New Zealand Adventure Part 5: Milford to Te Anau

The morning after our kayaking trip we woke to a gorgeous morning in Milford. We’d managed to book a campervan site at the Milford Sound Lodge – probably one of the prettiest sites we staid at.

Our plan for the day was to catch one more glimpse of the Sound and then slowly make our way back to Te Anau, while stopping at all the little stops we hadn’t had time for the day before.
Rather than going through them all, point by point, here are some highlights:

One more stop at Milford.

The Chasm.

Nice quote, but they might want to check their sources.

On a hike near Lake Marian

Near the Homer Tunnel, we got out and did a short hike and found ourselves on snowy terrain.

We tried to take a pic of ourselves, but got whited out.

When we got back to the car park area we found flock of kea parrots that were up to some mischief. These guys are apparently the only species of alpine parrots, and I must admit it’s odd to see parrots in the snow, and they’re super smart. You can just see them scheming and calculating how they’re going to get into the cars to get at the tourists food. We heard a story about one these sly little guys stealing someone’s passport right of their hands, pretty much out of spite. Luckily, they’re also really cute and fun to watch . . . just hold onto your documentation.

One of the things that really caught my attention in New Zealand were the wild flowers. Everywhere we went there were beautiful flowers, but they were just spectacular in this part of the Island. The fields closer to Te Anau were completely covered with lupins; the hills looked like they were a patchwork of pink, purple, and white.

What wasn’t covered with lupins, was yellow with broom bushes. The funny thing is that these flowers are considered pests – as they do have a tendency to spread themselves over the landscape. At least they’re pretty pests.

Back in Te Anau, we had booked a tour to see their Glowworms Caves. The excursion begins with a ferry ride, which was lovely in the later afternoon.

The boat takes you past the “Lady of the Lake.” According Maori legend, she became part of the mountainside when her infidelity lead to the death of her husband and she was overcome with guilt and grief.

The Glowworm caves themselves were really cool, although we only got spend a short time in them. Out of a two-hour plus tour, only about 20 min were spent inside. Once in, a gondola takes you into the dark parts of cave where the worms live. Suddenly the cave lights up around you like a starry sky , but they glow also reflects off the water so you seem to be floating in space.

Because we were not allowed to take pictures inside the cave, I've borrowed this one as an example.
These were taken in the Waitomo Cave in the North Island.

The funny part is that this beautiful sight it created by the gruesome life cycle of a very odd little creature. The glowworms are bioluminescent in their larvae phase. Their light attracts bugs, which get caught in snare lines and provide food for the larvae. The glowworm spends most of its lifecycle in this larvae state – about 6-12 months. The gnat that emerges from the larvae lives only a short time longer, pretty much just enough time to mate and lay more eggs. That’s the case for the lucky ones; a good number emerge from their pupa, are immediately attracted by the lights of other larvae and get caught in the fishing lines.

After the glowworms, we headed back to Queenstown for the night, enjoying the adorable scenery, even if it wasn’t all that varied.

The full slideshow:

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.

View Larger Map

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.

View Larger Map

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

View Larger Map