New Zealand Part 6

I've decided to post some journal entries from my travels in New Zealand for the benefit of those who won't get see the pictures or talk with me about it. Mind you, this is not a narrative meant to explain everything about New Zealand and my time there, only a reproduction of what I thought was worth putting into my own journal. Enjoy, post any questions as comments and I'll respond as soon as I can.

November 7th, Queenstown - Te Anau

Had a lazy morning, only one thing left on our schedule: eating at Fergburger for lunch. We watched a little TV and I followed the Ducks game online (53-16 over the Huskies!) and did our final packing.

Anna ordered the "Little Bambi," burger - a venison burger - while I had the "Little Lambi." I'd never had mint jelly on a burger before, but it was sure tasty!

After lunch was time for Anna to head to the airport. And though one might easily imagine a long worded goodbye, her bus was already waiting when we got to the station so it was a quick hug and well wishes for a safe journey home.

And I was traveling solo once more.

My bus was only one hour later, and took me to the Lakefront Backpackers Hostel in Te Anau. The name says it all, it really is right on the lakefront and my room shares a massive common porch with a great view and soft couches.

Te Anau is a tiny town, really not much more than a stopover or staging point for treks into Milford or Doubtful Sounds.

November 8th, Milford Sound

Made a quick sausage & egg breakfast before being picked up by the tour bus at 7:30am. It was myself and 5 pensioners on holiday. Not my ideal group, but friendly. We made several stops along the way in and out of Milford for photos, nature walks, and rest stops.

The cruise was definitely the highlight, although the descent along Milford Road was spectacular as well. It started off as an overcast day with a very low cloud level obscuring all the peaks in the Milford Fjord. Technically it's a fjord and not a sound because a sound is carved by water, like Puget Sound, and fjords are carved by ice. But fjord had not yet been adopted into the English language when Milford Sound was named, and so the misnomer sticks.

The 2-hour scenic cruise was nice. (I think they avoid 3-hour tours for good luck) Saw some penguins, seals, and birds. On the return towards Milford the clouds finally broke and I  saw what all the fuss was about. It is very dramatic scenery! Waterfalls and sheer cliffs abound.

I was surprised how small it was. I'm kicking myself a bit for not doing the kayaking trip here, but then again the weather was lousy and waves were a bit big for kayaks... oh well. I must have taken 100 photos or more, with many duplicates. There will be some cutting and editing to do when I get back.

Arrived back in Te Anau to see my room, which last night I had to myself, now had two new occupants. One I haven't met yet and the other is a girl from Seattle. The more you travel, the smaller the world gets.

November 9th, Te Anau - Christchurch

Rode two shuttle from TA to CC, and all said and done I got on the first at 9:30am and got off the last at 9:30pm. Long Day. But apparently atomic shuttles does have some really nice vans, this one was brilliant, not more than a year old at most. Guess they keep all the new ones on the east coast!