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Published: February 3rd 2010
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Southern Alps
Part of the Southern Alps rest above this flat grass field.Today is February 1. But at 6:00 am, when I woke up, it was still the evening of January 31 in the United States. And that is my Dad’s birthday. So, after getting showered and dressed, I gave him a call and chatted with my parents for an hour, recapping the last week.
I had to call early because I needed to catch my bus to Milford Sound at 7:45 from in town. The two English girls I had met the other night (Sophie and Jess) were also going on the tour. I met them at the hostel and we walked to the pickup point. There I met three more of their friends - Mike, James and Reece. All of them were out the night before. James looked like he was run over by a truck.
The ride out to Milford Sound was another beautiful one. Most slept (it was generally a backpacker tour where most of the participants were out late the night before). Early on, in the less scenic areas, I was in and out as I listened to some calming classical music (quite a change from the heavy rock of a few days ago).
Our
Mirror Lakes
This picture is not upside down. first stop was in Te Anau, along a lake, where people could grab food and drink and use the facilities. We continued on and stopped by a flat, open field, with high mountains forming the vertical parts of a “U” on both sides.
The next stop was at the Mirror Lakes, which are named after the crystal-clear reflections that occur when the wind ceases to blow. The wind was calm this morning so we were treated to some magnificent reflections. I have a few pictures where it is difficult to tell which way is up. I also came upon a sign denoting the local birds. One looked like Ramon, my parents’ yellow-naped Amazon parrot, although these were known as the kakariki, a yellow crowned parakeet so they must be smaller. I didn’t come across these or any of the other birds on the sign.
We continued on, passing through some steep terrain. Our driver (and tour guide) told us that the drivers have to go through special testing to drive in the area. Avalanches occur frequently from the melting glaciers above, like the large hanging glacier we passed.
Our next stop was at a small stream which
Hanging glacier
This large hanging glacier sits high above. was safe to drink from. Just down the road we stopped to see a glacier on the ground. A few of us made our way down to it, walking on the mammoth sheet of ice in our sandals and shorts. I chucked a small snowball towards the girls’ feet. They pretended to not be amused.
After the glacier we drove through a long tunnel that cuts through one of the mountains and emerged in the middle of a large valley. Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the ferry that would take us on the sound.
Milford Sound, which is actually a fiord - the difference being that a sound is generally a narrow branch of a sea while a fiord is a very steep-sided glacial valley that is now occupied by the sea; Europeans misnamed it - was once described by Rudyard Kipling as the eighth wonder of the world.
We got on the boat and our first concern was not the marvel that awaited us but the complementary buffet. Most of us had been eating sporadic, small self-prepared meals without proper cooking tools or budgets so we most welcomed the feast that sat before us - roast
Glacier
The glacier that we stopped to see. lamb, roast beef, mussels, chicken legs, egg rolls, breads, rice, noodles and ice cream. Everyone went for seconds, not passing up the opportunity to eat well for free.
Wrapping up after the boat had already started to cruise - we joined the others on the top deck. We had missed part of the tour but knew we would catch it on the way back in.
The views above were extraordinary. The peaks reached so high that at many points my camera’s lens wasn’t wide enough to capture water, land and sky. The mountains were nearly vertical, splashing directly into and well below the pristine water below. We were all enthralled with the views as we soaked in the near perfect weather. The sun’s rays shined hard, reflecting off the water below. The only way I could capture it was on my camera’s
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We reached the outer edge of the sound and returned, continuing to take in the views. We came upon some waterfalls that were created by melting snow high above. The captain took us close for pictures and to get us wet from the mist.
Me and the glacier
Standing on the glacier in sandals. This acted like an air conditioner on a warm day. Though it was cold in bare feet. underwater observatory. There we descended more than 10 meters to see some of the sound’s wildlife. At times, visitors see dolphins, small sharks and seals but today we only saw a few foot long fish and schools of tiny ones. Outside we soaked in the sun a bit more before being picked up again.
We took the ferry back, got on the bus and returned towards Te Anau, without stops. Once we arrived, we had a short break and continued back to Queenstown. The driver put on
to everyone’s delight. Everyone woke up for that.
Once I got back, I took a quick shower and barely made the beginning of a unique bar crawl that was organized by the hostel. On it, people were paired - one was blindfolded; the other served as a guide and could do as s/he pleased, with the only reason for restraint being retribution when roles would be reversed later. Since I was late I would get my partner when someone else joined later.
At each bar we got a shot included with the price of the bar crawl. Drinks were on us but most of the places had specials
of some sort. At our second stop, I met my blindfold partner, Kevin, a guy from Calgary. We talked sports for a bit. As we moved from bar to bar, neither of us did the blindfold (we didn’t have one).
The most amusing part of the night was a dance off, the winners of round one competing in a second round for a free bungy jump. Upon hearing that, a fat, tattooed college-aged guy hopped onto the bar and started dancing. I was just waiting for him to slip on the booze or hit his head on the beam. He didn’t. He and some girl advanced. They then competed at the next bar and I never did hear who won.
I left the crawl after the fifth stop; tired from a long day. I want to enjoy my last day in Queenstown tomorrow.
