No More Bush, Please.

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Four days, three nights, two inches of rain and one hellavu time. Rewind a few days back. Before Sydney. Before almost missing our international flight from Christchurch. Before the rain started.

We should have listened.

It all started when the Kiwi party bus picked us up in Glenrochy. It was Mark and I, four American guys, an English couple, an Aussie and an Israeli girl from royalty (supposedly she was traveling to toughen up her princess ways). So there we were in the bush, on the Routeburn Track, tramping 33 kilometers over three days through middle earth. Through dense Beech forest with glacial waterfalls, high alpine lakes and immense mountain valleys all converging at one point. We spent two nights in luxury bush accomodation, a backcountry hut stocked with flushing toilets, running water, gas cookers and heaters for 50 people.

On the final day, we decided to get an early start. It was already raining. We left the hut, warm, happy and ready to see the Milford Sound. I was laughing. Mark was walking fast. And that's when the rain started getting heavier. We should have believed the bus driver when he said the Fiordland receives 18 feet of rain a year...four hours later we were dreaming of more than Fiji, we were dreaming of dry clothes, warm soup and no more bush.

At the end, we found ourselves in the Milford Sound with the highest moutains in the world that rise from sea level. Immense cliffs of waterfalls jetting up on both sides, as if they are about to close in and surround you.

We took a boat through the Sound, out to the Tasman Sea, taking a few companions along the way...two dolphins. At that moment, we almost forgot about the rain. Well, almost.

Tales from the big city next. Sydney ROCKS!

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Comments

[Bill & Deb]

Fantastic
The scenery is pristine and fantastic. And you survived the down pour of water. On to Sydney!

[snuffleupagus]

black friday
While you were avoiding bushes, I braved the retail weekend. It's all a sham. Nothing I wanted was on sale, yet there were herds of people everywhere, caught up in the event like sheep on your island pasture. Except Washington Square looks nothing like Milford Sound.