Blogs from Te Anau, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

I hadn't been sure, when I went to bed on the night of the 26th, whether I'd do better to spend Dec. 27th by the gas fire in the lounge or whether I should make one more try at seeing the takahe. It was clearly going to be my only chance to see a takahe, and I really wanted to, but it was such a long walk. But when I woke I found that Plum had come disconnected in the night, and she barely had power enough to see me through breakfast. So that settled the question nicely. I would go out for a walk, at least while she recharged. I had lost my camera case on Christmas day. This was not, fortunately, a serious loss; it wasn't a fitted case, only a grey quilted ... read more

I have a lovely little single here in Te Anau. It's on the second, and highest, floor -- second in the American sense, fortunately, unlike my Queenstown room. Whenever it rains, I can hear rain on the roof. It's a narrow room, but they've taken pains with it. Two walls are paneled; two are painted drywall. There are beams on the sloping ceiling, and, rather oddly, the heater is on the ceiling too. It's a great heater -- first time I've been warm enough at night without a space heater. There's a rainforest poster on one wall, a mirror on another, and a window on the third. From the window, I have a view of the lake. It is customary here in New Zealand to identify public restrooms by a picture of a man in ... read more

Day 1 Awoke quite lazily, abluted and checked out - quick check of email before I leave. Then into town to complete some menial stationery-based tasks (well, I am on "holiday") and then to the Sandfly Cafe for an excellent breakfast (7.6 on the SEBI). Forgetting to pop into Mitre10 for duct tape (that reminds me - you're way out of date when it comes to kit updates - there are rips that need taping), I hit get on the Milford road again, heading for the Hollyford road this time (yesterday's Gertrude wander was directly off the Milford road). Anyway, I eventually reach the Hollyford road and immediately pull over to the wee side park at the beginning of the Lake Marian track. Dump the car having picked out the day pack, a bit of water ... read more

Typing from Te Anau again. Went to see a screening of Ata Whenua (Shadowland - local film made celebrating the awesomeness of Fiordland) again last night in the wee specially built cinema here. Still a wonderful experience - would happily go again but I probably won't this time around. Anyway, this morning I decided to drive to Milford Sound for breakfast and then head back for a scoot up to Gertrude Saddle (just this side of the bizzareness that is Homer Pass). Milford Sound is just as commercial and coach-ridden as always and just as sandfly-ridden as always but still one of the most beautiful sights if you can ignore the people. The worst version of bacon & eggs I have ever experienced (0.1 on the SEBI) but at least the coffee was good. I escaped ... read more

Day 23 Thursday When we went out for dinner last night Mike saw the Christmas decorations and just had to take the photo! Up and off again after a sociable breakfast and lots of advice about the route to take and where to stop on the way. The first part of the journey was over the crown range – another wow moment because at the top you could see for miles and miles and miles. We stopped for ages. Eventually we headed for Queenstown and as advised we stopped at Arrowtown, an old gold mining town that had been preserved to illustrate how they lived and worked. It was an extremely harsh existence for the miners who were mostly Chinese. We arrived at our next destination at 3ish, a lakeside motel with a kitchen and a ... read more