Milford Sound and beyond.....

Sorry for the infrequency of blog posts on this road trip.....we left our Mac charger (we use the Mac for photo editing) back in Whangarei, and have had to rely on the occasional encounter with a fellow Mac user to bum a quick charge.....ughhhhh.   Will try to get caught up here as quickly as we can!

We're also experimenting with the blog design.....not quite there yet, but let us know if you think it's an improvement.....



Kayaking Milford Sound

In our last post, we had just arrived in Milford Sound.  The Sound is in a sub tropical rainforest, so we cooled our heels for a day of deluge until the dawn broke clear, and we were good to head out for a kayak trip with Roscoe Kayaks.  These guys do a great job.  The kayaks were new and in good shape, paddles were carbon fiber, and they provided all clothes down to the poly pro undies!

We left the dock at dawn, 3 double kayaks and a great guide, Tristan, in a single.  This was their longest trip, paddling the full length of the Sound, all the way out to the Tasman Sea, about 21 km.  Next stop would be Australia!

Sunrise over Milford Sound

It was a gorgeous morning, no wind, clear crisp skies, and an awesome sunrise lighting the peaks around us.  The paddling was at a decent pace, all in the boats were experienced paddlers.

We paddled by many waterfalls, the walls streaming from the rain of the previous day.  At one, we stopped to take a quick shower under the falls, following Tristan's lead so as not to capsize the boats.  No worries, all made it in good knick.

Really great to go early, as we beat the armada of cruise boats who overtook us just as we were finishing the trip a few hours after we started.  Milford is one of the top attractions of NZ, and we hear they take as many as 5,000 people A DAY to the sound, by boat, plane, and chopper.  Wish we could have cued the sound track from Apocalypse Now.......

Finally, after stops at waterfalls and sea lion rookeries, we reached the end of Milford, where Tristan called for the pickup boat to come and get us back to "town".......All in all, a great morning on the water, and we think the best way to see Milford Sound.



On the road again

We headed back to Queenstown to meet up with Seattle friends, Glen and Carol, who had picked up their camper van in Christchurch for a bit of Kiwi adventuring.  All went according to plan, and we got in some good tramping, both around Queenstown and east, as we worked our way into the Catlins, on the coast between Invercargill and Dunedin.

On top of Queenstown Hill

Glen takes one for the team as he thwarts an alien invasion

South Island traffic jam

More traffic

"If sheep could fly....."  Oh wait.....they CAN !!!

Trying (unsuccessfully) to keep dry.....

Emptying the vile efluvia.....ah, the glamour of the open road!!!

What's the worst that could happen, right???

Nothing handles like a rental !!!       "Yes sir, we'd like ALL the insurance for this bad boy....."

Glen checks out "berdans", part of an old gold mining operation on a hike through "the "Invincibles"

Before we head off to the Catlins, here's a pop quiz, from our last post.....

You may recall that we stopped off for a visit with friends Gray and Carolyn at their bach (pronounced "batch".....Kiwi for vacation home).   What sport is being pursued in the following picture, taken in their living room ???

. . . . . . . . . . .


Still guessing???

If you guessed "FISHING", damn you're good !!!!!   We set up the rods over the beach across the road, about 10 meters from the window........."FISH ON".......Sweet As !!!!!


Cheers!

Lady and the Tramp

.....and the Man and the Tramp.  ("tramp" is kiwi speak for "hike").

Cindi tends to tramp blistered feet

For the past month or so the (Dirt) Bravo team has been tramping up a storm down here on NZ's south island!  Tramping, horseback riding, kayaking, it's been a great trip so far.

Moonrise from the Hawken beach bach in Waiwera

Most of the bags were gone by the time we arrived in Picton!!!

Since leaving Whangarei, we've put over 3,500 km on D.B., first stop visiting friends Gray and Carolyn in Waiwera, then down to Wellington to catch a rough ferry crossing over to Picton.

A bit of a close meeting in Marlborough sound

 The drive south was beautiful, a nice mix of coastal and inland road.

Driving toward Mt. Cook, storm clouds brewing

Mt Cook, before the storm hit.  That's Dirt Bravo on the right

Mt Cook was blowing a stormy gale the night we camped there, and the forecast didn't look to sweet for tramping the following day, so we boogied south toward Queenstown.

 Time lapse of Mt. Cook evening storm

Sheep dog working his flock above Moke Lake

Campground host at Moke Lake.  Between arrivals he used his motorcycle to herd (harass??) sheep.

 

DOC camp at Moke Lake.......the big boys and their land toys!

In Queenstown, we met up with Seattle friends Rich and Laura at the airport and went to pick up their camper van rental.

What the Porta Loo lacked in privacy it made up for with the view!!!

Worked out great, except their "self contained" rental had no toilet!!!  Go figure....booked it online, as the saying goes, "the big print giveth, the small print taketh away!!!  No worries, a quick stop at a local hunting/fishing shop had them right as rain!!!

First tramp was the beginning section of the Routeburn track, one of the most famous of NZ's nine "Great Walks".  We drove up to Glenorchy and hiked up past the first hut, at the Flats, to the Falls Hut.  Spectacular mountain and river scenery, and a plush trail and huts.  Takes several months for sleeping hut reservations, which just isn't the way the Bravo's travel, but we got to experience much of the Walk by this long day hike, w/o carrying heavy packs.....sweet as!



Some pix from the Routeburn:

Routeburn Flats hut - sweet lunch stop

Cindi makes her way gingerly across a log bridge as Adam holds it steady!!!

Cindi and "Seth" clearly hit it off from the start!!!

Rich is a "Lord of the Rings" fan, and Laura has a couple of horses back home, so we decided to hire some trusty steeds and head into the L-o-t-R country above Glenorchy.  The riding was fun, and the day was beautiful indeed.....not a bad way to travel!

Texting and driving, a no-no, while a jet boat passes by on the lake in the background....not quite a scene from the movie!!!

The 5 Musketeers !!!

Before leaving Queenstown, we stopped for a pit stop at Arrowtown, an early 1800's gold rush mining town.  While much has been reconstructed as it once was, it's pretty touristy.  The most interesting part was the Chinese camp, where a group of Chinese gold miners who were here seeking their fortunes lived isolated from the other miners.

Chinese camp today, shown above, is pretty much as it's always been

If doors could talk.....lots of stories here

Next up was an exploration of the Lake Wanaka area, about an hour away from Queenstown.  Also surrounded by mountains, the region has some fantastic tramping.  Hard to go wrong on a beautiful sunny day!  Even the drive over was beautiful.

Tramping up at Diamond Lake

First up was a hike up to the Rob Roy glacier.  A great tramp with heaps of "bang for the buck".  Highly recommended!

Gratuitous "sheep shot".....Hey, it's New Zealand, fer chrissakes!!!

Foot bridge marks the start of the tramp up to the Rob Roy amphitheatre

After leaving Rich and Laura to head back up toward Christchurch, we pointed Dirt Bravo toward Fjordland, home of the famous Milford and Doubtful Sounds.  Like most of the area, the drive was beautiful, making its winding way from the sheep and cattle stations around Lake Te Anau up to the mountains of the "Southern Alps". 

We did a great tramp up to Key Summit, which had terrific views into the Milford Sound area which was to follow.  Coincidentally the hike started on the other end of the Routeburn Track, which we'd hiked at the other end the week before!!!

Milford Sound is a rainforest region.  They get over 7 meters (almost 280 inches!!)  of rain each year.  "Rainy" Seattle gets about 36 inches!!!   When raining, the walls above the road are alive with waterfalls everywhere!









We'll leave off here, and save the Milford Sound explorations for the next post.....stay tuned!  Until then, cheers, mates, from Queenstown!  The sun just came out...time for another tramp !!!!