21 Days, South Island New Zealand

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As we traveled further south on the west side of the island the weather improved the closer we got to our destination. We were stayng at a hotel called the Terrace which had a pretty good view of the mountains. After check in we headed out towards the glacier. By the time we arrived we were greeted by patches of sunlight however there was still plenty of cloud covering the peaks.

 

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We made the Hokitika Gorge.. it's just another little Gorge, you don't need to feel a sense of loss…..

 

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Apparently this was another filming spot for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, looking at the landscape one can see why. After the rain there were quite a few waterfalls tumbling down the side of the sheer cliffs, I imagine they would be quite spectacular as the snow melts.

 

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The hike up to the top of the glacier was quite steep, so I ended up doing it on my own.

 

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I had organized a surprise for the next day, on the pretext of getting breakfast we wandered down town. Damnit, they got to ride in the front.

 

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The flight took us up over Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, with a 5 minute landing on Franz. Some pretty cool scenery.

 

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So what do you do when you are 10 years old and never been in the snow, well you have fun.

 

[irv]

Thank you for your support, all of you. My initial comments in this post were not to raise sympathy, but a background of where this trip originated. I am sure there are many more on this site who have traveled after tragedy, we are one, and for us it wasn't all beer and skittles. However set the demons aside, hopefully many more trips to come with our grandson.

 

[irv]

That afternoon we headed out to Fox Glacier, we had flown over it during the helicopter flight. It was in fact quite disappointing after Franz Josef, the glacier had retreated so far you could not even view from the lookout, I didn't even take any photos which is unusual for me. When we arrived back at the Motel, the mountains which had been so clear during our flight were blanketed in cloud, sometimes you get the timing right.

 

[irv]

So in my meticulous planning, I obviously did not read the map right. I had pencilled in our next destination as Milford Sound, and due to the bookings filling up, I booked three nights in the sound itself. When I looked a few days later I realised we had a long time driving to get there the day after Franz Josef with a journey of 625Klm. i blame this entirely on Google Earth, what I thought was a coastal road was in fact a setting I must of turned on following the coast line Oh well that's part of the joy of traveling.

 

[irv]

So we departed for Milford, a route that would take us through Haast, Cardona Valley, Te Anau and then Milford. The country around Karanagura, was pleasant, they certainly like one lane bridges on this island. The highway followed the coast and then turned inland to Haast. I didn't think much of the township of Haast, however we stopped and had breakfast there. As we headed further south we entered Mt Aspiring National Park and the views started to be come magical. TBH was driving so I had the opportunity to take some shots as we drove along.

 

[irv]

We made pretty good time actually, it was a goregeous sun drenched day, we arrived in Te Anau for lunch. What a spectacular view over the lake, we were actually coming back to stay here as part of our journey. Filled up here before we made our way towards Milford, the lady in the fuel station tried to sell us tickets on one of the cruises but I thought we would wait until we arrived. She told us that heave rain was due to fall, looking out the window all I could see was sunlight and fluffy white clouds. We had about three hours of a trip still ahead of us.

 

[irv]

As we drove further into Fiordland the roads became steeper and narrower, I was driving now so no more happy snaps. We reached the Homer Tunnel, after a wait of about 10 minutes we received the green light and drove into Milford Sound. On our way down to the accommodation we passed a number of signs warning of road closures tomorrow. We had booked for 3 nights but had planned an explore around the park or just outside. When booking in we were advised heavy rain was expected overnight, if that occurred there was a danger of avalanches from all the snow that was abundant on the way in. The weather at that stage was clear, so we would see what the next day would bring. We had a Riverside cabin, not only did we like it, but so did the midges. We have a road on the North Shore of Port Macquarie aptly named Sandfly Alley, these were just as bad so we retreated to the cabin before dinner. I woke up during the night to the sound of a what sounded like a waterfall directly over the cabin, the rain was here.

 

[irv]

Woke up the next morning, rain had abated but was still pretty heavy. We wandered down for breakfast where we were informed the road in and out of the sound had been closed last night, so no traffic in or out. Asked what was happening with the cruises in the sound, was told if a minimum of twenty paying passengers put there hand up, and subject to further weather conditions, we would know around 10:30 if the Captain elected it safe enough to travel. Put our names down, fairly quickly. There was no wind, the showers whilst heavy were nothing compared to many fishing trips I had ventured on, and we were not going out in a tinny. We got the nod about 10:30 that one ship would depart at 11:30 so prepared for the day. The view from our room was fantastic, waterfalls everywhere you looked.

 

[irv]

We arrived at the terminal just as the rain picked up, however a reasonable amount of cover from the carpark to the terminal. So we were about to alight on a vessel that had a capacity of about 250 passengers with about 25 on board. No jostling, and plenty of vantage points to photograph on the voyage.

The cloud cover was reasonably low which only added to what, in my mind, was a perfect day for some stunning photos. oh and don't forget the waterfalls

 

[irv]

The deeper into the sound we traveled, the heavier the rain and cloud. At one stage it felt quite primordial, and it is easy to imagine the glaciers which carved this out millions of years ago. To give an idea of the light, or lack thereof all the photos in this post are in color, a few of them look quite sepia.

 

[irv]

The good thing about the voyage, is what you missed on the way down, you picked up on the way back.

 

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We finished by getting upfront and personal. After seeing this I think I would be disappointed viewing in the sunlight.

 

[irv]

One thing about Milford, when it rains, it certainly rains. A view from outside our room.

 

[irv]

And we made a new friend who wanted inside our room out of the rain.