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Aoraki ( or Mount Cook ) is definitely an impressive sight. Hidden amongst an entire range of snow capped peaks, it stands gracefully against a teal blue backdrop that manages to make you stare for what feels like a lifetime. Certain crazy people attempt to climb the beast but not I. The weather seems to be the key component here as it changes at a drop of a hat. The wind has a personality all of its own and it grabs you with a menacing chill.
Continuing south, is the charming little town of Wanaka, it has a beautiful lake with Mount Aspiring dominating the view. Hopefully this town will stand up against the plague of the tourist dollar unlike its counterpart Queenstown, another 70 km south.Queenstown is the tourist mecca of the southern Isle, and is the epitamy of the modern western world, and you can tell with most folk there chatting away on how they ripped off tourists whilst they give you an evil stare as they whizz pass in their brand new BMW. Not a smile found in this town, it is every adrenelin junkies dream, you can jump out, be thrown off, climb,
swim and dive off anything as long as you show them some green. It really put me off wanting to do anything or even stay in the place.
The routeburn track is about 60 km from Queenstown and is the entrance to Fiordland, or should I say the garden of Eden. Upon entering this magnificient area you are confronted with great views of pristine flowing rivers, luscious pine forest which couldnt possibly be anymore green and the air is so fresh it feels like heaven.
It all felt as if it were an illusion that this place could not possibly exist. Endless calvalcades of decidious forest, in amongst panoramic mountain ranges with superb waterfall after waterfall to many to even attempt to count. The reflection of the mountains in the lakes challenges your perceptions on what is truly real.
There is relatively sparse fauna apart from a few ducks, but the flora is gorgeous. You can see that infinity exists in every part, from the distant mountain to the tiny leaves of a plant that lives on the rock, the lichen on the trees and the abundence of mushrooms of all colours, challenges your
Fiordland
Routeburn Trackperception of time and space.
Most people you meet regularly use the term unreal and unbelivable and it really is. Listening to the sound of the falls and suddenly hear a helicopter whizz pass brings you back to reality and makes you realise that mankind are like the sandflies of the world, a plague, our presence is unnatural and only adds to its destruction. Its not a good feeling to realise you are apart of this plague, and we are better off in the grimy, noisy polluted cities where we can at least minimise our ecological damage. We have lost our ability to look after and live with forest, all you can get is a quick glimpse and then are banished again from this pure paradise.
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dale
non-member comment
more journals and photoes please