THE BIGGEST, WETTEST, LONGEST, HARDEST AND NEWEST

Wednesday, December 30th at 19:57

Kevin

After an action packed day, as described in Idalis' previous post, we arrive at the Lakeview Holiday Park in the lakeside city of Te Anau. We park Fern on the upper hill and have, as the advertisement for the park states, a “million dollar” view. The city is named after the glacier formed lake that it is nestled upon and which also happens to be the BIGGEST lake in the South Island.



As soon as we arrive we are both struck with a sense of familiarity. We both agree that Te Anau reminds us a lot of Pokhara, Nepal. Like Pokhara, it is located along side a large lake, it is the hub of the take off point for three of the nine “Great Walks” and it is teeming with adventure bound tourists wearing the newest North Face gear and zip off pant shorts.

It is Christmas Eve and to celebrate, I decide to clean Fern inside and out and do some much needed laundry as Idalis takes a morning run lakeside up to the starting point for the famous Kepler Trek. After a much needed shower we then walk over to the wildlife center where we visit the native residents who are all undergoing some sort of rehabilitation or who were unfortunate enough to meet with some sort of accident that would have prevented their return to the wild. The center also gives us the opportunity to take a glimpse at some rare and endangered birds and attempt to save some baby Mallard ducks from the drainage basin. We then take a stroll into town where we make the obligatory stop at the i-site to gather all the information and pamphlets needed to help plan our itinerary. That evening we have a more fitting celebration of Christmas Eve and take advantage of the park's cooking facilities and prepare a roast pork with fresh vegetables. We wash it down with a bottle of champagne and all while sitting in our comfy folding chairs and custom ironing board dinner table while enjoying our unobstructed view of lake Te Anau.



It is Christmas morning! It is not snowing, but it is cold and there is snow on the mountain tops. After a relaxed morning and breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we decide to head out of town and drive along the Te Anau to Milford Sound road. The weather is not the best, but we still take advantage of the many diversions along this most scenic drive, which include Mirror Lakes and its famous reflection of the adjacent mountain range and a picnic at Cascade Creek after a hike through the Red Beech forest.






We arrive at the DOC's (Department of Conservation) Lake Gunn Campsite just in time to secure the perfect space right in front of the lake. It costs five dollars a person and it is worth every penny. That night we dine on a dinner of stir fry as the sand flies dine on us! The next morning we wake after a long, loud night of rain to more rain and even more rain. With no end in site, we eat breakfast in the van, pack up and decide to continue driving to Milford Sound. Even in the rain and low clouds, the drive is amazing. Great look out points and waterfalls everywhere! Even as we arrive at the Milford Sound Lodge, the rain continues to pour and does until we wake the next morning.

We wake up the next morning hoping to peel back the curtains and see a sunny sky. No such luck. It is still cloudy and a light mist is filling the air. Nonetheless, we booked a cruise of the Milford Sound so we head out. As the boat leaves the dock we can see the base of mountains below the thick gray clouds. The sound is quiet, the water dark and the air moist and cold. We sail on and continue down the sound right to the mouth of the Tasman Sea when I see blue for the first time in two days! The sun is fighting to burn off the clouds and half way through our cruise the sky opens up and affords us the most amazing views of the peaks attached to these mountains that plunge vertically right into the 300 meter deep sound, which is actually a fiord as we learned. A sound is carved by a river, a fiord by a glacier. To correct this misnomer, the government decided to call the area where Milford Sound is located, Fiordland. At the end of our cruise we are dropped off at Milford Deep, an underwater observatory that gives you a peak into the sea life that exists below this most unique environment of cold ocean water covered by three meters of dark, tannin stained fresh water that pours into the sound (fiord) at a rate of seven meters a year, one of the WETTEST places on the planet.




We again head out on the same road that we came in on and thanks to the change in weather are amazed to find what was hiding behind all those clouds. As is our MO, we stop at almost every POI (point of interest) which includes the Homer Alpine Walk, adjacent to the entrance of the 1207 meter long tunnel with the worlds highest set of functioning Alpine signals, The Chasm, a deep gorge cut by the raging Cleddau River, and a three hour hike up to Key Summit for views of all the peaks in the adjacent Southern Alps and Lake Marian. End the day at another five dollar a night DOC campsite and park at the intersection of Henry Creek and Lake Te Anau, not a bad life!








A quick stop back in Te Anau to get gas and food and then a fairly uneventful drive (read, no diversions) into the hopping little town of Queenstown, the South Islands pride and joy. We didn't really time it this way, but this is where we will join everyone else here in being the first to welcome in the New Year. But not yet. We only stop to make a reservation as the town seems to be filling up fast. We want first to visit the north end of Lake Wakatipu, the LONGEST lake in the South Island, and the little towns of Glenorchy, Kinloch and Paradise...yep, you heard it right, Paradise! It is sometimes difficult to freedom camp in and around towns and residential areas, so at only seven dollars a night, we tuck back into another DOC campsite and once again park lakeside and enjoy the amazing and sweeping views. While here, we decide to head out and get our daily dose of nature and what is thus far our HARDEST trek yet. It is called the Glacier Burn Track and it is two hours of straight up climbing. It is steep and demanding and the DOC classifies it as moderate. Nonetheless, we make it to the top and it is amazing. What is really amazing is the series of natural occurrences that have shaped this country. We stand right in the middle of a deep trough cut out by mega tons of melting glacial ice a mere 14,000 years ago. The scars and gouges are still very visible. The benefit to hiking to a spot like this, in addition to the amazing views, is that you can dip your bottle right into the stream and know that you are drinking the purest, tastiest, freshest and coldest water being constantly supplied from melting glacial ice...yum!



After a couple days of high quality relaxing and nature loving, it is time to head back into Queenstown and an end to the calm before the storm!

Queenstown: population 13,333, settled in 1860, 310 meters above sea level and adventure capital of New Zealand. The menu here includes tramping, white water rafting (even on a boogie board), canyoning, parachuting, bungee jumping (the highest in the world, I think), jet boating, skiing (water and snow), canyon swing, slingshot, luge, sailing, kayaking, jet skiing, cable car rides, skating, downhill mountain biking, parasailing, zip lines and bowling, just to name a few. Poor little Fern is dwarfed by all the mega vans and RV's parked nose to nose and side by side in the Lakeview Holiday Park. Thankfully, we made a reservation, because there is not an empty space to be had, anywhere. It actually looks like a load of tailgate parties back home. Not our favorite kind of camping, but it'll have to do for the next few days.

The town is really buzzing with energy in anticipation of the New Year. Right before heading down into town for the free concert, we are invited over to our neighbor's tent to have a drink and some freshly barbecued New Zealand lamb chops. We end up spending the entire evening with John and his wife Kora, their daughter Melodie, her boyfriend Graham, friend Maru and entertainer extraordinare, Isaac. We have so much fun and time flies so fast we barely make it down to the show in time for the countdown. Shortly after midnight, I got down on my knee and gave “my precious” “the ring” and asked her to marry me. She said “yes”, and then “no” and, you will be happy to know, finally “yes” again!. An exciting, emotional and most memorable NEWEST New Year. Queenstown will always be remembered as the place I proposed to my Queen!




The day after was just that...the day after! So, we took it slow, real slow. Even the overcrowded campsite was quiet and moving in slow motion. The following day, we decided to see a movie. With all the wild partying going on and all the wild adventures on tap, we felt it was most fitting to see “Where The Wild Things Are”. A quick meat pie snack and then an hours hike up to the top of Queenstown Hill, where the Skyride complex is located and the true epicenter of all the adventure activity. The views are amazing and made even better with the blood curdling screams of people hurling themselves off of the bungee platform. Queenstown has been a smash and the weather has been quite amazing, warm and sunny. All indications are that this will be a great year. We look forward to getting back on the road and back into the quiet country and wonder how well we will do with those crowded conditions that await us when we get back home where sheep definitely do not outnumber people!






WE WISH ALL OF YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HOPE THAT ALL OF YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!