Kayaks and Sandflies
Day 6 – Te Anau to Milford and back.
Without a shower and with minimal breakfast, we rolled out of the YHA at 5:45am to await our transport to Milford. We were the first to be picked up. A woman named Steph was our driver and would be guiding us for the whole day. After us she picked up an Austrian couple and a French girl named Matild. It was still quite dark out when we pulled out of Te Anau. We drove along the same road we’d taken on the way to Hollyford Road the previous day. Along the drive Steph told us tidbits about Fiordland and Milford Sound. After traveling beyond the Hollyford road, the landscape began the change. There were fewer trees and we entered into avalanche zones in which cars were not allowed to stop. This was on account of there being dozens of avalanches that went across the road every year. We also went through a long tunnel, which had been created by pickaxes earlier in the century. Steph actually told us that the whole road out to Milford Sound had been made without the use of tools during and after the Great Depression (or its New Zealand equivalent in the 1930s). We arrived at Milford Sound and were joined by several other groups, there were about 20 of us in all. The guides helped outfit us with the old and smelly kayak gear and then gave us some tutorials on paddle use. All during this the sandflies tormented us to no end. Now the New Zealand expression made sense: This would be paradise if not for the sandflies. The pesky little critters swarmed around anything living and would bite in a few seconds if you gave them the chance. There was little to be done about them though and the guides assured us that once out on the more open water, they would all go away. Next we got our kayaks and pushed off into the water. It turned out that I would be doing the steering. Now this was quite problematic at first, as I was used to canoe steering in which one used the paddle. With kayaks, however, you had a little rudder and two petals. Thus I was beset with the task of keeping my paddle in time with Tory who was in front, while trying to operate my feet to steer the boat, and keep my eye on where we were going. Needless to say I struggled a bit at first. Once on the water, we all paddled up, which basically meant we pulled all our paddles together as one big raft. One of the guides gave us some safety instructions and then we all split up and followed our respective guides. With our original group in the car came an English girl and two Italians. Now a note about this English girl. It was quite remarkable, but I actually had more difficulty understanding her English than any of the other foreigners we’d met. Anyway, Steph led us out into the sound where we ventured along the coastline. We viewed a fantastic waterfall up close, and saw several places at which the steep mountains had had mudslides, of a sort. These mudslides were not actually mudslides. Over the decades trees and other plants would accumulate on the steep and rocky sides of the mountains. When a particularly hard rain occurred, sometimes all this flora would peel off and plummet into the sound. As we paddled around we observed several places where this had occurred. Unfortunately there were no seals or penguins to be spotted on that day. About halfway through the trip our weather, which up until then had been quite nice (unusually so for Milford) began to turn. The cloud rolled in and it became rainy. Waterlogged and waterproof already though, the rain was of little consequence. We continued our adventure around the sound until about 1:00 when we returned to the Milford boat ramp and were unsuited. After changing into some dry and comfortable clothes, Steph drove us up to the actual town of Milford at which Tory, Matilde, the two Austrians, and I, all stopped in to a pub. Tory and I had a beer and we all chatted for about an hour. Steph eventually came back and picked us up. She was taking us back to Te Anau, but along the way we were to make several sightseeing stops. We stopped and got a chance to see a chasm through which the river flowed. There were a few viewpoints of waterfalls and other scenic locations. I was so tuckered out from kayaking though that I began to doze again when we got to the part of the trip that I’d already seen twice before while driving. Steph invited our group to come out for drinks with the other guides later, but Tory and I decided not to take up the offer. Instead, we did head straight for the showers and after cleaning off, made our way out for a walk around Te Anau. The city, which sat on the shore of a lake, was quiet and made for a nice walk. After the walk, we made our way to a pizza joint for some well-needed grub. The pizza was quite good, and after we finished, we headed back to the hostel to look at our options for the next day. We didn’t decide anything definite, but only that we would go as far as Wanaka for sure. I spent some time on the Internet and on my computer before calling it a night. After arriving back in Te Anau, my arms had been aching from the kayak trip. It felt as though I’d just received a tetanus shot. And while painkillers helped, I was gratefully for the peace and painlessness of a good night’s sleep.
Tags: Kayaking, Milford Sound, New Zealand, Te Anau, Travel
gregbilsland
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