New Zealand Arrival and Getting to Te Anau

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When we got to New Zealand, we spent some time in Christchurch to gear up for our hike in the fjordlands, but mainly our first few days in NZ were spent getting to Te Anau - the place we were starting our hike. The track we planned to walk was the Kepler Track, a four day Great Walk through some of the extremely beautiful Fjordlands, a World Heritage Area (but then, aren't they all?)

We laid down some cash in Christchurch for warmer gear, because as we quickly discovered New Zealand is not nearly as warm as we'd thought it might be. Even though it was allegedly late spring early summer, we were at 45 degrees latitude. It was cold.

Our first two nights were spent in Christchurch at a really great Backpacker place called the Old Country House, which seemed to attract a very mellow crowd of all ages. It was really comfortable and warm with a great common kitchen and soft warm beds. We loved it there and would highly recommend the place.

The next night we spent in Dunedin at another really nice Backpacker. We went to see some penguins that evening and it was almost absurd to see them strolling along a grassy hill... you always picture them on icebergs and things like that. They were adorable. Very human-like in their bipedalism and bumbling along down the hill, stopping to spread their “wings” in the sun and warm up.

By the third night we were in Te Anau, which is a cute town but very much catering toward tourists who come there to hike or do many of the sighseeing things around there in the Fjordlands. There are glow worm caves, fjords, sounds, lakes, rivers and an assortment of breathtaking vistas all around Te Anau. Also by this day I was beginning to come down with a bit of a cold. We spent Thanksgiving there, feasting on baked beans with bacon, broccoli and bread (apparently we were thankful for the letter b). we also had a bit of wine and toasted to our good fortune that we were in such an amazing place.

By the 25th, the day we were supposed to start our hike, it was apparent that I was not in any shape to be traipsing around in the freezing cold. We postponed our hike reservations for a day and hoped for the best. I stayed in bed all day and probably whined masa's ear off, but he took good care of me and by the next day I was well enough to begin the Kepler Track.

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Photos

there's a penguin in there
somewhere...

windy
near dunedin, south island