Tues 29th Apr - It had rained hard most of the night and was still raining when we got up at 7ish. Got a bit worried as the river was very high and we'd crossed several fords to get here. Also the petrol was very low! Set off back to Wanaka, the fords were high but passable and we made it back to fill up with petrol. Went on the internet and did laundry in Wanaka then had a pie for lunch. Drove to Arrowtown along, perhaps, the best road yet (possibly beating the waterfall way in OZ!) There were some spectacular views of valleys and the crown range mountains and roads which wound back on themselves down the mountain side. The weather got out nice and we arrived in the picturesque village of Arrowtown, a former gold mining town with lovely quaint old timber shops and houses. There was some amazing autumn colours there. Walked down the main street and looked at the historic chinese settlement. Drove on to Queenstown, so called as it was fit for Queen Victoria. Booked our adrenaline activities and booked into the lakeview campsite on a powered site. Had a nice hot shower, the first
for 3 days. Went for a drink in town and ended up doing the quiz at Dux de Lux bar - came last but only because most of the questions were new zealand related! Drank some tasty alcoholic ginger beer by the fireside. Queenstown is on lake Wakatipu and is surrounded by mountains including the remarkables range. Its a stunning place with loads of nice shops, bars and restaurants and the centre for so many adrenaline activities.
Wed 30th - Had breakfast, checked out and went down to park by the marina. Made our way to the pier to do our jetboating but it was raining and misty so the guy said to come back this afternoon when it might be clearer. Went and did a supermarket shop and had a sandwich lunch then did the jetboating at 2 when the weather had cleared up. The ride was an hour long and went out over the lake then up the shotover river at amazing speeds - up to 90kph! The boat has a V8 jet engine and spits out 400 litres of water per second! It only needs 10cm depth of water so we got really close to the pebbley
shores, rocky cliffs and willow trees lining the river. It was really cold even with ponchos and gloves on. Did amazing 360 degree turns at speed! Got back to the pier and looked in the underwater gallery at trout, eels and ducks. Left Queenstown and drove to Lake Te Anau. It was dark when we arrived so we drove out the other side to find some free camping - found a DOC site but it was deserted and quite eery - got the van stuck in the gravel and had to push it out! Drove back to Te Anau and went to a campsite instead which was goo as we could plug the heater in! Pasta tea.
Thurs 1st - Set off towards Milford Sound. Absolutely spectacular alpine scenery opened up in front of us. Sheer rock faces either side of us with mountains topped with snow and glaciers. Stopped at a beautiful little spot called mirror lakes for a 10 minute walk. Stopped next at Lake Marion where we did a 20 minute walk through woods to a series of waterfalls which you view form a gantry hugging the side of a steep bank. Drove on with our mouths
open most of the way! Passed through a tunnel through the mountain which have 15 minute traffic light at certain times of day. Stopped at a place called The Chasm - an awesome river/waterfall which has cut down deep in to the rock and formed amazing rounded sides and basins. Continued on and reached Milford, at the end of the road. The weather was a bit drizzly but there were still awesome sight of the sounds. Theres an airport here and a marina with huge tour boats but they are dwarfed by the colossal mountains all around. Did a short shore walk to view the mitre peak. Drove back along the road to Milford Lodge where we parked up for the night. It poured with rain. Cooked risotto tea in the camp kitchen and got our feet pecked by keas by the van!
Fri 2nd - Awoken by the sound of a kea on the van roof pecking at our ariel! They are vandals and often pull the trims off peoples cars! They're very intelligent though. Lovely, clear crisp morning but very cold. Set off to drive to Milford Sound where we got on a tour boat with a lot
of other people from the lodge. Did a 2 hour cruise down the sound viewing the massive mountains on either side. There were some great waterfalls and we even saw a few seals. Sailed right to the Tasman sea where it got very windy and cold but spent the whole time out on the deck, even when the skipper sailed under a waterfall. They have 200 days rainfall here every year and 7-9 metres of annual rainfall! From here we drove back up to the tunnel where it got really snowy as we got higher up. As we descended again after the tunnel the snow receaded. Drove off the main road on a dirt track for 18km and parked up to have lunch at the start of the Hidden Falls walk. Did the 4-6 hour walk in 4 and a half hours and it was getting dark as we got back to the van. It was a lovely walk through rainforest, along a river over lots of bridges up to the falls which live up to their name. There is a great hut right up in the valley where trampers sleep if they're continuing on, on the longer walks. (They
call hiking tramping in New Zealand!) Didn't see one other person the whole walk! Drove back along the dirt track for 10km to 'Gunn's camp,' a quirky place with lots of history, in the middle of nowhere. Chatted to a really nice old man who works there and then walked along the track in the dark to look at some glow worms he'd found in the bushes. Cooked fried potatoes and baked beans in the funny little kitchen. Only 4 other people there so it was very quiet. A lot of sandflies though!
Sat 3rd - Up early to a fantastic, clear sunny day. Had museli and walked along to the 'big tree' - a silver beech 1000-1200 years old which is thought to be the oldest in the country. Looked round the little museum at Gunns which is all about the miners who dug out the tunnel. Drove back to the end of the track to do the short 'Humboldt Falls' half hour walk - really impressive. Drove to key summit carpark to do the 3 hour walk there. Did it in 2! It was a really tough climb all the way to the top which was 919 metres
in altitude. The lower part was through forest, then higher up it becomes more open with just a few stunted trees. There was snow on the ground here and at the top. There were brilliant 360 degree views of the glacial landscape from the top, of the snow topped mountain ranges, hanging valleys and lake marion. Did a nature walk around the summit in the snow and had a twix for an energy boost before descending. Set off and stopped at a lookout to have a soup lunch in the sun with amazing views, before driving back to Queenstown. Only just made it on petrol! Booked in to the same campsite as before and walked down into town to check e-mails. Had showers and toast before hitting town for a night out. Started in Buffalo Bar and managed to get on an organised bar crawl - free drinks in 5 bars with a crowd of other people. Got very drunk. Had teapots full of cocktails in 'World Bar!' Went to Fergburger and got the biggest burger I've ever had - the 'Big Al' at $15. It had 2 burgers, 2 fried eggs, bacon, cheese, alioli and salad in it! Ate
them in the van before curling up at 4am.
Sun 4th - Woke up feeling horrible. Had a lie in until about 10.30 then lay about after a banana brunch until 12.30 when we walked dow into town. Got a minibus with a few other people and drove upstream to do white water rafting, unfortunately not on the shotover river as they'd closed it because of the weather. Got kitted out with wetsuits, jackets, gloves, boots and helmet then drove a bit further up the river to get in the rafts - 3 of them. Me and Gems shared ours with 3 swedish lads. The river was fairly tame but for 4 big rapids, one of which I swam through! Very cold! 90 tonnes of water per second run through the river at this time of year! Also played games on the raft such as running round the sides without falling in! Travelled about 8km in about an hour and saw one of the sites where they fimed some of The Lord of the Rings. Had warm showers and tea and biscuits before driving back to Queenstown. It was a great hangover cure! Did a supermarket shop, washed clothes and
cooked tea in the camp kitchen. Very cold so had the heater on in the van. Early night.
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