Into the big blue

Two years after completing my first Drakensberg hike, my husband Sean and I started planning a trip to South America. We decided to take a month off and we optimistically thought we could hike all over Peru, Argentina and Chile in that time. (South African passport holders don’t require a visa for these countries.) But it soon became apparent that such a trip would be impossible due to the vast distances we’d need to travel. So, we settled on Patagonia – the windswept, dramatic “tail” of Argentina and Chile.

We started by exploring the Bariloche lake district in northern Patagonia before heading to Argentina’s hiking capital, El Chaltén, where we did numerous day hikes of up to 28 km a day. All this prep ensured that we were ready for the eight-day trek in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

Torres del Paine offers hikers a chance to experience a long-distance Patagonian hike in relative comfort. There are two options: the “W” Trek and the “O” Trek, named after the outlines of the two routes on a map. The “W” Trek is approximately 80 km and can be completed in four or five days; the “O” Trek is 130 km – it includes the “W” route and requires seven to nine days to complete.

Some of the most incredible scenery can only be seen on the “O” Trek, including the John Gardner Pass and the view across Glacier Grey, part of the Southern