Laura and Checkers watched the sunrise at Te Anau, because we had to get up early to drive to Milford Sound for our boat trip. Along the way, we visited a few sites (because on the way back, we needed to go as quickly as possible to make it to our next sleeping place). 

This place was called the Chasm, because of the steep, narrow gorge that the river carved there.

We then took a cruise on Milford Sound, which is wrongly named because it is a fjord, glacially carved. But that’s not all! The Alpine fault also runs through the “sound”, making the geology and topography complex. We took hundreds of photographs on this memorable cruise.

It’s tough to capture how tall and monumental the cliffs surrounding us were. They towered above the sea, at least 200 feet of sheer rock dotted with resolute trees.

The boat took a bath in that waterfall shortly after this photo was taken.

None of the photographs do justice to the Milford Sound. It was actually passed by Captian Cook because he thought it was a small cove rather than a long, deep fjord. This is partially because the fjord has a curve in it, making it seem (from the sea) that it ended.

After this unforgettable cruise, we drove back north on the way to Mt. Cook. On the way, we saw another New Zealand native, the kea! This is a large sassy mountain parrot.

Fast on its feet though and tough to take photos of!

We stayed in a mountain town we had already driven through, called Wanaka. This was another two day stint, so we were glad to arrive and get some nice tapas.

Long day! 

*****Written By Clare*****

This whole time in New Zealand has been on the Australian Plate. The big (strike-slip) fault that separates it from the Pacific Plate goes through the South Island, along the western edge, and exits south of where we landed from the ferry from the North Island. Today was our first good view of the Southern Alps, a well named super steep mountain range along the western edge of the southern island of New Zealand. Water is abundant on the west side of the fault, as well as the ferns we have grown to admire. Crossing them led to terrain that was dryer, and grassier. And to our surprise, the valley was full of flowers that we recognized!

No, I don’t think the lupines arrived with the tectonic plate. This first day we saw them, they were constrained to a river valley, so we guessed that someone brought seeds of their favorite flower here, planted them, and this is the result. Life does have a way of reproducing.

This spiny, dangerous plant is called “Wild Irishman”. We hypothesized that if sheep were to go through a field of this stuff, it would look like it had “snowed” wool.

The Remarkables were aptly named. Steep, rocky mountains to our left as we drove south near the giant fault.

We drove into Queenstown for lunch – a crowded touristy spot – but we found a cute cafe called Red Rock.

Now, we have to get ready for a big day! Tomorrow, the famed Milford Sound was our destination.

*****written by Clare*****

In our lovely cottage off of Hydrangea Bay, we cooked pancakes in honor of Pancake Rocks for breakfast, and were off down the West Coast. Our first stop today was at Hokitika Gorge, a short jaunt inland for some glacial river viewing. The parking lot was extremely packed, but there were a lot of trailheads from that point, so our short hike was lightly crowded, but pleasant.

Foxgloves at the trailhead. It didn’t take a long walk to see the powdery blue river  rolling down the valley. It’s color is caused by glacial flour, a fine grained material found in glacial runoff. The clay sized particles are suspended in the water for a time until other sources of water dilute the river.

Looks fake doesn’t it? The color is unbelievable. That suspension bridge can only hold six people at a time by the way.. um.

We climbed all over the rocks at the bottom of the gorge.

What a wonderful detour! On our way back to the main road, we stopped by Hokitika (the town) and bought some exquisite nephrite jade jewelry (thanks Dad!) We picnicked quickly on the highway, then continued on the drive to Fox Glacier, Frank Josef Glacier’s lesser known neighbor. Hoping to avoid any and all tour buses, we did not arrive there until 4pm. There was still a tour bus. Oh well. Fox Glacier has retreated substantially since it has been a site for the public, so there was a very steep hike up to see it. It was a fun walk though.

And…. the glacier!

Just kidding. Did I mention that the whole hike there were rockfall warning signs telling hikers not to stop under any circumstances? Oops.

Fox Glacier, with cute ice cave at the bottom. Turns out glaciers, while amazing conceptually, are kind of dirty up close and personal. Looking back on the valley we just walked through though really put into perspective what a lot of ice and time can do.

The mist was descending fast, and the tour bus was approaching the view point so we walked back to the car and continued south to Haast, where we had a one night stay before driving again, this time away from the coast. Checkers did take a brief hooping break though.

*****Written By Laura*****

As you can tell, we cram in a lot on these epic quests across countries, even when we drive between hotels for four hours or more. The result is that one small adventure was overlooked on the day we went to Farewell Spit, and we thought it was too beautiful and unique not to share. After we walked along Farewell Spit and were graced with a sunny day, we sidetracked on the way to Takaka to view the Te Waikorupupu Springs. The spring is huge, and produces 14,000 liters of water per second, enough to fill 40 bathtubs.

This is the walk to the springs, a nice loop through the jungle, lots of green ferns, beeches, and palms all mingling together in the unique New Zealand manner we know and love.

The gravel path slowly turned into a boardwalk as the ground underneath our feet got swampier. The path turned a corner and the springs were in a large clearing, more resembling a lake.

In this photo you can see the burbling spring. There were at least six other springs throughout the water source, but what was really remarkable was the clarity of the water.

And in the parking lot we saw a weka! (Native flightless bird resembling a fat bottomed duck)

The End.

*****Written By Laura*****