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| 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.
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| The Remarskable, Queenstown from the top of the Gondala |
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. 
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| 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.
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| 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
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| Lake Tekapo |
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