From Dunedin, we traveled all the way west across NZ, passing just north of Invercargill, the most southerly city in the world, and arriving in Fiordland National Park, a massive wilderness of incredible mountains, lakes, raging rivers, calm sounds, and dense rainforest. We got back to the Department of Conservation sites, and picked Cascade Creek to camp at, located in a wide-open valley with a beautiful stream and a great view of the stars.

We spent our 4 days in Fiordland trying to match the birds we were seeing to the drawings in Jess’ new guidebook (purchased with bird-lover Brian Tinker in mind), hiking some of the many trails, and enjoying the isolation of a truly wild wilderness. The only downsides to the area were the unbelievable sandfly infestation (fortunately they go away with the sun), and the commercialization of the Milford Sound ‘village’, which restricts access to gorgeous Milford Sound to those willing to pay for boat tours or $240/20 minute helicopter flights. However, away from this small part of the park awaited seemingly limitless landscapes, hikes, wildlife and sunshine.

One of the hikes we did took us up to the Key Summit, a really strange geographic anomaly. The summit itself is not that high, as all it really gives you is a clearer look up at the surrounding peaks (and across the valley to Lake Marian), but the neat part is that three rivers flow from the summit in three different directions – west, south and east, if memory serves – and there’s a big bog on the top of the mountain (fed by the same spring, so I would assume). The interest in the place has drawn the attention of the DOC and they’ve built a great boardwalk around the area on top of the bog. Neat.

Having lacked showers for a few days, and smelling badly, we decided to stop at Lake Gunn on our way back to camp for a dip. The chilly water was making Tink think twice, but when we saw a 3 foot long eel swim by the shore she made up her mind to sunbathe instead. Being rather fond of eels, and smelling much worse than Jess, I went swimming anyway.

These photos made me think of this book cover:

After the refreshing swim, we got back to camp…to find three people in our campsite, using our picnic table and firepit, just feet from our tent, hatchet and firewood, dish tubs, and towels. Hmmm…we introduced ourselves and asked what was up. We figured out that the newcomers intended to stay, which took us aback. The three of them, two guys and a girl from Sweden, about our age, had driven into the camping area, decided our site looked like a good one, and set up camp! Their tent and hammocks were set up in the trees immediately behind where our tent was staked…and clearly not in one of the camping spots. The way the DOC sites work is that you pay a small fee ($10/night) and pick one of the numbered sites to camp at. Strangely, there were half a dozen of the 10 sites at Cascade Creek still free and untenanted, which made us all the more confused at what was going on. They were not being too forthcoming about their intentions, and not very understanding of our concerns.

Now, doing what we could to be peaceful people, we continued to explain our perspective and asked why they had decided to camp at our site when there were others free. They replied that they hadn’t seen the other sites…but as we could see the other sites from ours we weren’t too convinced. Anyway, I’m not sure what they were thinking, but in the end I asked them to leave, and after a tense 5 minutes, and the girl of the group swearing at us and then cursing in Swedish, they went down to the far end of the path to another site. Very strange and unpleasant, but what can you do? I said to Jess that it’s not hard to see why there’s so much conflict in the world when we can’t even camp at a national park without having land battles! It didn’t end as badly as it might have: the guy that had done most of the talking had left behind his jacket and their firewood when they left, so I walked down the path with these things to give them to him, and literally ‘met him halfway’ on the path, as he had walked back to pick them up. He seemed a bit embarrassed and said thanks, so I’m sure the whole thing wasn’t any more fun for him than it was for us.

We comforted ourselves with a few beers and some hot chocolate and bailey’s by the fire, and chalked it up to just a strange incident. Fiordland treated us very well, and we packed up reluctantly the next morning to head back north.

Jess and I had been planning a trip to the South Island of NZ since before we moved here. Her March break from school presented a perfect opportunity, so on March 7th we left the house bright and early to catch the ferry in Wellington. A smooth sailing later and we were on the beautiful highway down the east coast of the south island!

We stopped in Kekerengu at this cool seaside cafe called The Store, aka home of the best coffee in the world. This is what the Kiwis call a Flat White, which is basically a shot of espresso and the rest of the cup filled with frothed milk. Depending on the quality of the barista, you also get a beautiful design made in the foam by the way they drizzle the last of the milk in – usually a fern in NZ style or a heart or a cool swirl…or a shapeless blob if you get a newbie. It sounds pretty fancy, but it’s more or less the standard coffee in NZ. You can’t really get what we would call a coffee (Timmy Ho’s style). It’s either Flat White (as above), Short Black (espresso), Long Black (double espresso), Cappuccino, Mochaccino, other -ccino’s, or an Americano, which is closer to ours but super strong, as it’s also based on espresso. New Zealanders LOVE their coffee.

We stopped off here and there on the way south, heading toward Christchurch and the surrounding countryside of Canterbury. Our destination for the night was Ashley Gorge, about an hour northwest of Christchurch, where we intended to stay at a Department of Conservation (DOC) campsite. There are dozens of these cheap, self-service camp areas scattered around the country, and we intended to make full use of them to help us afford the trip. We arrived at our home for the night in time to catch a beautiful sunset over Canterbury, had a flashlight-lit meal and rolled into bed after a long day of travel.

The next day we spent wandering around Christchurch, doing a bit of shopping, checking out the cafes and restaurants, and finding gifts for friends and family. Late in the afternoon we headed out of town and continued south to another DOC site, at the secluded Waihi Gorge. After some gravel country roads and a curious local donkey, we found the place and settled into the best campsite of the trip. Our site backed onto a picturesque little stream where we chilled some drinks and had a dip before dinner. Perfect spot.

The next day we carried on toward our next destination, Dunedin. Along the way we passed through Oamaru, where we unsuccessfully fought gale-force winds to try to see the Little Blue penguins native to the area. Unfortunately, they weren’t feeling very sociable, but we saw a bit of the historic town before getting back in the saddle. Check out the name on the locomotive…not quite the right spelling, but points nonetheless.

The next stop was incredibly cool – the famous Moeraki Boulders:

“These boulders are classed as septarian concretions, and were formed in ancient sea floor sediments. They were created by a process similar to the formation of oyster pearls, where layers of material cover a central nucleus or core. For the oyster, this core is an irritating grain of sand. For the boulders, it was a fossil shell, bone fragment, or piece of wood. Lime minerals in the sea accumulated on the core over time, and the concretion grew into perfectly spherical shapes up to three metres in diameter.” – Source

After a picnic on the beach, we had fun playing amongst the boulders. They’re the coolest rocks I’ve ever seen – they seem so man-made that it’s amazing that they’re natural. After we had our fill (took quite a while), we moved on and arrived in Dunedin late in the afternoon, just in time to set up our tent before the rain set in.

Things are getting a bit hazy as I write this entry a couple of weeks after the fact, but I’ll do my best! We left Wanaka after a small drama at the B&B. The proprietors son James, about my age, had arrived home after a day at work in his grey compact car and come inside to relax. He and his Dad then noticed a burning smell and went outside to see the front end of his car engulfed in flames! They quickly pulled the other parked vehicles away from the fire and called the fire brigade (as they call it). They tried an extinguisher while the trucks came, but with no luck. An electrical short started it, and reduced James’ first car to a crispy set of bucket seats. We arrived back a couple hours after the event. Poor guy. James actually took it amazingly well though, and had already arranged for a buddy to come and tow it away and hook him up with a new car! So he and I hung out for the evening drinking beers and chatting. It was cool to hang out with someone my own age for an evening after a couple of weeks with Mom and Dad. No offense, guys

The next morning, we left Wanaka and headed through the Haast Pass to the west coast. It was a beautiful, steep, windy (wind-ey? …I mean it had lots of curves, not that it was breezey. Oh yeah, it’s supposed to be winding..ah well) drive with lots of stops for lookouts at waterfalls and views.

We arrived in the tourist town of Franz Josef, so named for nearby Franz Josef Glacier, and stopped at a few hotels before finding a place with an open room. Busy summer season at this outdoor attraction! Anyway, we got settled and next morning got up and hiked out to the glacier. It was yet another beautiful blue day, so we got a good view of the glacier and glacial river.

We carried on up the coast to Westport, where Sheila and Barry Grainger have just moved with their dog Charlie. If you remember, Sheila and Barry were the friends of my parents who were moving out of Palmerston North just as we arrived, and who gave us the run of their bach in Foxton Beach when we got there. It was great to see them and enjoy their incredible hospitality, and to see a little bit of Westport. Oh, along the way up the coast, we stopped in Hokotika and saw a bunch of cool driftwood sculptures on the beach.

After a night in Westport, we drove to Nelson and stayed the night, ready to catch the ferry back to the North Island and Wellington in the morning. Didn’t get to see much of Nelson, but did visit the jewelry makers shop where the One Ring was made for the LOTR movies! See Frodo below. Another easy ferry crossing the next day and a quick drive up highway 1 and we arrived home safe and sound in PN. It was a really great trip, and a nice way to see the South Island and spend a holiday alongside my parents. I can’t wait to return south with Tink, as I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of this beautiful, rugged side of New Zealand. Thanks for the trip, Mom and Dad!

We spent our last day in Canterbury in Christchurch and Akaroa. In the morning, I needed to do some interneting and Mom and Dad wanted to check out some more of the book shops and the art gallery in Christchurch, so we headed back into town. In the afternoon, we took the hour drive east of the city along winding hilly roads on to the Banks Peninsula, where we stopped at Akaroa. It’s a picturesque little town with lots of kayak and surf ventures alongside B&B’s and resorts. We walked around and enjoyed a meal on the promenade before heading home late in the evening. I’d really like to come back here with a few more days to do some of the hikes and some kayaking or surfing with Jess.

The next day, we checked out of Stronechrubie and headed west toward Twizel, our next destination. Along the way, we stopped by Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo, which are a gorgeous blue-green colour due to the rock flour suspended in the water by the nearby glaciers. They’re similar to the lakes in the Rockies (Louise and Moraine), but much bigger and wavier. There was a really pretty little church at the foot of Lake Tekapo that made for a good photo-op.

After getting our fill of the lake, we drove up alongside Tekapo to the foot of Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain at around 10,000 feet. It was the late Sir Edmund Hillary’s first serious mountaineering achievement, seven years before he would summit Everest. We had a coffee at the Hermitage, a swanky hotel in the valley below the mountain, and gazed up…at clouds. We could see the lower 800 meters or so of mountain, but unfortunately the top 2400 meters were socked in with heavy cloud and rain. Bah! But never to be discouraged, Dad and I went for a short hike while Mom went to see the Ed Hillary museum and theatre in the hotel. We took a gravel road farther up the valley to the trailhead, where we climbed to see the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier, or at least what’s left of it. Receding since the end of the last ice age, and helped along in the last 100 years by my car, laptop, and flight to NZ, and Arnold’s 6 Hummers, the glacier is mostly a lake now.

The rain and wind and cloud actually made it quite a dramatic place to visit. The landscape looks like the moon or something, with nothing green or growing, and massive icebergs amidst grey water and huge piles of glacial till. Dad and I braved the wind and rain until our jackets couldn’t hold it out any longer, then headed back to the car.

So much for Mount Cook, but a good day of New Zealand climate and rugged terrain nonetheless.

On Monday we spent the day in Christchurch. It’s a very nice city, more European than other NZ cities I’ve been to, and with a cool young vibe (at least where we were). There are a million vegetarian restaurants for some reason, so I was happy about that, and lots of good shopping and nice pedestrian areas. It’s quite similar to British cities like Cambridge and Oxford, including the cathedral in the main square and punting on the Avon (really, these British colonists aren’t too original are they?). Jess and I might have ended up here, as she was accepted to the Teacher’s College at the University of Canterbury (in Christchurch), but that program was both longer and more expensive than the one at Massey, so it was a pretty easy choice.

We mostly just spent the day wandering around – nothing too much to report! On the way back to the chalet we got another great sunset over the mountains.