Fiordland expedition Part One

On perhaps our last chance for more than a quick weekend away form work, Carolyn and I headed down to the Fiordland National Park. They do spell it that way. Anyways, it was perhaps the glaciers and Milford Sound that were so spectacular on our trip 26 years ago that called us back here. Our trip this time certainly exceeded all my expectations. Our friends the Fellows had recommended an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, one of the bigger fiords that can be accessed without too much difficulty. To get to Doubtful you take a 45 minute boat ride across Lake Manapouri and then a bus, our in our case an old rattly van, across the 22 KM Wilmot Pass gravel road to Deep Cove, population One person. We decided to go on a small boat run By Fiordland expeditions and it was a great choice. The boat was rather small, it had a capacity of maybe 12 guests and two crew though there were only 5 guests this time as it is the off season here. The fiord itself was stunning
With beautiful glacier carved cliffs covered in rainforest and crystal clear water. As we were out for the whole day, and overnight and much of the second day, we had a chance to explore all the different arms of the fiord.
But it was not just scenery, we stopped and went fishing for blue cod for our dinner and the young woman crew member went diving for fresh lobster as well.

The wildlife was great, with albatross to add to our bird sightings and Fur seals hanging out. Most remarkably were the dolphins, a pod of about 60 live in the Fiord and they get a kick out of bow surfing the boat. Several dolphins at a time would cruise right up under the bow and surf there for minutes at a time. Occasionally they would roll onto their side and look right up at us. It was spectacular.

We spent a very quiet night up at the end of one of the arms of the fiord. It was still as can be and the morning was so quiet, literally we felt at the end of the earth. The fiord was a perfect mirror for the cliff towering above. While it was so still we did some kayaking around a small island.
One the Island we also spotted another new bird for us, the Kaka , a lowland parrot, smaller than the Kea. I confess, this picture of a Kaka came from the recovery center in Te Anau, the ones on the fiords we could not photograph without a camera on our kayaks.
I know I sound a little enthusiastic about the trip but it really was something special. If you visit New Zealand you just need a couple days out of Queenstown to do a trip like this and you might not want to miss it.

Hokitika

We left the Baxters and drove with the Girls back to Westport where we wanted to show then where we lived and worked. They were quite impressed with how friendly our coworkers are! We did not have but one night here so of course we dined at the Dennison Dog and enjoyed the local fish. The next day we were of on our adventures, including a stop at our favorite walk Cape Foulwind Because, after all, how can you pass up the opportunity to watch fur seal pups! They are already so much larger than our first visit when we had just arrived. From there we continued south and enjoyed again the Pancake rocks and the blow holes at Punakaiki and Truman Track through the rainforest down to a pebble beach. Our goal was to drive part way to the glaciers and Kayak the next day at OKarito lagoon to see the White Herons. Hokitika made for a perfect stop We stayed right by the beach with a sweet little drift wood art sculpture display. But one of the most amazing travel coincidences of our lives, in the Hokitika grocery store , Carolyn ran into friends of ours from Boulder, Kay and Jack Fellows. We had no idea they were traveling in New Zealand. The odds of running into a neighbor in a little off the beaten track town 8000 miles from home is quite Low, we could not believe it. We enjoyed evening tea, actually take out fish and chips and wine, and then caught a beautiful sunset from Hokitika beach. Then we checked out the glow worms. You will just have to take my word for it, but imagine a star filled night sky stuck under some heavy rainforest canopy.