Had an excellent week in New Zealand's fiords, and because I haven't been doing a good job laying out exactly what it is I've been DOING in this space, I'm just going to lay out my itinerary since Friday, April 17th.
Fri 4/17: Arrive in Te Anau, check out the town, the Lakeside walk, the Bird park (containing rare birds like the kea, kaka, and takahe - but no kiwi, sadly), and Ivon Wilson park. Realize that birds have the potential to be cooler than I previously thought, and that takahe, with their rusty door-like tweet, are actually kind of adorable. Watch silent movie in Fiordland cinema, which is a nice little collection of footage of Fiordland.
Sat. 4/18-Sun 4/19: Go on overnight cruise of Doubtful Sound. This entails a ferry ride through Lake Manapouri, which is totally sweet looking with its bit of mist, a bus ride from the Manapouri Hydro Power Station (which provides a large chunk of the South Island's power - take that oil dependence!), and the cruise itself through one of New Zealand's largest fiords, Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound - named such because Captain Cook was a little doubtful that the winds would carry his ship back out if he tried to sail in - is prehistorically delicious. All evidence of humanity's existence on earth (if you discount the boat I was on) is completely absent. In fact, if it weren't for the stoats and other mammals that people brought back in the late 1800s, mammals would be basically nonexistent here. Anyhoo, the cruise was nice, though very misty (and rainy on the second day), with good food, good kayaking, and good sights of Dusky dolphins, sea lions, and Fiordland crested penguins. And since it was the offseason, I saved NZ$100! Triple Word Score!
Mon. 4/20 - A decidedly un-chill day, as I decide to walk part of the Kepler Track two days before I hike the Milford Track. I walk from town to one of the huts, and back. This ends up being well over 30 km (20 miles). Views are pretty good, though a little cloudy up at the top. I end up feeling silly when I realize I could have saved two hours of walking by parking in a different spot. Go to sleep in soreness and pain.
Tues. 4/21 - Do absolutely nothing, and it's everything I ever hoped it could be.
Wed. 4/22 - First day of the Milford Track! Nice clear weather. Catch the bus at 1:00 PM, cruise up Lake Te Anau, and start the track around 3:30. Nice little walk through the bush along the riverside, end up arriving at hut about an hour later. Hut ranger gives a long winded but entertaining talk about blue ducks, the track that lies ahead for the 40 of us, and blue ducks. And also, blue ducks. He has some stuffed stoats for us to play with, too. Ah, New Zealand. Then we go out and observe a stump with some glowworms (like fireflies, but stationary).
Thurs. 4/23 - Second day of the Milford Track - cold night in the hut, but still totally clear out. In fact, did not rain at all while I was hiking, which is very unusual. Occasionally, people have done the hike while waist deep in water due to flooding on the track - you can request a helicopter rescue in some cases, but not always. We walk through the river valley with dramatic hills on either side, and end the day starting to climb up the hill to Mackinnon Pass. End up at Mintaro Hut. Start to notice smelliness about. Try to look for kiwi in the dark, but unsuccessful.
Fri. 4/24 - Third day of the Milford Track - Best. Single Day Walk. Ever. Encounter multiple keas monkeying about as I wake up to go to the bathroom, and as I start my hike. Climb up to Mackinnon Pass for about 1.5 hours, see a river valley on either side at the top. It's only about 3000 ft up here, but it feels like much, much higher. Climb down a very rocky and windy path through an avalanche-prone ravine, then walk down a staircase alongside a beautiful raging stream adorned with moss and crazy trees. Reach the bottom of the hill, have lunch as the sandflies begin their assault, and take a short 1.5 hour return walk to Sutherland Falls, NZ's tallest waterfall. On return, make it to Dumpling Hut (unfortunately, no dumplings were to be served there).
Sat. 4/25 - Final day of the Milford Track - pretty much a flat hike to Sandfly Point on Milford Sound, some fun things like a weka who seemed to be begging for my lunch. Wekas are pretty cute, and the closest thing to a kiwi I'll probably see in the wild. End up missing the early boat at Sandfly Point by about 2 minutes, meaning I miss out on saying goodbye to most of the people I met on the track, but next boat comes 20 minutes later so I don't have to get eaten by sandflies for long. Milford Sound itself is pretty sweet, but after the past week I don't think I have as much appreciation for it as I might if I hadn't been inundated with continually gorgeous scenery. Return to Rosie's backpacker homestay (the best, most welcoming hostel I've EVER stayed at - seriously, if you're ever in Te Anau, book ahead at this place. Rosie and Allister kick ass) and am rewarded with a beer for my efforts. Sleep the sleep of the just.
Sun. 4/26 - Leave Te Anau, head up the West Coast into a wall of rain. Sleep in Haast, the first populated area on the coast I reach.
Mon. 4/27. More rain. Drive up the coast to Hotitika, pay $14 to see live kiwi (since I'm tired of missing out). Drive up further to Greymouth, then to Blackball, the birthplace of the NZ labor movement. Stay at a place called Formerly the Blackball Hilton (they used to be the Blackball Hilton, then someone got pissy, hence the hilarious name change). Hang out with genuine west coasters for a bit, then go to bed. Crazy hotel.
Today - return to Greymouth. Still raining. See why they call it the Grey Valley. Working at a hostel in town for a week. Hopefully it won't be raining forever :)
That's all for now!
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