South Island Trip 2 Day 8 - Milford Sound

Milford Sound is the most visited of the sounds in Fiordland National Park.  It is the smallest, but it sure isn't small, and it is the easiest to get to, though it takes a long time to get there.  There is a road that goes north from Te Anau along the mountain range that runs up the coast.  It takes a sharp left after about an hour and goes through a one-lane tunnel that passes under the mountain range.  After it emerges from the mountain, the road winds down a steep track into a valley and eventually to the head of the sound.

It was hard to take pictures of the trip, as it was early in the morning and we were trying to make sure we got to our boat on time.  However, at the tunnel there was a long wait, as it is only one lane, is very long, and has a low speed limit as it is also on a steep grade.  While we waited, we got out of the car and took a photo of the cliffs over our heads:

Here is the tunnel.  Crazy, right?  The sign to the right of the tunnel tells you how many minutes you have to wait until you get a green light.

Evelyn took a photo or two out of the window of the car as we made our way down to the water:

One bad thing about the South Island near water - sand flies.  I had never encountered these beasts before.  They are awful.  They bite, they make you bleed, and they are everywhere.  Here is a photo of the window at the ticket office for the cruises.  Those flies are on the inside of the window:

The sound is glorious.  When you think of scenic New Zealand, you might think of Milford Sound, as photos of it are often used on the covers of guide books and in other tourist publications.  Here is a photo from the dock, looking out at a hanging valley.  To the right is the iconic Mitre Peak, which is the most photographed part of Milford Sound, though it is shrouded in cloud in my photo:

The morning started a little cloudy, giving the mountains an air of mystery, and then it cleared up after an hour or two.  We were told by a guy who worked on the boat that we had the best weather you can really expect in Milford Sound, as it is a very rainy place.

Here is a photo of a cliff.  The walls of the sound are sheer and nearly vertical, adding to the drama and grandeur of the surrounding mountains.  Once they hit the water, the cliffs continue on for many meters underwater at the same steep angle.

Here are some fur seals.  American and British hunters did a brisk trade in killing and skinning seals 120 years ago and it has taken some time for the populations to recover.  They are protected now and are a common sight in Fiordland.

Aidan and Jasper alternated between looking out the windows and playing Hangman.

The inside of the boat with Evelyn and Jasper:

The cruise went basically down the length of the sound and eventually reached the Tasman Sea, the body of water between Australia and New Zealand.  Here is a shot of the end of the sound - it looks somewhat ominous and we were glad to turn back into the relative safety of the sound:

Looking down the coast at the rocks that mark the mouth of the sound:

Looking back into the sound:

Courtesy a Canadian tourist - a photo of all of us!

Here are some more shots of the sound - the scenery is just breathtaking.  I don't think the word "scenery" really captures it.

More seals enjoying a rock.

Waterfalls were everywhere.  There is a lot of rain here and the rain comes off the mountains and ends up in the sound, often cascading off the cliffs in waterfalls.  There is so much rain, the top layer of water in the sound is fresh water and a whole separate ecosystem thrives in the top, fresh layer of water above the dark, salty abyss below.

Seal close up.  There were a lot of seals.

A cool mountain photo:

My father and his epic environs.  It was hard not to just sit on the front of the boat and snap photos.

Another waterfall.  The boat operator ran the boat right up to this cliff and under the waterfall.  Very touristy, but fun.  At that point, it became hard to remain on the front of the boat and take pictures.  I ducked inside at the last minute.

My folks were smart enough to sit inside and enjoy the waterfall from some comfy seats.  Here they are through the still wet windows.

Another cool waterfall:

A good shot of Mitre Peak.  As I said above, this is a mountain that appears on a lot of tourist adverts and guidebooks.

Here it is again - no cloud cover this time, but with a nice cloud halo behind.

We returned from the cruise and drove back up the very steep road to the crazy tunnel, stopping along the way for a little hike.  Here are a few photos from the forest we stopped in:

We were still in the glacial valley and the walls were still very steep above the forest.  Here is a shot almost straight up out of the forest:

We passed through the tunnel and drove back down the long valley on the other side.  It was a very long drive back to Queenstown, but I couldn't resist stopping to take a few photos of one of my favorite valleys.  Remember this one back a few posts ago?  The kids and Evelyn were running through the red tussock with the mountains in the background.  Here is another shot down that valley.  I love this view.

We passed alongside Lake Wakatipu as we made our way back up to Queenstown.  As ever, the water glowed turquoise and the mountains did their majestic thing.

We finally made it back to Arrowtown for our last night in the South Island.  We grabbed Thai take-away and I took a photo of the sunset over the Remarkables before heading to bed.

South Island Trip 2 Day 7 - Queenstown and Ithilien

Queenstown is the top tourist destination in New Zealand, understandably so.  It is in a stunning location on the edge of a lake and surrounded by mountains.  It also has a lot of amenities for tourists and so it tends to be very busy in the summertime.

We rode up the gondola again to see the view from the top with my parents and to ride the luges.  Here is Aidan, enjoying the ride up:

The view from the top is beautiful.  Here is a shot south down one arm of the lake.

And this is looking east, over Queenstown.  The small russet-colored hill just beyond the town and in front of the mountains was an important LOTR filming location, but it is closed to the public now.  Sad face.

Papa Tom and Aidan, holding on to the railing and each other:

Jasper is showing his love for group photos:

The gondola ride to the top is quite steep.  Here is a shot down the mountain:

And this photo is facing north.  We stayed in Arrowtown, which is a little town through that valley.

Of course, we did the luge.  Here are Evelyn and Jasper, riding to the summit:

And here are my father and Aidan!

Evelyn and Jasper tried not to hit these poor amateurs when they sped by in their luges:

Here is Aidan, zooming by:

And Papa Tom, bringing up the rear:

I also went up for the second trip down.  I take my luging very seriously.

Later, we went for a short hike a little to the west of Queenstown.  As is typical in New Zealand, it is easy to find quiet places without any other people by straying just a little bit from the touristy areas.  This hike took us through some cool bush and the mountains were never really out of sight over the tree tops.

Here is a wildflower photo for Halina:

A small river ran along the trail and eventually emptied out into the lake.  We spotted a fisherman near here, but he didn't seem to be catching anything.

Another cool mountain photo:

Here is a cool bluff.  We hiked up to the top of that bluff.

This flat place may look familiar to you.  When we got to the top of the bluff, I took a photo of this little clearing.  See next photo.

OMG.  This is so Ithilien.  In fact, I think this is exactly where Frodo and Sam crouched when the Haradrim and the oliphant went by.  Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DREbDN9MjY8

The view of the lake from the bluff was also very pretty:

Another weird mushroom:

More shots of the mountains and the lake:

A nice photo of Evelyn at the edge of the lake.  It was a beautiful day and a great hike.  From here, we headed south to Te Anau and then up the coast again to see Milford Sound.  Stay tuned!

South Island Trip 2 Day 6 - Gates of Haast and Wanaka

Okay, back to the trip through the South Island.

We left the west coast in the morning and headed straight for the mountains, aiming for a mountain pass called The Gates of Haast.  Sounds like something from a fantasy novel.  We had a bit of a drive ahead of us, so I didn't want to stop too often, but we couldn't help but pull over a few times and snap some photos as the scenery was just as amazing as previous days.

Here are a few photos from the highway of the misty mountains:

We passed a sign for a waterfall, so we pulled over for a rest.  It turned out you needed to traverse a rock field to get within sight of the waterfall.  Here is a funny photo - parents on the left, family on the right, all trying to pick their way over the unstable terrain.

Aidan and Evelyn resting and enjoying the view, finally:

Once through the pass, we came out the other side of the Southern Alps and made our way south to a region of lakes and mountains.  Each lake was more beautiful than the last and the views were often literally jaw-dropping.  Here is one of my favorite views - the sight of Lake Hawea on the way down to Wanaka:

The vibrant colors of the land and sky stopped us in our tracks and I took a few too many photos.  Here are a few:

Thanks, Dad!  A photo of the two of us:

From Wanaka, you could look up Lake Wanaka and see the mountains as a backdrop to the lake.  Those mountains were used in several Lord of the Rings shots, especially when Gandalf escapes Orthanc on the back of the Great Eagle, Gwaihir the Windlord.

We played for a bit in Wanaka, a cool little town with lots of cool little cafes and eateries and ice cream shops.  I would have been happy to stay here for a few days.  We enjoyed the beach for an hour or so before heading on to Arrowtown and Queenstown where we were staying the night.  Here is Jasper, climbing a giant tree trunk in Wanaka:

Another shot of the lake:

Jasper and my folks strolling the beach:

One last shot of the boys and my folks before we left Wanaka:

On our way to Queenstown, everyone humored me and let me drive a little bit out of our way to a place called Maori Point Road.  Turned out, Maori Point Road isn't paved.  We bounced our way down the dirt path until we came to this forest.  Unfortunately, the forest is private land and so we couldn't go wander around, BUT - if you watch this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e7qhhLbAok) starting at 2:11, you will see The Flight to the Ford where Arwen is pursued by the Black Riders while she is trying to rescue Frodo and get him to Rivendell before he dies of his wounds.  The forest that she rides through is the forest we stopped at.

Pretty lame as far as touring filming sites goes, but they can't all be winners.  Sometimes, you drive down a dirt road 30 minutes out of your way with your entire family in the car and just take a picture of a forest that looks like any other forest out the car window because some people were somewhere near there ten years ago filming a fantasy movie.  We've all been there.