Blogs from Te Anau, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 8

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i've just finished my first multi-day solo tramp in new zealand!! the kepler track is a new zealand great walk (which basically means they take really good care of the track because lots of people walk it) that starts and ends in te anu. i decided the easiest way to do this is to write my daily journal entries from while i was out....here goes. day 1: te anu control gates to luxmore hut- 13.8km this morning i woke early to birdsong outside my tent, crisp cold still air and a grey high ceiling of cloud. i made final preparations for my first tramp: checking and double checking stove, matches, tent, longies....the stuff you do. the air was so cold my fingers and toes felt like they might never warm up. i drank my coffee alone ... read more


Fredagen den 13:e tar vi bussen till Te Anau, ytterligare en vackert belagen turistort mellan berg vid en sjo. Har befinner vi dock oss i "Fiordland", en del av Nya Zeelands sydo med djupa hafsfjordar och stora ororda skogsomraden. Har besoker vi DOC-kontoret som avrader fran den planerade vandringen med hansyn till de nyliga oversvamningarna, men nu gor vi det i alla fall. Har faktiskt trottnat lite pa att behova kasta om planer hela tiden. Vi koper kartor och hyr nod-sandare och morgonen darpa flyger vi med litet flytplan till Dusky Sound dar piloten landar pa vattnet och tar oss in till stranden. Eftersom det enligt vaderleksrapporten ska regna pa eftermiddagen borjar vi traska pa en gang, for att slippa fastna pa vagen pa grund av oversvamning. Efter 7 timmars lerig vandring och 8 walkwires (linbroar) ... read more


After a day of rest in Te Anau where it rains all the time, we took a trip to Milford Sound where it rains all the time! We stopped several times on the way for short walks to waterfalls ... it rained! We then took a boat trip on Milford Sound ... the adverse weather conditions gave the area a mysterious feel. Temporary waterfalls were cascading down every crack in the rocks, sometimes falling down sheer rock faces. We were blessed with a slight clearing of the skies and as we returned to harbour a pod of dolphins came out to play alongside the boat. ... read more
Milford Sound
Mysterious Milford
Dolphins


So, I left off with heading out to celebrate my birthday. As it turns out, Wednesday night is not that exciting in Queenstown. I met up with a couple of other girls from the hostel and we headed out for dinner and drinks. One girl moved on to another bar with me and we had quite a few rounds. Met some other travels at the bar and headed back to the hostel around midnight. Nothing overly extreme. The next morning I woke up and decided to stroll around town some more. I took some great pictures of the steep surrounding mountains and the homes set in the hill side. The city sits on a lake and I also walked around it. Then, I decided to finish my Christmas shopping...mission accomplished! Dad, I have your gift. The ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fiordland National Park » Te Anau November 17th 2005

Walked in the sun and snow. Climbed Mount Luxmore. Camped with the sand flies. Lovely.... read more
Seal-tastic
Seal-tastic
Fairy Down Falls

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fiordland National Park » Te Anau November 16th 2005

Took a ferry out around the stunning Milford Sounds (valleys), see photos. Got back in time to prep ourselves for the 60km Keplar Track tomorrow. It's reccommended to be done in 3/4 days, but we're going to try and do it in 2 with a camping stop in Iris Burn. WELL 'ARD !... read more
Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fiordland National Park » Te Anau November 15th 2005

Okay okay okay, here it is. I´ll always eventually catch up to the present! (it´ll be at the end of the trip of course!) The start of each new week here makes it very difficult to think of living anywhere else. This may be partly because I'm aiming to move back home to Vancouver, and everything I see here has such similarities to life on the West Coast of Canada. Everything. Glaciers, stunning beaches, ancient forests, and a combination of 2 cultures. The native presence can be felt everywhere, most notably in the tourist shops, but the legends themselves are still everywhere. After driving along the east coast, I decided not to take the ´presidential highway´ (from Clinton to Gore) and opted to hit the most soutern point in New Zealand. Well, almost. Bluff is the ... read more
The Fjiords of Doubtful Sound
The kayaks
Doubtful Waterfall


It was another early start as we were collected at 6.25 to Doubtful Sound. We had met with the rest of the group the night before and Jules had expressed some concern about the mad dutch girl but otherwise they seemed good - his concerns about her sanity were justified - she was a fantastic person to have on the group and made it lots of fun! The trip started with a boat across lake manapouri and a short drive along a gravel road to deep cove. The wildlife was abundant - particularly the sandflies! We went through lots of insect repellant! The scenery in Doubtful sound isn't quite as dramatic as that of Milford but because of the remoteness it is an incredibly special place with far more wildlife. Five minutes into the trip we ... read more


We made the decision to reverse the route around the Keplar track as the forecast was for really strong wind over the alpine section of the route. It was a decision that we were glad of when we met two americans on the second day who had to shelter overnight on the ridge when strong winds forced them to abandon the walk to the next hut. The first day we walked from Te Anau to Control gates and on to Motaro rut via Rainbow reach. The forests were really nice but after 5 hours walking in them with heavy packs we were glad to see the hut! Unfortunately we knew that the next day was also in the valley through forest but at least our packs were a little bit lighter (even if not light enough). ... read more


Hi! Unfortunately, no place in Te Anau will allow me to upload photos, so this blog will be missing the visuals until I return to Auckland. But here's how my last 10 days or so have been. Originally, my plan was to stay in Auckland for a week and lay low, conserve money and all that, but then I decided to get out for a couple days. I'd heard from other travellers that Taupo was the place for adventure sports, so I made my way there in the hopes of skydiving (tandem, of course!). Bad weather prohibited me from doing the skydiving, so my consolation prize from myself was a trip to the Hot Springs Spa, where you can soak in a mineral pool. Fabulous! Much better than any man-made spa I've been in. My massage ... read more
Watching the Kiwi-Kangaroo game
Auckland skyline
Sne steering




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