes and Franz Josef Glacier.  Unfortunately from about Franz Josef to Wanaka it rained a lot and didn’t get too much in the way of views.  I could barely see the Glacier as it was raining that much but seeing all the waterfalls pouring off the surrounding mountains was pretty spectacular.  Queenstown is beautiful little resort town in a picturesque setting with loads of bars, restaurants and cafes.  It was really nice to chill out here for a couple of days exploring the town and surrounding area.

The next stop was Milford Sound!  Again unfortunately, the weather wasn’t too great so didn’t get as many views as I had hoped en-route but the views I did get were breathtaking!  At Milford Sound the weather did clear up slightly but I will just have to go back in an attempt to experience it in all its glory!  While in Firordland I did a little bit of hiking but would love to come back some day to do some of the long distance multi-day hikes.

The next part of my trip would take me to Mount Cook National Park.  I stayed in the YHI at Aoraki Mount Cook which is in an absolutely stunning setting with amazing mountain views.  From here I did the Mueller Hut hike which was sooo f*cking good!  Mountain, glaciers, glacial lakes, valleys……what more can you ask for? See more photos in the hiking section

Next stop was a short visit to Christchurch.  I enjoyed exploring the town and Hagley Park.  It was pretty crazy to see all of the construction that was still going on after the earthquake and quite sad.  After Christchurch I started making my way up the east coast and then up the middle of the north island towards Auckland again.  On the north Island I stayed over at Waitomo and visited the glow worm caves.   These were really incredible, the roof of the cave looked like a starry night sky.

From Auckland I flew to the next part of my trip…..Melbourne, where I would stay with my friends Ryan and Danielle who also picked me up from the airport.  While here they showed me around their city and visited areas such as St Kilda Beach and Fitzroy (quirky part of town) visited lots of bars including a roof top and also met up with my friend Paul.  Me and Ryan took a trip up the Eureka tower which offered expansive views of Melbourne.  It was pretty unbelievable to see how far Melbourne expanded and reminded me a little of the view of Toronto from the CV tower.  Melbourne was an awesome city and there always seemed to be loads going on.

As well as exploring Melbourne we took a trip along the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles.  The beaches along this road were so beautiful with huge waves that seemed to break for miles.  The Apostles were unlike anything I had ever seen.  We also ended up having a fire and picnic on a secluded beach taking in the ocean and starry skied views!