NZ: the Road to Franz Josef

One of the high points of our trip was the helihike to Franz Josef glacier.  We looked forward to it with much anticipation as we approached the last few days of our trip.  We took a bus from Queenstown to Franz Josef along a famously scenic route. 

Just one shot of the miles of vineyards we saw along the way - 

The bus stopped briefly at Wanaka to pick up passengers.  We were allowed 5 minutes to stretch our legs.  Here is a shot of the tranquil lake -

We continued along the shores of Lake Hawea - a beautiful lake in a glacial valley.  This shot was taken from the bus - I would have given a lot to be able to get off and take more photos.

Same lake, from another angle-

One of the many spectacular mountains we saw along the way

The bus driver got off at Haast Pass, the pass that took us across the Southern Alps.  A friendly young driver hopped on and took us from here to the coast.   The road followed an ancient trail used by the Maori in their search for pounamu or greenstone.

Looking down from the bridge -

The waterfall near Haast Pass and the famous blue pools fed by glacial waters -

We reached the western shore of the South Island.  Here's a view of the Tasman Sea.

The Tasman Sea from another lookout.   To our surprise, the driver took us onto the beach to hunt for greenstone after lunch.  What an unusual and hospitable gesture!

Could it be Mt. Cook in the distance?

Next post:  the much anticipated Franz Josef Glacier!

A detour - Guelph, Ontario

Picard's - what can be better than local grown peanuts!  They are the sweetest peanuts we've tasted, if just because they are grown here in Ontario.  There are outlets scattered across the province but the closest for us is the one south of Guelph in Morriston.  This is a great time of the year - the peanuts are freshly harvested and roasted.  We decided to play tourist in Guelph, which we haven't visited for 20 years.  We visited the top three sights listed on the TripAdvisor Top 10 things to do.  Here's the first, the lattice covered bridge built in 1992 modeled on a design from the 1880's, one of only two covered bridges in Ontario.  

It's a beauty!  If you look very hard, you may be able to see the couple embracing against the wall and the photographer taking photos of them, probably for a wedding video.

Looking out from the lattice-covered side...

What is it about birds and lining up?!

The Old Quebec Street Mall was actually listed as the top sight but it's very limited.  We had a coffee in there and visited the artisan shop.  

We like the work of Paul Szewc - 

And at the street corner - Occupy Guelph!  

I like the roof of this church,

but was particularly impressed by the third sight on the list - the Church of Our Lady Immaculate, built in 1888 and at the highest point in Guelph.   The inside was a bit of an anti-climax.

Back to NZ with the next post!

NZ: Queenstown, South Island playground

Apart from being famous as Lord of the Rings country, Queenstown is also the destination for all kinds of adventure seekers - skiing, of course, bungy jumping, sky diving, white water rafting, you name it.  And the town demographics and nightlife reflected this.  We felt a little "old" when we were there.  Our most extreme sport was climbing the steep hill to hop on the gondola to the top for the panorama.  

Road from Glenorchy to Queenstown

Sky divers about to land/splash

Town centre

View from the top

Lake Wakatipu

Looking east towards Cecil Peak and Walter Pea

"The Remarkables" the magnificent backdrop to the town (Double Cone on the left is the highest mountain)

Queenstown waterfront

How perfect can it get...

NZ: Te Anau

Te Anau sits on Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the South Island.  Surrounded by mountains, it is the gateway to Fiordland National Park.  We had planned an extra day here in case the weather didn't work out for a hike and also to allow us the option of taking an extra cruise - the one to Doubtful Sound, even more isolated than Milford Sound and possibly another "once in a lifetime" experience.  However, it involved an early start on a long bus ride and a long day on the boat.  After the very full experience the day before on the Key Summit hike and the Milford Sound cruise, we decided to take a break and spend the day relaxing in Te Anau instead.  We visited the local wildlife centre and took a side trip to nearby Manapouri.   You'll see below how beautiful Lake Manapouri is.  

Te Anau itself is a touristy little town with a population of less than 2,000.  We were surprised to walk into two shops both with Chinese owners.   Both ladies asked us the same question - did you like Canada?  Apparently both were offered the choice of emigrating to Canada or New Zealand from Hong Kong years ago.  There had always been a nagging question in their minds as to whether they had made the right decision. We assured them they had made the right choice - I'd emigrate to New Zealand if I were 10 years younger!  Clean air, fresh food - wonderful climate.  We were also pleasantly surprised to find two Chinese restaurants, both looking quite authentic.  We enjoyed an amazing ocean trout steamed the Chinese way - what a treat!  

Lake Te Anau

Mother goose sitting on her eggs

Some kind of waterfowl sitting on her nest

The incredibly tranquil Lake Manapouri

Our next stop was Queenstown from where we would embark on the last legs of our journey via bus and train.   Before we surrendered our car, we took a last drive out to Glenorchy, a 45 minute windy but scenic drive from Queenstown.  The view was spectacular!

Road to Glenorchy

Stunning!

A closer look

The lagoon 

Enjoying the view at Lake Wakatipu

Latte break in Glenorchy




Next post:  Queenstown, Lord of the Rings country

NZ: the famous Milford Sound

We arrived at Milford Sound in good time and in good weather - a pleasant surprise after all the dire warnings.   Milford Sound had the reputation of being the wettest place in New Zealand.  It was said that no matter how dry it was when you started out on the cruise, there would still be a good chance that you get wet weather once you're in the sound.  We were very lucky - we started off with threatening skies but it got sunny shortly into the cruise.  We picked the late afternoon cruise on the advice of one of the guide books as it would mean avoiding all the tourist buses that drove in from Queenstown for the midday cruises.  And it was excellent advice - we not only missed the hordes on the cruise, we also missed the buses and the traffic on the treacherous road to Milford Sound.  This was our view of Mitre Peak from the dock. 

Mitre Peak

Milford Sound, in Fiordland National Park, runs 15km inland from the Tasman Sea, surrounded, as you can see, by steep cliff faces on both sides.  It was acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist attraction and Rudyard Kipling called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.  This landscape was reminiscent of that seen on the Western Brook Pond cruise in Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada.  The difference is that the Western Brook Pond cruise started at the month of the fjord and went inland while the Milford Sound cruise started from the tip of the fjord and went towards the sea.  The flag in the photo below could have been Canadian and you wouldn't know the difference.   See the next photo of Western Brook Pond and you will understand what I mean.

Western Brook Pond, Gros More National Park, Newfoundland

Spectacular waterfalls - lots of rainfall here plus it's spring

What luck - a penguin!

Seals enjoying the sun

To make it more perfect - rainbows!

View from the dock in the early evening - still plenty of light for the drive back to Te Anau.  It was a good day!