Blogs from Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 30

24-27.9.2005 Milford track pise Zuzka Rano sme z Te Anau vyrazili po 120 km dlhej a v podstate slepej Milford Road smerom na sever. Konecnou stanicou je Milford Sound, co je jeden z mnohych ladovcom vytvorenych fjordov. Scenic Milfoard Road, ako ju tu nazyvaju, je popretkavana mnohymi scenickymi vyhliadkovymi zastavkami a tak sme sa na jednej z nich zastavili aj my a spravili si maly 3 hodinovy track k Lake Marion. Cesta dalej viedla tunelom, ktory skor pripominal banicku sachtu (bol bez osvetlenia, bez obkladov stien, s velkymi dierami v asfalte a pomerne strmym sklonom.... brrr... klaustrofobik by tu dostal zachvat), no spolahlivo nas doviedla az do ciela. Ako byva zvykom, Milford Sound nas vital dazdom a tak nam neostavalo ine, ako ubytovat sa v jedinom moznom ubytovacom zariadeni Milford Lodge. Po chvili pobehovania po okolitych ... read more

Woke up this morning to Kea's (huge, cheeky parrot like things) shouting their heads off on top of someones campervan - although thankfully not ours! Headed off this morning to catch our boat for the cruise, which was awesome, although the day was very misty and not as clear as we'd have liked. Observatory was really cool and lots of really nice fish and coral to gawp at! Decided to head back to Te Anau as the lack of civilisation and the thought of spending another night in LOG country was a little daunting :o) Off to Queenstown tomorrow to watch the Haka, visit some kiwis and do Shotover Jet. ... read more

Well we are now in Queenstown. Since our last update we have completed what is known as the Southern Senic Route, passing through the seaside town Riverton. On route here we went to the most windy beach ever ... before we even arrived a sand storm was blowing down the road. Riverton was a laid back place (popular with NZ holiday folk). We met some locals staying at our campsite who were mad about tramping (and one chap who talked to us non stop about fishing - i think he might have loved them more than his wife!). We played some table tennis which in the pamdu version actually entails using the floor as well and the number of bounces certainly doesnt count! we're living the crazy life! After a few pictuesque walks and stops (including ... read more

Milford Sounds today and the weather was fantastic- the best its been for a long time apparently! We got picked up for our tour - Ecotours which included a trip to the Teanua Bird sanctuary where our guide (? Dutch eco enthusiast?) showed us round. This was a great tour as he tried to stay away from the other tours who were all on a set itinary. Milford Sounds was beyond belief- boasting the worlds largest cliff edge and worlds highest waterfalls. Due to the excessive amount of rain previous and the clear sunny day the views were awesome. We cruised up the fiord on the Mitre peak - a small touring boat and into the sea and back. We went underwater falls/ sighted penguins/ fur seals and took a few pics!? On the way back ... read more

Back to Milford Sound… that was one of my main attractions to go back to New Zealand, it’s one of the places I really wanted to see also in the winter. And what’s better than a nice sunny day in winter? In winter there are more waterfalls flowing into the fiord, and of course the mountains are all snow-capped. I look in the pictures from my previous visit and see that it was a pretty overcast day - funny to come back in winter and not see even one cloud… Since Marie is with me, we stop in all the places on the way as you do in your first visit. The mirror lakes, lake Gunn, the rapids of Marian creek. I remember most of the places but I still find them stunning. And I simply ... read more