November 30:
We were up early for breakfast and headed off on the 5-hour drive to Milford Sound and the Fiordlands region of the South Island. The United Nations have declared this region a protected heritage area, called Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.
The drive from Queenstown to Te Anau, the jumping off point for the Fiordland sounds, was pretty - we had the Remarkables to our left for the first half, which made for some fun twisty roads - and there were lots more rolling hills with sheep. From Te Anau the drive is beautiful. 
It was cloudy much of the day, so when we stopped at the Mirror Lakes, they weren't mirroring so much, though the ducks were cute. Regardless, we drove through some spectacular valleys with snow-capped mountains in the background, and by some beautiful raging blue waters. 
Much of the drive is through the Kiwi forest, which turns from Alpine to temperate rainforest. The best stop was right before the Homer tunner, where there is a sheet of ice on a rock face, and Keas all around. 
On the other side of the tunnel (a 1-km ride through darkness in a tunnel narrow enough that you wouldn't want to meet a tour bus going the other way) you come out to a winding road that slopes steeply downward with waterfalls rushing all around. It is stunning. 
Then we arrived in Milford Sound, and we were somewhat 
underwhelmed. Granted, we had just seen the awe-inspiring Glenorchy, and it was a cloudy day. But with helicopters constantly overhead, and boats in the water, and a very low water level, and cloud covering any peaks, we were a bit disappointed. We sat for lunch (with the omnipresent sand flies...boy are they annoying) and did a few short walks around the mouth of the fiord. Got some great pictures of nesting birds, and got tired of the sandflies. So, we headed back to Te Anau.
We did a couple of short walks on the way back. First was the chasm, which was a heavily touristed but pretty walk through the rainforest to natural potholes cut into the softer stone. Then we did a walk across a swing bridge and through forest to the Hollyford River/Whakatapu Ka Tuku. 
The glacial river is a beautiful blue as it foams over rocks. I could have stared all day. 
This part of the forest provided some excellent examples of the different types of ferns in the region. The silver fern is the national symbol of New Zealand, but the ferns come in all shapes and sizes. As they open up, from their fiddle-head to fully formed state, they form rings and look like a family around a dinner table. 
Te Anau, where we stayed for the night, is a highly touristed town with a nice lake front, but is otherwise nothing to write home about.
December 1:
Doubtful Sound boat tour day! We started the morning with 
breakfast at a bakery, and then drove to Manipouri, a nearby town on Lake Manipouri. The drive was beautiful. The clouds were hanging low, and so you could see the base and tips of the mountains, with clouds covering the middle. This was reflected in the lake, and made for a beautiful start to the day.
We met our boat tour, and were happy to find that there were only 8 people on our boat, along with 4 crew members. We met a really nice American couple from California and spent the fast ride across Lake Manipouri talking with them. He works in computers, so Paul had found someone who could speak his language.
The ride across Lake Manipouri was pretty, but not otherwise special, and 
the day was getting progressively more cloudy. On the other side of the lake, you take a bus through forest, with waterfalls around every corner, and across the Wilmont Pass. At the pass the bus driver let us get out for overview photos of Doubtful sound in the background. It was spectacular. I'm starting to run out of adjectives. New Zealand is so beautiful everywhere, that it's hard to do it justice with written descriptions.
Our boat tour, on the MV Tutoko was with Fiordland Expeditions, with whom we went because they have a small boat and offer kayaking. 
It was also slightly cheaper than the other option on the sound, which is Real Journeys (they take 80 people on their boat, we had 12 people including crew). This was the highlight of the south island for us. It was just an amazing experience. We started with a ride through Doubtful sound. It took about 2 hours to get to the mouth, but since the water was so calm we went right out into the Tasman sea, where we stopped by the rocks where the seals live, and got to laugh at their antics. 
We went further out and fished for our supper. 
One of the more special moments was when some of the Fiordland yellow-crested penguins were swimming with the boat, jumping in and out of the water. They are so graceful when swimming. It was, however, raining, and the sandflies were insane. So, we got a bit wet, but the boat's cabin was warm and comfy, with lots of space for sprawling out and relaxing. They basically fed us from the moment we arrived on the boat. Amazing fish macaroni and 
cheese for lunch. A cheese board in the afternoon, fresh crayfish that the cook had caught that day diving, a roast vegetable tower (Yummy!), a main course of the fresh blue cod caught by passengers that afternoon, and chocolate for dessert. Sleep was in a bunk room. I was doubtful that we would be getting much sleep, but with my earplugs in, it was the best sleep I've had in a long time. The gentle rocking of the boat moored in Blanket Bay and the amazing little beds with awesome pillows were the perfect combination for a good sleep.
December 2:
I was up bright and early to try kayaking in the sound. It was a beautiful sunny day, without any low cloud cover, but our calm sea had departed. The waves were big, and I got pretty wet in the kayak.
The ride back to the dock was beautiful - you could see all of the peaks, and appreciate the beauty of the Sound. 
We headed to an island where the penguins are known to hang out, and got to see 13 of the Fiordland penguins, apparently the 2nd rarest penguins in the world.
They are awfully cute, but can make a terrible racket when calling out. 
The rest of the day was spent getting to our next destination. We headed back over the pass, back across lake Manipouri, got in the car, and drove back to Queenstown and then on to Wanaka. 
We stopped in a little village called Arrowtown to explore a bit. It is a touristy spot, about 20 minutes outside of Q'town, that was once a mining town. The buildings are preserved and maintain that "wild west" feeling, but it is mainly shops and restaurants now. We did a once around and then went over the hills to Wanaka. The drive over the hills allowed us some beautiful views over the valley in which Queenstown and Arrowtown were situated.
Wanaka is a pretty town, on Lake Wanaka and near Mount Aspiring National Park. We stayed at Criffel Peak View B&B, which ended up being one of our favorite accommodations during the trip. The proprietresses, Caroline and Suzy, are welcoming and full of suggestions and enthusiasm about everything in the region. We had dinner that night at a place called Trout (neither of us had fish) and enjoyed beautiful views of the lake through the full-wall windows.
December 3:
Mount Aspiring National park. After assurances from Suzy that our non-4WD car would make it across the small streams that have to be forded on the way into the park, we headed out to do the West Matukituki Valley/Rob Roy Valley hikes. What an amazing day. 
The hike starts along the Matukituki River, which is another of those amazing blue-green rivers. 
You walk along pastoral scenes surrounded by sheep, and then start a relatively steep climb up hill through the woods. 
It was beautiful. We had lunch with the Keas, who magically became our constant companions from the moment that we unwrapped our sandwiches until the last bite. 
The drive to and from Mount Aspiring National Park was memorable. Much of it is along a non-sealed road, and we had to ford 9 streams. 
Our little Nissan did well, though, and we enjoyed the pretty scenery on the way. Leaving the park we got stuck, enjoyably, behind a farmer in his truck and the cows that he was herding. 
It was amazing to watch the well-trained dogs hop out of the back of the pick-up, and go about their job of rounding up the cows so efficiently. When they were done, a whistle from their master and they hopped right back into the back of the truck. The sheep were funny to watch. It was clear that the dogs were rounding up the cows, but the sheep got confused. Many of them tagged along, looking frightened, and the dogs had to work rather actively to keep them away from the herd and try to convince them that they could continue their grazing undisturbed. Truly demonstrated the meaning of the phrase, "they are such sheep!" 
Back in Wanaka we had a crappy dinner at a too-expensive place, and then enjoyed an organic ice cream at the Wanaka waterfront, watching the beautiful sailboat races. 
A lovely little town, and one in which we would have stayed longer, had we had the time.
December 4:
The day involved about 5 hours of driving to Fox Glacier via the Haast Pass. We stopped to hike up to the lookout over the pass. Meh. It was an impressively steep hike - I don't think we've ever walked up anything quite as steep, with an unrelenting zigzag path. Fortunately, it was relatively short. 
Stopped in Haast for lunch - a sleepy little town with nothing to recommend it except that it is the last place to eat/wee/fill up gas for a while.
There were some good little stops on the way, and we just enjoyed being in New Zealand.
We spent much of the afternoon on a beach near Bruce Bay, looking 
for pretty rocks. The beach was filled with beautifully rounded quartz rocks of pure white, and we enjoyed finding a special stone for Heather-Ann, and then ourselves. It was lovely except for the sand flies. Sand flies are the only real pest in New Zealand, and they are a real pest. We had gotten an introduction while we were on Doubtful Sound, but didn't get really bitten until our afternoon on the beach. I, foolishly, was wearing sandals, and the resulting bites had me scratching for literally weeks. These bugs are far more evil than mozzies. 
In Fox, we stayed at the Fox Glacier Mountainview B&B. It was a lovely B&B, with amazing views, though the proprietor was a bit annoying. Single lady who is a bit of a know-it-all. But the accommodation was clean and the bed comfy. We had a yummy meal, and then did a bit of a rushed tramp around Lake Matheson. 
The lake is just a pretty lake, surrounded by fern-laden forest. What makes the lake so special is the reflection of Mount Cook in its waters, especially around sunset.
December 5:
We were up early to get to our helihike at Fox glacier. This was awesome. After a quick debrief, and outfitting with hiking boots suitable for crampons, we got into the helicopter. Our pilot was determined to make it an exciting ride, and did lots of swoops and 360's on our side. Paul, who normally hates flying so much, loved it! 
I loved the views, though my stomach wasn't really thrilled with the the ride. From above, the glacier is white and brown, with little flecks of blue. It stretches impressively for kilometers, and you can imagine how glaciation shaped many parts of the planet. 
The helicopter took us half way up the glacier, and we spent the next two hours walking around the mid section. With the crampons on, it was fun walking, and I was a little sorry that we had to go so slowly. Although there were older people in the group, we spent most of the waiting time while the guides hacked away at the ice. Although I was able to see the benefit in several sites that were a bit slippery and difficult to navigate, most of the time it seemed like random hacking. 
The guides seemed a bit inexperienced, and there did not seem to be a lot of thought that went into the steps that they unnecessarily carved at several sites. That aside, we got to see some beautiful blue ice huts, where movement of the ice from the top of the glacier had pushed up a section of the ice, and the resulting colour underneath could only be described as icy blue. 
As we were getting ready to leave, it was getting cloudier and started to rain once we were in the air. Apparently it rains a lot - the group after ours got canceled. We were super-lucky with the timing.
We spent the afternoon driving from Fox to Christchurch across Aurthur's Pass (that was fun, twisty driving; very glad we had a standard vehicle!). Aurthur's Pass was very pretty, through Alpine-type forest, though we didn't get many chances to stop. We left Fox around 1pm, and got to C'church around 7pm. We checked back in to the Centerpoint on Colombo and headed out for dinner. Don't eat Thai food in Ch'church...dodgy.
December 6:
After check-out and a great breakfast near Victoria Park on the Avon River, we did some souvenir shopping. 
The souvenirs in New Zealand are really nice - far superior to those in Australia, and difficult to resist. Then we headed to the airport and said good bye to this beautiful country. We'll be back at some point - have to do the North Island!
No comments:
Post a Comment