Routeburn/Greenstone Tramp

Just got back yesterday from a 5 day/4 night tramp on the Routeburn and Greenstone trails. Linking the two trails together formed one big loop, versus doing one trail (what many people do) and having to catch a bus for about a 200 mile drive (roads are few and far between down here). The Routeburn started out nice with a sunny first day, though it soon turned rainy and cold for the second and third day. Along the way, there were beautiful sights to be seen, and interesting people to meet. Each day we were only hiking for a few hours, so the rest of the days were spent drying clothes, cooking/eating food, socializing, and sleeping. We met another father and son pair (shout out to James and his dad) who were from Austrailia, and we ended up talking a bit. James even lived in Summit County, Colorado for a bit while working as a ski instructor. Small world! We also met people from Japan, Canada, England, Germany, Denmark, etc, making it an international experience.
On the third day, we crossed over to the Greenstone trail, which is a valley hike as opposed to the alpine nature of the Routeburn. The first night on the Greenstone, we had the hut to ourselves, and were able to stretch out and also figure out how to start a coal fire (took about an hour). The rest of the hike was full of big valleys and even bigger views, but the days were long. By the end, I was pretty sore, as my legs are used to pedaling circles, not walking with a 40 pound bag on my back.
The tramp (by the way, tramping is what the Kiwis call doing these multi day hikes) ended with a short boat ride in a very small boat, back into town. We are currently resting up in Queenstown and getting ready to do the Milford Track. Tonight we checked out this place called 5 Degrees Below, which is a bar made completely out of ice. Even the glasses are made of ice. As the name suggests, the temp is five degrees below zero (Celcius), so its pretty darn cold (they give you a big jacket and gloves before you go in). I've never seen anything like this in the US, though I've seen pics of ice hotels in Norway or Denmark or some other place.