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Published: November 6th 2008
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Wednesday It is the southern hemisphere... and November means warmer weather... Or does it????
We awoke on Wednesday morning in Dunedin to a crisp clear morning. As we stepped out of the hotel to alight the coach we noticed that there was a smattering of snow on the surrounding hills. This was confirmed we were informed that it was a pleasant -5 degrees!!!
To confirm that it was indeed really cold, we took a trip to the world's steepest street - Baldwin Street, Dunedin. This street has a gradient of 1 in 2.86 - meaning every metre that is travelled you are elevated 2.86 metres. We did not have time to climb the street - a mere 161 metres long (for the steep bit) - which has apparently been climbed up and down in the record time of 1.5 minutes. Needless to say, we were all pretty impressed - even the Germans - who have seen the European Alps!!
We spent the rest of the morning having a tour of Olveston House, an early 20th century house - owned by one of the richer families to settle in Dunedin. It was nice to see how the
other half lived - the most impressive feature was the full sized slate billiard table on the second floor.
Our lunch stop was on top of a hill where we were welcomed with a flurry of light snow. As the afternoon progressed and we travelled further south-west the snow continued to fall. For afternoon tea we stopped at a small town called Mossborn for icecream - and Dave's first ever snow!! There's something surreal about eating icecreams in the snow in November!!!
We ended the day at lake Te Anau and stayed at Fiordland National Park Lodge on the lakeside surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We spent the evening exploring the lakes near the hotel, eating hearty food and drinking wine by the open fireplace.
Thursday We awoke to another fresh morning - no snow - but plenty of frost. After a hearty breakfast (apparently it was the best bacon Dave had ever tasted), we all piled onto the coach to head for Milford Sound. I can't say enough how impressive the countryside is here in New Zealand - we were constantly in awe at the majesty of the mountains and the clarity of the lakes. It
is enough to make you feel like an insignificant piece of the universe.
On our way through to Milford Sound along the Milford Road, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes. Here you can see the reflection of the mountains in the lake water - so crystal clear. It was truly beautiful. Further along the road we began to make our way up into the snow until we reached Homer's Tunnel. Homer's Tunnel is a 1.25km tunnel that passes through the mountains towards Milford Sound. It is so narrow that vehicles are only allowed to travel in one direction at a time. While we waited our turn to take the tunnel, we marvelled at the snow and befriended the local mountain parrots (called Keas).
As we wound our way down to Milford Sound from Homer's Tunnel we were constantly reminded of how tiny we were in comparison to this magnificent mountainside. The road was steep and lined by snow-frosted trees, which slowly gave way to lush rainforest the further down we travelled.
At Milford Sound we boarded our boat, which took us on a round tour of the Sound that passed the Bowen & Stirling Falls. The skipper
had a keen eye for the local wildlife and pointed out penguins and seals along the way. Milford Sound is impressive and pristine - it is very easy to see why it is on the world heritage listing. Stunned and amazed after the boat trip we made our way back to Te Anau, then past the shores of Lake Wakatipu and on to Queenstown.
We arrived in Queenstown early in the evening. Our hotel is on the waterfront with impressive views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Well, we thought that they were impressive until we took the Gondola ride to the Skyline restaurant. Not Dave's favourite activity (as it involves insane heights - the gondola had an impressive gradient too), but Alan and Mel enjoyed the ride up and the fantastic panoramic views as we dined on all you can eat buffet. We descended on to Queenstown to the sparkle of the night lights over the lake.
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Nathalie Moore
non-member comment
Mind blowing!
Hi Mel/Alan, After reading and seeing all those amazing pictures of the South Island I have this urge to experience this incredible place too! Thanks for sharing those amazing pictures and comments with us all. See you soon XX Nat