The New Zealand Adventure Part 4: Milford Sound

Milford Sound was hands-down our favorite stop in this entire trip so full of amazing experiences. It’s out of the way, but I would highly recommend to anyone going to the South Island to really try to make it to Milford.

We spent the night after glacier day in Queenstown. On a map, Milford doesn’t look all that far away from Queenstown. However, there’s a mountain range standing between the two and not many roads, so basically you have to go all the way around which takes about 5 hours. If you want to avoid this drive, there are tours out of Queenstown that will take you all the way to Milford Sound and can be packaged with excursions on the sound, but we ended up being really happy we opted to drive ourselves.

Te Anau is kind of like the gateway town to Fiorland National Park, which covers the southwest corner of the island. We stopped in at the I-sight there and they helped us book our tours in the area and even helped us book our accommodations in Milford Sound. So, while we still had another couple of hours to drive between Te Anau and Milford, everything was set and in place.

Whereas the scenery up to Te Anau consists mostly of sheep, the drive from Te Anau to Milford is lovely and there are lots of little stops to be made that are just beautiful that we wouldn’t have seen on a tour. (You can pick up maps at the info sites and they’re also pretty well marked along the road.)

Then we got to Milford. Milford Sound is actually a fiord, which means that it was carved out by a glacier, and the results are extremely dramatic rock walls and waterfalls. We booked a five-hour, twilight kayak tour on the sound and the stars really aligned for here to create just about as perfect an experience we could have had. Seeing this from the level of a kayak while basically sitting on the water is simply awe-inspiring. The fiord walls tower over you and you can’t help but bowled over by their enormity.

This was all accentuated by the perfect weather we got. Usually, this part of the country gets a lot of rain, which creates lots of little waterfalls that run down the cliff walls. It didn’t rain the day we were there, but it had rained the day before, so we got all the benefit of the waterfalls without having to deal with soggy conditions. In addition, being on the sound in the evening was fantastic because we got to see it all different types of light – from super bright and crisp in the afternoon, to the golden tones of sunset.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, by the time we got out on the water at around five in the afternoon most of the big tour boats had docked and we were the only ones to book that kayak tour that day; so it was pretty much just Greg, me, and our tour guide on the sound. To have this entire sound all to ourselves in such perfect conditions was simply magical.

Notice the fab outfits we were given for our kayaking adventure.

The tour begins with a boat trip. Everything is loaded up and we were ferried out on the sound by boat. Then we hopped in our kayaks and started paddle back in from there, as our guide lead the way. One of the very first stops was seal colony. In a kayak, you’re able to get really close. Greg and I pretty much ran our kayak up on the base of their rock.

The waterfalls provide the biggest rush. Sterling Falls was the first of the two major waterfalls we came up to. As we passed by, our guide stopped turned us around and told us aim the kayak at the falls and ride it in close to feel the spray. Greg understood that we were supposed to go all the way in. This thing is as tall as a skyscraper. Can you imagine what the pressure of water falling from the height would have felt like from directly underneath?! As it was, the spray is ice-cold and hits you the face like wet needles. I know. I was at the front of the kayak and got its full force as Greg plowed forward. Eventually, I had to yell at him over the roar of the crashing water to turn around. We got pretty close though, and it was extremely exhilarating. Luckily, our guide was nice enough to document the whole thing.

We didn’t get as close to Bowen Falls. It’s bigger and has a lot more water. I think the spray would have been too much to handle.

The rest of our kayaking trip was pretty calm though --with one exception. An overly protective momma seagull somehow felt threatened by our presence . . . out in the middle of the water . . . nowhere near her nest . . . and she kept circling around us. She even took a couple of dives at our guide. I have to admit, I was really glad she didn’t swoop at me. I’ve had bad luck with protective momma birds in the past, and they definitely make me nervous. After we got past her though, it was beautiful, peaceful cruising all the way back in.

We always tell people that if you ever have the chance to visit a fiord, take it. Fiords really are places where Mother Nature will just knock your socks off with her power. It is completely humbling. The first time I had a chance to see one was in the Misty Fiords in Alaska, and I got teary-eyed I was overwhelmed by the beauty. This second experience was just as beautiful, and felt even more personal. Truly, one of the best experiences of my life.

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The New Zealand Adventure Part 3: Glacier Day

A good part of our 5th day in NZ was spent driving – not to mention all the driving we did the night before after leaving Abel Tasman. Admittedly, this was a hard leg on poor Greg who was behind the wheel; however, it turned out to be a good day to cover ground because it rained for a good part of the day and hiking would have been pretty limited. Rain and all, there were some very pretty sections of the drive.

We pretty much crossed the entire western side of the island in one day, but by early afternoon we’d made it down to glacier country. We hit Franz Josef Glacier first. It was still raining when we got there though, so visibility wasn’t all that great and we couldn’t get very close.

Fox Glacier seems to be less famous and for some reason it gets less hype, but in my opinion it gives you a more up close and personal experience. The glacier walk at Fox gets you a whole lot closer to the glacier’s head. It had also stopped raining by the time we got to Fox, so we got a much better look.

There may have been a barrier at one point, advising one to not go beyond that point without a guide, but we took that to be just a suggestion. (I doubt the parks administration would be very happy with us – but I promise, we were very careful.) While it may have not been strictly legal, hiking a short distance from the viewing platform got us quite close to the glacier head.

I should say that legal hikes are offered with trained guides up to and around both of the glaciers. Helihikes are also offered that drop you on the glacier for a glacier walk – which I would love to do should I ever get the chance again – but it wasn’t in the cards this time. As I’ve mentioned before, the summer days in NZ are long, but things shut down early. To do this type of excursion, you need to make sure to book early in the day. Often the last excursion of the day leaves by mid-afternoon. Still, at Fox glacier, we had a really beautiful little hike that wasn’t strenuous at all . . . and completely free.

After we left the glaciers it was time for driving. We stopped for dinner at The Hard Antler, a roadhouse style bar and restaurant in the little town of Haast.

For dessert, we ordered Sticky Date Pudding. This dessert is similar to a bread pudding and extremely popular in Australia and New Zealand. We’d heard a lot about it but had never tried it and decided to take the opportunity here. It was AMAZING! So Delicious! It seems, though, that we’ve been forever spoiled by our first experience with Sticky Date Pudding. We’ve ordered it several times in other restaurants since, and somehow, it hasn’t lived up since. They’ve ranged from pretty bad, to decent, but we haven’t had one that came close to touching that first pudding.

This isn't the sticky date pudding. I had no way of knowing that this particular pudding would loom so largely in my memory and I didn't take a picture. I've borrowed this one to give you an idea.

More driving after dinner. However, the drive through the Haast Pass and around the hilly country around Lake Wanaka was extremely pretty and just got more gorgeous as twilight set in. We had to stop a few times to take in the sunset.

And then more driving . . . all the way to Queenstown.

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The New Zealand Adventure Part 2: Marlborough to Abel Tasman

Our 4th day in New Zealand turned out to be a big one.

Just as we were getting tucked into our van the night before, it started POURING. It sounded like fists-pounding-down-our-roof pouring. We were planning on a hike that morning, so when we got up and saw that it was not raining, we figured we better hit the trail as soon as possible to get in what we could before it started raining again. We got to the trailhead early -- well, early for us anyways. We needn’t have worried. The clouds slowly cleared, and the morning just got prettier and prettier.

The Queen Charlotte Track is a lovely coastal forest track. The whole thing will take you four to five days. We only had time for sampler – two hours total, out to the first campground and back. It was a pretty easy tramp up to beautiful rocky cove with beautiful views of mountains surrounding the sound.

Marlborough Sound and the Queen Charlotte Track

After our tramp, it was time to move on to our next stop – Abel Tasman National Park. On our way there, we stopped in Nelson for lunch. We found a fish and chips shop on a pier. It was a gorgeous day and the fish and chips came wrapped up in paper that the grease just started to seep through. Pretty magnificent! The seagulls were very jealous.

We got into Marahau, just outside the national park, a little before three. Abel Tasman is at the northwest tip of the South Island and has some of the warmest and sunniest weather on the island. We were hoping to do some kayaking, but by three the tour options were kind of limited – well, there was really only one. The tour office we stopped in at had one more boat going out to do a pick up. They were willing to take us out into the park on that run and drop us off, but we’d have to tramp back on our own – five hours. It was a beautiful day and we did not want to waste it, so what could we do? We took it.

Marahau has really dramatic tides, so during low tides, the boats have to be dragged out to the water on a tractor –it made for an interesting ride.

The ride out on the water was fun too.

The boat dropped us off in Anchorage Bay, which is about a third of the way through the park and has a lovely little beach where people were swimming and playing. If it had been earlier in the day, I might have been tempted. Like at Queen Charlotte, you can do a multi-day tramp through the park and there are several huts run by the Department of Conservation where campers can stay as they make their way through. For those wanting to stay in the park overnight without having to lug around camping gear, there is a floating hostel in Anchorage Bay – which sounds awesome. Had I known I might have tried to plan for a night there – however, I think you have to book well in advance.

Our tramp through the park started with a climb up a hill, right off the bat, but that yielded nearly immediate rewards in the form of jaw dropping views.

After that initial upward hike, it was actually a pretty easy, steady walk winding through rainforests and temperate forests. The amount of variety was pretty amazing.

We were told the hike would take about 5 hours. About half way through we decided to make a game out of beating the time. We ended up shaving 30 min off of the projected time –4.5 hours total. Not bad considering how often we stopped to take pictures and admire the scenery.

The section of the park we conquered.

We eventually emerged onto the road along the bay we’d had to cross via tractor earlier that afternoon – only now it was filled in with water. Big difference!

Afternoon


Sunset

After hiking all afternoon, we were predictably famished. Luckily, just beyond the entrance to the park, there is an extremely well positioned burger stand – The Fat Tui. And what a burger stand it is! Everything is super fresh and a lot of ingredients are local and they offer organic, fair trade coffee. They serve fish ‘n chips, hot dogs, and a long list of burger creations.

We both opted for a behemoth call the “The Muss.” The patty is made from coarsely chopped mussels that are fried and served on a giant seeded bun with cheese, avocado, sweet chilli sauce, homemade tartar sauce, and then an entire salad is piled on top to finish it off. I still dream about this burger!

Abel Tasman is one of the spots we would have loved to spend more time in, but after our filling up on the delicious Muss burger we had to get a move on, to cover some ground by driving late into the night.

Nelson and Abel Tasman

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The New Zealand Adventure Part 1: Christchurch, Kaikoura, & Marlborough Wine Country

With classes all wrapped up for Greg, and after saying good-bye to a lot of friends, it was time to head out on our next adventure – NEW ZEALAND. Also known as– MIDDLE-EARTH! (Yes, I am a big nerd.) We’d taken a lot of little trips, but this was one of our big splurges and I was very excited, not only because I had images of Peter Jackson’s trilogy dancing in my head, but also because I had very little idea of what to expect.

As I’ve mentioned, I haven’t had all that much experience with road trips, and I’ve also only had limited experiences with camping. Now I was about to get ten days of both. We made a decision to forgo a planned tour and to wing it in a camper van – although STA and other companies offer tours that look really great. We didn’t book anything beyond our first night’s stay and I was armed with only my Lonely Planet, South Island.

The South Island is basically one big playground for lovers of the Great Outdoors, and similar to Australia, New Zealand is set-up to make travelling for tourists very easy, so it’s kind of the perfect place to get comfortable with camping and extended road tripping. There are info-sites everywhere and even more books and maps and pamphlets to tell you about tourist attractions, or to help you find campsites, or accommodations, or whatever. If there’s an adventure to be had outside, you can have it here, and at whatever level of intensity you want to have it. If you want to go on a hard-core multi-day hiking trip – or tramping as it’s called here—you can do that. Or, if you want to take leisurely strolls and take in the scenery, that’s cool too. We were definitely somewhere in the middle.

Ten days actually isn’t as much as it seems, so we decided to stick to only one island. It was a bit of tough to choose just one, because while the North Island has more of the cultural centers, the South Island has more of the natural wonders, and we opted on the side of nature. Even having limited ourselves to only one island, up front I would have to say that we could have used a few more days. We covered a lot of ground, but it required a lot of hustling and there were things we felt we missed out on. That said, it was an absolutely MAGICAL ten days.

Day 1

Our first day was really just a first night. We got in fairly late, but when we arrived at our hotel there was note from Sabina waiting for us to say that she was at a pub next door. She was going to be traveling in NZ as well and arrived earlier the same day. She got into Christchurch, found some hostel-mates to grab a drink with, and set out to find us. A good first night.

Our hotel in Christchurch – our only hotel for the entire trip, was great and affordable. Sadly, it appears that I lost my Lonely Planet guide with all my highlights and notes. This is actually kind of a heartbreaking realization, because that book and I grew very close over these 10 days. Oh well.

Day 2

It is really surprising how long camping prep takes. If you ever plan on taking campervan trip, be warned that setting yourself up will take like half a day.

After getting up in the morning, we took a brief walking tour of the neighborhood around our hotel and got some breakfast. Then we promptly headed to the Wicked Campervan location to pick up our van at our appointed time. Once we got our van, stocked it with food and supplies, filled it with gas, and got out of town, half the day was gone. Admittedly, we did get kind of lost getting out Christchurch, but it was pretty much the only time we got lost during the whole trip. Eventually, we did get out of the city and headed off towards the northern part of the island.

Since setting up took so long, we got hungry pretty quickly after leaving Christchurch. Luckily, Brew Moon Café was right in our path. This was great little spot with a homey vibe, fresh, tasty food, and even better beer. We opted for the Dark Side of the Moon Stout, which was dark with a rich, chocolate malt flavor. I really enjoyed it. We weren’t planning on eating out all that often, but this meal was a nice start to our voyage.

Now full of good food and beer, we set out to cover some ground in order to get to get to our target destination in the north part of the island. It’s pretty hard to get lost on the New Zealand highways, because . . . well, there aren’t very many of them. However, they also usually have two lanes and wind with the landscape, which is very, very windy. Thus, even though it may not seem like you have a long distance to travel, it might take a lot longer than you’d expect. Luckily, the landscape is also GORGEOUS, which helps a lot.

We didn’t arrive at our destination of Kaikoura until early in the evening. The positive to New Zealand in the summer is that the evenings are very, very long. The sun doesn’t go down until close to 10. The negative is that everything closes at 5, maybe 6. Perfect for getting the most out of outdoor activities, you just better take care of any vendor needs early in the day. So while we got to Kaikoura a bit late, we could still take some advantage of the area.

Kaikoura is known for it’s gorgeous vistas and marine life. These we did not get to see our first evening there, because it was extremely foggy and drizzly. Nonetheless, we took a walk on the gorgeous stony beach. This may not be the beach for lying out on, but it’s covered with these slate grey rocks -- which actually made a pretty scene when set against the grey sky.

We also had the chance to make some friends.

We made some human friends too. One of the funny things about these area where road trips are popular, is that you often start to see the same people along the way. As we were scampering along the rocks on the coast, I recognized a couple that were picking up their van at the same time as we did in Christchurch. We started and they wound camping at our camp ground, which was really nice. Having people to share a drink and conversation with made the cold, wet evening a lot more pleasant.

Day 3

The weather on day three was considerably better – still too cloudy for whale and dolphin watching (but what’s new, we have terrible luck at spotting these guys) but definitely nice enough to enjoy the views.

We joined our new friends, Susan and Justin (I’m not going to lie, I could have those wrong, it’s been a long time) for a tramp along the Kaikoura coastal track. It’s pretty easy path that winds near rocky coastal terrain and pastoral farmlands. You can also spot seal colonies and tons of birds.

After our hike, we all grabbed lunch at a little roadside stand that’s right on the little street that leads up to the coastal track parking lot. This place was hopping. Their special offering is crayfish. It’s pricey, but Greg and I decided to splurge and go for it. I have to say they looked better than they were; however, the green- lipped mussels were fantastic.

After lunch we said good-bye to our friends and continued on our way. Our plan had been to stop at a few wineries on way to the Marlborough region; however, we got caught by the winding roads and ended up only being able to make it one before everything closed at five – Lawson’s Dry Hills Winery.

A great big dog greets you in parking lot at Dry Hills, and pretty soon you meet his cat friend in the tasting room. Not to worry, they’re all friendly, as was the gentleman who gave us our tasting. The Marlborough region is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, and theirs was definitely good, but they also had some very good, not too sweet, Gewurztraminer and Rieslings. I think we cam away with a bottle of the Gewurz and a Pinot. Whites might be the thing here, but it was cold out and red seemed more fitting to drink in the evening.

Armed with our two lone bottles, we headed towards Picton and the Marlborough Sound to find a campsite for the evening. And who should we meet up with in Picton, but Justin and Susan again. We all found a campervan site together again. This one was right on the sound and was extremely pretty. We settled in and enjoyed the view with another campervan meal and a couple drinks.

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Here's a slide show of our time in Kaikura: