Rain, rain, rain and then some more rain.

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March 4th 2009

Published: March 5th 2009

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Adam and Dais

Fiordland National Park

We headed down to Te Anau from Queenstown and had around a week to burn before we started the Kepler Track, one of New Zealand's seven 'Great Walks' which we had booked onto. After a day looking round Te Anau, which is unsurprisingly beautiful being on the fringes of the Fiordland National Park, we decided to take a trip up to the famous Miford Sound and into the park, as we had heard bad forecasts for later in the week, so began our trip as soon as we could.

The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is stunning (and according to our guide book one of, if not THE most beautiful drive in the world), and we decided to do the trip slowly to really soak it all in. We camped on our first night in the midst of the National Park overlooking some of the most beautiful scenery we saw, and by 7pm there wasnt a person in sight! However there was an endless amount of sandflies (think swarms of midges, that bite worse than mossies!), so we had to hide in the tent armed with insect repelent to try and avoid the onslaught, and realised that was

Milford Sound

why no one else was camping!

We woke early morning and headed onto Milford, and after the blissful weather of the day before it was overcast and dull, but that couldnt hide the beauty of the area. Hopefully the pictures can give you an idea.

We arrived at Milford and booked onto the smallest boat we could find, and began ou cruise arround the sound all theway out to sea, and it was breathtaking. As you glide across the still water all you can see if the ground rising out and into the air like sheer cliffs; its amazing and understandable as to why its so hyped. During the cruise we saw awesome waterfalls, seals, dolphins and stopped off at the underwater observatory to see some of the fish and coral that live under the water.

We headed back to Te Anau and over the next few days the heavens opened and we were constantly soaked (and our poor little tent took a battering!). We didnt manage to do too much, which made a nice change, but the turn of the year quicky came round and before we knew it the Kepler track was upon us, and

Kepler Track

View from behind the hut

although the weather had been awful in the preceeding days, it was forecast to clear up on the day we started (4th Jan). It started off well as we began the walk along the lakeside and up the mountain towards Mt Luxmore (however compared to the Inca trail we had our full backpacks with clothes, food and water and it made it rather hard!), and the minute we reached the end of the forest and onto the mountain top the rain bega, and it rained very very hard. However it cleared up in the evening and the views from and around our hut made it all worth while, it was incredible.

The second day was the hardest however as we had a full day on the mountain ridge, which is fully exposed to all the elements, be it rain, gale force winds, sleet, or hail (we had all!), and the stunning views were hidden somewhere behind the black clouds and mist. By the end however we did get a few dry patches and the views were good.

The last day was good as it stopped raining for most of the day, and we walked in the valley below

Fiordland National Park

I dont think camping gets any better than this

the moutains ranges, across rivers, by lakes and through some gorgeous forests.

The walk was hard, but mainly because of the rain and distance (60km in 3 days) - and it is suppose to be the NZ summertime! But it was a great experience and we met some great people along the way, but as soon as we had finished and spent a day relaxing our muscles, we got in the car and headed to the east coast where the weather was apparently good....

Additional photos below

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