Back to Queenstown

After a morning of kayaking, it was time to drive back up to Queenstown. We made a short stop at the Chasm and again to switch drivers as it was time for Jason's mid-afternoon nap, but otherwise drove on through all the towns on the way back. On approaching Queenstown we headed to the Amisfield vineyard, but could only have a wine tasting. Despite the bistro label, they only served a chef's tasting after 5pm and insisted they were fully booked.

Milford to Queenstown photos

Back in Queenstown we strolled through the Queenstown Gardens (complete with the first Frisbee Golf course in NZ!) and made the most of our remaining time to consume food. The breakfast burrito at Halo was incredible while the Fergburger was a mixed bag (great roll, ok meat, thumbs down on the aoili... next time I'd try the cajun chicken sandwich).

Queenstown photos

Kayaking Milford Sound

With a 7am starting time, this was an early kayaking trip. It had been built up in our minds since the iSite staff had asked three times whether we were water competent and confident of our kayaking prowess but turned out to be more relaxing and much less strenuous than our hikes the day before. The weather continued to cooperate and despite forecasted swells near the mouth of the Tasman we were able to kayak right out to the end of the sound (roughly 18-20km of kayaking). Along the way we swung under two waterfalls, saw a dolphin following one of the bigger ships, swung close to some seals, and were eaten alive by sandflies when we landed on shore for a brief break.

Kayaking Milford Sound photos

Te Anau to Milford

Despite only having 140 residents (according to the leader in all destination facts: LonelyPlanet), the Blue Duck was a surprisingly good bar/cafe. They were hosting a fancy dress party this evening (costume party to us Americans) that seemed to be the talk of the town for all the staff at Milford Sound Lodge and the kayak operator we would use the next day. We stayed late enough to see the first revelers trickle in, but headed back for some rest before our big day of kayaking.

Te Anau to Milford photos

Despite being labeled as a 'day hike', this was a quick morning jaunt with Jason running downhill after an incredibly quick summit. The views from the top did not disappoint, however, and the pictures show the Humboldt and Darran Mountains (Department of Conservation).

Key Summit photos

This was the premier hike of our trip and I encourage anyone visiting New Zealand to take the time to do this hike. The total return time including stops for photos and snacks was five hours and was worth every minute. The hike begins across the Gertrude Valley which is hard to estimate in size. Like many landscapes I saw in New Zealand it is simply overwhelming to the senses and impossible to compare to known distances. The walk across the valley floor was a brisk 40 minutes, and then the climb proceeeds to the highest point visible from the valley floor. Here you are treated to a beautiful lake formed by the glacial melt and the hike continues up to the true saddle about another thirty minutes. With good visibility, the view from the saddle includes straight across the Gertrude Valley where the hike commenced and to the west out all the way to Milford Sound.

Gertrude Saddle photos

Driving to Te Anau

Except for a brief stop at an eerie looking beach and being caught up being tractors for the beginning of the stretch out of Franz Josef, we made great time to Haast on some of the straightest roads we've seen so far. Unfortunately, 8:30pm was too late to have anything for dinner (despite there being a buffet in clear view) and we settled for Monteith's from the brewery and a bag of chips for dinner. We'd make up for this with a hearty breakfast.

Before heading out of Haast we made up for a lack of dinner with a gigantic breakfast (but still got a move on in order to stay ahead of the tractors as we saw them lining up to roll on to their next destination). We stopped at the Blue Pools and while I lacked the cojones to jump off one of the bridges, I did dive in off the rocks for a (very) brief swim. Somehow this felt colder than doing penguin plunges in CT throw the ice and the only real winner was this experience was the host of sandflies that sucked me dry of blood. Carrying on from the Blue Pools we stopped at two waterfalls for a bit of hiking/bouldering and then passed through Queenstown (stopping only for a quick pizza and to book the kayak excursion) before carrying on to Te Anau.

Franz Josef to Te Anau photos

What can I say except Thunder Creek was too thunderous and we didn't make it across to the falls (technically, this was the Haast River that kept us from crossing but that doesn't provide silly alliteration). It probably wouldn't be so bad if your ankles didn't go numb while trying to plot a course causing you to take two steps back to thaw before trying again.

Fantail Falls, however, is a cool waterfall and offered some bouldering fun. You can actually climb quite a bit higher than is visible from the base of the falls while staying on the rock (no cheating and running through the woods!). Along the way you're rewarded with some truly serene collecting pools.

Thunder Creek and Fantail Falls photos

Full Day on Franz Josef glacier

The highlight of today was a full day hike on the Franz Josef glacier. As we push further south, the sense of scale among the landscapes is totally lost. It probably doesn't help that there are generally no houses, roads, or other man-made objects in sight leading your best reference to be hunting the horizon for a group of people. The hike on the glacier was a very unique opportunity of slithering through crevasses and climbing over ridges. The blue color of the ice is very different than what you'd have in your drinking glass and starts to take a similar color in the glacial pools thanks to the rock sediment (aka glacial flour) that gets ground up and washed downstream with the ice.

Franz Josef photos

Murchinson to Franz Josef

From Murchinson we took a relaxed day of driving while making stops along the way to Franz Josef glacier. We stopped at the Buller Gorge swingbridge (although the ticket office was closed), saw the pancake rocks at Punakaiki, had a brewery tasting at Monteith's in Greymouth, slowed down for the mining town of Runanga, and strolled around Hokitika before pulling into Franz Josef just in time to catch the tail end of happy hour. Unfortunately, our good string of backpacker locations ran out here with some moron roommates and the loud bar at Rainforest Retreat (I'd try the YHA next time).

Murchinson to Franz Josef photos

Kayaking Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman was a great place to get an introduction to double kayaks and getting out on the ocean. We took a water taxi from Marahau into the park (low tide dictated that some of this water taxi ride happen while the boat was on a trailer) and geared up in a harbor across from Tongo Island. On the kayaks we circled Tongo (the largest breading ground for the New Zealand fur seals before heading along the coast to the south.

Kayaking Abel Tasman photos

Wellington to Marahau

My flight from San Francisco ended in Auckland where I transferred on a domestic flight to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Wellington is near the southern tip of the North Island while our car rental was scheduled for pickup in Picton, on the northern end of the South Island. The Interislander runs more east to west than it does north to south and I was pleasantly surprised to see my first amphibious mammal alongside the ferry (I think a penguin). As we neared Picton, the harbor was alive with sailboats (and jellyfish).

On picking up our rental car in Picton, we were quickly corrected that it was not in fact pink but rather 'champagne' in color. Whatever color it was, it would be the closest thing we had to a home for the next week and would need to play CDs to make up for the lack of reliable radio stations. The CD-player was incredibly finicky, but with it more or less sorted we drove up to Marahau where we would stay to get an early start kayaking the next morning. Along the way, we made a requisite stop in Havelock for their green-lipped mussels. These mussels are huge! We ordered a batch with a simple white-wine sauce and another sampler platter with 7 different styles before carrying on to Marahau for a second dinner. In Marahau we went to the restaurant (these towns are small even by CT standards) and despite being at 25-33% capacity were scolded that 'reservations are essential'. (Seriously.) In short-time however, the waitress could not resist our charm and warmed up nicely as we ate perhaps the best meal of the trip. While New Zealand's reputation for lamb shines through, I saw nearly as much cattle farming and a significant amount of venison farming as well. I love a good lamb chop as much as the next person, but the best meals were generally not lamb.

Wellington to Marahau photos