Milford and Doubtful Sounds (plus Lake Manapouri)

The Routeburn track ends near what Rudyard Kipling described as the '8th wonder of the world' - Milford Sound. Milford is actually a fiord, carved by a glacier with sheer mountains rising straight up from the sea (perhaps the tallest examples of this anywhere in the world). Even more cool is that the sheer cliffs continue straight down below the sea another 3000 feet!

We arrived at Milford after our hike to find gorgeous weather (despite the pouring rain a few miles away). Despite the aching muscles we dragged ourselves out for some pics including the one above. It was almost so pretty that first day it seemed fake, out of some digitally enhanced movie or picturebook. Peter Jackson eat your heart out.

The next day we hopped on a cruise to explore the sound more closely. The weather was more iffy but wow was it gorgeous. Given that the water stayed several thousand feet deep right next to shore the boat was able to maneuver in close under many of the numerous waterfalls and next to the animal life. We actually got to see Penguins! Penguins! Cool and cute when they hop about. Alas it was raining so no good pics to show you.
The pic above is looking back at the end of the sound - you can see the same waterfall you saw in the first pic from the previous day.



Overall a fun few hours out on the water. Unfortunately, the sound did feel a bit commercialized (at least by NZ standards). In the pic above you can see two other tour boats plying the sound in the far distance . Good for perspective if not to appreciate the pristine nature of the area.

After the cruise we hopped on a bus and headed for Te Anau. Te Anau is a small town on a big lake by the same name that serves as a base for the area. It was to serve as our rest stop to recover between our two hikes. Go hot tubs!

Anyhow, the next day we started our journey to see Milfords big brother - Doubtful Sound. Doubtful is so remote you need to take a bus to a boat - ride for 50 minutes and then hop on another bus for 30 minutes, before arriving at yet another boat to see the sound. The cool thing is that after Milford it is the next most accessible fiord along NZ's beautiful SW coast.

While we weren't expecting anything from the journey to the sound we were amazed by the beauty of Lake Manapouri that we crossed along the way. See below for just one of the many amazing views we were treated to.


Given that Doubtful is many times the size of Milford and much more remote it has much more of a feel of a pristine wilderness. We went with a small tour operator that allowed us to cruise the sound for hours. So pretty - countless waterfalls, hanging valleys, sheer cliffs, seals, and mountains mountains mountains. cool stuff.


Doubtful from above.

The Routeburn Track

The picture above was taken as we drove from the glaciers on the west coast of the South Island, across the mountains and down to Queenstown. The drive was one of the absolute best in our lives passing amazing scenery all along the way. The day was gorgeous and the mountains were 'out' allowing for the amazing views.
This pic above was the view from our hostel in Queenstown and shows the Remarkables Mountain range. Queenstown was our base to buy a few last minute items before our big hike. Since we will revisit the place at the end of our trip we will save further commentary until then...I know you will all be waiting with bated breath.

Ok, so after getting provisions and the like for the hike, we hopped on the bus and set out for the Routeburn Shelter, the start of our three day wilderness adventure. The Routeburn was to be our first truly backpacking experience.

The hike involved approximately 20 miles spread over three days, with approximately a 1500 foot elevation gain and loss (though actually you do well over twice this as you gain and lose elevation).
The picture above was taken at the very start of the track. Julie was as eager as she looks while Dan was already tired (those packs were heavy!!). We've both hiked quite a bit, but with 30 pounds on the back its just a different experience. You do actually get a bit used to it after a fashion though.

The hike starts by following the Routeburn river as it races through a valley, down a gorge, through another valley, and then finally at a truly impressive falls that we weren't going to get to until the second day. The path crosses over the river repeatedly, multiple times with fun, if a bit scary, swing bridges. Dan had fun bouncing around (until he felt sick) while Julie merely hung on for dear life. Below is Julie on bridge 3 or 4.
The river itself was really pretty as it had that gorgeous turquoise color that seems to be found all over NZ.
After a cool forest and a big meadow, we started to gain some serious elevation. Soon we were treated to great views of the valley despite the clouds (and drizzle) that hung overhead. Really pretty!
Before too long (the first day was only 5.5 miles) we were approaching the first hut. Soon we would be enjoying baileys and hot chocolate as our reward for a good day's hike.

The second day started with a bang! We, being lazy and wet the night before, hadn't realized that 30 yards past the hut was a series of great waterfalls. Cool - but cold as we had arrived above the tree line and the wind whipping. Welcome to alpine country!
After a breathtaking hike in some stark but gorgeous alpine scenery, all the while treated to views far below to the valley we had come from the previous day, we arrived at the source of the river we had been hiking along for a day and a half. Lake Harris was beautiful, the rain was holding off and we were even seeing some blue sky. We were pumped!


Soon we were at the Saddle itself, the highest part of the hike and the place where we passed from one side of a mountain range to the other. We went from great views down the Routeburn to views along another valley, the Hollyford. This section of the track has been described as some of the most beautiful of any track in the world. While we were fortunate not to be staring into (and walking in) a cloud, our views were definitely heavily obscured by clouds along the other side. Despite this, we were enthralled by the few glimpses we were afforded as we walked along the exposed ridgeline for miles.

The day ended with a steep descent down to another mountain lake (Lake Mackenzie) and another hut. Like the previous hut, the second was sited in an amazing location. The pic below is taken just steps away from the hut along the shore of the lake at twilight. We had a moment alone and just savored being where we were.

Alas, no more pics as the last day of the hike it poured the entire day. We have a few with the waterproof camera but those will have to wait until our return. A bit of a bummer but we were treated to amazing forests (the moss is hard to describe - its everywhere and makes things so green its hard to take in and impossible to capture) and many, many, many waterfalls. Still cool.

All in all a wonderful hike and an experience we will long remember. Now, on to the 'sounds' - Milford and Doubtful. Cheers!

Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers

After Abel Tasman we made the long (7+ hrs) drive down the west coast of NZ to the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. The west coast of NZ is a pretty desolate place - parts of it are some of the rainiest in the world and there are few people. However, it is also quite beautiful. We drove along dramatic river gorges, ocean drives that rivaled the Big Sur, alpine scenery (see pic below) and of course the two glaciers.

Fox and Franz Joseph are two out of the three glaciers in the world that flow into temperate rain forest. As we drove up to the first glacier we kept remarking that the whole feel of the place seemed off - more jungle like, not at all like the high, cold mountains that we associated with glaciers. Anyhow, pretty cool.
Above is a pic of the Franz Joseph Glacier from a short hike to gain some height. The scenery in the clouds is the 'Southern Alps' and include the mountains around Mt. Cook (the highest in NZ).

The big event was a day spent walking around on the Fox Glacier, the larger of the two. After getting geared up, we started the day by hiking up the mountain running alongside the glacier. After getting above the front part of the glacier with its numerous crevasses, we came down the mountain onto the glacier itself. At this point we strapped on crampons and started wandering about (following the guides wielding pickaxes as they blazed a path) a truly foreign landscape

We went up and down, over and around towers of ice, small and large crevasses, and all sorts of debris churned up by the glacier. All around us water was melting and running down holes in the glacier, collecting in big rivers of meltwater running underneath the glacier and exiting at the front as the Fox river. Pretty cool! Dan of course enjoyed breaking up the ice with his ice pick and sending chunks down the crevasses to see how deep they were. Jules shook her head and concentrated on not finding out for herself in a much more unfortunate manner.


Dan playing in a filled in crevasse - and getting a bit claustrophobic as the walls went up several stories straight above him.

A view of the fox glacier from half way up its flank.

In all we were on the glacier for several hours and by the end of the day, back on the bus into town, we were amazed at how tired we were. All of the continuous up and down and the weird manner of walking with the crampons left us totally exhausted. Jules was sore for days (walking around like an old lady!). Fun though!

Abel Tasman Narional Park

After the Queen Charlotte we headed for the North Western side of the South Island. The moutains were similar, though a bit smaller, and the sea and bush were also similar. But while the QC area was all about big mountains right by the sea, the Abel Tasman is about big golden sand beaches.

The pictures of this place online and in tour books are amazing and we were really excited about this portion of the trip. Our first day however was totally overcast and the whole park left us disappointed. We had taken a cruise towards the northern end of the park (most of the park being accessible only on foot or by water) and then hiked down to a long stretch (nearly a mile long) of beach. Besides a little fun crossing a stream (see Jules below) the day was a bit of a dud. The water didn't sparkle and the beach was a bit cold given the weather.



Jules didn't appreciate my picture taking and catcalls as she crossed this stream - but come on, what's a guy supposed to do?

We almost gave up on the park to explore elsewhere (Julie had wine tasting on her mind, I know you are all surprised). We were a bit lazy though and decided to stick to the trip we had booked earlier - a day of kayaking along the coast. Wow are we glad we did.

The weather was gorgeous - not a cloud in the sky and the water sparkled more beautifully than any pic could capture. Our guide was great as we had an easy paddle past many birds, sea caves, and just generally pretty scenery. Besides the sexy outfits we wore, it was all good.

The kayak trip immediately became one of the highlights of the trip. Its really hard to beat gently paddling by some rare birds, with golden sand beaches on one side and gorgeous mountain scenery in the distance on the other. What a day!

Queen Charlotte Track

The Queen Charlotte track was the first of our big hikes - and the most cushy by far. While in a few days we will be heading out for days into the wilderness, at the end of each day on the Queen Charlotte (QC for short - don't feel like typing the whole thing!) we were able to stay at a nice lodge. Pretty nice to have a nice hot meal, a shower, and a good beer after a day of hiking.

The QC is at the north eastern tip of the South Island in NZ. The hike hugs the edge of a beautiful sound by the same name - think 3-4000 foot mountains rising straight up from a sparkling turquoise sea. We decided to just do the first portion of the hike, about 18 miles over two days. One of the cool things about the hike is that you can access the start of it by boat only, the same being true of the first place we stayed.

The hike started off a bit rough - rainy, windy, and cold - but on the positive side we got to test out all of our brand spanking new rain gear (we will later be hiking in some of the wettest areas in the world). Anyhow, after an hour or two of slogging through the rain, it cleared up and we were treated to some spectacular scenery. The hike passed the sites where Captain Cook first discovered NZ so on top of the scenery there was that sense of history that we both like as well.

All good stuff though by the end of the 10 miles or so on that first day (after a drive and then a boat ride earlier in the day) we were exhausted. The first place we stayed, Furneaux Lodge, was beautiful- see below for the view near sunset. The best part of our stay was the extremely fresh fish (for our fish and chips dinner) and the cold beer. heaven.

The second day was more of the same - beautiful views and a good hike. However, while on the first day we were essentially alone on the hike (seeing two people for a brief moment going in the opposite direction only) on the second day we seemed to be traveling in a pack. Not as nice. But we ended up at a great little place for the night called Mahana Homestead. Below is the view from our room. The hostel owners lived on site, hosting just a few rooms (all very nice) and a huge organic garden. The guy went out and fished every evening for everyone's dinner. They prepared us a gourmet dinner that might have been the best we had the entire trip - and yes after hiking for 20 miles with a big pack on you are a bit food focused.

From Mahana we caught a boat and headed towards Abel Tasman. Two last pics to leave you with from the QC though. Cheers.

Marlborough Wine Country

After Kaikoura, we headed up to NZ's largest wine country, Marlborough. Unfortunately (for us), the region specializes in white wine (while we of course love BIG reds). We were prepared not to like the wine but we love wine countries and we needed to relax a bit before we started a first trek so we gave it a shot.

We spent a very nice two days there. The place we stayed was a great little relaxing spot...complete with tennis courts and bocce ball out back (all for ~$55 US!!). One of the highlights was simply drinking a bottle of wine outside in the courtyard.

The wine itself was....not exactly to our liking. That of course didn't stop us...and by us, I mean Julie of course...from enjoying ourselves as is plain from the number of tastes in this picture!

The unexpected joy (beyond the amazing value of the place we stayed) was the scenery. The area is ringed with beautiful mountains and when combined with the vineyards it was really quite nice. While this wasn't a blockbuster destination, it was indeed relaxing and quite pretty.

For you wine snobs out there, Julie wants to write about the actual wine we tasted...

So basically, Marlborough is known for its Sauvignon Blancs. Although not my favorite, I can definitely enjoy a glass of California Sauv from time to time. But in NZ...it was grassy and green apple tart. We were also expecting there to be plenty of sparkling for some reason...since the area is also know for Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay. But only a few wineries seemed to have them - total bummer for us. If you feel like trying any NZ Marlborough wines, we really enjoyed Cloudy Bay. The other three we visited: Nautilus, Montana and Saint Claire were so so in our book. So of course we bought a nice bottle of Aussie Barossa wine to drink for dinner instead of sticking to the whites! :)

Kaikoura & Swimming with the Dolphins

Like Monterey in CA, Kaikoura NZ is one of these places that has a deep water trench right off the shore where warm and cold water mix. The result is a ton of sea life. In Kaikoura the star attractions are giant sperm whales, Dusky Dolphins, and NZ Fur Seals. The coolest thing to do in town is to swim with the dolphins and this is why we were there.

Or rather, why Julie was there...I was there to watch and to take pictures. Because of course someone needed to record the moment...not because I was pretty sure I would drown over a 6000 foot trench in the middle of the ocean as dolphins swarmed around me...anyhow...

So we got Julie all suited up...

She definitely needed the wet suit as the water was cold! "Refreshing" anyways. At this point she was in good spirits if a wee bit nervous. I was of course kicking myself for not signing up to swim (apparently those wet suits are bouyant, so you can't sink, plus they had prescription masks so I could actually see anything...sigh...). Back to Jules...I would say 80% excited, 20% freaked out before we boarded.

Once on board we motored out aways to meet the dolphins...before we knew it the swimmers were given the word to suit up...5 minutes of frantic activity and soon the guides were yelling for them to get in position because the dolphins were there.

Wow, they were all over the place and jumping like crazy. Apparently the 'Dusky' Dolphin species is one of, if not the most, acrobatic of all dolphins. They jumped, cartwheeled, flipped, and did all kinds of cool things. Much fun to watch.

Jules however was sitting on the end of the boat about to be pushed into freezing water with tons of dolphins and a dozen or so other swimmers. I believe the refrain going through her mind was something like..."with so many dolphins there must be sharks...sharks....sharks...sharks are going to kill me...sharks..." But in she went...

Before long she had a grin on her face as dolphins swam all around her, including one that did a few circles of her. So cool and I was just watching. The dolphins were swimming within an arm's distance of me (now Julie writing) - it was amazing! One of the best parts was when a mom swam by with a baby. Just overall a really cool experience - although I did worry a bit about the impact swimming with people has on them, since they're completely wild (i.e., not fed or penned in).

Of course the pictures all turned out horrible so you will have to do with pics of just the dolphins.

A really great experience for both of us...we were on the water for nearly 3 hours and had dolphins swarming around the boat for most of the time. We have a great video showing this but its much too large for the blog. Maybe we'll try youtube one of these nights...

Besides the dolphins we also got up close and personal with loads of fur seals. There were a few colonies right around the town making it real easy to just walk right up (staying a respectable distance of course...).

Oh one more thing...the water. It was this turqouise color that was just stunning, esp when the sun hit it. Really beautiful. All around Kaikoura was the highlight of the trip up to that point.

Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand

Our first two days in New Zealand were spent in the largest cities of the North and South Island respectively. We stayed in a happening part of Auckland and had a good time walking about and popping into bars.

A decent time but not much to write home about. We were basically in transit and had just a few hours to kill...

It was the same deal in Christchurch but we managed to find first a good meal and then a fabulous bar, Irish of course. They had a two person Irish band playing great tunes and poured a fabulous half and half (using a local brew in place of Harp, actually much better than the original). Dan's family will be glad to know that he insisted the band sing the 'Unicorn' song, along with Whiskey in a Jar (Wild Rover already being played). All of Julie's family should be proud that she knew the appropriate gestures for the Unicorn song. :) The half and halfs slid down real easy and we were glad it was a short walk back to the hostel. Absolutely a great time (not quite Durty Nellies of course, but Dad you would have been at home).

A great introduction to the South Island.

From Christchurch we drove up the coast to Kaikoura. In a few short hours Jules will be swimming with the dolphins. We both can't wait.

Cheers from Kiwi Land

Adelaide & Australia Wrap Up

Welcome to our last installment from down under - for some reason New Zealand, even though it is south of where we are here in Sydney, doesn't get that moniker... but I digress...

We arrived back in Sydney tonight from a 4 day stay in the Barossa wine region in South Australia (near Adelaide). Quick summary here for you: go - if you can afford it and like red wine, go. You won't regret it.

We had a great time. We had decided to splurge by renting a small house, deviating a wee bit from the hostels that we are staying at the rest of the time. The place we rented was great - 360 degree views over rolling vineyards, horse farms, orchards, etc., a fireplace, whirlpool tub, and more. Pretty damn nice....except for all the damn bugs, including a complete infestation of one to two inch long millipedes. Glad to know they are harmless, not so glad to know that several have taken up shop in my luggage. Anyhow, a slight negative, but absolutely wonderful to have our own place.

The Barossa region was amazing - great wine, at wonderful prices, and all the tastings were absolutely free (except a few ultra premium tastings that Julie batted her eyes at me to get me to buy for her...). I should state now that we are well into a bottle of wine that we actually blended ourselves...good times, more on this later.

We visited several wineries known for inexpensive wine in the US but that actually have a huge array of premium and ultra premium ($100++) wines. Jacob's Creek, Wolf Blass, Penfolds, Yalumba, Peter Lehmann, and then a bunch of small boutique wineries (the best being Two Hands, if you can find it, buy it). Though we tasted many, many wines, sparkling and red, we did not taste a bad wine. Some weren't the best, but all good, and many amazing. Plus we got to try a wine unique to Australia, a sparkling red. Julie loved it, I am withholding judgment until I return to somewhat reality.

Barossa was beautiful - not a penned in valley like Napa, more like the Russian River area (rustic, other farms, pretty rolling hills).

To end our experience we decided to shell out a few bucks and get on a private blending seminar where Julie and I got to blend our own wine from three base grape varietals. We had a blast! And the wine we made actually turned out pretty well, especially I am fine to admit, Julie's (the lady leading us through the seminar said females are known to have better blending skills...)

Here we are mid-blending seminar...and after sampling quite a bit, for quality purposes of course. :)

Here's our final product - note the wine stains on my bottle - true genius doesn't mess with keeping things too neat. Julie's of course was perfect. Both wines were, much to our surprise, actually quite good.

After that experience we drove back to Adelaide and then flew to Sydney. Tomorrow we fly on to New Zealand to start 30 days of adventure, almost all on the south island.

Ok, got to run. Take care and much love from down under!!

While the wines at this boutique winery weren't our favorite they had a great tasting room that opened up onto a deck and looked out upon beautiful rows of grapes.

Sydney Part 2

Sitting here on our last night in Sydney - we had a great night on the town and got in right before a huge storm began.

We've had a great couple of days here. At our last post we had just done the Sydney Aquarium. The next day we woke up early and caught the train out to the Blue Mountains. So Pretty! It was pouring all during the train ride (2 hrs) out there and we were bummed (due in no small part to forgetting our rain gear...doh). But after a big breakfast upon arrival (dad you would be proud), the rain let up, and we had an amazing day.

The mountains appear blue due to the Eucalyptus trees - this was cool, but the best part was being above the cloud layer and looking down at valleys shrouded in fog. In addition, there is one of the few instances of a temperate rainforest in the world - Jules and I had a great time walking through looking at huge (and loud) birds (including Cockatoos Julie wants you to know), cool plants, etc.

In addition to hiking about and enjoying the views, there is also a series of 'rides' at one end of the main loop of view points. One of the rides is the worlds steepest railway - you descend down a cliff side at an average tilt of 45 degrees (moms you would have loved this one! :) ) and sometimes nearly straight vertical drops. Much fun and many shrieks from Jules - though of course it was her favorite part of the day.

Nothing special that night beyond exploring Sydney's china town - good chow for cheap.

The next day (today) we headed to a zoo (Featherdale) that features all Australian animals. We were surprised upon entry through a small gate to find Wallabies (think small kangaroos) jumping all around loose! You were encouraged to go up and 'pat' them as well as to feed them if you want. Pretty cool, but it got better when we got into the Koala habitat and got to pet the Koalas! 30 feet further on came the Kangaroos jumping all over plus a giant Emu (think ostrich) running loose. Craziness. We must admit we had fun petting the animals - even though it was the equivalent of petting a goat or cow in the U.S (there are more than 2x the number of Kangaroos as humans in AU). It was still cool as we hadn't seen many of these animals before let alone pet them. My personal favorite was the wombat - though I couldn't pet them as they said I would lose a finger (I wasn't convinced but Jules wouldn't let me...).

Anyhow so we had a great day at the zoo beyond Julie getting a surprise from a few birds who seemed to see her blue coat as a target - that was another cool thing as there were a huge array of birds flying loose through the whole place. It was pure mayhem but again cool (besides the poop of course). Not a zoo that would fly in the U.S. but a fun day.

Ok, we need to run on. We are going to post this without pics and will add them later.

We are off to Adelaide to drink some wine, you'll hear from us in a few days. Cheers!

A great view out to the Blue Mountains (the Three Sisters in the forefront)

Hanging with the Koalas at the zoo in Sydney And the Kangaroos... And the Wallabies...

Sydney Part 1

Howdy from down under!

After more than 20 hrs of traveling we arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning. The trip over was relatively uneventful in the whole scheme of things, but of course had many of the irritants to remind you why you don't do this sort of thing all the time.

Sydney was sunny and gorgeous when we arrived. After getting settled we decided to head straight for the harbor area (think 'the bridge' and the 'opera house'). This didn't disappoint at all as we found a very nice stretch of waterside bars, ice cream stands etc. all with great views of the harbor.

After getting Julie her obligatory ice cream :) (I abstained of course, beyond eating 3/4 of hers...) we decided to screw the outrageous prices and do a harbor cruise regardless. This we enjoyed beyond the obnoxious asian tour group that boarded at the last minute and insisted on carrying on a loud dialouge in japanese so we couldn't hear the english commentary. Ah yes, anyhow, it was great to get out on the water and get a sense of the city.

Sydney itself stretches over a huge area, with a ton of waterside bays and little communities. I should pause here to say Julie is reading over my shoulder and berrating me about the length of this blog post. "sigh" Ok, so you our faithful readers will have to make do with a summary.

Sydney's tourist locales are extremely pretty and quite nice - elsewhere you could be in any random city in the US. The city is also insanely, ridiculously overpriced - wow are things expensive here. $26 fish and chips are common - and the fish you are eating is actually shark by the way - weird but true.

So after the day down at the harbor we tackled Bondi beach (as described, much like a cali beach, but they had a cliff walk that was nice...plus a few topless women bathing...) on Wednesday. Today (Thursday) we hit the Sydney Aquarium (described as one of the best in the world). This is perhaps a bit of hype, but we had a good time regardless - they had a few underwater tunnels which were fun, plus we liked the platypus (julie grinned and nodded as I wrote that one...).

We are going to try for the Blue Mountains and perhaps the zoo over the next two days, but unfortunately we are a bit slow due to the combined effects of jet lag and what seems to be a cold. So far we have been ok with it - just having to move slowly and take a long afternoon siesta - which my dad always told me was the way to go regardless. Julie thinks she has a fever and I am poo pooing her - I just tell her she can't end up in a hospital again or I won't let her travel abroad any more. Relax moms, we are both fine...

Ok, off to dinner (Julie for some reason doesn't want to stay at the hostel where they are about to fry up some Kangaroo burgers...). A few pics below. Cheers!!

D & J

Jules down at the main harbor in Sydney on our first day in town

The opera house from out in the harbor - great to get out on the water!

The stud out at Bondi Beach - topless ladies are just out of the frame about to throw themselves at me...or maybe the sun was a wee bit intense...

Jules at the Aquarium with a seal swimming right overhead.