Blogs from Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 11

Thanks to Ruth, (a friend of a friend) I was able to make an hour-long flight over the Milford Sounds area which is the Fjordland in NZ. The whole journey was amazing passing over high mountains, glaciers, hidden lakes, waterfalls and creeks. I would recommend anyone who's visiting to do this trip both by air, and then by cajak. You won't forget the experience. I have done so much in 4 days that I dind't think possible. I've been driving ever since I first came to Christchurch and I have seen amazing views that NZ has to offer. In one sense it's not much different from the green and nice in Scandinavia but still it's same same but different. After 1700 km in 4 days I'm proud of myself for seing the west, the south and ... read more

Today we are cruising the Tasman Sea between the southern tip of New Zealand and the southern tip of Tasmania, a large island just off the south coast of Australia. And since everything is upside down in this hemisphere, this is the point closest to the South Pole in our trip and therefore the coldest. Not really freezing, but very chilly and windy out on the deck and the seas are a bit rough. Thanks to some kind of magic in modern shipbuilding, the ship doesn’t roll in a way that makes people seasick, thank goodness. But we are all content to stay quiet inside. No picturesque loafers around the pool today. Yesterday we sailed up Milford Sound on the coast of New Zealand - I had thought we were on the way to Australia, but ... read more

A more reasonable start this morning a cushie 9.50am pick-up from my hostel by the kayak instructor Wayne. Yes, I am going kayaking again - this is the one place I was determined to have a go at it before I even arrived in N.Z. so despite being on many kayak trips already, I booked a full day trip - surely I should be good at it by now....This is the furthest south I have been on my trip and this was also set to be the coldest trip I had been on to date, so I was pretty pleased that the kayak folk had lovely matching stripey thermal gear to dress up in as well as fleeces, beanies (hats) and spray jackets in a fabulous shade of purple.Back in a tandem kayak - which are ... read more

A five thirty start and a two hour bus journey to Milford sound to kayak for the day. Milford sound is a glacial fjord with the famous Mitre Peak, the most photographed mountain in fiordland. Under the perfect weather conditions and very early in the morning the waters of Milford Sound reflect the vista totally, leading to amazing postcards and posters. The beauty and scale of the fjord is not exaggerated in the photos. The small waterfalls in the distance are around 200m high and almost 10km away. Trees cling to the side of sheer rock faces, after many years growth on moss and lichen, the forest becomes too heavy to support itself and peels away into the waters of the fjord. The process of forest regeneration is started again when mosses and lichens re-colonise the ... read more