Te Anau

November 21st – Te Anau

After leaving the hostel, I had no idea how long this walking adventure would be. After a late start to the notion of hiking, I thought better than to tackle the tricky, challenging part of the Kepler Track up to Luxmore Hut. I instead ventured along the path along Lake Te Anau out to the Wildlife Bird Centre, which houses some of the native birds of the region; weka, takahe, kea, mountain parrots. Onward to the control gates between Lake Te Anau & Lake Manapouri, controlling the level of the Upper Waiau River. I continued on down the Kepler Track section to Rainbow Reach swingbridge, nice even bush walk. With so many shades of vibrant green; the Southern Beech trees, the fern bushes, flax & so much moss on everything. With nearly 6-8m of raining falling annually in the area it is no wonder that everything is green & lush with growth & life. As I walked, I listened to ducks & other birds calling to each other, rushing water of the quick moving & rapids of the Upper Waiau River. One of the best parts of the walk is the creaking, cracking & knocking of the trees in the breeze along with the feeling of having the whole track to yourself, only occasionally running into fellow trampers carrying on their way. The Kepler track is a 60km loop with huts along the way for trekkers to camp out at. I looped back on the Control Gates to Rainbow Reach section, 19km in total, & my legs told me to keep going so I headed out to Brod Bay, 11km in total. This section followed the edge & bays of Lake Te Anau & allowed me to hear the lapping of the waves on the shore through most of this journey. The walk from town out to the Control Gates & return is 7km……. yep, so 37km in total. Ha Guess I should have just done the hike out to Luxmore Hut & back, it would have only been 27km in total. It was well worth it & to top it off the white puffy clouds with pockets of rain streaming down in the sun led to a truly great rainbow.



November 22nd – Te Anau

On this day……….. I rested . I walked around the town of Te Anau which thank goodness did not take long. Oh but good news, my nails are long enough so I got a fantastic manicure & read my book along the waters edge. A lovely restful day.

 

Milford Sound

November 20th – Milford Sound

Departing from Queenstown for a long day trip down to Milford Sound, it was a wet, dreary, cloudy ominous feeling day. But with Fredriek & I having met up in Queenstown again the night before (& enjoyed Panagonia ice cream with a walk along the Lake Wakatipu) & taking the Milford bus together I knew it would be a fun time no matter what. Along our long morning trip we headed south along the Remarkables Mountain Range passing along the stretch of highway called the Devil’s Staircase, carved out in the 1930’s by pick axe, wheelbarrow & sheer brute force. Must say I was happy to be inside the warm coach bus unlike the thousands of rain soaked sheep, cattle & deer. Onwards to Te Anau, we spotted Mt Murchison & passed the three arms of Lake Te Anau. This area of the country, the Fiordland National Park, has been combined with many of the other National Parks in the region to be deemed a world heritage site & I can see why. It has a mix of cliffs with cascading waterfalls, tree lines of pine & fir forests leading to rainforest with ferns & palms to rivers & streams lined with yellow, pink & purple lupins clumped with bright yellow Scottish broom. Truly majestic! Passing Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flats, Lake Fun led us to the most astounding sights where you just had to keep looking up to take in the whole of the mountains that were enveloped by the clouds with the peaks trying to poke out. Hopping off to take it all in, we were met by keas, birds native to NZ & found mostly in mountainous areas. The Homer Tunnel, 1219m long road tunnel, dug out in the 1930’s looks a lot like it would have been back in the day. A very rustic feel. Then it was on to the Chasm, an area of rock formation formed by the rushing waters of the Cleddau River.

Our long desired arrival into Milford Sound & all aboard the Milford Monarch with the clouds clearing & the sun beaming down from above. It was perfectly timed for our short but soooo fantastic tour. We passed by & took in Bowen Falls, Mitre Peak, the Lion, Sinbad Gully, Mt Phillips, The Llawrenny Peaks, Copper Point, Anita Bay & looked all the way out to the Tasman Sea. We could see Mt Pembroke, the Pembroke Glacier & Harrison Cove. One of the highlights was spotting yellow-eyed penguins across from Dale Point & the resting sea lions by Stirling Falls.

I have been dropped off in Te Anau to take in the sights & sounds…… hoping to do part of the Kepler Track in the next couple days before exploring the Catlins.



Queenstown - Ben Lomund Track

November 19th – Queenstown – Ben Lomund Track

Not far from the Lakefront YHA, where I am staying, is the start of the Ben Lomund track. It starts at One Mile Creek, the first hydroelectric power source for Queenstown back in the 1920s. There are old, huge green moss covered pipes running from the top of the creek down to the pump house. Carrying on up the climb it feels like suddenly you are surrounded & embedded in tall fir & pine trees, with the track laden with pine cones. I must admit, if I ever were to be stuck smelling something for the rest of my life, hands down it would have to be a forest of fir & pine trees. It also reminded me of my walks/runs out in the Guelph region . Oh & I should point out that this >5 hour walk was rated as moderate…….. yeah. You will note from the back sweat stained shirt in some of these pictures that it was definitely a hike & a half! Along the way there were also tracks for mountain bikes & quad bikes (4x4’s as we call them in Canada). Then it was a climb through the forest & onto the tall grass. What I cannot get over but thoroughly enjoy & respect about the NZ treks like this that I have done is the quietness. You are so far away from everything & everyone. It is so calming, & almost eerily peaceful. The only sounds that one can hear are the bleeting mountain goats, & streams & waterfalls from the small pockets of snow still on the peaks of Arthur’s Point & the Summit of Ben Lomund. That’s it.

& the moment that makes all the hiking, burning of calves, clicking of knees (yep, I know I am getting old when), out of breath I must pause to catch my breath stops, take a photo breaks so worth it…………the complete panorama of the distant Southern Alps, the green hills, the pine & fir forest lines, the rocky outcrops, the whole of Lake Wakatipu with the Walter Peak Station at the far end, the Remarkables Mountain Range, the Summit of Ben Lomund all with sun peeking through white puffy clouds from a blue sky above. I could even see the planes taking off from the Queenstown airport, climbing over the Remarkables. Very cool!

As I descended, back to reality, I took some fun photos with my tripod (the hanging from the cliff one I really like ) & winded my way down to the Skyline Gondola & luge track, giving a great shot of Queenstown below.