Road trip part 2

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound

I finished the last blog with us arriving at Milford Sound to discover our portacabin accommodation.   After a cosy night sleep we woke up excited about our Milford boat trip.  Despite genuine high levels of anticipation and eagerness we struggled to get to the boat on time.  I have no idea how Dan’s mum Sheila managed four children and Jeff her husband, no wonder she drinks so much tea (perhaps it’s secretly laced with brandy).   But we did make it to the boat and as we motored away from the jetty into the fiords the sights were breathtaking.  Every so often we would stop a few feet from a waterfall.  The spray would mist across our faces as we glanced up at the water pouring over the rocks meters above our heads.  It was amazing how close we could go; the water was so deep. 

 After two hours of glorious fiord views we stopped at the discovery centre.  This floating observatory allows you to descend 10 meters below the surface of the water where, due to a rare phenomenon known as deep water emergence, the marine life is similar to that normally found 30-50 meters down.   I had been very excited about the observatory right up until the point when our guide told us that, much even to his surprise, they currently had a leak. The glass was 24cm thick to withstand the 7 tones of pressure against each pane.  It reminded me of our safari guide in Tanzania who told us not to worry about the lions just before telling us that if we needed a pee in the night to go in our tent porch so as not to get eaten (that was a sleepless night.)  But I put aside the thought and marvelled at the experience of seeing coral and fish through the observatory windows.  I did quickened my pace when I went past the leaking window- he wasn’t’ joking.

 

We were left buzzing about the Milford experience for the rest of the day. We embarking on a small but spectacular waterfall walk (the walk was small, not the waterfall), before returning to cook dinner in the communal kitchen. There was however another dynamic added to the communal cooking that evening- ‘Aldous chicken fear’. I hadn’t noticed this before but suddenly there seemed to be raw chicken everywhere! People were chopping it on boards, washing it in the sink, stir frying it in various flavours.... I coped with this by avoiding the sinks where the raw chicken had been washed and convincing myself that New Zealand chickens are so happy and organic that they don’t have salmonella! The prayer over my food that night was particularly hopeful.

The Remarskable, Queenstown from the top of the Gondala

The next morning we drove back to Queenstown where we stayed in another backpackers. This was initiated by me as it was half the price of a motel or hotel room of which there were lots available. It was a lovely, clean, modern backpackers and I was very hopeful for a comfortable night. As Dan walked past the mixed dorm to use the facilities he smiled at the other guests with his big ginger grin to which the response was a chorus of giggles. This made him feel very old and I didn’t help by pointing out he may well be nearly ten years older than the fresh faced sparky teenagers. Desperate to cling on to his youth Dan decided we should do the luge which was situated at the top of the mountain up a cable car (Queenstown gondola). The luge is like a little go cart which you control by drawing in the handles to slow down or pushing forward to speed up. After a stunning cable car ride we donned helmets and made our way to the start of the track. Dan let me go first which I thought was very thoughtful as I assumed he wanted to be behind me in case I needed help. He overtook me at speed on the second corner.  
 

After the cable car was the Ice Bar, literally a bar made of ice, and then a lovely Thai dinner. At 4 am in the morning there was the sound of shouting and it seemed one of the girls in the mixed dorm was having a drunken rant or something along these lines. I lay in bed thinking about asking them to quieten down. I heard one of the boys say something about it being 4am and them needing to be quiet and thankfully the noise stopped. In the morning I woke up knowing that there was one shower between 8 people. I heard someone go in and so waited until I heard the shower stop then gathered my bathroom bits and went through. I waited and waited and waited. There was no way I was leaving as I didn’t want to lose my opportunity to shower. After showering this ‘sparky teenager’ shaved and did goodness knows what else as he took over twenty minute after the shower stopped. My bottom was cold from sitting on the floor. The poor young chap looked rather shocked when he opened the door and saw me. To be fair anyone would find ‘morning Sarah’ slightly shocking but ‘morning tired Sarah waiting for the shower’ now that’s a sight! I needn’t have worried as the rest of the children were still in bed when we checked out!

 

We headed off to Mount Cook Village next and allowed ourselves a little luxury the next night. We awoke to a sparkling layer of snow which greatly excited the snow deprived Wattleys. We decided to go on a tramp (hike) and laced up our sturdy boots ready for action. Twenty minutes into the walk we reached a look out where some tourists of the oriental persuasion were taking photos. They asked us if we would take a photo of them and of course we obliged. The next thing we knew they were beckoning for us to be in a photo with them. With perplexed expressions we posed again... and then again so the photographer could swap to be in the photo. Very random but hey, I was wearing what Dan calls my celebrity sunglasses. The walk was amazing but very VERY wet under foot as the snow melted in the glorious sunshine. We were pleased to reach a shelter where we ate our lunch and went for a comfort break at a wilderness toilet. Only in New Zealand could you tramp for an hour and a half through snow, in mountain valleys and then stop for lunch and a wee- I love this country! On the way back we passed our oriental friends with their white trainers and carrier bag of food (as well as their Canon 5D) and wondered how they would fair on the rest of the journey; our feet were wet and we were both wearing heavy duty walking boots. The views were incredible as the snow cover mountain peaks came into view. We felt so blessed to be experiencing the scene whilst surrounded by snow.

 

Mount Seftton

 

We then headed to Lake Tekapo. Dan was reluctant as he had loved Mount Cook and wanted to stay another night. As we cruised along the edge of the Lake all Dan’s anxiety dissolved as the beauty of yet another natural wonder came into view. That evening we went to the hot pools and watched the sun turning the sky a beautiful red behind the mountain peaks before the curtain of night bought with it the majesty of the stars. The following day we went to the Church of The Good Shepherd and once again I was struck by the strength and power of God’s creation. I was sitting in church in a pew from which I could see a vast lake lined with jagged mountain peaks. Tourists came and went taking pictures of the Church and its surrounds. I hoped their eyes and spirits could see it as I did.

After Lake Tekapo we were making our way back to Greymouth. We stopped for the night in Springfield and stayed in the oldest youth hostel in New Zealand. It was quite an amazing place with the old aga still in situ as well as the step ladder which once would have led to the sleeping area. Posters on the wall advertised various coach trips from the last century and I was left wondering about what this building had seen and who it had hosted over the last hundred years.

The Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo

 

Finally we made our way back over Arthurs Pass, a journey we have made twice before (you may remember the petrol story) yet every time we drive it, it looks completely different. This time we stopped at the boulders and saw people carrying big mats on their backs. Bouldering involves putting a mat at the bottom of a big rock then attempting to climb it knowing that if you fall you will land on your strategically placed cushion. When we got back to Greymouth we weren’t quite ready to go home as the sun was glorious and we were still reminiscing about our amazing trip. We detoured via the beach where we experienced Greymouth in all its splendour as the sun was low over the water with not a cloud in the sky. We would see the mountains which had been the host of much of our journey in the far distance and I for one felt full of joy. I made the decision during that trip that whatever is happening in life I am going to try and always be joyful. We often search for happiness but forget to make the decision to count our blessings, look at the beauty around us and be joyful. I hope some of the pictures I have attached will help you capture that feeling of joy amidst busy lives.

Much love 

 

 

Lake Tekapo

 

Road Trip Part 1

La blog



So there are a few blogs in progress but having spent four days on holiday with just myself and Dan the blogability is too great to abide chronology so here goes....

I finished work on Friday and Dan and I left for Franz Josef to get a couple of hours driving under our belt.  We had booked into a YHA hostel and arrived just as people were finishing dinner.   Having not hosteled before I found this situation very bizarre.  The room was full of couples, groups and families, all different nationalities and ages and all cooking and eating together yet totally separately.  It was like an odd social experiment- lets put lots of different people together, give them a communal kitchen and see what happens...  We loaded our food into the fridge next to "Bob and Sally's" bag, whoever they were.  I felt a uneasy, had we taken up too much fridge space, had we spoken too loudly or got in anyones way.  As we walked through the corridor I started to relax a little, my inner monologue reminding me that everyone was in the same boat and anyhow I had learnt sharing at playgroup and apart for occasional tears had performed this task generally quite well.  It was all going to be fine, we were just like anyone else...  Just before we reached our room Dan piped up in a very loud voice "is it just me or does it smell like wee?".   Ruined, so much for blending in!  In true hostel fashion I suggested we went out for dinner.  With a full belly and a glass of wine this was starting to feel like holiday.

The following morning we arose for breakfast and plodded our way to the communal kitchen.  Dan and I are barely civil to each other before coffee, a routine which suits us well and neither of us particular notice, but this may well look like a marital domestic to onlookers.  However we left half an hour later post coffee, hand in hand gazing into each others eyes excited about the adventure to come.

We started the long drive from Franz to Wanaka and just as we set off the rain started.  It didn't stop us enjoying a few spots on the way.  We had lovely sandfly sandwiches on the beach (I have literally never seen so many bugs) followed by (another) coffee and soup in a random little cafe full of antlers and stuffed game.  As we neared Wanaka the clouds started to lift and the topography changed from west coast bushland to mountainous farmland.   Not only had the shapes changed but so had the colours.  Greens changed to yellows, oranges and vibrant reds as Autumn suddenly unfolded in front of our eyes.  It was so beautiful we found ourselves wanting to stop every ten minutes to take photos only to realise that such beauty is best enjoyed by the eyes rather than the camera lens.  We reached the second YHA hostel which was right on the edge of lake Wanaka and were pleased that it seemed a little more 'twee' and a little less 'wee' than the last.  Cooking in the communal kitchen was a a challenge well rewarded with spicy Thai curry.  Dan then 'disappeared' for a while (it was my birthday eve)...  I awake the following morning to balloons and cake, followed by cards and presents.  The thoughtfulness of Dans actions were surpassed only by the excitement and willingness with which he executed his plans.  But it was another wet day.  So we did what all intelligent adults do on wet days, we went to puzzle land.  I won't say too much about this other than the 15 degree room made me feel soooooooo queezy and I sent Dan into the maze on his own as spending an hour getting frustrated and lost in the rain wasn't really my idea of fun.  I was pleased to see him when he emerged that the excitement of our reunion outweighed Dan's frustration; he had been convinced it would only take him 10 minutes.

We then drove to Queenstown where I was to be completely spoilt as Dan had booked the Hilton for the night. We enjoyed the spa, then got dressed up for dinner, ate amazing food and had a wonderful evening.  I think I'm much more suited to 5* hotels than hostels.

We had a coffee in Queenstown and walked through the park before starting the drive to Milford Sound.  The clouds were still low so we decided to come back via Queenstown when the weather had cleared up.  As we drove down towards the Fiordlands the clouds lifted and it was as if God was giving us another present to enjoy as we realised that these clouds had been snow clouds.They had left beautiful frosted, snow peaked mountains for our viewing pleasure.  The trip seemed to be taking us through the seasons and we had just hit winter.

You may remember from a previous blog that there is only one place to stay in Milford Sound, the place Jeff and Sheila had ended up in a shared dorm.  But we had learn from their mistakes and Dan had booked a double cabin so nothing could go wrong... Where Wattleys are involved this is never the case!  As we left Te Anu the little town 120km from Milford we saw a road sign which suggested that there was a tunnel we had to go though that was to close at 5:30pm.  We had no idea about this 'closing tunnel' and it was already 4pm and the aforementioned road sign (as well as numerous guide books/maps) stated we must allow 2 hours.  We gestimated that the tunnel was three quarters of the way along and that we should make it as long as we stuck to some rules
1) Dan was driving,
2) No scenic stops along the way.
The drive was so beautiful and it was difficult watching the scenery wizz by but it had to be done!

Made it!  As we checked in to our double cabin I looked at the map of the building and felt confused.  I had known there were communal toilets but this looked like they were outside.  I could feel Dan's anxiety levels rising as he also realised this.  This was a long way from the Hilton.... and our portacabin was actually smaller than the bed in Queenstown.  However when faced with these situations one has a choice, you either embrace the adventure or you don't.  I generally find this decision dictates your enjoyment and despite my appreciation of the luxurious things in life I am actually quite an adventurer at heart.  But don't tell Dan or our next trip will be tramping in -10 with snow and crampons!

To be continued .....