Milford Sound

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Mirror Lake

mountains through the mist

ice

The Chasm

Wholes created by Chasm

one of a million waterfalls

this is as tall as a 50 floor building

the New Zealand flag and blue sky!

We took our first day of R&R today and drove 120 km from Te Anau to Milford Sound. It is supposedly a 2 hour drive, but it took us 3 because of how many times we stopped to gape at the scenery. The road snaked its way through valleys that were surrounded by sheer mountains and littered with waterfalls, rivers, and ponds.

One of the better stops was Mirror Lake. It may have been undeserving of its lake title (I would barely call it a pond…), but it certainly held true to being a mirror. The mountains above had perfectly clear reflections in the water below. The scenery was remarkable, although slightly marred by the obnoxious, loud, and aggressive tourists who flocked around the look out points. Lets just say these weren’t the type of people we have been seeing on our treks. Kyle did not approve of the couple that wore matching Uggs and spent a laborious amount of time taking modeling pictures of each other, all while in the way of every other onlooker.

We continued down the highway and pulled over just before the Homer Tunnel. At this juncture the road disappeared into a dark and barely lit hole in the mountainside. Before we ventured into the darkness we hopped out of Ace and took in the dark granite walls rising above us, and a small section of ice along the road. The tiny slab was all that is left of a glacier that used to fill the valley. After taking in the sights we bravely entered the tunnel (it was more like a cave). When we emerged on the other side we were greeted with another expansive valley. There was a low layer of fog and clouds and rising above this we could see various mountain peaks.

Our best stop was at The Chasm. After a walk through the forest we came to a plunging gully that was formed by a rushing waterfall. The water flows at such an intensity that it’s circular current has made huge round wholes that cut completely through the rock mountain. The water was clear blue and pushed through the rock at such incredible force, it was beyond amazing.

We arrived at Milford Sound just in time to hop on the 2 hour cruise we booked yesterday. Milford Sound is regarded as the most beautiful and dramatic of the formations in Fiordland, and is a landmark area in New Zealand. The sound is actually not a sound at all, but rather a fiord. Thousands of years ago a glacier carved its way through the valley and out to the Tasman Sea. With the glacier now melted the Tasman Sea flows in along with penguins, seals, and dolphins. Also as a result of the glacier the waterway is surrounded by unbelievably steep mountains, which are pure rock, and yet still have thick moss and tree growth covering their nearly perpendicular slopes.

The cruise was simply stunning. As we set out, the rain and clouds gave way to warm sunshine and we were able to marvel at the peaks rising above us. The waterfalls that flow into Milford Sound were remarkable and we spent the entire 2 hour cruise on the top outdoor viewing deck trying to take in the scenery. No description we write here or pictures you see above can really do Milford justice. It was beautiful, dramatic, and awe inspiring.

Now its time to head to Queenstown to possibly do some bungee jumping before we begin our long car journey back to the northern part of the south island. Along the way we should get to see the picturesque West Coast as well as the Fox or Franz Josef glacier. 

The Kepler Track

We just returned from the Kepler Great Walk Track. The track was advertised as a gorgeous 4 day, 3 night walk through Fiordland National Park. It rose from the forest floor up to 2600 feet and promised impressive alpine views of the valleys, lakes, and fiords below. We certainly saw the beautiful forest, and got our share of amazing views, but we also got the rough side of Fiordland. What the guidebooks, brochures, and pamphlets do not tell you is that it rains on and off throughout the entire year, and that the alpine crossing will hit you with incredibly strong winds.

On the day our trek began we awoke to a downpour of rain. We took our time eating breakfast and packing our bags in the vein hope that maybe the storm would pass. It did not. The first day of the trek is supposed to take 6 hours and cover about 10 miles. It also involves a steep 2400 foot climb through the forest and past the bush line. Once the bush line is cleared you must walk unprotected along the mountaintop for approximately 2 miles before you reach the Luxemore Hut, our first stop of the trek. (We did not know any of this before hand)

We stomped our way through the forest, doing our best to bypass the mud and puddles that blocked much of the path. Within half an hour our clothes were soaked through and we knew it would be a long day on the trail. We continued up the ridge at a steady pace and took a slight comfort in the fact that the dense trees blocked most of the wind and some of the rain. Things got more difficult to say the least as we left the covered forest and emerged above the bush line. We had just climbed over 2000 feet, and we were wet and tired. Taking a break was not an option though because the wind that met us along the ridgeline chilled us to the bone. We marched on. The wind swept across the top of the mountain and pelted us in the face with strong gusts and a constant downpour of rain falling parallel to the ground, and consequently straight into our face. We would later learn from the hut warden that there was a constant wind of 35 mph, and gusts ranging from 45-50mph, certainly not hurricane strength, but enough to make an already wet and cold body, even colder. We covered the last two miles in only 30 minutes because the conditions were so horrible that nearly jogging seemed like the only option if we were to avoid getting hypothermia. When we took the final turn and finally saw the Luxemore Ridge Hut sitting on the hill, an immense sense of relief poured out. (There are no pictures to document this horrible day which is probably a good thing)

It took awhile to warm up, but with a fresh change of clothes and strong wood fire emitting heat throughout the hut, eventually we once again felt warm. The Luxemore is famous for its views, but with the thick clouds and rain we didn’t even catch a glimpse of valley and fiord below until 7pm when the clouds finally stopped dumping rain and gave use some viewing room. Before we went to bed the hut warden informed us the weather was in all likelihood going to be worse the following day….

We went to bed worried and awoke anxious. The second day of the Kepler Track continues along the ridge and mountaintop for several miles, and can take up to 3 hours. It then descends all the way down, back into more protected forest and on to the next hut, Iris Burn. It would have been an utter disaster if the wind and rain returned. We would have had to walk for three hours unprotected by trees or shelter. Those hours would be spent in strong winds and heavy rains and would leave us even more miserable than the day before. This time however, even when we got to the forest, we would still have had to walk wet and cold for 2 hours before we could reach the hut. This however, did not happen, the warden’s weather prediction was incorrect, and luck was on our side. Apparently it is typical to have wind so high that people must go on all fours to not get blown off the ridge. They had build two shelters on the ridge so that people could be safe in these common conditions. They even recommend you pack rope so that you can tie yourselves together for safety- they do not close the mountain unless winds get as high as 100MPH! (again, we had no idea)

We left Luxemore at 9am and climbed the hill with a dark and impending cloud cover surrounding the mountain. Suddenly, the clouds dispersed and some sun crept through. We gazed down astonished at the forest and water below, we could not believe how far we could see, and how high we had climbed. The whole day would continue in this way. Some clouds would roll through, but just as quickly as they came, they would disappear and we would be left gaping at a new mountain ridge, lake, ridge line, or waterfall. The second day was certainly a long hike, (we had to descend 2000 feet on 93 switchbacks, not fun for our knees) but it was magnificent. The alpine scenery was impressive and the forest we walked down through was covered in dark green moss and ferns. When we arrived at the Iris Burn Hut we found it located on the valley floor with a lush meadow stretching out in front of it. Kyle went for a quick dip in the icy cold river that flowed by (he claims it revitalizes the body, and also believes New Zealand water may in fact have healing powers). The rest of the day was spent sitting on the porch admiring the meadow and the steep peaks that rose above it. We could not believe how incredibly lucky we were to have had the opportunity to see the famous Kepler views. Prevailing through the first day was more than worth it. We met two men from Switzerland and spent the whole night discussing our countries. It is amazing how much you can learn from other cultures, not just about the basic differences, but also about perspective.

At 9:00pm we strapped up our hiking boots in search of the infamous kiwis. They are very rare to see and run from any white light so you cannot use a flashlight. We walked to a giant waterfall that was quite impressive but never once saw a kiwi (we did hear them which gave Olivia painful false hope). Walking in absolute pitch dark was more like an out of body experience than anything else. It is funny to feel how disoriented our bodies are without the help of sight. The dangerous and sometimes painful walk in the dark was made worth it when we saw glow-worms hanging from the moss. They are bright blue and do not seem real.

We had originally intended for Kepler to be a 4 day track. However, while at Iris Burn we realized that if we were to walk onto the next hut and spend the night, the following days hike out would only take about 2 hours. We decided to forgo staying at the final hut and finish the hike in three days. After the best night sleep we have had in a hut (There was no one in our bunkroom, so no snoring or extra rustling around), we set off at 830 am to finish the Kepler Track. Once again we were lucky and got no rainfall. The importance of no rain cannot be stressed enough. The walk is incredibly unenjoyable if rain is keeping you wet, not to mention the fact that if you want to stop you only get colder and can never take a picture without water covering the lens. The last day of Kepler was by far the easiest. Although we had to go the longest distance km wise (18 km), the track was well graded and flat almost the entire time. We made our way down the valley and through a lush green forest, the amount of vibrant green here has not ceased to amaze us. We stopped at the hut we were supposed to spend the night at for lunch (the hut was on a lake and Kyle took this as another opportunity for an ice swim), and then continued on to the end of the track.

Kepler was amazing. Fiordland is gorgeous. And if any of you ever come to New Zealand, just know that if you come this far south you better have your rain gear. We were certainly bitter about the first day being so terrible, but the 2^nd and 3^rd were so incredible that we have chosen to forgive Fiordland’s weather. (For anyone keeping track at home, it has rained for at least some part of every single day of our trip) Tomorrow we will take a drive up to Milford Sound, perhaps one of the most well known areas in New Zealand. It is home to the Milford Great Walk Track, and we regret that we will not be able to do it. Milford is a bit of a pilgrimage for New Zealanders and many travelers, and as such it is completely booked through April. (You have to book a year in advance) We will have to take the more touristy approach and simply jump on a 3 hour cruise of the Sound (After about 60 miles of walking over the past two weeks the cruise is sounding quite nice!). After that we will drive to Queenstown and hopefully do a little bit of bungee jumping and sight seeing before we head north to our next back packing adventure in either the Abel Tasman National Park or Nelson Lakes National Park. After the 3 days of walking the bottle of wine we had while doing this post feels well deserved!

Just a taste of the puddles we were dealing with the first day

View we got on the second day when clouds finally cleared around Luxemore Hut

View along the ridge line above Luxemore Hut

Getting to know our most recent bird friend on the track

SUN!!!!!!

Rain runoff was flowing off the hill from the day before

Enjoying the sun

Epic

Taking a break on the bridge over the ragin' river

Trecking along

All this water was from the rain we dealt with on our first day

The view from the porch at Iris Burn Hut at the end of our second day

Fresh out of the very chilly Iris Burn River

Ferns for days

Reminiscent of the Wood River in Idaho?

cooking

first, a few driving pics to give you an idea of our scenery

our first attempt at a real meal... accidently bought the meat you use for beef stew, woops! 

today's cappuccino and carrot cake at Sandfly Cafe

leave it to me to find the best Pad Thai in all of NZ!

Kepler Trek Food

Tonight's dinner- curry! it was our best homemade meal yet

To say that food and cooking in general has been a problem would be an understatement. We are obviously on a budget and therefore cannot exactly be eating out for all our meals. Ace came with a portable gas stove and a few pots and pans, so we can cook but it can be quite a slow process because the stove’s flame is not exactly roaring.

The first few days in New Zealand were a little bit of a disaster. We bought some fresh apples and oranges, which was nice. However after that we were pretty much eating various bars and cup of noodles. We were far from creative and considered salami and crackers as a delicacy. Part of this was due to the fact that we do not have a refrigerator or freezer and are limited to buying foods that will not spoil when stored at room temperature.

However, over the past week we have begun to creep out of the dark ages. This is strongly due in part to that fact that while Kyle seemed content with baked beans, instant oatmeal, PB&J, and the ever present bar, I would not tolerate 4 months of such a poor diet. It is also due to the fact that fellow campers have consistently upstaged us in the kitchen. On our treks people look at us like the poor retarded Americans we are while they feast on curries, couscous, and delicious pasta dishes.

We have learned a lot by just observing other backpackers. For instance, in New Zealand they sell packets of curry sauce that is all premade and you just put in on veggies and rice. It is quick, delicious and easy. Couscous is popular simply because you only have to waste gas on boiling water and the rest can be done without the stove. We were both caught looking like pathetic hungry dogs when we saw a camper making a huge omelet after we had been eating ramen and toast for three days. Needless to say we now treat ourselves to scrambled eggs in the morning with avocado and tomato toast.

We bought more gas for our stove, which makes it work better and faster, and we have begun to take advantage of the full kitchens that most campsites come equipped with. This has allowed us to make eggs and toast in the morning (in New Zealand eggs are not refrigerated in the store, so we are assuming they are safe to keep in the van). Lunches are pretty easy and remain a simple PB&J or something of the sort (nothing wrong with the classics). Our dinners have really taken off, especially when we have access to the full kitchen. Last night we feasted on pasta, marinara, and barbequed chicken. (Interestingly the BBQ is basically just a flat hotplate, kind of like the grills used at Benihanas, Kyle enjoyed this feature quite a bit). We were very proud of ourselves until the couple from London next to us started making mash potatoes, sautéed veggies and New York steaks! Tonight we are going to try out making our own chicken curry with rice- our final feast before trekking into the wilderness.

Above is a picture of the food we will be bringing on the Kepler Track. The track will take 4 days and 3 nights. We will need to have 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 3 dinners. Breakfast will consist of apples, oranges, bars, and nuts. Lunches will be crackers, cheese, salami, canned tuna (for Kyle), nuts, and powdered Gatorade. Dinner will be spaghetti and red sauce two nights, rice and beans one night, and cucumber to satisfy Olivia’s vegetable fixation. We try to be nutritiously conscious while mainly being focused on the physical weight of the food we will have to carry. The bars are light, fast, and give us protein to start off the day with. Our lunch is high in fat and energy- hence the cheese and nuts. Dinner we carb load because it is easiest and will hopefully give us energy to survive the next day. We drink Gatorade to get our electrolytes. We also will carry extra small bars, dried fruits, beef jerky, and nuts to snack on. We find that we are abnormally hungry after walking all day and need a little more food than the average day. (You will notice the Oreo’s, Olivia is staying strong with her no chocolate but still needs her dessert fix.)

Also, although they speak English in this country they have a completely different vocabulary. That, mixed with the ridiculously strong accent, sometimes results in major communication issues.

Here are some examples:

·      If you order black coffee they give you a cup filled of straight espresso shots (normal coffee is not made in coffee shops, it only can be bought at the grocery store)

·      If you try to order your cappuccinos with nonfat milk they look at you like you don’t speak English and bring out something that looks like a cappuccino but certainly isn’t one.

·      Bell peppers are called capsicums

·      Zucchini is called courgettes

·      Every town has a separate bakery and butcher shop

·      New Zealand has more Subways than McDonald’s or any other fast food. On driving days we treat ourselves to foot longs

·      Interestingly enough, mustard does not exist in this country.

·      On the other hand, mayo is put on absolutely everything… major issue for people who have a deep hatred for it, like myself.

·      The few times we have ordered burgers they have arrived with either pineapple, a huge slice of ham, tons of BBQ sauce, or a few potato slices. Very strange.

·      They have ketchup as well as another identical looking but very different sauce called tomato dip. 

Raikura Great Walk

Earl the Penguin

Lee Bay (water almost as blue as Fiji)

Maori Beach (notice the stylish rain cover)

welcome to the jungle

Bambi (brought to the island only for the sport of hunting unfortunately)

mussels at North Arm Bay

common mud patches

hunting for mussels

notice the trash bag rain cover.. pretty white trash

North Arm Hut Bay

New Zealand has nine “Great Walks.” These are multiple day treks that have been classified as the most beautiful and all around best hikes in the country. In a place that is literally crisscrossed by tracks and full of outdoor enthusiasts, this title is pretty important. We hope to do as many of the Great Walks as we can while we are in New Zealand, and The Raikura Trek is our first Great Walk. The track is the most southern Great Walk in New Zealand. It is located on Stewart Island, which is a tiny island located off the southern tip of the southern island. It is one of 38 tiny islands off of the coast. We spent the night of February 17^th in a town called Bluff. Bluff is where you take the ferry out to Stewart Island, and to be honest it reminded me a lot of the California town of Crockett (where John Swett is located, not a nice place). The town seems nearly forgotten and most of the buildings are vacant and the relics of old coastal factories that have long been shut down littered the shore. Needless to say we took the earliest ferry out to Stewart Island on February 18^th.

After an hour long and extremely choppy boat ride (felt like a roller coaster ride with your stomach dropping after every wave) we arrived in Oden, the only town on Stewart Island and home to about 400 full time residents. We checked in at the visitor center and set out for the track. (You have to check in because the island is so remote that in the past hikers have disappeared and been forgotten about for quite a long time before anyone realized they needed to be searched for). The Raikura Track is 35 km in length and we did 12 km the first day. Of those 12 km, 5 were spent walking the road to the actual beginning of the track. Once we got on the track it was absolutely gorgeous. Within 15 minutes we walked straight in to a penguin! The little guy was all by himself and just walking up and down the path. He seemed strangely out of place in the thick jungle like forest. He showed no fear whatsoever and walked straight up to us and stopped only a foot away. It was quite an experience watching him walk around and stare at us curiously. We named him Earl and it was quite difficult to convince Olivia not to pick him up and bring him along as a pet. He followed us for a little while before we finally had to say good-bye.

The track followed the coast and occasionally went down onto the beaches, which gave us some amazing views. We covered the final 7km pretty quickly and arrived at Port William Hut in the early afternoon fully satisfied that Raikura deserved its Great Walk classification. On the second day we headed out of Port William and straight into the thick and muddy forest. Much of the forest resembled the jungle we saw in Fiji, although as we went up and down in elevation you could see the forest change significantly. The bird life on Stewart Island is very affluent. We of course saw Earl, but Stewart Island is also home to the Kiwi, which is New Zealand’s national bird and what the people call themselves. While we didn’t see any Kiwi, we did see some birds that ranged from what looked like a green and oversized pigeon to a tiny brown and white bird that had the most beautiful call we can ever remember hearing from a bird. The forest was majestic, but we were happy to come out of it and arrive at the North Arm Hut, which was on a bay. North Arm is home to an enormous oyster population, and we were informed we could eat them. As the tide went out Kyle felt adventurous enough to go out and find a few to eat. (They were not very good, and that says a lot because we had not had much to eat over the past two days). We were treated to an amazing sunset over the bay and made some friends with a couple from Amsterdam and a pair of German foreign exchange students who are studying at Dunedin (still not too many Americans over here even though Europeans have to travel twice as long to get here….).

The last day headed back into the woods but we occasionally skirted along the shoreline and did our best to avoid the thick and sometimes very deep mud. It was more stunning landscape and forestry, but with Kyle’s ankle aching, and Olivia’s knee acting up, we were both happy to break out of the forest and back into Oden. We walked an average of 12K per day which was 4-6 hours depending on how many hills we had to climb. Once in Oden we immediately got a hot lunch of delicious fish and chips and local beer, and met some more than colorful locals (We think the island starts to get to your head after awhile…). We took the ferry back to Bluff where we are staying at a campsite that has hot showers, full kitchen, and a laundry machine (Basically enough amenities for us to over look the otherwise worthless town of Bluff).

Next up we start heading back north along the west coast. We have a long list of Great Walks and next up is the Kepler Great Walk Track. Kepler is located a few hours north in the heart of Fiordland. Fiordland is basically a massive national park that is widely regarded as the most beautiful landscape in New Zealand. We are hoping the lush forests, waterfalls, and fords won’t disappoint and that the somewhat rainy weather we have been experiencing goes away and we finally get some real summer weather. 

ACE

the cleanest Ace has ever been. Notice his millions of sun roofs- very nice until its 5am and sun is pouring in your face.

toiletries and kyle's idea of a dresser

one of the features that sold us on ace... this awesome table/headboard

this is living

Ace, prior to the staging job we did for this photo shoot. the bed is used more for storage than anything else

no campervan love 

down by the river

laundry day

checkin the engine

kitchen... notice mainly canned goods

thank god for pictures

driving the bus

Our van is a 1986 Toyota Town Ace, and therefore is officially named Ace. (Do not fret, his engine is from 1999 making him a little less of a death trap.)

Fun Facts:

·      Ace is always on empty… no matter what

·      Ace has a unique musk- some might call it a damp odor. It does not dissipate, even after driving for hours with all the windows down.

·      Ace has to be forcefully coerced into starting up and often refuses if he has been neglected for a few days.

·      Once Ace does start up, he shakes uncontrollably until he is officially warmed up.

·      Ace tops out at about 100K which is equivalent to 60MPH. Oddly enough he feels like he could take off flying at this speed and we often have to remind ourselves we really aren’t going that fast.

·      Ace gets passed by big rigs… regularly.

·      Ace has a coolly bin that claims to make ice… pretty sure it has never worked.

·      Ace is Japanese and all of his writing is therefore in Japanese.

·      Ace likes to claim he has AC but after his shaking attack the AC button pops out.

·      The engine is under the passenger seat… probably not the safest engineering idea.

·      Ace’s back door only opens from the inside (good thing there are two of us to coordinate this move)

·      Ace possibly has very impressive brights. That is until Kyle forgets to turn them off and we get honked at.

·      Ace’s windows are beyond tinted- you literally cannot look into the back.

·      However, he is lacking curtains, which means that although people can’t look in, we feel as if we have no privacy.

·      All in all Amber could not have said it better: Ace is the perfect candidate for pimp my ride.

Ok so here is a little about our campervan experience thus far:

            Driving on the other road comes somewhat naturally. With just a little extra concentration we have been able to avoid making horrendous mistakes. The roundabouts have not been as scary as we thought. The trick is to always stay in the outside lane. The hardest thing so far has been that the blinker is on the wrong side, this often results in windshield wipers as opposed to signaling. Parking on the wrong side is not exactly comfortable but living by San Fran gave us a little prior practice.

            Driving Ace feels like driving a school bus. His steering wheel is huge, he does not willingly accelerate (it’s a leg work out to say the least), and his turning radius is just embarrassing. We try to use hills to our advantage, gaining as much speed as possible on the downhill to ensure we actually make it up the next hill. We probably average 30 MPH or less on hills. Given our stunted speeds you would think that we get amazing gas mileage… wrong. Gas here costs the equivalent of $6/gallon. Gas adds up quickly and we are trying to plan out our roads as efficiently as possible.

            The bed is made of plywood and creates ample storage bellow. We keep our food in two plastic bins. All of our clothes and backpacks are stored underneath. Ace came with a grocery basket, which is the perfect toiletries organizer. The mattress is a little thinner than one would like but it certainly beats camping. The bed is as close to luxury as we could get: with the two pillows Ace came with, plus the down pillow we brought, the two airplane blankets we stole, a wool blanket, a huge sheet, and of course our two sleeping bags- almost as good as a real bed!

            All things said, we are undeniably in love with Ace. He is quirky and has a huge personality, which only make us more enamored. We are already emotionally attached and incredibly protective- he feels like an old friend or as Kyle puts it, “one of the homies”.  Kyle is already looking into bringing him home with us.

            (Cooking and food are a story within themselves, which will be coming soon.)