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Published: September 6th 2009
Thursday, September 3rd
After breakfast we said goodbye to Graham and Rose. In a few short days they've become our New Zealand parents. With wisdom, compassion and a kind, unassuming approach, they've given us a glimpse of a fulfilling life in the service of God and man. Their home has a warm, open vibe and you can't help but feel comfortable there. Thank you for all the TLC! We absolutely loved staying with you!
When we left Balclutha we headed for Nugget Point, a beautiful lookout point with rocks sticking out of the ocean like nuggets. To reach the lookout point we had to hike the last bit. It was raining lightly so we donned our rain gear and set off. Less than 50m from our van it suddenly started raining huge slushy drops. We were almost instantly drenched in near-frozen water and beat a hasty retreat to the van. The nuggets will have to wait for another time. It gives us a good excuse (not that we need one) to swing by Aunt Rose and Uncle Graham in the future.
We set off to Bluff, the southern-most town in the South Island and about 140km away. As we
Cool frog signs
The Whistling Frog Cafe were making our way south-west the rain turned to sleet, then hail, then sunshine, then snow. We needed the potty so we stopped at the Whistling Frog cafe & bar. This bar is filled with funny frog signs and stuff. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and muffins, then set off once more.
Not long after that we committed our first NZ murder (technically it's probably called Vehicular Bird-slaughter). It was small, white, and went "bonk" when it hit the business end of our van. R.I.P. little buddy!
The higher we climbed the more snow covered the roads. We took it easy and made it down to a lower altitude with no slips or slides.
We drove through Invercargill to Bluff, then on to Sterling Point. Here we had a run-in with our first robot toilet. You press a button and a door opens, closes and locks behind you. As soon as the door closes, classical music starts playing. When you business is done the toilet automatically flushes as soon as the soap is (you guessed it) automatically dispensed into your hands, followed by auto water and auto dryer. One last press of a button and you're set free.
Altogether a very weird experience.
We had lunch, then went for a 50min tramp to the Foveaux Memorial Lookout Point. We sat for a while looking for whales but there was none to be seen. Once back at the van we drove into Bluff to find milk and a camping spot.
The camping spot we found worked on the honesty system so we found a parking spot, dropped our cash in the registration envelope, then sat baking in the lovely late afternoon sunshine.
Today's highlights:
1. Driving through the snow.
2. Arriving at the southern-most tip of our journey.
3. Baking in the late afternoon sun.
Impressions of NZ:
Here's a tip for the NZ cops; place an undercover cop at any scenic parking place near any town. These seem to be a favourite place for young and old to smoke their joints. We've not visited a single one without seeing at least one car filled with pot-heads. Friday, September 4th
We woke to a beautiful sunny morning. The frost on the grass suggested the temperature had dropped below 0 during the night, but we were snug in our van so we didn't feel a
thing.
With breakfast in our bellies we left Bluff and drove back through Invercargill. After a pit stop we turned west toward Riverton. Here we stopped for a few supplies then continued west. The views were magnificent; green rolling hills against the snowy peaks of the Southern Alps. You can literally stop every kilometer, point your camera in any direction, and get a beautiful shot.
We spotted a cool beach with crashing waves against a backdrop of the snowy mountains. We found that this is called Gemstone Beach. They say that the beach changes from day to day. Some times it's piled high with stones, the next it's sand again. You can find a collection of gemstones here, amongst others Sapphires and Jasper. We picked a bunch of pretty rocks, got a few pictures, then left them behind. There's no need to carry them with us.
With snow capped peaks surrounding us we turned north to Manapouri. Once there we needed the potty again, so we followed the signs to Frasers Beach and found the most beautiful picnic spot we've had to date. It was spectacular! We had peanut-butter and syrup sammies while we tried to absorb
our gorgeous surroundings. We fear the day when we become used to this kind of beauty.
We drove on to Te Anau, the closest town to Milford Sound. We got a camping spot, then went to explore. It's a small and quiet little town with a lot of shops closed for winter or vacant. We wandered through a few souvenir shops, then went to sit by the lake. When the shadows covered our bench we walked through the rest of town. We spent almost an hour in an outdoor shop. If we closed our eyes and got everything we wanted in there, we'd be flat broke by the time we left.
Back at camp we found that the road to Milford Sound was still closed due to snow and the threat of avalanches. We decided to wait and see what happens tomorrow. We sat in the afternoon sun enjoying wine and cheese. And old guy walking by remarked that we were very refined. He obviously missed the
box of wine standing between us.
After a shower we went out for some veggie nachos, wedges and a dark ale each. Back at camp we brushed our teeth and
crawled into our cozy van.
Today's highlights:
1. Amazing vistas.
2. Gorgeous lunch spot.
3. Cheese and wine.
4. Nachos and dark ales.
Impressions of NZ:
It's too easy to become used to the gorgeous surroundings and forget just how blessed we are. This place is amazing! Saturday, September 5th
The road to Milford Sound was still closed so we decided to drive up to Lake Gunn, the closest campsite. It was one of the most beautiful drives of our trip and we stopped every now and then to take pictures. Highlights were Eglinton Lookout and Mirror Lakes. We had a potty break at Deer Flat and detoured to Cascade Creek for some more photos.
We arrived at the Lake Gunn campsite around noon. This was by far our most beautiful campsite. We were met by a couple of cute little Robbins (we think). They were very inquisitive, stood straight up like soldiers on parade and weren't afraid of us at all. We fed them some left over bread and they carted off some for their chicks too.
After lunch we took our chairs down to the lake and sat in the sun playing guitar
and reading the afternoon away. There was a light but cold breeze blowing. Every now and then it would die down and you'd think that we'd be glad, but we weren't. Those were the moments the sandflies would attack. We were warned about those little bastards, but we had forgotten to get repellent. Let’s just say that you don't wanna get bitten by one of these little monsters, and if you do, you really don't want to scratch that bite. It itches like crazy!
By 15:30 the sun had disappeared behind the mountain and it became bitterly cold. There are no tramping trails around this end of the lake, so we walked up and down the driveway to keep warm. At one point we even played hide-and-seek in the woods.
Near dark we made dinner in the van, then prepared for bed. We used our inverter to run power from the battery so we could charge our cameras and watch a movie (Ferdi was very chuffed to finally be using it).
Today's highlights:
1. The drive up Milford road.
2. Gorgeous campsite.
3. Playing guitar and reading by the lake.
4. Using our inverter for the first
My precious!
or just pretty rocks? time.
Impressions of NZ:
There are so many hiking routes in this area and we can't wait to return here and hike all of them.
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thetravelbugtribe
The travel bug tribe
you've captured the beauty of the South Island well. glad you are still enjoying your trip here.