Tongariro and Taupo

So after leaving the lovely little campground we worked our way towards Palmerston North, "Palmy" to the locals, spending a night in Ashurst after winding our way around an arduous diversion to avoid the Manawatu Gorge that had been partly destroyed by landslides earlier in the year. We enjoyed a coffee in a cafe where we watched the trees get blown around and dust get whipped up by the extremely strong gusts of wind. The next morning we headed into the city of Palmerston North and spent the day wandering around the nice city square, visited the very futuristic library and then kept out of the showery weather by going to the cinema. All in all "Palmy" seemed to be a very boring town, so we left. In the afternoon we drove along highway 1 towards the Tongariro National Park, hoping to find a campsite along the way before the sun set. We had no such luck and were still adjusting to the clocks going back and the sun setting before 7pm. We pulled into one site before driving straight back out again, we were the only ones there and it was in an eerie woods, no thank you. A little further down the road we came to a small town and followed the campsite signs to a much nicer camp ground, and even though we were still the only ones there it was a lot more inviting. It seems at this time of year the 'en route' campsites are deserted and people tend to stick to the main holiday parks in towns and cities. In the morning we awoke to strong winds, we were approaching the central plateau of the north island, an area of high ground dominated by several extinct and dormant volcanoes. We had planned to do the Tongariro Alpine crossing a long hike between two of the volcanoes but on entering the national park we decided against it as our van was being pushed sideways across the road by the strong easterly winds. Nevertheless the drive along the Rangipo Desert Road was very picturesque and gave us great views of the volcanoes before the clouds rolled in later that day. After deciding against the walk we chose to do a shorter and more sheltered walk around Lake Rotopounamu to stretch our legs after a few long drives. That night we drove to Turangi, a small town south of the Great Lake Taupo, we stayed in a holiday park that boasted thermal mineral pools and freshwater spa pools. The mineral pool looked like some kind of filtration tank for an aquarium, so needless to say we didn't go in, we did however go in the freshwater spa pool although the one we chose didn't have working bubbles so it was really just like sitting in a pool of hot water. Anyway the campsite was nice and there was a foal in a field next door so Lauren was very happy and stroked it for ages.

Lake Taupo was next and the drive along its shore was very nice, in spite of its tropical blue appearance it is supposed to be very chilly so we chose not to swim. We drove through the town and hit our first stop, Huka Falls. It was incredible, the falls are on the Waikato River that drains water from the lake. Further upstream it narrows from 100 metres wide to just 15, this forces over 200,000 litres of water each second over the falls. You would not want to fall in. From here we went on a nice walk along the river to the Aratiatia Rapids about 5 miles away here the release of water from a dam creates a spectacular section of rapids stretching hundreds of metres. Unfortunately unknown to us the dam only releases water at certain times so instead of seeing a gushing torrent we saw a small trickle of water. Never mind it was a nice walk. The next day we drove to other areas of the lake and enjoyed some great views before going to a thermal resort on the edge of town, we paid for a spot to park our van for the night and in return we got into the spa for a mere $10 instead of $40, bargain! We relaxed in proper outdoor mineral pools, up to 42 degrees, and enjoyed our own private mineral pool for most of the day. Feeling very healthy and remineralised (new word) we decided to celebrate our health with a very greasy macdonalds, which we ate and then went back for more mineralness in the dark, the pools were all lit up and the steam glowed in the cool night air.

We had procrastinated this whole trip about whether or not to do a bungy jump. In Queenstown we had used the excuse that it was too expensive and had regretted it. Here we had another chance at Taupo Bungy, a 154 foot jump over the Waikato River and NZ's highest water jump. The fact that we couldn't really afford it still applied but we decided we would at least go and have a look, so first thing in the morning we drove to the clifftop and stood on the bridge to watch a few people jump. After almost getting back in the van and driving off we turned around, went in the office and paid for a tandem jump, the big 'no refunds' sign said it was now too late to turn back. We queued on the platform and our turn came, the elastic was tied around our ankles and we were nearly ready to go. At this point Lauren announced that she didn't want to do it to but everyone knew that wouldn't change a thing. We stepped in small penguin like steps to the platform and stood there with an arm around each others waist and holding each others free hand. Suddenly I had realised that I had been so worried for Lauren that I had forgotten that I was actually quite nervous, but there was no time for that and I faked a smile at Lauren and pretended that I was brave and everything would be fine, which of course it would be. After smiling anxiously on the edge of the platform for a photo and a helping nudge from the guy at the top we were in freefall, the most unnatural thing I have ever felt but also the most exhilarating. The scenery rushed by and the water drew nearer, all the while Lauren screaming in my now deaf ear, and then the elastic tightened sending all the blood in our bodies straight to our heads, it then recoiled and pulled us back towards the platform before bouncing us around for a while. We were slowly lowered into a little yellow dingy where the blood drained back from our heads, we were so happy and I was so proud of Lauren for conquering her fear of heights. We both agreed that if we had the money we would do it again.

One more thing off the list and worth every penny.

The Marlborough Sounds and beyond...

After a nice day in Blenheim and a lovely night in a national park on the beach we headed north once more. A window of good weather was ahead of us and we took the opportunity to go and explore the somewhat remote Marlborough Sounds. After skirting through Picton we turned off the main highway onto the narrow and winding Queen Charlotte Drive and were greeted with spectacular views of Picton’s colourful harbour and glorious blue seas. Some stomach churning miles later we turned onto a road that was narrower and windier still that ran along one of the sounds itself, Kenepuru Sound. The driving was tiring, or at least looked it from my vantage point in the passenger’s seat. I managed to avoid getting behind the wheel by playing the “I’m the navigator” card, even though there are only about 5 roads in New Zealand so it’s pretty hard to get lost. The views from the top of some of the steeper points in the road were great and the sea was the bluest I’ve seen it. At the low points in the road we stopped and walked along pebbly beaches and dipped our toes in the surprisingly warm water. We got to one beach called Picnic Bay and were pleased to see it was a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite, there were about 4 places to park and no one else was around so we thought it would be a nice quiet place to spend a night or two. Even better it was listed in my fishing book as a good spot. We spent the entire day in the sun on the beach, Lauren drew while I fished, and I caught one, it was a wrasse about 10 inches long but too small to eat so I put it back. Nevertheless I was happy to catch something. The next day we drove a little further along the twisting turning road and stopped at some more nice bays but decided our private little beach was better so we went back and had another lazy day sunbathing. In the afternoon we were getting hot so we had a bit of a swim, I dove in and swam out until it got dark underfoot then slowly swam back to shore, it was nice to swim in the sea without a wetsuit. By the time I got back to shore Lauren was still only knee deep so I splashed her, a lot. I think it helped because she had a quick swim as she was already wet but she didn’t thank me. After another peaceful night’s sleep we said goodbye to the little bay and drove the scenic road back to Picton. Here we booked our ferry to the North Island, it departed at 6:25 the next morning and would arrive in Wellington at about 9:30 giving us a full day to see the sights, the undesirable time meant it saved us a few dollars too. Check in was at 5:25 so we spent the night in Picton and woke up at a bit before 5am, it was pitch black and the sun wouldn’t rise for another 3 hours at least. We ate breakfast and brushed our teeth and got to the terminal at exactly 5:25, how boringly precise we are. Unfortunately the ferry operators weren’t as accurate as us and we didn’t even board the ferry until 7:15, we weren’t very impressed. Luckily the ship seemed relatively empty and we had an entire lounge area to ourselves. Our early rise was rewarded with a spectacular sunrise as we sailed through the Queen Charlotte Sound. The surprisingly gentle crossing took about 3 hours and as we neared Wellington we sat out on deck in the sunshine and thought about how we would miss the South Island.

After 4 months of bumbling around sleepy rural towns and fishing villages in the south it was a shock to be ejected from the ferry into the hustle and bustle of the capital city. For a city of a little over 100,000 people (not much more than a big town in the UK) it certainly felt a lot busier.

Our first destination, the city zoo, obviously. The zoo itself was small but fantastically laid out upon a hillside just outside the city which afforded us with great views of the capital. The enclosures were roomy and most were separated from the public by a simple moat of water, no cages. There were bears, lions and giraffes as well as the other usual suspects but the highlight for both Lauren and I was our first glimpse of a Kiwi, although we still want to see one in the wild.

Our next destination was the botanical gardens where we had lunch before heading to the next stop, Te Papa Museum of NZ. 1^st Floor Natural History, brilliant. A huge room full of whale skeletons, a pickled Colossal Squid, and loads of stuffed animals. 2^nd Floor was an exhibit on earthquakes and volcanoes which was very interesting. The next 4 floors slowly went downhill and by the end of it I was craving more whale bones. The Maori heritage exhibits were nice but there are only so many carved wooden things I can look at, and then came the contemporary art exhibit which was rubbish. One of the “painting” looked like someone had bought a £2 stationary set from Partners and gone mental with a set square and a protractor, they probably sold it for loads too, very infuriating. Lauren and mine’s criticisms no doubt upset some of the crap enthusiasts but we weren’t bothered and we carried on pointing out which ones we could probably have done ourselves.

After immersing ourselves in culture, he laughed, we drove out of the busy city and spent a night in a campsite away from the noisy motorways where we planned our foray into the North Island. Lauren had noticed a word on the map that she was very interested by “Rivendell”. For those of you that aren’t dorks it’s a location from the Lord of the Rings book/films. So the next day we aimed for there and spent a nice day in what is actually called Kaitoke Regional Park and was one of the nicest places we’ve been yet, and as luck would have it we were able to camp there to. So Lauren was very excited that we camped in Rivendell. With a bit of driving to do before we reached the next point of interest on our map, Tongariro National Park, we decided to drive and stay in a place called Eketahuna where we found a nice little spot on a river to stay. On the way we drove past a place called Mount Bruce Animal Centre where they have the only white Kiwi in captivity, we had to go, Lauren had kiwi fever. The next morning we got up and drove to the centre where we saw the white kiwi, it was incredibly cute and Lauren sat by the glass watching it for ages. In the centre we also saw Tuatara, a rare type of reptile that has been around for 90 million years; and a whole range of endemic New Zealand birds that are struggling against extinction because of mammals introduced by human settlement on the islands. Other than the white kiwi the highlight for me was a mass of huge black eels that swam around the stream that snaked through the centre, they were New Zealand Longfin Eels which grow to 1.6 metres and live for 60 years, what’s more is they were wild eels that spend the majority of their lives in rivers and streams but would soon would make their way into the Pacific Ocean to spawn. After spending the best part of a day at the centre, and visiting the white kiwi house several times, we returned to the lazy little campsite by the river to relax before more driving northwards.

Which is what we will be doing as soon as I finish this post and tonight we will probably be somewhere near Palmerston North.

Farewell Spit

After the place with the Emu we drove northwards to Motueka, a nice seaside town and the start of the Tasman district. We found a nice reserve by the sea and parked the van for a relaxing evening, we went fishing off some rocks at the end of the beach and caught absolutely bugger all so went back to the van for a nights sleep.

'Knock...Knock...Knock!'

"It's the police."

So it turns out that we aren't allowed to stay here for the night and the policeman chooses 10pm is the right time to come and tell us this. Thanks. So we drive half an hour in the dark to the reserve we stayed at last night and sleep there. Needless to say we weren't happy.

The next day we drove back to the town and did some shopping for our jaunt up to the northern most point in the south island. On the way to Farewell Spit we stopped at a handful of beautiful golden beaches to relax and spent a couple of nights in campsites right on the waters edge, where we collected mussels which I ate and Lauren squirmed away from. We also stopped at a great little town called Takaka where a funky Sunday market was on, it was basically a town of hippies. When we got to Cape Farewell we decided to walk along the spit (which is the longest natural sand spit in the world). We wandered along the beach for 4km before cutting inland and stomping up and down sand dunes, it was vast and felt like we were in a desert. After some sweaty hours later we reached the ocean on the other side of the spit and walked back towards the beginning of the walk. We attempted to catch some locusts on the way back but they were far to fast. After another night in a campsite by the sea we headed into the northern part of the Abel Tasman national park where we had planned to do some sea kayaking but the wind and rain closed in and we decided to hold off until we get some nicer weather.

On the way to the national park we stopped at the Pupu springs, the largest freshwater springs in Australasia and some of  the clearest water that can be found in the world, the visibility through it was something like 65 metres. There were signs everywhere that said the water was off limits but we found a place where we could get down to the water so Lauren could touch it. In the park we drove to a place called Tata beach, probably the most golden sand I have ever seen, no wonder they call the area Golden Bay. We lazed away the day lying on the beach before checking into a campsite down the road. We relaxed in our crappy camping chairs and drank our wine. Wine that we thought was a bargain at $18 for a 3 litre box, but it turned out to be 6% (does that even count as wine?), so we solved the problem by drinking loads of it.

After our trip into the national park we hoped the weather would get better to allow us to kayak but the forecast was dire with winds of 50kmph on the way, we chose to get out of dodge and head towards Nelson and the Marlborough region. Around the Marlborough Sounds we would get another chance to kayak, and this is also wine country. We picked our way around the coast towards Nelson, stopping here and there, and camped on Ruby bay where I tried my hand at fishing once more. But caught nothing again! We wiggled around the coast and visited Rabbit Island on the way to Nelson where we saw a weird looking shark washed up on the beach. We finally got into Nelson and treated ourselves to a lovely Starbucks lunch and coffee before wandering around the shops trying to find Lauren some new clothes. After a while we left Nelson and found a really nice campsite by the Maitai river which we relaxed the evening away in.

A few weeks ago we met a couple from the Czech Republic who told us to go to Cable Bay north of Nelson, and that there was good fishing there and a nice campsite. So we did, and as soon as I got my fishing rod out it started to rain. Typical. The bay was very nice and we learnt it was where the first telecommunication cable was run between Sydney and NZ across the Tasman Sea. Very interesting. Luckily we had bought a set of games in Nelson so we passed the time waiting for the rain to stop by playing chess and backgammon, both of which Lauren is annoyingly good at. The campsite was great and had the nicest showers I have used since being here so I had two. It also had a great lounge/kitchen area and we were pretty much the only ones there so we watched crappy tv while we cooked and ate dinner. The weather had cleared by morning but the sea was too rough for fishing so we left. We drove an hour down the road to Pelorus Bridge where we did a great walk through the rainforest to see some waterfalls. After the walk we went to a campsite nearby and enjoyed the sun which we felt we deserved after a day of rain.

Yesterday began the same as any other with clear skies and crickets chirping and we decided to head to Picton where we would check how much our ferry ticket would be when we cross over to the north island in a week or two. $220, not too bad for a van we thought. We mooched around the town and the harbourfront but thought we would save the aquarium and museums for when we come back before our ferry crossing. We found a campsite at the brilliantly named Whatamango Bay, right on the seafront. The wind had picked up however and when we attempted to go for a wander we were almost lifted off our feet by a strong gust. We went back to the safety of our van, where Lauren beat me at chess again!

Today we woke up to glorious sunshine and the winds had all but disappeared, we spent the morning cleaning and tidying our van which had become somewhat neglected through the rainy days. Now we are in a mcdonalds in Blenheim, these are the only places with free wifi. This is wine country so hopefully we will have a drop or too before heading to the beach once more.

Speak to you soon.

x x x

Sandflies!!!

After we last blogged we began our drive into Arthurs Pass by taking a less travelled route along the shores of Lake Brunner, here we stayed the night in a really nice holiday park in which we were the only clients. We watched TV and cooked in a proper kitchen for the first time since the orchard, it was a nice change from cooking on our gas stove. We watched films until the wee hours of the morning and enjoyed watching the Weka’s chasing the moths on the sliding glass doors.

The next day we drove into Arthurs Pass itself and stopped in the small village. From here we enjoyed a few walks through the dramatic scenery including a walk for a few hours up a steep and rugged pathway to see the Devil’s Punchbowl, a beautiful waterfall that carves its way down the dense jungle. After plenty of snapping away we drove slightly out of town to a DOC campground, it consisted of a cleared area of forest and a long drop toilet, whatever saves paying for a nights sleep. We collected water from the river and set our solar shower in the sun so that we could wash later on. As the title suggests and as I’ve already said elsewhere in the blog this entire region of NZ is swarming with sandflies, and here seemed to be worse than anywhere else we had been. To combat this I set to work building a fire that should drive them away, the fire was great and seemed to do the trick. I found a stonking great log by the river and chucked it on and it burnt really well, then the Department of Conservation warden paid us a little visit. Apparently some busybodies in the village had given them a ring to say there was a fire in the bush and it was his job to check it out. Luckily he was a nice chap and agreed that it was a good fire and under control so he let us keep it going, so when another nosing busybody came over and said we couldn’t have a fire here I took great satisfaction in telling them very politely to ‘bugger off!’

A 7 o clock alarm woke us up and said it was time to go up Avalanche Peak, an 1800 and something mountain in the park. Our conversation went something like this.

Robin: “I can’t be bothered, can you?”

Lauren: “Not Really”

Robin: “Good”

And we went back to sleep. I couldn’t be bothered to just go up hills for the sake of it, it was a bit cloudy and there was a chance of rain, I only want to climb up hills if I’m going to see stuff from the top. We spent a lazy morning driving around the park and getting our van chewed by the cheeky Keas before leaving the very picturesque national park and taking a long drive north to the upper west coast. We ate lunch in Greymouth then drove an hour north to the striking rock formations at Punakaiki known as the pancake rocks. A well made pathway winds around the various rock formations created by the rough seas and takes you to a viewpoint of a sea geyser, a blowhole that channels the water from the powerful swells into a funnel that shoots a jet of sea mist for several metres into the air. We got quite wet, luckily it was a nice hot day. After spending some time admiring the power of the sea we drove to a quaint little campsite 20km south of Westport, a tiny pizzeria tucked well of the beaten track with fabulous grounds for camping, needless to say we ate lovely fresh pizza cooked in a stone oven by a funny little German fellow, it was probably the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.

After a pleasant nights sleep we drove to Westport, I wasn’t sure that a seaside town could be ugly until we arrived here. The shops that weren’t boarded up looked like they probably would be soon and the most interesting building in the place was a chemical plant. We did a spot of food shopping and filled up with petrol before heading to the ominously named Cape Foulwind a few minutes down the road, hopefully it wouldn’t get worse. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove to cape, the road wound along the rugged sea cliffs to a car park where a gravel path worked its way towards a small lighthouse, then stretched out along the sea cliffs. We walked for an hour and came to a lookout point where we spent a bit of time watching seal pups rolling around and playing in the rock pools while the bigger seals lolloped on the rocks. I haven’t put any seal pictures at the end of this post, I think there are plenty in previous posts.

At this point we were caught in two minds. To stay somewhere near Westport, an unpleasant prospect, or to drive inland towards the Nelson Lakes. We chose the latter. The road followed the gorge carved by the Buller River and made for a very scenic drive, on the map I had spotted something that might be worth a look, New Zealand’s longest swing bridge. We pulled into the car park and went over to the bridge. It was longer than I had expected, we began to walk and as the ground dropped away from beneath our feet Lauren began to panic, the bridge consisted of two pieces of cable joined by what looked like chicken wire for a platform, and a piece of cable either side at about chest level for railings. At first she walked very very slowly, and scolded me every time I took a step because I was “ROCKING IT!”. Then she decided the best way to get across was to speed up, I took a moment to get a few pictures of the gorge and when I turned back around she had almost reached the end of the bridge in a wobbly kneed trot. After the bridge crossing we went for a lovely little walk through the woods and detoured down to the river, the water was crystal clear and so inviting but we had left our swim stuff back in the van. When we returned back to bridge an American accented voice said from on high “you flying back today?”. We had no clue what he was on about so we asked and it turned out there was a wire running slightly higher, and parallel to, the bridge. This was to, as he put it, fly back! Which we did, after the American operator and myself severely bullied Lauren into it. We were strapped into some rustic looking contraptions and across we went, in tandem. It was great and so much quicker than walking back, and it turns out that Lauren really enjoyed it, although some editing will be needed on the video footage to censor all the swearing.

So now we are in a campsite in Murchison that happen to have an Emu wandering around and preparing for another relaxing evening swatting away sandflies and itching the bites we got last night.

So long.

P.S. Happy birthday Mark

P.P.S. Americans are annoying, and very loud on their phones as we are discovering as we type this.

The Wet West Coast

We went to Lake Manapouri after we last blogged, but it rained consistently so we left. The postcards of it however were very nice.

We decided to leave Fiordland and the wet weather and headed back inland and after a couple of days we were in Queenstown once again, we camped on the shore of the Lake and spent a few hours skimming stones. We had planned a walk up Ben Lomond, the mountain that overlooks the town, but the weather closed in again and didn’t stop raining until well into the next day so we didn’t get a chance to do it. We carried on driving through the rain on our route northwards and spent the next weekend at the orchard in Cromwell, not working this time. The owners had kindly allowed us to stay in the staff house for as long as we wanted which we readily accepted, we sat out the rain which had swamped the entire country and were lucky that we were in the south of the country, 150kmph winds and torrential rains hit the entire north island and parts of the south island. Luckily we had a solid roof above our heads.

After the wild weather had passed we said farewell to the orchard for the last time and drove to Wanaka where we collected the one piece of our property that had been recovered by police from the robbery, an ipod speaker. It’s not a laptop or an ipod but every little counts. We spent an interminable amount of time filling out victim impact statements and other bits of seemingly unimportant paperwork with the slowest typing police officer in the history of the world. Lauren and I struggled to contain our laughter when he somehow managed to misspell ‘New Zealand’ at least twice. It was very funny. After an age we left the station and went to camp by the Clutha River near its source at Lake Wanaka, we had our own private beach and went for a paddle in the shallows, Lauren wouldn’t let me swim in it! This was probably wise however as it is New Zealand’s most powerful river.

The next day we began our long slog to the west coast, we initially planned to spread it out over a few days but the campsites we planned on staying at were so overridden with sandflies (the kiwi equivalent of midges) that we left instantly and drove to the safety of the coast, on the way we stopped countless times at the numerous waterfalls dotted along the gorge through which the road runs. We drove through Haast, the most boring place on earth, and within an hour were at our campsite on Lake Paringa.

The West Coast is renowned for its wet weather and we were greeted with exactly that. It rained for the rest of that day, and the rest of the next day, and the morning after that! After spending one night in the van in the rain we decided to check into a lodge in the Fox Glacier township, the whole day we sat on our nice comfy bed watching films on the laptop, using the hot showers and cooked in the kitchen, the only time we left the lodge was to walk 10 minutes to the town shop to buy chocolate and crisps. It was a great rainy day! In the morning we awoke to more rain, albeit slightly subdued. After checking out we drove to the nearby Lake Matheson famed for its perfect reflections of the highest peaks in the Southern Alps including Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. The walk around the lake itself was fantastic, a dense rainforest interspersed with trickling waterfalls that feed into the lake. The lake was amazingly reflective, unfortunately the only reflection we saw was of a thick band of cloud blocking the view of the mountains. Oh well it was still a nice walk. Later that day the weather cheered up to some degree and we went for a walk up the track to the terminal face of the Fox Glacier, the walk through the glacial valley was very nice and the glacier itself was stunning, unfortunately the views were marred somewhat by the fluorescent cordon set up to prevent the slightly more moronic tourists from getting to close to the unstable mass of ice. We ambled back down the valley to our van and drove a few miles up the road to the Franz-Josef Glacier. We climbed a short peak which gave good views of the glacier from low in the valley and watched the precession of sightseers tramping their way up the path just as they did at Fox Glacier. We decided at that point to not take the same old route to see the glacier as everyone else and instead decided on climbing Alex Knob, a 1303 metre peak that gives breath taking views of the entire glacier as well as a 360 degree panorama of the Southern Alps in one direction and the Tasman Sea in the other. It was billed as an 8 hour return trip so we would start in the morning. That night we camped at the nearby Lake Mapourika where we swam (rather pathetically) in the cold water, and prepared our packs for tomorrows climb.

The day of the walk came and we woke up a bit late, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. We began the walk at about 9:30 and after 3 and a half hours of climbing up boulders and scrambling over tree roots, 1200 metres of nothing but uphill, we reached the summit. We had been given slight glimpses of the views we might receive at the top, but the lush rainforest we climbed through concealed just about everything. We were presented with an unbeatable view of the glacier that looked so close as to be able to touch it, all of the peaks that stretched either side of the glacier were covered in a deep layer of snow that had been delivered in the heavy rain of the last few days. We lay in the sun for an hour as we recovered from the climb, eating the food we brought with us and enjoying the views before setting off downhill. In two and a half hours we were back in the van and very proud of ourselves, looking up at the thing you just climbed gives you a very strange sensation and is often hard to believe you were up there just a short while ago. That night we drove to the very picturesque lagoon of Okarito where we collected driftwood and kept the sandflies away with a nice roaring fire.

The last few days we have spent on a lake just south of the seaside town of Hokitika relaxing and regaining our energy before our slight detour though Arthurs Pass national park and more hill climbing, providing the weather stays pleasant then in the next few days we will climb up the ominously named Avalanche Peak, an 1800+ metre peak just south of the Arthurs Pass village. We’ll let you know how we get on.

Speak to you soon.

Milford Sound

One of the best things I found about going to Milford is that you have to drive along the Milford Road to get there, 120km long and the only way in and out. From Te Anau it winds its way past beautiful mirrored lakes and steep sided mountains. About half way along it becomes a dense temperate rainforest, the roadsides scattered with waterfalls and avalanche scars.

Rather than complete the journey in a day we decided to spread it out over three, nicely situated informal campgrounds are dotted along the road, they’re rather basic but very pretty nonetheless. Consisting of 10 or so spots to park a van or pitch a tent in amongst the forest, a couple of long drop toilets, and a river for water, all anyone could need. We have a van full of food, gas and warm clothes so we were good to go. Our first night was spent tucked in a private spot amongst some old beech trees that backed onto the river, a very friendly black bird made some good company as it hopped around our campsite eating the infuriating sandfly that feed on animal blood, including humans. We somehow still managed to be bitten despite wearing long trousers and fleeces with our hoods up.

The next morning we continued our drive to Milford, our cruise was not until 4pm but we left early so we could stop along the way and do a few short walks before getting there. We stopped at various lookouts and waterfalls to snap away like good old fashioned tourists before arriving at the entrance to Homer Tunnel, just before the tunnel we parked the car and went for a half hour stroll through the boulder strewn landscape beneath the impressive hills. We then drove through the tunnel. When I think of a tunnel I picture a well laid road with a tiled wall and ceiling and strips of fluorescent lighting along the roof. This has none, a handful of low powered light bulbs are dispersed along its 1.5km length, I’m sure there were more leaks in the tunnel than lights. The sides and roof are rough rock and still show the marks and scrapes from whatever monster drill bore it out. On the way to Milford the traffic flow through the tunnel was controlled by a set of traffic lights, however on the way back it was a free for all, and for some unknown reason the lights were out. No road markings and a variable width made passing oncoming traffic a fun game which I allowed Lauren to play as I hid behind our road atlas.

When we arrived at Milford we were instantly impressed by the scale of it, mountains rose straight out of the sea and carried on for over 2000 metres. At the time we arrived it seemed very busy, coachloads of Japanese tourists would be lead out of their busses, into the terminal, onto the boat and then back again. We decided to go and have lunch and avoid the hustle and bustle for a while. After eating lunch in a nice café and going for a wander around the boardwalk along the shore line it was time for our cruise. It was a miracle, all the coaches had left the terminal car park and we were directed to one of the smaller boats in the fleet, going for the 4pm time seemed to have paid off. Most people like to go for the lunchtime cruises because it gives them time to get in and out in a day. We were in no such rush. We were happy to find that our boat was less than half full, which made for a much more intimate experience.

The boat left the terminal and we were instantly greeted with the magnificent Bowen Falls. It snaked its way along the south shore of what we were told is actually a fiord not a sound, skirting waterfalls and finding rocky points with sleeping seals on. It gradually worked its way past the point at which most of the shorter cruises return and entered the Tasman Sea. After a good look at the fiord from further afield and an encounter with the world’s second rarest penguin, the Fiordland Crested Penguin, we began our 20km journey back towards the wharf. This time along the north coast of the fiord, with snow-capped peaks in the hills to the north it was no surprise that the north side was dominated by several spectacular waterfalls, one of which the skipper decided to park directly underneath giving the handful of us that stayed on deck a thorough soaking. On the return trip we were given a great view looking back as the clouds rolled in creating some fantastic patterns around the mountains. After over 2 and a ½ hours we rounded Bowen Falls again and returned back to the wharf. We drove back to our campsite and battled once more with sandflies as we cooked our dinner, we were defeated however and were forced to eat inside our van.

We awoke to rain the next morning so decided to be very lazy and sleep in, our first lie in for quite some time. At 11 o clock we decided to make a move and head back to picturesque Te Anau so we can shower and freshen up. This afternoon we will head to Lake Manapouri to the south which is NZ’s second deepest lake before heading back inland and preparing our assault on the West Coast.

Not sure when we will have chance to blog again so here are loads of photos from Milford to keep you going.

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