NZ/AUS EPIC HOLIDAY - Days 50-56

Fiordland National Park

Day 50 - 19th March - Invercargill to Te Anau

Thick, seemingly endless grey skies were all that was there to greet us in the morning as we set off on the bus. It showed no sign of clearing so we were all rather surprised when it suddenly cleared up in next to no time without warning. That's the thing about New Zealand weather you see. It can change at a moments notice. The only reason I haven't gotten used to this is because for most of my trip it's been great. I'm afraid to jinx it by saying this but I swear to god that good weather follows me around.

We stopped at a pub for a quick lunch before turning away from the coast and turning north up towards Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest. With the weather clearing we started making scenic stops along the way. Before long we reached Lake Manapouri and stopped for a few photos. However our final destination was a little further: Te Anau, a pleasant little town on the coast of the lake with the same name. With the rain utterly gone and the sun shining I found Te Anau to be a very beautiful place. The only problem there is I say that so often about places in New Zealand that it's lost all meaning. But it really was lovely, honest!

I took it easy that night as I was planning on spending some time in the area and also because I needed to get up sodding early the next day. I did go to the local pub for a pint though and they were having a jam night. Pity I didn't bring my sax.

wetlands near Te Anau

Day 51 - 20th March - Doubtful Sound

I would be seeing Milford Sound, one of New Zealand's most popular spots, in a few days. A few people did tell me however that I couldn't miss Doubtful Sound. It wasn't that they said Milford wasn't worth seeing. Apparently Milford Sound is regularly packed with tourists and to get comparable scenery and still get away from the crowds it was advisable to pay a visit to Doubtful Sound.

Incidentally it's not actually a sound, it's a true Fjord. But New Zealand has a history of wildly inaccurate names that just stuck, like ninety mile beach (not even close mate). So anyway, my activity of choice in the fjord/sound (whatever) was, yet again, kayaking. If I ever move to New Zealand, have I mentioned recently that I want to do this, I'm getting myself my own kayak but right now I'll have to make do with rentals.

But first of all we had to get to Doubtful Sound. This involved driving back down the road to Lake Manapouri and taking a boat across the water and traveling up the west arm of the lake before getting back into another bus. We were driven across a mountain pass before finally arriving at the start of Doubtful Sound, the whole journey taking almost two hours. Now we were really out in the wilderness.

We boarded our kayaks, I'm becoming an expert by the way, and were off, skimming across the water with ease. Our trip was to cover quite a lot of ground, fifteen kilometres more or less. Best of all it was all one-way instead of being a round-trip so we would see a great variety of scenery.

Doubtful sound was just stunning, incredible, spectacular, the walls of the fjords sheering up from the water almost vertically to a staggering height. I realised then that the only way to really see the fjords were either from the water or from the air. You just can't climb anything so treacherously steep and wet and slippery. The mere thought would make even the most hardcore rock climber shudder with fear. But we weren't climbing the walls were were floating in between them.

Thanks to the insanely excessive rainfall (4th highest in the world) there were plenty of spectacular waterfalls that cascaded over the towering cliffs and met us down below. Speaking of rain though, there was none for us here today. It seems I had gotten lucky once again and not a drop fell on us, pretty lucky when you're in the fourth wettest place on the planet. Thick clouds still loomed over us but this only served to add to the dramatic majesty of the fjords. It was even supposed to rain today, it just didn't bother. It seems the weather forecast is only wrong when it predicts bad weather.

We stopped for lunch on the small motor boat that came out to meet us before continuing on our merry way. When the time eventually came for us to leave I would have gladly continued on for several more hours but it was getting late and it was time for the boat to take us back to the start. After all we did have the two hour journey back to Te Anau.

Arriving almost twelve hours after I set off I certainly felt I had covered plenty of ground today. I was certainly glad that I'd refrained from using my legs today though. For the next few days they're really going to be put through their paces.

dramatic fjords

Days 52-55 - 21st-24th March - Kepler Track

Remember how my only gripe with the Rakiura Track, other than forgetting to charge my goddamned camera, was that it was too short and easy. Well this was the answer to that little problem. The Kepler Track, another of New Zealand's great walks, starts from near Te Anau and covers about 65 kilometres, ascending roughly 1,200 metres. Including walking to the start of the track and taking into account any side trips the distance comes to about 80 km which is covered in four days. This is more to my liking!

The track starts on the shores of Lake Te Anau, on the shore facing the town. It climbs up towards Mount Luxmore and then along an alpine crossing around the back of several high peaks before passing along the shore of lake Manapouri. It then loops back and meets Lake Te Anau again, a complete circuit through stunning terrain.

Day 1

Rain was predicted for the first day but one again this turned out not to apply to the skies above my head. I set off not too early and walked to the start of the track along the shores of Lake Te Anau. The track started off in a forest that skirted the coastline and then began to go uphill. It wasn't until much later that the track emerged from the bush-line, providing fine views of the town miles away on the shore below. It was a relatively short climb before reaching Luxmore Hut, with it's namesake mountain behind it.

Luxmore Hut might almost have been more accurately described as a mountain lodge hotel than a back-country hut. It had two floors, running water, stoves, a wood burner, flush toilets, solar powered lighting and bunks for more than fifty people! Upon hearing the description of these great walk huts I was disapproving at first. They're far more expensive to stay in than regular huts and I thought that having too many comforts would detract from the sense of adventure. However I must admit I warmed to it rather quickly or, to put it more accurately, it kept me warm.

Since there was still some time before dinner I set off without my pack on a couple of side trips. First there was a mountain peak that was slightly closer and not as high as Luxmore Peak. I decided that, since I would be climbing Luxmore as part of day two, I'd climb the smaller peak. This took a couple of hours as it involved scrambling off the track and over loose rock. It provided some good views of the hut as well as of the track I would be taking tomorrow.

After returning I set off towards the Luxmore Cave just ten minutes walk from the hut. This provided quite an entertaining diversion as they really did seem to go on forever. Armed only with a small headlamp I scrambled through increasingly cramped conditions, squeezing through some horrendously tight spaces before eventually deciding that it would be foolish to go any further alone without a helmet, spare light and safety equipment. I crawled back to daylight and went back to the hut.

Another highlight of the day was the encounter with a family of kea that regularly visit the hut to interact with the trampers. Although I'd seen and photographed many kea it's always a pleasure to view these amazing birds. I spotted them out the window next to my bunk and went out to have a look. Then I returned to the hut and told everyone that some kea had arrived and about twenty people rushed out with their cameras. All this attention made the kea go absolutely crazy, they started squawking and babbling in a hugely amusing way that I'd never heard before. Our hut ranger told us that they were just being playful, apparently they like the attention. Fortunately nobody got their camera smashed or their boots torn to pieces by these incredibly mischievous birds tonight.

the wonderful Luxmore Hut

Day 2

Today was by far the most spectacular day of the hike, or possibly my entire life. It was an alpine crossing that lasted all day and the weather could not have been more perfect. In fact we were told by the hut ranger that this would be the best weather in months for the track.

When I set off the hut was completely shrouded in mist. I hurried on in the hope that the mountain peak ahead was above the clouds. It was and I was treated to was was quite possibly the most staggeringly awesome scenery I had ever witnessed. The entire area below was utterly engulfed in thick fog while the skies above were utterly clear, not a cloud above us. I can't imagine how many photos I took but I can honestly say that if my camera had ran out of power then I would literally have taken my own life.

As the track continued over increasingly awe inspiring terrain the mist began to clear, providing everyone with great views of the fjords below that were previously obscured by the low cloud. For most of the day the track stayed up in the peaks, skirting steep sides, running along narrow ridges and over peaks. Visibility was so good that mountains could be seen more than a hundred kilometres in the distance. I deliberately took my time, stopping regularly to admire the views and pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Eventually the track descended back through the bush-line to the valley below. We soon reached the Iris Burn Hut nestled at the base of it's namesake valley below. Iris Burn Hut was also a lovely place, though quite a contrast to the previous one. While Luxmore hut had been on top of the world looking down, this one was at the bottom of the valley but surrounded by beautiful mountains in all directions. I took a brief side trip to a nearby waterfall before returning to cook my dinner.

fog near the hut

view from the crossing

another view

Day 3

Starting from the valley floor, the third day didn't provide scenery that was quite as stunning as the alpine crossing but it was still a very pleasant day with some great views. I set off later in the morning than everyone else in order to allow time for the sun to appear over the steep valley walls. Much of the track was under cover of forest but the first scenic lookout was an area called 'Big Slip' where a massive area of forest had been cleared by a gargantuan rockfall brought about by unusually heavy rain. I had actually seen Big Slip from the air the day before and it looked great up close.

I pressed on through more forest alongside the Iris Burn which ran the entire length of the valley. I encountered some more friendly New Zealand Robins, cute little birds that follow people around to eat the insects and grubs that our feet disturb. Before long the track reached the end of the Iris Burn as it reached Lake Manapouri. I took some time to admire the stunning views from the shores of Manapouri before making my way to the third hut of my trek.

The Moturau Hut was, as expected, also very pleasant with it's picturesque location on Manapouri's shore. After dinner came the highlight of the day, a few of us lit a small fire on the beach just as the sun was setting. It's simply impossible to overstate just how much pleasure I can get from a small fire! Best of all we all started toasting marshmallows, a simple pleasure I have not known before, shameful as that may seem!

The crowning touch came later though when a member of the group brought out some sparklers. Yes you heard me, isn't that just wonderful? Our goal was apparently to communicate with aliens by frantically waving our arms around! I got some great time lapse photographs of that.

It was another great night for stargazing, always a pleasure on clear and quiet night. I could really get used to living like this.

view over Lake Manapouri

Day 4

I wouldn't have minded at all if the weather had been utterly terrible today but it continued to be perfect. Today was by far the most boring day of the walk, mostly through forest with very few views along the way. Because of this I picked up the pace and was back in Te Anau in time for a late lunch.

The only scenic spots on the track were a few brief glimpses of river and a couple of views across the wetlands. After reaching the end of the track there was still a short lakeside walk that lasted about an hour before reaching town, always a pleasant experience in good weather.

I tried to keep my ambulations to a minimum for the rest of the day, I think my feet need a rest. Not that I'm done walking though, far from it. After an afternoon or two of rest I'll be ready to go again. I did return to the local pub for a pint though to celebrate the end of a great walk.

reflections on a lake

Day 56 - 25th March - Milford Sound

Milford Sound is one of those places you just have to see when you visit New Zealand. I was picked up by the Kiwi Ex bus and we were off, leaving Te Anau behind. Although the road to Milford Sound was long and took several hours, a person could easily spend the day sightseeing and stopping regularly without even having time to see Milford itself. Since we did intend to do it all in one day we only stopped a few places en route but they were certainly worth it.

One of the best stops was at a place called the mirror lakes which provided some great photo opportunities. If you can't guess what the mirror lakes are known for then I can't help you, no one can. The weather on the way was universally fantastic. Once we reached Milford it started to cloud over but it still stayed dry.

The activity of choice at Milford was a scenic cruise down the fjords as far as the ocean. Having kayaked around Doubtful Sound I was happy to let myself be ferried around Milford Sound. The scenery was, as anticipated, fantastic. The scale of things here was completely different compared to Doubtful. Everything was on a much larger scale, the waterfalls bigger and heavier, the fjords wider and the mountains even taller still. It was truly awe inspiring. It was just as well that I didn't go kayaking here as I would have only seen a fraction of the area. Only by being whisked around on a fast boat can you really see the whole of Milford Sound. The peaks reached truly staggering heights above the waterline, truly dizzying proportions from down below.

Soon we were dropped off on dry land and it was time to return to Queenstown. The journey took several hours, although not a great distance as the crow flies, the road had to take the extremely long way round. Eventually we arrived in Queenstown as it was getting dark and I checked into my hostel. I was back in Queenstown once again but not for long! It's just too expensive to stay in the adventure capital of the world. There's just too much damn temptation!

Milford Sound