New Zealand : The South Island

We now understand why the South Island is considered the "jewel" of New Zealand.  Every day's drive was filled with breath-taking views, often of snow-capped mountains against blue skies.  And that was just along the highways! Bear with us as we try to give you a taste of the highlights.

Otago Peninsula

We flew into Dunedin, at the south of the South Island, so that we could head immediately to the Otago Peninsula, home of wildlife particular to this part of New Zealand.  The skies cleared as we drove out to the peninsula, affording us views (left, below) of the green hills and deep blue water.  Not a bad start!  
Otaga
The next morning we headed to Sandfly Beach which was reputed to be a "hangout" for the fur seals.  It was a steep walk down and quite windy, but the sun was shining and we were not disappointed in our hopes of seeing seals!  They have a beautiful range of colours in their fur and are quite animated.

beachfurseals  

Despite a change in the weather that brought torrential rains (and hail later on), we decided to join up with Elm Wilderness Tours to see the royal albatross, the New Zealand fur seals and sea lions, and the yellow eyed penguins.  Winter is not the ideal time to observe these creatures, but we were lucky in each case.  

At the albatross sanctuary (at the top of the hill pictured below) we were lucky enough to see a chick sitting on the edge of the cliff.  We couldn't fully grasp how big the chick was until one of the rangers came up behind it.  Apparently they reach about 26 pounds (!) before their parents put them on a diet to bring them back down to their adult weight of about 20 pounds.  There was a photo in the observation room of a ranger standing next to a full grown albatross and the bird came up to the ranger's waist!  Then an adult came soaring over the cliff. With a wingspan of almost 10 feet, watching these birds fly is magical.  Although they cannot take off without a cliff to help get them going, once they are airborne it is like watching a dancer glide across the sky. Apparently the Royals live out on the ocean (without coming onto land) for 5 years before returning to this colony; the only mainland breeding colony in the world. At one point an adult came back to feed one of the chicks and we were able to watch it on the monitor, which was very exciting.
 

By now the skies had opened and everyone was drenched and cold, but still happy to be seeing the sites.  We drove by an estuary with lots of black swans (considered a pest here) and other birds.  We then went to private land with access to the beach.  Most of the fur seals were out fishing, but the pups were on the beach and they were a bit dazed by the hail that was falling by now.  They were VERY cute, especially as they were swimming in the tidal pools in the rocks.  
 

We then went down to the "boys' beach" to see male sea-lions resting after a long day's fishing.  We were able to walk very close to them (as long as we stayed in a group so that we weren't quite as interesting to these curious creatures).  The "mane" on the guy on the left explains the name pretty clearly.  They were fun to watch snoozing and play-fighting.
 

The highlight of the day was seeing the yellow-eyed penguins, who only live in this part of the country and world. In the evening, they come back from fishing and make their way across the beach (walking like Charlie Chaplin) and then jump up the hill to their nests that are in the forest. We could have watched them until dark, except that most of our group was drenched and frozen at this stage.  (The photos are fuzzy as it was getting dark and we had to keep our distance (or the penguins get scared and return to the water.))

     

 Te Anau and the Fiordlands National Park 

We arrived in Te Anau after a beautiful drive and took a short hike along the Kepler Track that meanders through this area of the country.  We then watched a film made by a helicopter pilot who had spent 2 years filming the fiordlands (THEIR spelling) from his helicopter during all seasons and weather.  They built a movie theater just to show this film (complete with full bar and little stands at each seat for one's wine glass; very civilized!) to raise money for conservation and other environmental issues.  We were blown away by the beauty of the film and of the scenery itself (and moved to buy the DVD of it so that we can share it with others).  It made us that much more excited to experience our cruises on Milford and Doubtful Sounds over the next two days.

Milford Road

We were a little anxious about driving the hour or so on the Milford Road from Te Anau to Milford Sound as it had been closed because of snow and ice a few days before.  But we got up early to a bright sky (albeit with a low fog covering) and were relieved to find that chains were NOT required.  We took our time driving, with many stops along the way, and were very glad that we hadn't joined a van that would have dictated our pace.  The first photos below  are "just" views along the highway, with frost (no, that's NOT water) covering the ground.  
 

The reflection shot below was taken at Mirror Lakes (origin of the name is obvious).  It was hard to drag ourselves away from there, even with the busloads of camera-clicking tourists surrounding us.  The roads were lined with silver-beech forests with twisting limbs that glistened in the sun.  The bird is called a kea. They are a beautiful olive green with a bright orange patch under each wing.  They will do a lot of damage to anything they feel like eating!  They were fun to watch, though (on someone else's car!).  We saw this guy right before the entrance to the  half-mile tunnel we drove through.  
 


We took a short walk through "The Chasm", which is a waterfall/rock formation that beautifully reinforced Henry David Thoreau's statement quoted there: "The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time."  How true.

 Milford Sound

As much as we had read about and seen pictures of Milford Sound, it was even more beautiful than we'd expected.  We were lucky to have chosen one of the few sunny days on the sound (they receive nine metres (that's about 30 feet!!) of rain a year on about 225 days during the year).  It's hard to get (or keep) a perspective on the size of the sound, but for starters, Mitre Peak (the snow-covered one shown below in the left photo) is about 5,000+ feet high.    The boats in the 2nd row of pictures were other cruise boats.  The clarity of water is shown by our fur seal friend who swam near our boat for a short while.  We saw some kayakers at one point and were quite jealous.   The sound was not explored by Europeans until the late 18th century, partly because the entrance is hard to see.
 

 

Apparently on the rainy days, there are waterfalls show up everywhere.  There is one rockface called Cascade Rock, that is covered with over 150 waterfalls on a rainy day, each about 1,000 feet long.  Although that would have been fun to see, we did not feel cheated for waterfalls.  These first two pictures are of the Fairy Falls (because they look like fairies dancing on the water), which fall about 150 feet.  

The second set of photos are of Stirling Falls, which fall 500 feet or about 50 stories (that's half the Empire State Building's height!).  They were enormous and the captain pulled up closely enough for us to feel the mist on our faces.  We also stopped at the smallest waterfall which was a trickle coming out a crack at the bottom of a peak.

 
Some parting shots, including a "waterfall" that was actually snow falling!
 

Doubtful Sound

The next morning the sky was crystal clear, even though the temperature had cooled a bit.  We confess to being somewhat disappointed.  We had talked about how it would be fun to have our second cruise - this time through the larger, but less visited Doubtful Sound - be under more misty and dramatic skies.  NOT that we were at all disappointed with the sun at Milford Sound, mind you; we just thought it would be fun to experience both "moods" on the water.  To get to Doubtful Sound, one has to cruise across Lake Manapouri (10 times the surface area of Milford Sound and about 30 miles long!), take a bus across the Wilmot pass (an unpaved road that cost $5 per inch to build), and then get on the boat that cruises through Doubtful Sound (our first view of it was at the stop pictured below).  This is probably why it is less visited.  Good thing for us in that there were fewer people and boats; too bad for all those who miss this experience....
   

Although it was sunny when we left Te Anau, as you can see, the skies became filled with rain (and rainbows) as we crossed the lake.  We passed the Cathedral Peaks (reaching 5000 feet) and the thirty-some islands in the lake.  The rest of the day was grey and rainy and wonderful.  We stayed warm and relatively dry with our rain gear (and hats, gloves, scarves and long undies!) and with the free tea and hot chocolate available on the boat.  Good thing, too, because we couldn't keep ourselves indoors; it was too beautiful.  There were points where it was too windy (like when we went out into the Tasman Sea and saw a colony of fur seals hanging out on a some rocks) or wet to go to the top deck, but we were able to stay outside on the middle deck for most of the afternoon. 
    

Again, it's hard to give you a perspective on how large these cliffs are; remember, those are full sized trees along the shore.  One of the peaks along the shore (Commander Peak) is about 5,000 ft. high,  And of course, it's even harder to capture the beauty of this place because of the lighting and the wet conditions, but trust us, this place is spectacular.
 

As always, our guides, including the bus drivers, were informative, friendly and very funny!   But we had an extra-special treat on this day.  The captain was going extra slowly through "Hall Arm" (above two photos) and informed us that it was not because they saw animals for us to view, but because it was just so spectacular to look at that day.  We agreed, and were grateful for the extra viewing time.  When we got to the end of this "finger" of the sound (it had been closed off from the rest of the sound by a small earthquake years before) and had to turn around, the captain asked everyone to stop talking. walking and clicking pictures and to just stand in silence for a few minutes as they turned off all the engines and generators so that we could appreciate the place in silence.  A memorable few minutes, with the lapping of the waves and the birds' calls "breaking" the silence in the most peaceful and wonderful way imaginable.  

On the way back the bus stopped at the Manapouri underground hydroelectric power station.  We felt a bit claustrophobic driving over a mile down a sprial tunnel into the plant.  It was hard to imagine the life of the folks who built this thing (in the early 1960s), even when you see the photos.  It is a fairly good balance with the environment considering its size/power.  There is enough of a differential in the levels of the lake and the sound that a dam was not necessary, and you don't see very much of it.


We were frustrated by our limited time to do all that we wanted to do and see all that we wanted to see (no, we don't expect sympathy from any of you).  At this point, we had to make a choice:  Do we try to drive up the west coast and see the glaciers or head more directly to Mt. Cook?  In the end we decided it would be too much driving (and too risky to assume that all the roads would remain open for the next few days) to see the glaciers.  No regrets about our choices, but it does mean that we will need to go back to New Zealand at least once more!

Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park

As we were driving toward Mt. Cook in the Southern Alps, we had many spectacular views of snow covered peaks.  We kept trying to figure out which one was Mt. Cook.  Elyse wouldn't believe Gerald at first when he said we couldn't even see it in the view from the end of the lake (below, left).  How does one hide a 12,000 foot mountain?  But it was true.  It wasn't until we took a (spectacular) hike in along Hooker Valley that we saw Mt. Cook (below, right).  At this stage in the hike we were actually surrounded by peaks.   It was difficult to decide which view was the most awesome.  
 

To get to this part of the valley, we had to cross two swing bridges (see Gerald below on one of them).  Elyse's strategy for getting across was to walk as quickly as possible, not to look down and to hold on to the rails as tightly as possible.  On the way back (despite the increased wind and, therefore, movement of the bridge) she was actually able to sneak a peak at the blue-green, cloudy water below.   Stunning.  

It was quite windy, so the sky/cloud formations were changing as we walked (2 1/2 hours or so) and we kept stopping to gape at the scenes around us.  At one point we heard what sounded like an avalanche (NOT what one wants to hear when in a valley surrounded by snow-covered mountains!).  We finally found the source through our binoculars and saw that there were 1/2 dozen rocks (okay, they were probably boulders) falling down the side of one of the mountains down the valley.  It reinforced to us how loud (and powerful) a real avalanche must be!  Shortly after we heard what sounded like thunder.  We turned (thinking that the weather was changing faster than we had thought) and saw that a huge chunk of snow had fallen off near the frozen waterfall pictured below.  It was loud and another reminder of nature's power.   We weren't sure how long we would have light after the sun went behind the mountains, so we headed back.  We stopped at the village for a drink and alternated between sitting in front of the fire and soaking in the view of the mountains.
 

Our plan was to do another long hike in the morning before continuing on.  We started out (from the town we were staying in near the park) early as there were forecasts for showers in the afternoon.  When we got close to the park and were driving along the (azure-blue) Lake Pukaki, it was hard to keep the car going in a straight line because of the wind gusts that kept hitting us.  We decided that a shorter walk might be a safer choice.  Good thing, too!  It was hard enough to manage that!  We had to brace ourselves at times to keep from being blown over - or along.  It was just the wrong side of fun, but still worth the effort.  By the time we were back at the car, clouds were covering the peaks and building up behind the mountains, so we got a move on.  You can see the color of the lake and the winds "playing" on the water below.  It was stunning (and hard work until we had cleared the lake and had some trees blocking the wind).  Does this lake look familiar to any of you?  According to the tourist office it was used in Lord of the Rings (we have to rewatch them to see what we recognize)....
 

Banks Peninsula and Akaroa


We had decided to drive next to Banks Peninsula, which juts out from near Christchurch (from where we were flying to Oz).  It was a long day's drive (especially given the windy beginning), but as we wound our way up and down the road ("wound" being the operative word...the road was so windy that we had to open the windows to help some severe car-sickness!) we knew it was worth it.  The area was formed from volcanic eruptions that created tall, "folded" hills and lots of bays and inlets.  As you can see above, it is beautiful, especially with a blue sky and bright sun.  

Apparently, Akaroa was settled by the French (the British declared "ownership" of New Zealand just four days before the French arrived in Akaroa), so there is a French "feel" to the place (including having all the streets called Rue...)  When we were settled into our room (with a balcony overlooking the water), we walked through town and along the shore. It was warm enough for a t-shirt!  Quite a shock after having so many layers on for the walk at Mt. Cook that morning.  We were extra lucky to have a spectacular sunset. We wish we could share the sounds of the birds as we stood by the lighthouse watching it.   We then had a delicious meal by a roaring fire and then a walk under the stars.  A great way to end the day... and a nice, relaxing and rejuvenating last stop on our trip.
    

We awoke to another beautiful day and took another walk around town before heading out to do some local hikes in the hills.  We saw another example of New Zealander humor with this bungy-jumping rag doll at a local backpackers' hotel called Le Bon Accord.  It brought back disturbing memories of Elyse's viewing of a real bungy-jumper (Gerald was driving) at the "original" site for bungy-jumping.  Yikes!  NZ seems to be a mecca for adventurers - or death-defying maniacs!    
    
We headed out for some hiking after a "Hokey Pokey" ice cream cone for Elyse (we couldn't leave the country without her experiencing NZ ice cream now, could we?).  The first hike was a bit rough, but afforded us a great lunch spot with great views of Akaroa and the harbors on one side and the ocean on the other.  The second one also had its steep, slippery bits, but the trees were stunning.  They had rust and red bark and were often twisted in all sorts of interesting ways.  Again, we had some beautiful views from the top and a surprise on our way down the other part of the loop:  a cow must have crossed the fence at the top and found his/her way down the trail.  There were hoof prints and poop piles lining the track.  It was hard enough to do as a human, but a cow would have really struggled!  Our last hike was a short one just to see this tree which is estimated to be 1000 years old.  It is about 25 feet in diameter and looking pretty good considering its age!
 

Christchurch and Oz

We drove to Christchurch next.  It was a pretty ride and had a little extra perk in that there was a parade of university students in cars they had decorated in various ways.  There were about 100 of them in cars (and costumes) ranging from a Trojan horse (and warriors) to a police car.  It was hysterical to see.  We walked around Christchurch a bit (nice as it is, we were glad that we hadn't spent our 2 weeks in any cities) before looking for a place for dinner.  New Zealand was playing Australia in a rugby match and we couldn't find anywhere without a big screen TV showing it!  Gerald had Elyse doing the ordering at the restaurant just in case they recognized the accent!  We headed back to the hotel early as we had to get up at 3:15 a.m. to catch our flight to Adelaide.  As wonderful as this trip was, we were also very much looking forward to seeing everyone in Adelaide, so it made the end less traumatic.


We would be hard pressed to choose a favorite part of this trip.  We were extremely lucky with the weather and managed to see a lot without feeling rushed or tired.  The Kiwis (New Zealanders) enhanced every experience with their warmth and humor.  On our flight to Australia, the guy (Kiwi) sitting next to us was looking at our pictures with us (we were culling) and relating stories of his travels and adventures in New Zealand.   He insisted that we have to see everything at least twice - in summer and winter - and praised many parts we didn't have a chance to see this time around.

Guess we'll have to go back....  Twist our arms.