Feb 28

I think we are getting tired because we decided to take it easier today with a hike up a small mountain (Iron Mountain) and another along the lake and river. This allowed me to catch up on our internet messages. We shared quad room with a nice couple from northern Germany. This picture is of Wanaka from Iron Mountain.

Feb 27

Today we hiked up Roy's Peak and then decided to continue over Alpha with great views all around.

The trail to Mt Alpha had to circumvent some interesting rock formations.

                                            Here is Mt Alpha from the town of Wanaka.

We walked out to Cardona Valley and hitched a ride with a Swiss fellow who has been living in New Zealand for three years; he took us right back to the original parking lot. We then drove to into Mt Aspiring National Park to the Rob Roy parking lot, and hiked into the base of Rob Roy Glacier to the right.


The views in the valley were great but the road was rough- washboard like I have never seen before, plus lots of cattle guards and about a half dozen ford stream crossings. On the way back we saw lots of elk and deer farms.

Feb 26

We got a bit earlier start today and drove to Queenstown stopping to take pictures along the way, including one at the entrance to Kingston which is community of a few houses and a gas station.

In Queenstown we then headed to the trailhead along the lake for Ben Lomond. 

Unfortunately the trail was a bit confusing with multiple herd paths in one place, which made us backtrack and go up Skyline Road. From there it was a nice walk through beech and pine forests until we hit the open at less than an hour from Thompson Street. We reached the saddle in 1:36 h and the peak in 2:21 h.

Ben Lomond summit.

After taking pictures we walked down via the complex at the top of the gondola ride. Along the way we saw parasailors and “luge” riders.

Feb 25

Got up and had a huge breakfast starting with cold foods followed by a full hot breakfast. Then they took us on a complete tour of the Sound and out into the Tasman Sea a bit. This gave us some good views of waves hitting the rocks. 

We got a bit of water too, when the waves splashed in through the drain holes at foot level.

On the way back to the dock we saw some seals.

Milford Sound enveloped in mist was absolutely beautiful.

On the way back to Te Anau, we encountered a flock of about 1000 sheep being moved along the road, so we stopped and let them run around us.

At Te Anau we checked into the Barnyard then hiked from Rainbow Reach to the control gates; return time 4 hours. This completed the Kepler Track from the hut on Lake Manapouri to Mt Luxmore; this is about half of the Kepler Track.

Feb 24

Today we headed for Milford Sound. On the way we stopped a couple of times to take pictures, including the Chasm. On reaching Milford Sound, we packed our overnight bags and got ready to board the Milford Wanderer. At the checkin desk, we were given some great news; instead of being in a 4 share room, we had a double to ourselves. The cruise loaded at 4:15 and immediately they served us a bowl of hearty soup; everyone appreciated this because it was wet and cool. Then they took us on a ¾ tour of the Sound because it was too windy and rough further out. In fact, the wind was so strong that it blew the water in some waterfalls upward so that it didn't land in its usual place.

After tying up in Harrison's Bay, some people went out in the Zodiac tendercraft to get closer to the shore sights, and we went out in kayaks. This allowed us to get very close to a couple of Fiordland crested penguins; about 15 feet away and they ignored us completely. I had a quick swim in very cold water, then we had hot showers. A really good dinner of roast pork loin with crisp rind followed. We sat with a nice couple, Sam and Carol, from the States, and promised to send them some pictures that they missed. We also sat with another Canadian, Andrew from Toronto who works for RIM. We have been impressed with the numbers of Canadians and Germans that we have met.

Feb 23

Left Manapouri and drove to Te Anau stopping to check into tonight's accommodation on the way. In Te Anau, we stopped at Department of Conservation office and saw that the forecast was for good weather with wind. Checked to see the hours of the supermarket- until 9 p.m. Drove to the control gate trailhead of the Kepler Track and started hiking along the lake at 10:10 a.m. Took an hour to Bok Bay and then turned up a great well sloped trail toward Luxmore; we reached treeline in about 1½ hours where we literally broke out of the trees in a few steps. I had left the memory chip in the computer so I waited until we reached Luxmore Hut at about 3 hr 15 min to put in my old chip and delete a few pictures. After some food we started out for Luxmore peak along more good trail. As we went higher the wind got stronger; finally at the turnoff it said “10 min to peak.” We crawled up in the wind and took a couple of pictures; we had to leave because it was unsafe to walk and uncomfortable to sit. Took less than 4½ hr to the peak. On the way down we stopped and went into the Luxmore Caves. The walk down was very gentle, and easy on the knees. Note how they take you around rock bluffs on stairs with steel treads. Total trip time was 8:42 h. The Barnyard Backpackers is really nice. We have a 4 share with en suite. The common area is up the hill, and is very spacious. The kitchen has stainless steel sinks, ample refrigerator space and granite surfaces on the food preparation islands. We had venison sausages for supper; they were very tasty and very lean.

Feb 22

This morning we called and booked the Wednesday overnight cruise in Milford Sound. Then we drove toward Manapouri, and we stopped to take typical pictures of sheep and a dead possum on the road. After driving through Manapouri, we hiked along the Kepler Track from Rainbow Reach to the two huts on Lake Manapouri. The trail was really well maintained and easy to walk on. Tomorrow we plan to hike the Kepler Track from Te Anau to Mt Luxmore.

Feb 21

We decided that we would hike the 36 km Rakiura Track in one day, so we arranged our day to allow us to get back for the 6:30 p.m. ferry back to Bluff. We woke up at 5:15 a.m. and we were picked up by the Tuk Tuk lady at 6 a.m. for a ride to Lee Bay to save us 5 km - $25. We started hiking the Rakiura Track in the dark with headlamps at 6:15; it got light about 6:30-7:00 when I could take our first picture of the day. The trail to the Fort William branch was good. Then the next section was nearly all board walk or board steps as shown in one of the pictures. We met Marco on the trail about half way across to North Arm Hut. We stopped at North Arm hut for food and water, and hiked out to the road by 2:15 p.m. making it 8 hr from Lee Bay. After getting to Halfmoon Bay DOC we watched a video on Kiwis because we hadn't seen any. Then it was back to the ferry for a ride to the mainland. This time the sea was calm making the ride a pleasure; no one got sea sick this time. About ¾ of the way across, we saw dolphins; the skipper stopped the boat and let the dolphins entertain us for about 10 minutes. Tomorrow morning we will phone about a cruise on Milford Sound.














Here is the Tuk Tuk, the only taxi on Stewart Island.

Feb 20

Saturday 20 February
Drove to Bluff and caught the ferry to Stewart Island. On the way over it was very rough with a number of others getting sea sick. It was an interesting and wild ride. After checking in at the Stewart Island Backpackers, we went to the DOC office for information on the Rakiura Track. Then we hiked out to the lighthouse and took a picture looking back at the village of Oban on Halfmoon Bay.  It was a rather dreary and wet day, but we had fun.

Feb 19

Today we drove through an area called the Catlins. At Nugget Point we saw more Fur Seals, but no sea lions; we saw two penguins. We stopped to see Matai Falls and the railway tunnel that was dug by hand. The highlight of the day was at Curio Bay where we saw three penguins, one of whom got out of the water and walked right up in front of us.






We then drove to Invercargill to the Kackling Kea hostel where we stayed overnight in a dorm room. There we met Marco, a Swiss airline attendant, who recognized us from Mt Cook. He joined us for the side trip to Stewart Island.

There are lots of very large hedges along the roads and separating farm fields. They are kept very neatly trimmed. Two pictures show a hedge, a machine to trim them and good view of the saw mounted on the machine.

We got a lot of nice views today; enjoy.

Feb 18

February 18 was not a great day for sightseeing because it was generally wet, cool and overcast. Nevertheless, we saw more beautiful beaches on the way to Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. Here is a shot of a Royal Albatross soaring in the wind over the tip of the peninsula where they nest.  There were many of these large birds flying above us; they have wingspans of over 3 m.

Feb 17 Tasman Glacier

February 17 Wednesday

We were told last night that it was supposed to rain this morning, but fortunately the forecast was wrong and it was just cloudy. After breakfast and checking out of the YHA, we drove up Tasman Valley Road to the parking lot at the base of the terminal moraine. From there we hiked the road and trail to the site of the former Ball Hut. The skies opened a bit and we got good views of the Tasman Glacier where it is joined by Murchison Glacier on the left. At the end of the trail we spoke with a local who told us that there used to be a road up to Ball Hut. As the glacier has shrunk, the moraine has become unstable swallowing whatever was on the ledges. In the pictures, the lower part of the glacier is covered with rock rubble. Periodically we heard rocks dropping into openings in the glacier below us. We ate lunch and walked back to the car; we got some rain for the last 20 minutes. Since it was raining, we decided to head east and drove to Oamaru on the east coast. The hostels were full so we carried on to Waianakarua and got a double room at the Olive Grove. Nice large room with showers and toilets in a separate building.

Feb 16

We drove from Lake Tepako to Mt Cook village where we got hiking information at the Department of Conservation office. From parking lot at the head of the valley, we started hiking for Mueller Hut around 11 a.m. The weather was sunny and warm, and the trail was steep. We started at about 675 m and reached the hut at 1800 m. We took lots of pictures along the way.

 Here we are on the trail.

 They even put in stairs on the trail.

After gaining the ridge we heard sounds like thunder or jet aircraft only to realize that it was ice breaking away from the glaciers across the hanging valley- very impressive but I didn't get a video of one. The views along the way were amazing. We got to Mueller hut (1800 m) in about 2 and a half hours, and after some food, we hiked further to top of Mt Ollivier (1870 m). Mueller hut is impressive for its solidness with lots of steel I-beams in its construction.

Mueller Hut was well equipped with a steel outhouse.


On the way down we stopped to take pictures at the ridge and Sealy Tarns and then went to Kea Point. After getting to the car we stopped at the DOC to look at the displays. Then it was down to the hostel for showers, beautiful clean hot showers. Supper was an omelet, which went down very well.