In the early afternoon, while I was driving on the narrow roads in the cliffs, we were hit again by a brief downpour of snow, in which we were unable to see anything but the road 10 feet in front of us. Don't worry, I drove to the conditions, and when the system let up almost as quickly as it arrived, the scene was one to remember, with thin white clouds rising off the nearby mountain face. It was such an incredible site, we had to pull over to get a better look (see below).
We also got a great view of Mt Aspiring from the road (below). It's hard to believe that we seem to just stumble across this kind of awe-inspiring scenery on a daily basis.
Later that day we booked a cruise around Milford Sound--rumored to be one of the most scenic locales in the world. The cruise was not scheduled for two days, allowing us to slowly make our way through the rugged Fiordlands, stopping in Te Anau to pick up snow chains and battle a massive trout (pictured below).
We got to see some incredible sights on the drive to the lodge (that we planned to book for the evening), including Mirror Lake below.
The lodge itself was a sight (below), as it was built in the 1920s, complete with a coal furnace that we were quite thankful for in the freezing night. During our stay, just after dusk we got to go check out a small population of glowworms, inhabiting an outcrop just off of the road that our lodge was on.
The next day we got up bright and early to drive the short 45 minutes to Milford Sound for our highly-anticipated cruise. Just before we set out for the harbor, a large Kea (parrot, pictured below), landed right next to our window. He was definitely eyeing our complimentary muffins, and after talking with some locals we realized that we were lucky to not have them ripped out of our hands, as they are the most intelligent (and possibly most aggressive) birds in the world. They are known to destroy cars by smashing windows to steal food inside.
As far as the cruise, I am happy to say that we were far from let down and if anything our expectations were greatly exceeded. We basically just did a full circle of the sound in about an hour and a half. This area, carved out of the landscape by ancient glaciers, was one of the most memorable places I've ever been, and the pictures below help to explain why.
Above is one of the first sites we saw from the boat--views like this could be seen for 360 degrees.
There were hundreds of waterfalls like the one above, cutting into the cliffs.The one below actually got us wet!
Below was one of the last photos I got from the boat tour--I like it because it really seems to capture the Kiwi spirit.
We were also very lucky with wildlife encounters and got to see the 'trifecta'--sealions, dolphins, and even a penguin (unfortunately, I did not get the penguin on film--this error was rectified later, as you will see). I could have sworn those dolphins below were looking at me. They were huge by the way, easily the biggest I've ever seen (one of the crew members told me that they could get to be up to 4 meters in the Sound, though these were about 3 meters~9ft). Watching them from the bow reminded me of bow watch on the SSV Robert C. Seamans. Wow, I miss that ship (and its crew).
The seals below can be seen on this same rock year round. I got some great close-up views with my binoculars.
After the phenomenal cruise, we stopped briefly at the harbor to get a group photo (seen below), and then were off to do a 3-hour hike up to Key Summit.
The hike was pretty mild, aside from the melting ice occasionally dropping on my head, but the view was astounding. At the peak, we got a phenomenal 360 degree view of the surrounding, snow-capped mountain range. See the picture below and imagine this all around you--my video would not upload :( .
The alpine landscape was even more appealing in wake of the recent winter weather, and all of the trees and plants were encased in ice (see picture below).
It was a great hike and a great day, and even driving through the Fiordlands was a real pleasure. The next day we continued to make our way south, until we could go south no more, literally. We hit the southern-most point of the country, Slope Point (pictured below).
Getting to the point was pretty comical, as we had to walk through a farmers sheep pasture until we got to a scenic cliff overlooking the sea (see pictures below).
Here is Staci, leading the way and making sure not to step in anything unpleasant (there was a lot to watch out for).
I swear this guy above had evil intentions.
The cliff above was treacherous, with massive waves constantly crashing against boulders. It was very cool, but the wind was a bit too intense to enjoy the spot for long--just look at the trees below!
These trees, along with all the trees in the area, are actually permanently like this due to the constant wind from the south.On our drive back from Slope Point, we realized that we were finally heading back home, as we had been heading south for about a month now. We also saw a few more interesting sites this day, including a herd of sheep completely blocking the road (below)....
...and a massive military vehicle randomly parked next to a small bridge next to a farm (we think they were doing surveying work but were heavily armed nonetheless).
Our last stop for the day was at a beach that is home to a small yellow-eyed penguin population. Fortunately, right when we walked down to the beach, we noticed a European couple photographing something in the bushes. Sure enough, it was a penguin. I was able to get a quick photo (below), but then decided to run back to the car to get my binoculars for a closer look. By the time I got back I had just enough time to watch him hop away, rock by rock until he was no longer visible. It was a short, but sweet encounter and we kept our distance, as mandated by law.
We spent the night at a very cozy backpackers lodge on a hill in the middle of a sheep pasture. We got to watch some TV and relax in the heated house that we had all to ourselves. It was a brief reminder of the many creature comforts that we have left behind, but at a price of $23 a night, it was not meant to last. We set out early the next day to hike to some waterfalls and check out Nugget Point, a known seal/penguin hangout. The falls were cool, but paled in comparison to those of Milford, but Nugget Point was a real treat. Though we did not see any penguins, we did get to see (via binoculars) a lot of lazy seals strewn about the rocks below our cliff-side vantage point at the lighthouse pictured below. 
The jagged rocks below reminded me of the islands off Thailand's west coast--except these had seals on them!
By the end of the day we made it to the college town of Dunedin, though 'town' is probably an understatement because this place is the biggest city we've been to since Auckland. I am also relieved to report that two days ago I submitted an application for a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship--it was a lengthy process, and getting it done while touring the world feels great. Last night we tried to celebrate at the local bars, but realized quickly that hiking boots do not make good dance shoes and $7 beers would likely destroy our budgets. We had fun either way and took it easy today, just lounging around our hostel. Tomorrow we plan to tour the city and the next day the penguin nesting grounds on the nearby Otago Peninsula.
I'll keep you posted!
Mike
1 comment:
Glad to see they don't close roads for three hours in New Zealand for black ice, even though the system came from Antartica. Evil sheep aside, sounds like a cool place.
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