So Much to Tell
I hate that I can’t use the internet more, because I know I will forget stuff if I don’t write it down. Not only is it hard to even find internet cafes sometimes, it is quite expensive.
So……. we’ve done a lot and gone pretty far since Mt. Cook.
We drove down the east coast, stopped in Oamaru for lunch, and then spent two nights in Dunedin. (pronounced Dun-Eden. Not Doon-adin.) It was a neat little college town and it has the steepest street in the world. But we didn’t see it. Heh heh.
We met a super friendly Kiwi girl in the Kathmandu store and talked to her for a while. She said how when 9-11 happened she was terrified and had nightmares. It was interesting to hear her perspective on things.
When we were there, Jim went to a Speight’s brewery tour. I was very excited to go to the Cadbury tour, but so mant people told me it was a rip-off, so I didn’t go. That was a bummer. But we did see Kill Bill 2, which Jim has been dying to see.
Then we left Dunedin (it’s Celtic for Edinburgh, too) and took the “Southern Scenic Route” to Invercargill, the sothern most city in NZ. All along the way are lots of places to stop and take short or long hikes to see awesomely scenic things. We only stopped two times to go to some waterfalls. But true to form, it was absolutely gorgeous the whole way. This country is amazing!!! I can’t imagine anything being more beautiful! And there really ARE loads of sheep everywhere!
Pic: The big waterfall
(When we were leaving, we got a little lost and took some road right on the coast that was an awesome view. See this picture….
How would you like to play golf on THIS course??)
Right before we got to Invercargill, we were just riding along in the car, all quiet, when we went by some tiny, ratty little lake. All of the sudden, both of us were like, “WHOA!” because this lake was SO still that the reflection of the clouds and blue sky above were perfectly, exactly in the lake. It was nothing I have ever seen. So we stopped and went back to take a picture, but by the time we got back, it had started to drizzle and the reflection was ruined. We were bummed out and got back in the car, and then I said, “Hey, I wonder if there is a rainbow?” I turned around and the HUGEST brightest rainbow ever was all the way across the sky. So of course we jumped out again and took pictures. It was so big we couldn’t get it all the way in the shot.
This pic doesn’t let you see how huge it was, but I like this shot.
So it was this magical moment and all that. First the cool lake, then the rainbow, in the middle of nowhere!
Then we stopped for the night in Invercargill, the southernmost city in NZ. And who knows, maybe the most south I’ll ever be in my life… (next stop, Antarctica!) We didn’t do anything there except play Monopoly with some Germans.
The next day we were off to Te Anau, which is a jump-off point for Milford Sound. We stayed there a night, in the cute but tiny town, and decided just to go straight to Milford the next day and not do anything in Te Anau. (Te Anau was, of course, beautiful as well.)
Yawn. Te Anau.
So early the next morning we left (took two Irish girls with us who needed a ride) and took the 2 hour drive to Milford Sound. The guidebook said it is one of the most scenic dries you’ll EVER see and it was NOT KIDDING!! You go thru forests and past rivers and stuff but THEN, you are in the mountains and it is just MIND BLOWING…. (unfortunately I don’t have the pics yet). These enormous black mountains all around you, with snow at the top, and tons and tons of water flying down the sides everywhere! It was just stunnning! I was worried that Jim might go off the road because we were all craining our necks so much to get a look. Just incredible!
Pic: Another rainbow before getting on the boat in Milford. Stylin’ in my red kid’s raincoat.
Then we got to Milford and the second we opened the doors, sandflies were everywhere. I have heard about the little bastards but now I saw them. They are little flies whose bite is supposed to be worse than a mosquito’s, and they are EVERYWHERE. Then it was decided that we’d do the cruise and get out of there!!
So we got on the huge boat and took off into the sound. Again, mind blowing. It was raining the whole time (it almost always rains there) but there were waterfalls coming off the mountains everywhere, and the most amazing thing was that the wind would blow the water back up the mountain, or the waterfall would just fly into the air into sheets of droplets in the air!! God, it was amazing. We saw a few fur seals sitting on a rock and the guy next to me saw a dolphin. We all got pelted with wind and rain but it was just incredible, like everything else here in NZ.
These are waterfalls getting blown into the air or back up the mountain! The one on the right is completely blown away!! Awesome!
Pic: Another pretty pic of Milford Sound from the cruise boat.
The same day we drove back to Te Anau, had a snack, and made our way to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world and where Bungy jumping was invented. I don’t think either of us are going to do any crazy activities but we did go on a luge. Well, my time’s up… didn’t even have time to write any e-mails today!
Jim on the chair lift back to the top of the luge. Cool view of Queenstown in the back!
Next we are heading up the west coast and the next big thing will be the glaciers……
Tags: New Zealand
Kelly
Hi Kelly
Fab photos! The golf course one looked amazing, once my boyfriend sees it, that’s where we’ll be heading, I am an official golf widow!!
Yup, that’s where I want to go next. I’ll stomp on grapes in Switzerland another trip.
Hi Snazzy, I’m glad you like the photos. However tell your boyfriend that it was exTREMEly windy there!!!!
Hi Mom! Forget Switzerland! Forget anywhere!! Come here!!! Or maybe Alaska since it is closer.. I bet they have a lot of same mountains and cold stuff. But the north island of NZ has geothermal springs and volcanoes and stuff!! can’t wait to go there!