Kia Ora!
I'm sitting in the Wellington Airport waiting for my flight back to Palmerston North, where my car is waiting to take me back to Taihape after a busy weekend.
The South Island! Te Anau is the town I drove to from Queenstown via rental car, a two hour journey.
The town and Milford Sound, my other destination, are on the south end of this island. The guide for our nature cruise said that it rains 4-9 meters per year here. When I arrived, the mountains were enveloped in low white clouds, an air of mystery in the sky, with on and off fine rain. Te Anau itself has some charm, bordering the second largest lake in New Zealand (Lake Taupo being the largest.) It is also quite deep (greater than 400 meters in places) and cold, but people do swim in it in the summer. The town is full of tourists, most bent on seeing Milford Sound either via tramping the Milford Track or like me, going via coach bus, and hence to a water cruise. I was able to walk along Lake Te Anau when I arrived before dining on salmon at one of the local restaurants.
Up and ready by 7am to board my coach bus which was filled with a mix of travelers from Denmark, France, UK--and a mix of ages, I was pleased to see. Our bus driver and the nature guide shared commentary as we went. I learned that Manuka honey comes from the white flowers of the Manuka tree--which looked like scrubby green bushes along the route--and it is very expensive honey, but also is found in shampoos, soaps, lotions. I learned that we were at the 40th latitude, halfway between the equator and south pole, and our bus driver pointed out areas covered with short green grass that never grows much, because it covers permafrost. Also, due to the fires in the Australian bush, some of the snow in the mountains was brown-tinged due to ashes. We stopped along our route to take short walks as our guide pointed out beech trees, or made warbling noises to imitate the tui bird.
Coming into Milford Sound--even with a flood of tourists, was an awesome experience. The waters varied between gray-blue to dark teal, and the sun had come out, but the wind was strong. We boarded the Milford Mariner and took off with the wind in our faces, and me feeling like I'd be blown off as I was climbing from the 2nd to the top deck. It was all motoring, of course, although I saw 3 masts, and could imagine, on a good day (which I think ours was) what a sail it would be. Waterfalls cascade everywhere--more abundant after a good rain--and as we came very close to the rock face, I captured a rainbow under one.
We also saw the Fiordland penguin, a very small fellow, but too far for me to get a decent photo. A couple of them were swimming and diving alongside our boat as we motored along--looking like tiny dolphins in the waves.
As might be expected of human nature, all those passengers who had swarmed in to occupy the best seats on the top deck forward, were driven away by the blast of wind, and the spray from the waterfalls as we neared the cliffs--no fear of going aground or collision due to the vertical nature of the rocks, and depth of the sea--and then went below to occupy the best of seats in the dining area.
Or so it seemed to me. I collected my box lunch myself a little early, and interrupted it every little while as our naturalist pointed out yet another sight to photograph.
When we reached the Tasman Sea, it was time to come about, and the wind was at our stern, so it was a more gentle trip returning. Many more waterfalls, some permanent, some just a presence from the generous rain.
Back to Te Anau, and the return to Taihape the next day.
Until later,
E noho ra
Adrianna
I'm sitting in the Wellington Airport waiting for my flight back to Palmerston North, where my car is waiting to take me back to Taihape after a busy weekend.
The South Island! Te Anau is the town I drove to from Queenstown via rental car, a two hour journey.
The town and Milford Sound, my other destination, are on the south end of this island. The guide for our nature cruise said that it rains 4-9 meters per year here. When I arrived, the mountains were enveloped in low white clouds, an air of mystery in the sky, with on and off fine rain. Te Anau itself has some charm, bordering the second largest lake in New Zealand (Lake Taupo being the largest.) It is also quite deep (greater than 400 meters in places) and cold, but people do swim in it in the summer. The town is full of tourists, most bent on seeing Milford Sound either via tramping the Milford Track or like me, going via coach bus, and hence to a water cruise. I was able to walk along Lake Te Anau when I arrived before dining on salmon at one of the local restaurants.
Up and ready by 7am to board my coach bus which was filled with a mix of travelers from Denmark, France, UK--and a mix of ages, I was pleased to see. Our bus driver and the nature guide shared commentary as we went. I learned that Manuka honey comes from the white flowers of the Manuka tree--which looked like scrubby green bushes along the route--and it is very expensive honey, but also is found in shampoos, soaps, lotions. I learned that we were at the 40th latitude, halfway between the equator and south pole, and our bus driver pointed out areas covered with short green grass that never grows much, because it covers permafrost. Also, due to the fires in the Australian bush, some of the snow in the mountains was brown-tinged due to ashes. We stopped along our route to take short walks as our guide pointed out beech trees, or made warbling noises to imitate the tui bird.
Coming into Milford Sound--even with a flood of tourists, was an awesome experience. The waters varied between gray-blue to dark teal, and the sun had come out, but the wind was strong. We boarded the Milford Mariner and took off with the wind in our faces, and me feeling like I'd be blown off as I was climbing from the 2nd to the top deck. It was all motoring, of course, although I saw 3 masts, and could imagine, on a good day (which I think ours was) what a sail it would be. Waterfalls cascade everywhere--more abundant after a good rain--and as we came very close to the rock face, I captured a rainbow under one.
We also saw the Fiordland penguin, a very small fellow, but too far for me to get a decent photo. A couple of them were swimming and diving alongside our boat as we motored along--looking like tiny dolphins in the waves.
As might be expected of human nature, all those passengers who had swarmed in to occupy the best seats on the top deck forward, were driven away by the blast of wind, and the spray from the waterfalls as we neared the cliffs--no fear of going aground or collision due to the vertical nature of the rocks, and depth of the sea--and then went below to occupy the best of seats in the dining area.
Or so it seemed to me. I collected my box lunch myself a little early, and interrupted it every little while as our naturalist pointed out yet another sight to photograph.
Back to Te Anau, and the return to Taihape the next day.
Until later,
E noho ra
Adrianna
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