I was startled awake at 6:45 AM by the roaring sound of an engine which had just been turned on. I looked out of the tiny peephole window in our room and to my dismay it was pouring. When we looked at the fjords surrounding us waterfalls had formed in every crevice. The cliffs were pin-striped from the waterfalls. Even though it was too uncomfortable to go out on deck that morning the sight was truly something else as the whole landscape had been painted with bubbling white water. The boat went very near one waterfall and our nature guide filled a container with water so we could drink it. Another benefit of the rain was that there were no sand flies in sight.

Doubtful Sound in Mist

By noon we were back on land out of the waterfall wonderland and were on our way to Milford Sounds just to take the postcard picture and see the Homer Tunnel. It continued to rain and the cliffs along the windy road to Milford was again painted with waterfalls. When we arrived in Milford it wasn’t raining anymore and we went for a walk. We noticed about five various tour companies competing for the busloads of tourists who came to Milford. Seeing this and the constant tour boat traffic on the fjord, we knew we had made the right decision by going on a cruise on the Doubtful Sound because we were the only cruise ship on the fjord. The famous Miter Peak was visible from shore so we took lots of pictures.

Miter Peak

As we drove away from Milford the sky cleared, the waterfalls stopped and all around us the sky opened revealing jagged snow covered peaks, so we had to stop and take lots of pictures along the way was well. Then we headed south to Invercargill so we could do the southern route tomorrow.

Finally Sun

We woke up early and drove to Manapouri from where our Real Journey’s cruise would leave. We were paranoid that our GPS was completely wrong and didn’t know exactly how long it would take us but after a 20 minute drive we arrived two hours early. We sat by the dock playing hearts and rubbing ourselves with insect repellent to fend off the sand flies. We were warned there would be a lot of sand flies in the Sound so we had purchased more. It was sunny when we first arrived at the dock but when it was finally time to leave it was raining.

Beata and I on the boat on the lake

The first part of the journey was crossing Lake Manapouri, where there were spectacular views already. There was a heavy mist lying low in the surrounding and it felt like a landscape from Jurassic Park. Then we had to take a bus to the fjord. (Doubtful Sound isn’t really a sound which is made by rivers but a fjord made by glaciers). I spent the twisty drive flicking sand flies and putting their carcasses into a napkin.

Lake Manapouri

Once on the overnight boat we were disappointed with the size our room which was tiny with 2 of the narrowest sets of bunk beds and a communal showers. At least the communal area which was also the dining room was really nice and all we’d have to do in our room was sleep. They also liked to feed us we got muffins as soon as we boarded, then soup, then dinner and desert and free coffee and tea all day.

Hendrik, Simon, Clementine, and Beata

The fjords were prettier than I thought they would be and were remarkable in the weather we were having. It was cloudy then sunny then rainy; I even saw a rainbow but was not fast enough to get a picture. Apparently the fjords get 6-8 meters of water and it rains 200 days out of a year so we were lucky to get the sun.

Sun!

We were able to see seals ad even got a glimpse of a penguin but they were very shy. Our activities were postponed because of the weather and just as we were supposed to do them again the rain cleared and the sun came out. We could choose between kayaking and going on a boat with a nature guide. I went on the boat which was interesting and I could take lots of nice pictures of the boat and the boys who went kayaking.

Hendrik Kayaking

After our dinner buffet we had a slide show presentation about the native animals of New Zealand. We learned that animals which were brought over were responsible for the extinction of many native animals and even people like the Maori were responsible for the extinction of the Moa. A huge problem in New Zealand are possums which are quick to kill kiwis since they are flightless and can’t escape. Possums are a pest and there are lots of them and carcasses along the road are a common sight, and therefore, they are nicknamed squashums. Possum hair is also very warm, and therefore, the hair is used to make sweaters, hats, ect. People get paid to collect possums and then they are put thorough “possum-pluckers.”

The boat

Then we played Clue until it was bed time. Unfortunately I was stuck with a top bunk, but I ended up sleeping more than I thought I would.

We drove to Te Anau since Simon and Beata wanted to go to the cave there to see glowworms. I wanted to do adventure caving but my plan to go to Greymouth or Waitomo were vetoed. The cave in Te Anau does not have adventure caving at all.  Since Hendrik and I were staying a few days longer than the others we decided to go to Greymouth later instead. While they were off at the caves Hendrik and I found a campsite and relaxed there since Te Anau is a tiny town with nothing to do. After the others joined us again we decided to go play mini golf. We walked to it but no one was attending the stall. There was a number which I called and was told that they were closed. Basically the people working the mini-golf were too lazy to actually work it. I was very disappointed because I love mini golf and it took a while for me to convince the others to actually go with me. So we walked up and down the city about 8 times, which is basically only one block and went into some souvenir stores. I bought an umbrella since mine had been blown apart. Then we went to the only nice pub in the whole town and played pool and got served by a guy with a mullet.  It was so unremarkable that I don’t even have any pictures from this day.

A picture from Queenstown which I love.

We were back in town by 7:30 the next day and the boys were off to book their tour and Beata and I went to the tourist office to se what we wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to do the Shotover Canyon Swing since it looked unique.  I had already bungee jumped and been white water rafting and wanted to do something new. I had never seen anything like it, so I knew I wanted to try it.  Beata wanted to try bungee jumping but since everything was so incredibly overpriced in Queenstown she decided to only do one thing and that was also the Canyon Swing since she could bungee jump elsewhere for cheaper.

Me hugging the Queenstown Kiwi

So we paid an exorbitant amount and got ready for our jump.  They weighed us and drew pictures on our hands to symbolize our weight instead of having a number and being embarrassed.  My picture was of a decapitated stick figure falling into a canyon with blood pouring from the neck which made me feel very secure.  Beata’s was a snail, so apparently light people (since she is half my size) got cheery pictures, and I was jealous.  They took us by bus basically back towards the campsite and then to the location of the swing.  We had to walk to the platform and along the way were garden gnomes with little sayings, it was cute.
We put on our harnesses and when it was our turn we got to choose which style we were going to jump since there were many different ways.  I chose the “pin drop” which meant that I was just supposed to step off the platform and fall straight down feet first.  I had a very hard time forcing myself to step off the edge to plummet down since it is so unnatural to hop into a canyon.  The attendants refused to push me and kept making jokes which was good because it was stress relieving.  I finally jumped and it was over way too soon, I hardly knew what happened.  It was way worse just standing on the platform.
I wanted to do my second jump upside down where you would hang upside down and they would cut you loose and you’d fall but when I came up to the platform for my second jump I was told I was doing the “Chair of Death.”  I asked whether I could chose my own method of jumping and they said, ‘no’ and brought out the chair which was three plastic chairs stacked on top of each other and I was seat-belted to them.
“Won’t I look ridiculous with a plastic chair dangling from my ass down there?” I asked the attendant.
“Yes, I don’t know why you chose the death chair.”  I was supposed to lean back in the chair and topple over backwards.  Again, I couldn’t do it on my own and had a bit of help to tilt me over the edge and I did a back flip off the platform with a chair seat-belted to my bum.  I enjoyed the second jump more since I knew falling wasn’t too bad and it was cool to flip.

Then we went to Ferg Burgers and I don’t usually write about food but this is the best burger place ever and I had an amazing tofu burger, so when we met up with the boys and learned they went to McDonald’s I couldn’t help but make fun of them, but they didn’t care because they were too busy gloating because they thought they were superman after doing the Nevis bungee jump.

Beata Canyon Swinging

Coincidentally, they were white water rafting just when Beata was doing her Canyon Swing.  I had taken pictures of some of the rafts but since we thought they were rafting in the afternoon I didn’t pay too much attention to them, so I had every raft photographed but theirs because I was taking pictures of Beata just when their raft was going by and they still hold a grudge.

It was someone’s bright idea (not mine) to go on a hike in the morning for the view of the glaciers and the ocean all in one. The hike was steep and seemed steeper hung-over, and when I finally dragged myself to the top I was greeted by swarms of sand flies. I’m sure the view would have been amazing but all we saw were clouds. We didn’t have any repellent so we spend a few minutes slapping ourselves and then hiked down again. We were not sad to leave the glacier region as it had left us very disappointed.

Simon was always way ahead of the rest of us and took pictures of the stragglers

We found a pretty beach to have lunch on but the minute we sat down we were swarmed with sand flies. They are like mosquitoes but their bite stays for much longer and it itches like crazy. We ate as fast as possible to minimize the sand flies’ feasting, but they would bite any showing skin and our ankles suffered. Back in the car it was also full of sand flies so I made it into a sport to kill them. At least they stopped bothering to eat on us in the car but fluttered around the windows so it was easy to shoo them out or squash them.

Haast Pass waterfall

We drove through Haast pass and stopped at many waterfalls, it was pretty but it had nothing on Arthur’s Pass. I enjoyed the blue pools the most and wished it was warmer so we could have swam in them, since they had the most stunning blue color. We made it to Queenstown in the evening and Simon and Hendrik were disappointed to find out that the bungee/ rafting combo left at 8:00 AM and all the booking offices were closed, so they were worried they wouldn’t be able to do what they had wanted again, and therefore they were very anxious to get up early and hope to still be able to go.

The pictures don't do justice to the Blue Pools

In the morning, in Arthur’s Pass, Beata and I went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls, since it was less steep and looked prettier on the picture on the information sign.The boys went to Devil’s Punchbowl.Our track led us up and down and we saw a bunch of small waterfalls along the way and after a while when we thought we had walled too long we ended up on the road.

Most interesting thing I saw on the hike

We were a bit disappointed that we had done the track and hadn’t seen a remarkable waterfall and decided to take the road back to Arthur’s Pass since it would be easier which it was.Once we met back up in the parking lot the boys were very satisfied with their waterfall, so we had probably chosen for the wrong one.In the parking lot and all around Arthur’s pass were a lot of mountain parrots or Keas, and these big birds aren’t afraid of people and sometimes got uncomfortably close, especially when there was food involved.They also liked to chew the rubber around car windows.

flying Kea (Yes, we chased one around to make it fly to get a picture)

The second half of the pass was also very pretty, and we were in Glacier country in no time.As we drove along the windy road without seeing a mountain in sight we wondered how exactly could there be a glacier here.Our plan was to book a tour for Franz Joseph since you cannot walk on it alone because it is too dangerous, and then go to Fox Glacier since you are allowed to walk on it a little bit without a guide.

Arthur’s Pass

We quickly checked ourselves into a cabin at Top 10, and went to the info center.We were very excited since I had never been on a glacier which I remember.I asked the lady to give us some information about the Fox walking trek to which she almost laughed.After she realized we were serious she said that everything is flooded and that Fox is closed and all but 3 walking treks in the whole region were also closed.That was a blow we weren’t expecting and Simon was particularly upset since he was set of seeing the sunrise from Fox.Nevertheless, it was okay since since we could still go on Franz.We asked about a tour.She said the tours were all booked for the next two days.Time-wise we could not afford to chill out in Glacier country for two days and in 1 minute our glacier dreams were shattered.

As soon as we left we decided to get a bottle of Tequila for the night, but before we could drown our disappointments in alcohol we went to at least look at Franz Josef.The glacier itself is pretty far away from the viewing area, so when we saw it, it was rather disappointing as well.Simon couldn’t stand it and decided to walk to the glacier, but there were streams to cross and I didn’t feel like it and I think the others didn’t feel like it either, so Simon went on his own and we had a photo shoot “in front” of the glacier and showed how miserable we were.

Simon took longer than we expected because the walk to the glacier was longer than he had expected and he still couldn’t get to the base of it because there is a raging stream around it.We decided to go to the town of Fox which lies underneath Mr. Cook and do the Lake Matheson Walk. It is famous for its reflecting views of Mt. Cook, but since Mt. Cook was totally covered by clouds we didn’t see a spec of it and the walk was pretty dull.

We managed to have a nice dinner back in Franz Josef at the backpackers’ pub and then had the next quest of finding a liquor store.I asked the lady at the supermarket as we bought breakfast food and a lemon and she sent me to the Franz Josef Hotel.We found it, and it was very posh, but I went in anyway even though I felt like it was the wrong place and asked the hostess.She sent me further down the road to their other branch.Funny how it ended up being right next to the Top 10 we were staying at and was even marked as bottle shop on our map.The boys stayed outside pretending to be mechanics as they listened to the new rumbling noise the rental had started to make, because a broken car was what we needed now.

Beata and I went into the pub/bottle shop and it smelled like stale beer and unwashed people.There was no one behind the bar so I ventured out by the pokies machines where it was mullet heaven and every machine was occupied.At least everyone concentrated too hard to pay attention to me.I went out back and peeped outside to see if there was a server there and all I saw was a group of what looked like retired biker dudes, so I booked it back to the main bar where Beata was and we continued to wait there.Eventually a large butch woman appeared and we got our tequila and ran.

And the rest is history…

It was an early 6:30 start for us the following morning. It was cloudy and while watching National Treasure on the ferry it began to rain. As we approached Picton we passed by the Marlborough Sounds, but it was too cold and rainy to stay outside for long so we couldn’t enjoy the view. We were disappointed since it was supposed to be beautiful and the ferry was like a cruise through the sounds but we didn’t get anything out of it. We had to decide what to do and looked at a brochure map, and the distances were unreal. Places that did not seem that far away the map said 5 hour drive. I couldn’t believe it, but we were in a bit of a panic since we’d have to cut out something from our trip.

Marlborough Sounds

When we arrived to Picton and stopped by the info center, we were given a better map with more believable travel times, so we were a bit relieved but not by much since it was still longer than we expected. Since the weather was so bad and Picton looked like a shabby town we decided to book it to Arthur’s Pass. It was drizzling and cloudy the whole way to Springfield, the beginning of the pass and as we reached the top of the first mountain ridge the sky opened and the sun shown and suddenly Arthur’s Pass was gorgeous and our moods had instantly lifted.  The countryside reminded me of Scotland, and New Zealand is called the Southern Scotland and there are also many Scottish immigrants.

Arthur's Pass

We stayed in a cabin in Arthur’s Pass which also had a Jacuzzi so before a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner without turkey or pumpkin pie went to the Jacuzzi. I couldn’t stay too long because of sand flies which swarmed and bit. They are something like mosquitoes but at least they don’t bite as much but when they do the bites stay for a long time. That was our first encounter with sand flies and unfortunately it wasn’t nearly the last.

Arthur's Pass

The next morning the sun was up and it wasn’t windy so Wellington was instantly more appealing, and you could actually say it was warm. We visited the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, which was huge and worthwhile. We spent all morning in the museum and then went to the Parliament, of course, since Hendrik was still not sick of Parliaments. First off the newest building of Parliament was so ugly it’s an eye sore. It’s a giant bee hive and it clashes with the other buildings around it which are nice. The security was also unbelievably strict very different from Canberra where everyone just freely walked around. I wasn’t too impressed with it and the tour was also boring.

The bee-hive

Then I wanted to go to the top of Mt. Victoria. I had asked the hostel receptionist how to get there and she said you just walk. No one wanted to go on a hike besides Simon so we went together. The climb was incredibly steep, so when we reached the top I was worn out and really disappointed when I saw a huge parking lot and even a city bus up top. I felt really gypped. The view was nice and we realized how spread out Wellington was. The airport was particularly interesting to me since the whole runway was visible and it had water on both ends and landing planes were clearly visible. Since we were done with Wellington we moved our ferry to the earlier start which was 8:00 AM so we had to get up early.

Wellington from Mt. Vic

It was warm and sunny the next day which made us wish that it had been like this in the other region for the Tongariro Crossing. We walked around Napier and saw all the art deco buildings which were pretty. It was a very unique cute town and we just wanted to dress up in 1920s clothing.

We also visited the aquarium since they claimed to have live kiwis and I wanted to see a live kiwi before leaving New Zealand. It was a small aquarium but it had some nice displays especially the seahorses. They also had an underwater walkway where fish swim all around and even above you and through this are there was a travelator. Even though the section wasn’t well maintained I thought the travelator was awesome.

A Kiwi

Then we decided to go on a small wine yard tour but only made it to one winery, the Mission Estate. It was beautiful and the wine was nice too, but I only tried one since I was the DD.

Then we went to lunch where we had the great debate of what to do next. We had several options which were drive to Wellington and stay on schedule, or drive back towards Taupo and do the Tongariro Crossing and postpone the ferry. The forecast was a bit bette—that it would rain in the morning and possibly clear up in the afternoon. We debated about buying ponchos and waterproof pants since we would have to start the hike in the morning. We were still skeptical so it was brought up that we could still decide in the morning whether to do the hike or not, to which I said no since it’s a 4+ hour drive back, and therefore, if we went back we would do it, at least I would do it. So unfortunately we decided to skip Tongariro. At least we know what we’ll do if we ever come back to New Zealand.

Mission Estate Winery

We drove to Wellington and stayed at the YHA. When we got out of the car we were totally blown away it was so incredibly windy and cold. We were told it would be windy but it was really incredible.

We woke up to rain the next day in Taupo.  Taupo itself is a very unimpressive town and actually everything in it is rather unimpressive after visiting White Island and the Thermal Wonderland.  It would have been better to first do Taupo and then the others for the build up but that’s not how they are positioned on the map.  We first went to Huka Falls, which would have probably been a million times better in the sun since the water was such a gorgeous color of turquoise, but it was still pretty.  Without the color, the falls would be pretty ordinary.

Huka Falls

Next we went to the Wairakei geothermal power plant lookout.  This is probably the most interesting thing in Taupo, and from the lookout you can see all of its massive pipes stretch far and wide.  Then we also went to the dam but we didn’t know when it was opened so we were there when it was closed so it was rather unimpressive, but I’m sure if we had gone there during opening times it would have been pretty spectacular.

Wairakei Geothermal Power Station

The last stop in Taupo was the Craters of the Moon which is definitely Taupo’s advertised highlight.  We saw in brochure that it used to be free to enter but now they charge $5 which I think is reasonable.  It wasn’t nearly as awe inspiring as Wai-O-Tapu or White Island but it had its charm and even though we weren’t too impressed it ended up being a rather photogenic place.

Craters of the Moon

We were done with Taupo before noon and we had planned to stay the whole day but there just wasn’t enough to do.  We decided to drive south since the Tongariro crossing was planned for the next day and that was south and there was another thermal walk in Tokaanu, which is at the opposite end of Lake Taupo.  No one really wanted to do another thermal walk but I really liked the thermal region and we had nothing better to do.  After a bit of trouble we found it.  I loved it and thought it was way better than Craters of the Moon.  It was full of boiling pools and in the mist of the rain they looked spectacular and I couldn’t take enough pictures.

Tokannu Thermal Area

In Turangi we stopped by a café called The Mustard Seed which was adorable and had really great desserts.  It helped lighten the mood a bit from the rain but then we went to the info center across the street to ask about the Tongariro crossing, the lady said that rain was forecast for the next two days at least.  No one was set on doing the hike in the rain so we decided to go to Napier instead.

Tokannu Thermal Area

The road to Napier would have been amazing if there weren’t so many low overhanging clouds, so we didn’t get too much from that either.  As we crossed the mountains the sky cleared and the sun shown and when we reached Napier there wasn’t a trace of rain.  We stayed at the Top 10 which was great since they had trampolines, a jumping pillow, and a swimming pool.  We were set.  When we went to get dinner though the whole town was dead and only one restaurant, Singapore Restaurant, was open so we didn’t have to make too many decisions and went there for dinner.