25/02/2013
So that was Invercargill, a nice place who’s claim to fame, we discovered today, as we were leaving, is that it often records the lowest temperatures and has the most rainfall in all New Zealand. As it has happened we have had perfect weather but had we known the facts earlier we may not have gone there. Glad we did.
We are now on our way north ( impossible to go any other way) and have followed the scenic tourist drive back up into the mountains, with the huge Fiordland National Park to our left.
We drove through the village of Clifden which just happens to have a suspension bridge, but not for much longer as it is in danger of falling down anytime now. The bridge used to be the main route over the Waiwau River but there is a stronger bridge now. It’s a shame it has fallen into disrepair as it is New Zealands longest suspension bridge, it would cost too much to renovate it now.
We are camped by the side of Lake Te Anau in the holiday town of the same name and have booked a day trip to the world famous Milford Sound, going tomorrow.
26/02/2013
Up before daybreak to catch the coach to Milford Sound, a distance of 120K’s. I wasn’t looking forward to the bus trip thinking it would be a bit boring. It turned out to be just the opposite, a day of two halves.
Climbing up into the Alpine region it was cloudy and only now and again was there a break to take photos and gaze around. Our driver knew her stuff explaining what we could and couldn’t see and pulled over when there was something to look at. We passed a couple of lakes called the Mirror Lakes, because of the reflections of the mountains in them, and apparently there are wild trout there too. Near the top of the range there is a single track tunnel through the mountain, 1 mile long. The Homer Tunnel. Once through, there is a steep drop down to Milford Sound.
There we boarded our boat which wasn’t anywhere near full but capable of carrying a couple of hundred people we think. From then on we were absolutely mesmerised by the sheer beauty of the Sound. Snow capped mountains rising vertically out of the water to height of nearly 2000 metres and it’s said, the same amount under water. We watched light aircraft flying around below the tops of the mountains and saw N Z fur seals playing in the water and lounging around on the rock sunbathing. We were told to look out for Pingwins (Kiwi for penguins) but they must have all gone out for the day.
The boat took us all the way out to the end of the sound and turned around in the Tasman Sea to track back along the opposite wall of the fiord. Some of the waterfalls dropping over 300 feet were truly spectacular and they told us they weren’t at there best due to lack of rain. On the side of one mountain is a glacier which is static and actually looked like what we think a glacier should look like (white and icy). We have seen many things on our travels and this is another “stand out” spectacular.
The coach ride back was better than out because the cloud and fog had lifted and e were able to see even more stunning views. We think we have some good photos, about 200!!
27/02/2013
Right now everywhere we drive we are surrounded by beautiful but rugged mountain ranges, though having said that the first part of our journey from Te Anau to N Z’s most inland town of Garston, was sheep country and fairly flat, but we could see the Fiordland Mountains in the distance. After Garston we followed the Wakatipu Lakeside road with mountains on either side until we reached the very busy tourist town of Queenstown. We thought about staying the night there but with the caravan parks way out of town and limited parking in the town it seemed a bit of a nightmare. We did manage to find a parking spot for two hours and had a walk round on a hot sunny day. Again it’s hard to believe this is really a ski resort, the ski lift being used to carry hang gliders to their launch site until the snow appears.
Having decided to move on we headed north towards the town of Wanaka, driving through the Kawarau Gorge with it’s monstrously high mountains and fast flowing river in the bottom of the valley. We stopped to watch people Bungy jumping from a bridge over the river Kawarau, a drop of 42 metres. I was going to have a go but they wouldn’t let me because I didn’t have a note from my Mum.
We didn’t know what to expect at Wanaka, all we knew was that it is a lakeside town. When we arrived we were surprised to find an extremely lively town, full of holiday makers and not unlike Te Anau with lots of eating houses and gift shops.
The odd thing about being here, is , we are just about as far north as we were yesterday when we were at Milford Sound and have crossed the 45th parallel for the second time in two days.
Now we are in a quandary. We are in such a fantastic part of the Island we would like to stay longer in many of the places we visit, but the reality is, we have to push on, running out of time!
28/02/2013
It is no wonder we are having trouble making progress, today’s short 140k drive has taken all day. We often complain that N Z road signs and information signs are poor, or non existent. Many times we have zoomed past a place of interest because there wasn’t any prior warning, it may have been signed on the map but on the road….So…. In some ways it is helping us, for if every scenic lookout was properly signed, and we stopped, we wouldn’t be going anywhere. That’s why it’s taken us all day to do a 2 hour drive.
The scenery is just breathtaking and today has been no exception.
Leaving Wanaka this morning had it’s usual navigational challenge, but once on the right road we drove alongside Lake Hawea, stopping once to admire the view and take photo’s. Then we crossed a narrow ridge to meet up with the northern end of Lake Wanaka before motoring on into the Haast Pass.
The Haast Pass is named after a German pioneer who claimed to have found the route through the mountains to the west coast. However, there is some dispute, a Scotsman by the name of Charles Cameron reckoned he got there ( the coast ) two days before the German. My money is on the jock! All I know is wherever we have travelled in the world there has always been a Scotsman at the other end!
Anyway, the Haast Pass is just so spectacular, and again, we think our little camera will not do it justice. We pulled in to so many places we may have difficulty remembering all the names. One stop we will remember is the Blue Pools, mainly because we were eaten alive by sandflies, they are bigger and uglier than Aussie sandflies. Blue Pools is probably the only place to disappoint, a lot of walking and scratching for not much.
So a night in Haast then Fox Glacier tomorrow, must remember the mints!
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