Magnificent Milford Sound

November 24^th, 2019

Milford Sound is one of those “must dos” in New Zealand.  Supposedly Rudyard Kipling called it the “8^th Wonder of the World”.  When in Rome…

Even the drive there was stunning.  Okay, the last post was about the nice drive to the area but from my campground to the actual sound was even better.  I could have done with a co-pilot to take pictures and videos as everywhere you looked…wow!  At first, I was gobsmacked by this waterfall and that one, often cascading hundreds of meters down the mountainside but soon there were just too many.  I was lucky that it was still springtime and that it had rained the night before.  I can easily say that I have never seen so many waterfalls in one day in my entire life.  In fact, by the end of the day I hardly looked at them anymore…waterfall overload!

Big waterfalls on my way to the sound:

The boat cruise I had booked was at 12:45 and I left the campsite with at least an hour to stop here and there.  Near the end I had to bypass a few of the viewpoints as time was running out but I could hit them on the way back.  On one stop there was this big old pale green school type bus/motorhome.  Not surprisingly there was a young hippie couple in it with their little dog.  What caught my attention was that there was a kea bird pouncing around on their roof.  The kea is the only alpine parrot in the world…how cool is that!  The couple were enjoying it at first and even held their little beagle up to the slightly opened sunroof from the inside to see if the two would interact, and the kea was curious…but soon he was too curious.  He started to peck at another sunroof they had near the back of the bus seeing what he could pick apart and he did manage to pull away a bit of black plastic.  The Aussie man came out of the bus armed with a long pole and tried to shoo the bird away which then flew over to the only other camper at the pullout except for Betty 2.0.  Well that older German couple promptly left so then he flew over to Betty’s roof.  There wasn’t much for the kea to peck or pull at but after I snapped a few pics I attempted to shoo him away and I have to say, they are cocky birds.  He did fly away but not before I recoiled once, worrying I might lose a finger!

It's almost like he's staking Betty 2.0 as his own!

Ten minutes further down the road, with amazing views every which way you looked, I saw a signpost for Gertrude Saddle.  Back in the hostel in Auckland at the start of my trip, a Czech guy in my room was on his second trip to New Zealand and he said that one of his main objectives was to do the day hike at Gertrude Saddle.  The previous time he was there the weather was not good.  I made a note of it and hoped to do the hike.  However when I visited the information centre yesterday in Te Anau, it was pretty obvious that winter conditions still existed up on the saddle and it was too early in the season for me to attempt the hike.  It did look stunning though, a massive natural amphitheater of mountain faces and the trail began with a walk right through the middle of it.

Beautiful views on the way...

On the road...GORGEOUS!

This one if for my niece Rachel.

Shortly after, the road approached another similar natural amphitheater, even grander on scale.  I wondered where could the road go now?  We are reaching a dead end.  Welcome the Homer Tunnel, a 1.2-kilometer-long tunnel with a 10:1 downward grade.  It wasn’t wide enough for 2 lanes so there were traffic lights at either side.  I like tunnels…and this was a good ‘un.

A very big wall...

Entering the tunnel:

Popping out the other side was jaw dropping.  No wonder Peter Jackson filmed a lot of The Hobbit films in this country!  The road snaked back down another natural amphitheater.  Eventually it slowly leveled out and I reached the sound.  I found out later that technically Milford should be called a fjord, not a sound as it was created by glaciers which tend to make it narrower and steeper whereas a sound is formed by the flooding of a river valley.  The captain also mentioned that James Cook circumnavigated New Zealand three times but never journeyed into Milford, thinking it was just an inlet…too bad for him as he missed something special.

Coming out the other side...

Big walls everywhere!

The cruise itself was about $100 NZD for close to a two hour trip but of course they get you at the parking too as you have no other option.  Parking was $30 for 3 hours, the minimum you could buy but also what you needed.  What to do?  I walked into the airport-like terminal where half a dozen companies operated, found Cruise Milford and received my boarding pass.  It was fairly busy inside and many tourists came on coaches from Queenstown which is a long day trip (4 hour drive each way).

The terminal:

Out on the breakwater:

Here comes my boat:

This was a massive waterfall, the biggest volume-wise, in the sound and it was right near the dock, in fact it sprayed you once in a while.

All touring boats did the same circuit and in fact they were purposefully spread out by the harbourmaster since they stopped at the same waterfalls, points of interest etc.  It was a lovely cruise, a bit bumpy heading out into the wind and the waves, some good swells at the opening to the open ocean, the Tasman Sea, and all in all good fun.  We stopped at a few waterfalls (one of which drenched many people), saw a few seals sleeping on rocks and got close to a couple of little penguins which were a different type to the one I saw a few weeks ago.  What a place!  I will let the pictures and the videos do most of the talking.

The loving penguin couple.

I was tempted to do a Titanic pose...

Back at the dock:

On the way back, approaching the wall in avalanche (?!?) area...not too much snow to be worried about.

 A few gorgeous stops on the way back:

The Chasm, another roadside stop:

Loss Creek 2020?!?

Enough with the waterfalls already!

 The scenery just wouldn't quit...

What a day!

Driving Towards Milford Sound

November 23^rd, 2019

After a couple of nights at Clifden Bridge it was time to say goodbye to the chickens and get on the road north.  The weather looked like it was going to be decent tomorrow and the next day so I booked a 2 hour boat ride with Cruise Milford for tomorrow and figured I’d go hiking the next day.  The first part of the drive was a fairly straight road with some rolling hills on either side.  The scenery got more interesting as I approached Te Anau, a town of only a couple of thousand people but with over 4000 beds of accommodation available in the summertime.  It’s essentially the last stop before heading north on a dead end road (a long one at that) towards Milford Sound.  Time to stock up on food, fill up on gas and do whatever last things one needs to do online as we’re headed into “offline” territory.

Te Anau is situated, not too surprisingly, on Lake Te Anau with small mountains on the far side of the lake.  Even though it was an overcast day with a relatively low ceiling, it was still a pretty vista.  After yesterday’s wind warning (it never got close to the possible 120 km/h winds predicted but it was still pretty blustery), today was quite calm and there were three or four small sailboats barely moving out on the water.  I stocked up of food and gas and got back on the road in the early afternoon. 

The mountains grew in size the further north I drove and the scenery just got better and better.  I had researched the camping options on the highway up to the sound and most were DOC (Department of Conservation) campsites which typically have a fee of $8/adult but in this area it was $15/night.  I guess they know you pretty much have no other option however CamperMate did mention one private campsite called Knob’s Flats amidst 5 or 6 DOC sites that was only $20/night and included showers, washing up facilities and proper toilets…not the “long drop” ones of the DOC’s spots.  I assumed that most self-contained campers like me would be headed to that site and I didn’t want to arrive too late.

However I pulled into one DOC campsite called Deer Flats, the last before the private one which looked like it was the best option of the DOCs sites and wow, it was fantastic.  There was a picnic table a stone’s throw away from a creek with mountains on either side and the area was relatively small so you couldn’t have too many neighbours.  With the recent rain there were small waterfalls cascading down the rocky cliffs and I couldn’t see how the place with the showers could be any better.  Anyways I’d be in the area for 3 nights so I could always get that shower later…it had only been 2 days since the last one so I was still relatively “fresh”!

Betty 2.0 is looking good!

More "van porn":

Just after starting to set up “camp”, which merely entailed getting out a camping chair, small foldout table and my guitar, a mid-sized rental van pulled up next to me and a dozen people spilled out of it.  Within a minute or so a lady with darker skin, glasses and wearing western clothes but sporting a hijab asked whether they could use the picnic table.  “Sure, no problem” I responded.  It turned out to be a group from Malaysia. 

One couple, Dean and Jameiyah, run a small tour company and they had brought ten other fellow countrymen for a two week adventure in New Zealand.  They were super friendly and offered me some of their traditional food.  I had just eaten lunch but I didn’t want to be impolite, plus it looked pretty interesting.  White rice, a curry of spinach and pumpkin and some spicy little bits of chicken…yummy!  We chatted for a while, they checked out Betty 2.0 and I took some pictures of the group and soon they were on their way to Queenstown as they were on a tight schedule.  Before they left Jameiyah gave me her business card and it turns out I have a tour guide in Kuala Lumpur if and when I make it there.  I love these little encounters when traveling!

My new friends:

What a gorgeous spot!

These are pics from the next morning...I've got to add them on this post as there were already too many amazing pictures on the day in Milford Sound!  What a way to start your day!!! 

A Super Sunset Sky

November 22^nd,2019

I woke up and checked the weather forecast and was surprised to see a severe weather watch for the region I was in.  Not heavy rain but wind possibly up to 120km/h!  I’ve already had fun with Betty 2.0 swaying from side to side in winds while on the road and they were no where near 120 clicks.  I decided it might be wise to just stay where I was.  I had cellphone signal and hence Internet access but I knew if I headed north towards Milford Sound I’d likely be out of range.  So a chill day it was.

That evening though the winds abated and wow, the colours of the sky were magical.  Take a look!

A Tavern, a Deep Lake, a Cave & Suspension Bridges

November 21^st, 2019

Yesterday I had to return to Invercargill to print something for the silly banks back home but my plan was to only go about another hour’s drive further west along the south part of the island so no biggie.  I checked out a couple of beaches for Freedom Camping but damn it was windy.  Betty 2.0 was rocking back and forth and I didn’t think I’d get a decent night’s sleep if it didn’t calm down and it sure didn’t look like it was going to.  According to CamperMate, my alternative was to camp at a tavern…sure why not!  Situated in a little hamlet called Orepuki, the deal was that you paid $20 but that could be used towards your bar tab.  There were showers too although they cost $4, but still worth it.

It was a Wednesday night and hence quite quiet in the establishment although there was a young couple, a German and a Pole, sitting on a couch (I had noticed their rented mini-van outside) and at the bar was a man about my age and another woman seated on a barstool.  Running the place was Gaylene and she took my $20, gave me a receipt and proceeded to pour me a small pitcher of Speight beer, a New Zealand product brewed in Dunedin that I passed through last week. 

I decided to sit at the bar and get fully immersed in the local culture.  The guy Allen used to live on the north island but decided he would prefer a quieter lifestyle and raised deer for their antlers which he sold to primarily the Japanese markets for exorbitant prices (like $1200 each!).  I guess the Japanese like the taste and consider it an aphrodisiac.  He showed me pictures of the deer (don’t remember the exact type of deer) and I didn’t ask how long it took for the antlers to grow back but he ensured me that it was all done humanely with local anaesthetic.  The woman, Frances, a black woman in her mid-50s I would guess, spent her time out catching these tiny minnow-like fish.  I saw her pull into the tavern when I had just arrived in Betty 2.0 and she had a square fishing net occupying most of her back seat of her old sedan.  Pretty interesting characters and super friendly as was the hostess Gaylene.  I’m glad I didn’t stay on the windy beach.

The next morning, I started on the road and just 10kms away was a spot called McCracken’s Rest where Allen had told me that he had seen someone paragliding in the past week.  I didn’t have high hopes as I figured the wind would already be howling even though it was only mid-morning, however it was quite the opposite.  For one of the first times in my trip it was calm by the sea, too calm, there wasn’t enough wind to fly.  Oh well, let’s move on.

I decided to go for a hike on the Waitutu Tracks.  Wai means water in Maori so I wasn’t sure if this was going to be some kind of ocean ballet…(groan).  Just as I parked my van a helicopter flew in and landed just 50 yards away where 4-5 people were waiting.  They opened up the back door and out came some backpacks.  Huh.  I wondered if these people had just completed a multi-day hike but had walked out unencumbered by their gear and had the heli bring the stuff out.  All throughout my hike I could hear and see the helicopter ferrying back and forth.  Seemed a bit like cheating.

The drive to the hike:

Incoming!

The hike was decent and eventually descended towards the beach.  There was a pedestrian suspension bridge spanning a fairly wide river to get onto the main beach.  I was surprised to see some ramshackle houses on the other side of the bridge along with some dirt roads so obviously there must be another way to access this area.  Most of the shacks looked vacant but I noticed one with three vehicles parked out in front and saw a man with long hair skinning what looked like some kind of deer but it was tough to tell at that distance.  The beach was sandy and relatively untouched.  I could see a few people a few kilometers down the beach which continued on for a number of kilometers after that.  I decided to return as it made for a good 90 minute hike.

Steps down to the beach:

After the walk in the woods I stopped by Lake Hauroko, the deepest lake in New Zealand at 462 meters deep!  There was a trail to hike on but I was happy with having a sandwich, checking out the view for about 5 minutes and then running away from the sandflies.

A funny sign on the 20km of gravel road to the lake (look closely).

My next destination was a cave near a town, at least I think there was some kind of community, called Clifden.  It was free to enter and in fact there were 3 helmets available to be used at the entrance.  I tried one on, it felt uncomfortable but luckily the second one did fit as the third one had a nice penis drawn on it so I didn’t really want to wear that one!  A German couple was right behind me and I figured they could decide who got to wear it but they opted not to wear them at all.  The cave was about 300 meters long and it got narrow in parts.  There were reflectors placed on the wall at strategic locations so you could find your way in and out again.  We did see a few glow worms but no where near the quantity I saw in Waitomo but it was still a fun little adventure.

The entrance to the cave:

Inside the cave:

Finding the exit:

I returned about a kilometer down the road to see my second suspension bridge of the day.  This was a big one, the biggest in its day and it was constructed over 100 years ago.  It was also my Freedom Camping spot for the night.  As mentioned in the comments in the CamperMate app about this spot, there was a very friendly welcoming party, a rooster and hen who came right up to the van to introduce themselves, well really looking for food.  

They were inquisitive...

Later I did give them some bread and granola, it was hard to resist.  Their presence did mean that there would be an early morning wake up call though.  Cock-a-doodle-doo!  Thankfully I easily found my earplugs and dozed off again.