Day 23 and 24 - The Sound of Silence

Bright and early the next morning we made our way down to Pearl Harbour at the bottom of the hillside. From here, we would catch a ferry across Lake Manapouri then board a minibus to take us over the Wilmot Pass before eventually arriving at Deep Cove where our vessel for the next 24 hours awaited – the handsome Seafinn, on which we would explore Doubtful Sound. Whilst we waited on the habourside we got to know our fellow passengers. There were 7 of us in total; us two, then two unrelated American couples (the younger of which were also honeymooners) plus a Mexican chap who we would meet later as he was making his own way to the Seafinn.

At Pearl Harbour

 

Small talk over, we were soon on board the ferry chugging our way across to the far side of the lake and sipping our complimentary hot drinks. We had woken to blue skies but as we made the crossing we could see clouds looming ominously in the distance and mist hanging low in the valleys shrouding the tops of the peaks. This was half expected as we were now entering Fiordland, where it rains something like 9 days out of every 10. The upshot of this as we later discovered is a landscape full of hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls – from long white ribbons that snaked an impossible distance down the mountainside to wide torrents that gushed down well carved routes, undisturbed for thousands of years.




Entering Fiordland





Approaching Manapouri Power Station

 

Waterfalls from the Wilmot Pass

 

 

On arrival at Manapouri Power Station we disembarked and sought out our skipper. Chris was waiting for us with a friendly welcome, and so were a few of the native sandflies too – although we didn’t appreciate their presence quite so much! Fleeces were firmly zipped up to our necks and sleeves rolled down, and there they remained until we were back in the relative safety of Te Anau the next day! Having temporarily thwarted the sandflies, we boarded the minibus. The Wilmot pass is a mere two miles long, but took two years to build - an indicator of the challenging terrain and the density of the vegetation. As we began our steep ascent a sign some joker had placed at a small junction which made us chuckle, as it indicated a golf course a couple of kilometres hence. There was no flat land in sight for miles, not to mention very little sign of civilisation!




First sight of Deep Cove

 
Once safely down from the mountain we were shown to our cabin and told to make ourselves at home by the friendly crewmate-cum-cook Tracey.  The Seafinn was quite a small boat, so it didn’t take long to look around. The main deck encompassed a large communal lounge with stairs at one end leading to the cabins beneath. At the other end was the galley kitchen and a door to the outside area where the showers/toilets were located.



The Seafinn

Our cosy cabin

 

Doubtful Sound is less well known than Milford Sound, yet it is ten times larger and equally as breathtaking. We explored all 'arms' of the Sound aside from the ‘First Arm’, which is protected water. Not long after we chugged away from Deep Cove, we were given the opportunity to enjoy our second spell of kayaking of the holiday, but this time in single-seater kayaks. Mercifully, the Sound was much calmer than the sea had been at Cathedral Cove and so we drifted along at a much more leisurely pace, enjoying the tranquillity and getting as close as is humanly possible to the many waterfalls along the sheer edge of the cliffs. It was like exploring a lost world as we peered into the depths of the vegetation, fruitlessly trying to see further than a few metres. When we caught up with the boat, we swapped kayak for fishing rod. The fish we caught here were intended to be used as bait for the boat’s lobster pots, but we only had limited success! The younger of the American gentleman had more luck and even caught a fairsized blue cod which was put aside for the dinner pot.




View from the kayaks

 


Water, water, everywhere!
 

 


Catch of the day and skipper Chris!

 

As we reached the end of the Sound, going out as far as the Tasman Sea, the weather started to close in and the influence of the tide became greater. However, here we saw the most wildlife, with Chris expertly steering the boat through the choppy coastal waters so that we could see penguins sheltering in caves, cormorants gathered on rocks and yet more seals basking on the rocks unperturbed by the elements. The highlight of the trip came as we entered calmer waters once more to check up on the lobster pots. The eagle-eyed skipper noticed a dolphin splash in the distance and as we moved in for a closer look, a whole pod swam into view. We realised that they were only swimming slowly when one or two sped up and leapt clean out of the water. The most curious of the dolphins even deviated towards us and darted under the boat before continuing their journey out to sea. Seeing dolphins in the wild was definitely a sight worth braving the drizzle for!



The wild Tasman sea

 


Colourful lichen

 


Penguin sheltering on the rocks

 


Dolphins!

 

Tracey had cooked up a storm in the tiny galley kitchen – crayfish caught from their own traps for lunch and the blue cod and wild venison for dinner. The evening ended inside the boat trying to ignore the very annoying sandflies, drinking cider and learning how to play Hearts with our new chums before retiring to bed where we slept soundly (no pun intended!) ‘til the engines started up at 6.30am the next morning. There was a little more cruising to be completed through the Sound – we even saw NZ Christmas tree on one of the many islands – before we had to say regretful goodbyes and return to Manapouri at midday.
 



Dawn over Doubtful Sound

 

The NZ Christmas tree - so-called because of the red berries you can just make out at the top of the picture!

 


Keeping those fleeces firmly zipped up!

 

We jumped into the car straightaway so we could arrive at Wanaka at a reasonable hour. For the first time on our trip, we had to backtrack, taking the same route as two days previous until we once again reached Queenstown. From here we deviated, choosing this time to take the ever so steep and slightly terrifying Crown Range road (Youtube it!). At the top, we stopped for a breather and to drink in yet more spectacular views back down the valley towards Queenstown before heading onward to Wanaka.

Days 18 to 22 - Reaching new hikes!

Firstly, apologies for the tardy update – our itinerary stepped up somewhat after our last post and left us precious little time for blogging. We had planned to make some of the long drives on the South Island pass faster through writing the blog, but with a jaw dropping view round what seems to be virtually every corner on the South Island, it’s simply too difficult to tear your eyes away! Hence this latest update has been mostly written back in the UK – still, better late than never!

To pick up where we left off, we departed Christchurch Sunday lunchtime after a scrummy breakfast at The Honey Pot café – a local haunt recommended by a friend back home.  A short drive from where we were staying, we both agreed this was well worth seeking out – the food was delicious and the staff friendly, so much so that we ended up staying for a second hot chocolate before setting off. Incidentally, this was one of the few times we ate out for breakfast, as we carted around a ‘chilly’ bag with milk, juice, cereals etc for convenience and to save a few pennies.

The first part of our journey inland took us across the Canterbury Plains, the most consistently flattest and straightest section of road we had encountered so far. Nevertheless, the mountain ranges that form the spine of the South Island were omnipresent on our right flank.

After a few more encounters with roger en route, for once even Paul was grateful for the distraction of shopping when we stopped at The Tin Shed, which sells woollen products. Merino and possum are renowned for their insulating properties and given an abundance of sheep and a possum problem, it’s no surprise that New Zealand makes some of the world’s finest knitwear and it’s sold in souvenir shops everywhere, usually at inflated prices. This being a factory outlet, we managed to pick up a few bits with which to ward off the British winter chills at discounted prices. So half an hour and a lighter wallet later we were back on the road.

Our next destination, Lake Tekapo, came into view late afternoon – hard to miss the distinctive glacial blue as we wove our way down the hill into town.

We struck it lucky with our accommodation here; a holiday rental set right on the shore of the lake overlooking the lupins in full bloom and with a picturesque view of the famous Church of the Good Shepherd, which has adorned many a NZ postcard and tourism brochure. Both were the subject of an intensive photo session early the next morning, as evidenced below! The largest swarm of midges we've ever seen were also captured on film when we first arrived!

Our cosy accommodation



Blogging on the balcony



Our view of the Church of the Good Shepherd

What's that buzzing??



Beautiful Lake Tekapo in the early morning sun



Lupins by the shore

From one lupin to another....



An arty black and white one

Paul finally decided to grace us with his presence half an hour later...

The sheepdog memorial, dedicated to the working dogs of the Mackenzie region

Lake Tekapo and its surrounds are an international dark sky reserve and the observatory at Mount John is reputably one of the best places for viewing the stars in the Southern Hemisphere. We wanted to take a stargazing tour whilst we were there, however had held off booking anything until we could see what the weather was doing. Luckily, the clouds were on our side for once and dispersing fast, so after ‘checking in’ – and I use the term loosely as we had pre-paid so the owner simply left the key in the lock for us to let ourselves in (!) – we made the short drive up Mount John to have a look round in daylight and book ourselves in for the sunset tour that evening. This is not a drive for the fainthearted as it is basically a one way track that winds steeply up a series of switchbacks. Sarah coaxed the poor Sunny slowly upwards in second gear – whilst having palpitations at the same time - but the stunning panorama that greeted us more than justified the stress.

 

View from the Astrocafe - Lake Alexandrina can just be made out to the left, Lake Tekapo is on the right. Alexandrina is fed from a spring, whereas Tekapo gets its unique colour from the rock flour suspended in glacial meltwater.

Looking towards Aoraki Mt Cook

We were a bit fed up of the standard cheesy grins in the photos by now, so Paul threw in his best Bolt impression for a bit of variety!

 

See the Church of the Good Shepherd? See the dark grey 3 storey building just behind it? That's where we stayed!

We enjoyed a hot chocolate at excellent café at the summit, before steeling ourselves for another hair raising journey back down the mountain. We had enough time to grab some hot rocks grub in the local steakhouse restaurant back in the village, before the tour started at 8pm. We were kitted out with thick padded coats and infrared spotlight keyrings (light pollution disrupts the images taken from the observatory) then made the climb back up Mount John, this time in a minibus. Upon arrival, we watched the sunset through special UV sunglasses.

Paul looking rather spiffy in his 'special' glasses

Sunset viewing!

Following this, we were given a close up tour of one of the large telescopes and the control room where data is gathered. One of the clocks in the control room is kept on Tokyo time, testimony to the number of Japanese students who travel here to study astrophysics.


Blooming big telescope!

There was also a resident astrophotographer on the tour, who kindly offered to connect our own camera to one of the smaller telescopes. It was a cloudless night, but the moon was very bright - so, although we could make out the brightest stars, such as Alpha Centuri, Southern Cross, Rigel, the Orion constellation etc; we decided to focus on the moon for our pictures and managed to capture some excellent shots.

Seas and craters on the surface of the moon!

 

Looking through one of the telescopes - this one was aimed at Rigel 

Then with temperatures dropping fast on the exposed mountaintop, there was some respite from the cold in the form of some (yet more!) warming hot chocolate and gooey chocolate brownies presented during a slideshow of impressive images captured in this location. It was a bit like spending an evening with a bunch of geeks, but they are certainly very passionate about what they do and keen to share their knowledge. We had to endure one final scary journey back down the mountain – this time with the minibus headlights switched off initially!!

Inspired, Sarah was up until the small hours fiddling about with her camera on balcony trying to capture the night sky. The lack of a tripod and the improvisation of chair and cushions made this a rather difficult and precarious task!


Starry, starry night - one of the better attempts - best viewed large!

Next day, we continued across the alpine plateau to Aoraki Mt Cook - only a short one hour drive away. We paused to take photos of the views across the glacial Lake Pukaki on the way.

We arrived in Mt Cook village around lunchtime and swiftly booked ourselves straight on the Glacier Explorers tour, which takes you to see icebergs up close on the Tasman Glacier terminal lake –  very few glaciers terminate into lakes, and even fewer are accessible. Our crazy Swedish guide appeared to have a sole intent of getting Sarah as soaked as possible with FREEZING glacial water as he piloted the speedboat across the lake.



The iconic Hermitage hotel

All kitted out

Crazy Swedish guy at the helm

Only 10% of an iceberg is visible above water - the other 90% is below the surface!

The Tasman Glacier terminal wall - this is about as close as you can get, for safety reasons.

Waiting for the minibus back to the Hermitage

Back in the village, although evening was fast approaching, we decided to attempt the Hooker Valley walk, which involved a lot of rock hopping. We made it as far as the second swingbridge, where a distinct increase in the strength of a biting wind and tiredness made us turn back. At this point, we were in the company of workmen constructing a new swingbridge due to rockfalls.

 

The first swingbridge, looking towards the Hooker Valley (centre)

On the bridge, over the Tasman River



On the second swingbridge, looking at its replacement being constructed - wouldn't like their job!

You can't really tell - but it was very windy and the bridge is less stable than it looks!

In this small settlement with its scarcity of places to stay, our accommodation that evening was a backpackers lodge. The decor was a bit dated, but nonetheless it was clean and comfortable. We ate in the attached bar in front of a huge picture window watching sun set over Mt Sefton and the Mt Cook valley and making the most of the wifi connection!

The next morning we completed the shorter and easier Kea Point walk before setting off for Queenstown. This route took us up to Mueller glacier moraine wall for a stunning view of Aoraki Mt Cook.



Enjoying the morning sun on our balcony

Looking back towards the Hermitage

 

At Kea Point - behind is the Mueller glacier moraine wall, with Aoraki Mt Cook in the distance

Aoraki Mt Cook - 'Cloud Piercer'

The long drive to Queenstown felt shorter thanks to the amazing views through the Lindis Pass and an excellent lunch stop at The Wobbly Ram in Omarama as gliders soared overhead.



Views through the Lindis Pass

At The Wobbly Ram

The Clutha River

Roaring Meg falls - there were some river surfers preparing to go downstream - you can just make them out on the right of the river behind the bush.

Kawarau Gorge

As we approached Queenstown, we came across the site where bungee jumping was conceived and stopped briefly to amuse ourselves watching the crazy people taking the plunge - from the safety of the viewing platform of course!

Eeek!



We arrived at The Rees, a 5* property, which was a bit of a contrast to previous night! The car park was accessed through the steepest slope ever and then there was a maze to negotiate in order to reach our room with a lakeside view, thanks to the unusual construction with reception at the top of the hotel. But the property was relaxing due to being very quiet – at times it felt like we were the only ones there.

Our swanky room complete with sofa!

Lakeside View

That evening we caught the courtesy shuttle to town, which unlike the hotel was very busy - even compared to Wellington and Christchurch. We ate dinner squeezed into a corner of a gastropub on the wharf.

Next morning, we treated ourselves to a room service brekkie since we were without a kitchen. Unusually, given Queenstown has a myriad of excursions available, we hadn’t planned anything. Instead, we headed up to the nearby former ‘gold rush’ settlement of Arrowtown, complete with vintage shop fronts and signage. We enjoyed a walk down the bank of the Arrow River and a picnic lunch before wandering round the old style town with a refreshing ice cream - as you might be able to tell from the cloudless blue skies in the pictures, temperatures had reached a balmy 24 degrees celsius.



On returning to Queenstown, we parked at the bottom of Bob’s Peak and took the gondola to the Skyline complex at the top of this steep hill next to the town.  There was a stunning vista yet again – this time of the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu. Part of the descent was possible by luge, on a contraption not dissimilar to a tray with wheels! We tried out both the beginners and advanced tracks and had great fun whizzing around the circuits.


Queenstown from the gondola

 

Paul with the luge track in the background

New Zealand - 100% Remarkable!

 

Taking the chairlift back to the top of the luge track!

For dinner we had planned to visit the famous Fergburger, but due to insane queues ended up in the equally superb Fergbaker next door – opting for a heavenly lamb and kumara (sweet potato) pie! It was impressive enough that we went back for a HUGE slice of blueberry pie to take back to the hotel.

Next morning we visited a local retail park near Queenstown Airport to stock up on supplies for our next couple of self-catering stops. Whilst there, we also had a large cooked breakfast to stock ourselves up before setting off on another long journey, this time to Te Anau.  During this journey we saw two instances of where roger’s impatient driving had backfired. One had been pulled over by a lurking copper, but a more shocking remainder to take caution on the roads was to arrive in Te Anau to the sound of an air raid siren mobilising emergency vehicles in the locality to the scene of an accident - a flipped car precariously balanced on the top of a high roadside hedge just outside the township.

We had decided to do the Key Summit walk and so drove an extra hour from Te Anau down the Milford Road as far as The Divide car park. The first part of the walk is along the Routeburn Track (one of NZ's great walks) and winds uphill through untouched native forest, heavily carpeted with moss and lichen – water constantly drips down and every so often there is a waterfall. The rainwater is free from toxins and safe to drink, so we were grateful to be able to refill our water bottle with delicious mountain water straight from the source! Halfway there, we encountered a friendly ranger called Phil, originally from Devon, who was repairing the track with materials brought in by helicopter. Phil was just clocking off for the day so accompanied us part of the way until we turned off to the right towards Key Summit – he continued along the Routeburn to check on people staying in the hut.


A rare opening in the canopy

One of the many waterfalls - see how crystal clear the water is in the pool!

 

Phil kindly took this picture before he headed off!

 

Where we parted ways with Phil

The wind picked up noticeably outside the forest as we found ourselves on a bare alpine mountain top now. Previously overheating from the steady slog uphill, we were now glad that we had bought our fleeces along!At the top, we were rewarded with unique views of Lake Marian, but as the cloud was closing in quick and heavy we didn't hang about too long before making our descent.

Paul about to take off! It was really windy....

...as you can probably tell from my new hair do!

Lake Marian (just right of centre) nestled in the valley

Once back at the roadside, we realised that we were running late so backtracked sharpish along the Milford Road to Te Anau once more, where we collected a pizza and headed onward towards our next residence at nearby Manapouri. Dusk was fast approaching when we reached our destination on the hillside, which resembled a 'rent-a-shed' flatpack type place - though you'd never know from the inside. It was very comfortable and Sarah was most impressed and happy to discover both a washing machine and tumble dryer in the property! With an early departure planned for the next morning, there was just time to eat, do a load of washing and repack the bags in readiness for our adventures the next day before collapsing on the bed for some much needed shuteye.

Rent-a-shed (and the Sunny!)

 

Big living room

Having arrived in the dark, we were pleasantly surprised by the view waiting for us the next morning

To be continued....!

Still to come: Doubtful Sound, Wanaka and Franz Josef. Hopefully this side of Christmas!