Queenstown to Fiordland

Well it has been several days since I have managed to update this blog, mainly because the wireless internet connection around this area is not very strong, and you can only get it for an hour. It is virtually impossible to upload photos with such a slow speed, so photo updates will have to wait. They will be worth it but!!

Before we left Queenstown, we had time to go up to the skyline and being another clear, although windy day we had magnificent views of the lake and the Remarkables that surround the city. John was happy after sourcing a new lens to replace the broken one, so he was rather snap happy. He was not too keen on the gondola ride but, and I virtually had to twist his arm to get him on! He couldn't sit facing the view on the way down, what a wuss! It was fantastic climbing up through magnificent tall pine trees, and luckily they blocked any wind. After we were back on the ground we decided to wander around the Queenstown gardens before we left for Te Anau and we weren't disappointed with the views and the lovely trees in the park. We left the city really feeling sure that we would make a return visit one day.

When we arrived in Te Anau and had settled into our beautiful lakefront motel, we acquainted ourselves with the town, which didn't take long and looked in awe at the mountains around us. We were also keen to see what could possibly happen with the clouds we saw around us, some certainly looked like snow clouds and it was pretty cool. We decided to book a kayak trip for the next day, and that night ate at the Redcliff Cafe, Te Anau's best, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Trivia bluffs might be keen to know that Orlando Bloom and some of the cast of the Lord of the Rings had eaten there too on several occasions, we saw the autographs to prove it!

The next day began really early (6.30am pick up) and we could feel even though we couldn't see it yet, that perhaps some snow had fallen during the night because it was freezing!! We were picked up by our guide Marius of Fiordland Wilderness Explorations and headed on to Milford Sound, a distance of 110kms away. As the sun began to rise, we could indeed see what we had suspected, a dusting of snow had occured during the night! We were both so excited!! And, it was a lovely still morning. About a third of the way along, we managed to coax our driver into stopping at Mirror Lakes for that perfect shot of the mountains reflected in the lake, with snow on top! How beautiful! But, we had not brought John's camera, only mine!! Guess who was kicking himself!
We reached Milford Sound around 8.3o and then had to get all kitted up, get kayaks organised and go through the obligatory safety instructions. We were still kicking ourselves at how beautiful the scene was, picture perfect, but freezing cold!! I had about 4 layers on, but it took me a while to warm up. Suprisingly the water was warmer than the ground, and my feet finally warmed up when I got in the kayak.

It was a magnificent day, one that really made us pinch ourselves at how lucky we were. We just couldn't get over the sheer size of the cliffs, and the wonderful scenery. The only thing that spoilt the serenity were the planes and helicopters and the tourist boats! We were lucky that the other kayakers (6 including the guide) were fairly competent so we made a good pace and the guide took us to Stirling Falls, somewhere he normally doesn't take groups too. We went right up under the falls as far as we were game, and got pretty wet. The sound of the falls was awesome. Just after we left the falls were had seals watching us from the rocks and then the icing on the cake for me, dolphins! They were only about 10 metres away from us, on 2 occasions two jumped out of the water and did somersaults for us. They were so big, and it was amazing! Everyone was so excited. The rest of the afternoon went all to quickly, we found a little beach to have lunch, then paddled back past the wonderful Bowen Falls and reached our start spot by about 2.30. We were finally dropped back at Te Anau by about 5.45pm, tired but extremely happy with our magnificent day.

The next day would be hard to top the previous one, but it was equally as magnificent. We drove to Manapouri for our journey to Doubtful Sound. This time we joined a tour, as it is the only way to get to the sound. We left by boat and taken across Lake Manapouri, a journey of about 50 mins and then picked up by a bus. This took us to the Manapouri underwater power station for a look at the immense operation they have there producing electricity with the water from the lake. Then there was a 2o km bus trip to Deep Cove, where we transferred to an even larger boat for our 3 hour journey of Doubtful Sound. The weather had begun a little overcast and with light rain, which continued on an off during our trip to Deep Cove, but a little while into our cruise of the Sound, the rain cleared and the sun poked through the clouds to reveal the splendour of this fiord. Whereas Milford Sound was spectacular, Doubtful Sound is a grandeur. It is 10 times the size of Milford, and a lot more serene. There were no planes or helicopters just the magnificent mountains and a huge number of spectacular waterfalls. We couldn't get over just where the water could come from! It was a magnificent journey, one which really makes you appreciate the grandeur of this country.