Timaru and Christchurch - on to Australia

Monday 28th January.

Hot again, sunny periods. About 28 degrees.

Our drive today takes us past the bottom of Lake Pukaki to Timaru. We could have rushed to Christchurch but we take a more leisurely route. Passing the lovely turquoise waters of Lake Pukaki we come across a visitor centre and fish farm selling, you guessed it, fresh salmon. If only we’d know this when we were in Twizel.

Lake Pukaki has the highest salmon farm ... in the world, and not too far from Twizel if you’re ever out that way. Now, fish seems to be a strange subject in NZ. Wild fish: trout, salmon etc. cannot be sold. It is reserved for sport. It was explained to us that to keep wild fish affodable to the average Kiwi, you cannot buy or sell wild fish. This means it has no value and keeps the lakes stocked and available for your average Kiwi to catch. (Him with the V8 pickup, motorboat, waterskis, fishing gear etc). Those of us without the motor boat, V8 pickup, trailer, etc., have to eat chicken, beef or lamb.

Anyway, back to the visitor centre and fish farm shop. There is a scuplture of a Tahr. Evidently a dozen of these animals were introduced sometime in the 1800’s and after decades grew in such numbers there were considered to be a pest, so were culled almost to the point of extinction. Once they had almost disappeared they were declared an endangered species and are now revered and protected. Here is one of the fine fellas overlooking the lovely lake.

There is a very famous church at our next stop, 50kms or so down the road, next to another famous lake, Lake Tekapo.

The Church of the Good Shepherd was built in the 1930’s. A tiny stone church with a magnificent picture window overlooking the lake.

A sign at the doorway requested no photos to be taken inside this practicing church. The creative ways the throngs of camera wielding tourists made to lean in but not enter this tiny church should be seen to be believed!  It is an iconic picture on all the tourist leaflets with the church with  a dark sky full of stars in the background. However we decided to take a picture from afar sans camera bearing tourists!

We should have set the alarm to arrive earlier and not relied on Tree time!

A little further down the road is a statue of a sheepdog erected in the 1960’s - dedicated to these essential working animals for the many sheep farmers in New Zealand. Sadly the sun was in the wrong place ( com d’habitude! ) It still looked magnificent overlooking the lake - sadly getting not as much attention as the place of worship down the road.

We continued through the Mackenzie valley with lovely rural views, on through the Burkes Pass  and through Fairlie and on to a place called Geraldine. This is supposed to be the nearest to an English small town in New Zealand. It was quaint in a New Zealand prefab sort of way with some original Victorian era buildings. The piece de resistance was a riverside walkway planted with rhododendrons and azaleas in which we ... you can guess.... had a picnic! We also visited the quaint museum with the usual social history displays from Victorian times to present day. 

We then continued on to the seaside town of Timaru. After asking at the tourist office where the places to be were we headed for The Bay - one of NZ best loved beaches the signs said.

One view was of a resort and housing.. 

The other was the docks..

The most inner city beach we’ve ever seen.

 

And what’s more - the smallest penguins in the world - blue penguins - choose to nest in the rocks just by the docks (in the background of the above pic).  Apparently the adults leave their chicks in their nests and return at dusk after a day catching fish travelling about 25 kms to feed and head for their beds!

Before we checked in to our B + B - we paid a quick visit to the Botanic gardens. A fine example of victorian philanthropy - a large grandly landscaped park with various gardens and an  aviary.

        

Graham getting close and personal with a very social Cockatoo - Carol couldn’t resist shouting “ Free the Cockatoos!” 

We decided to venture out tonight penguin spotting.  So after checking in to our B + B in suburbia we had dinner downtown and returned for some serious penguin watching.

We watched, and we watched, and we watched. A local volunteer passed by and tipped us off that a large chick was known to come out near to our viewing spot. Apparently there are only 2 or 3 penguins left as it is late in the season. 1 usually arrives at around 10pm - another about 11.30pm. By about 10 pm a large crowd had gathered and sure enough a largish fluffy chick appeared apparently waiting for it’s parents to appear. Sadly with no flash photography allowed the photos are a little hazy ..... we saw it honest!

The volunteer explained that as the chick appeared well fed they presume the parents pitch up well after dark ( she stays until 11.30pm)

However they will be keeping an eye on it. By 11 o clock there was no sign of any action - rumour had it the 10 o clock one had snuck in under cover - so we called it a night. That was better than watching TV and drinking wine!?

On our way back to the B + B we were slowly progressing through the suburbs when, after following us for  kilometre or so, the police car behind us switches their blue lights on. “Just a licence chick” says the policewoman. She turns Grahams licence over and over asking what we’re doing in Timaru. “Watching the penguins” Graham replies. “Uhuh. Count to 5 for me please”. “What?”. “Just count to 5 for me” as she stuffs something under Graham’s chin. “All clear - no alcohol. Don’t get many tourists in Timaru” she says. “You should go down to where the penguins are” says Graham. “Like I said, just a licence chick, have a good night.”

There is a big police presence on the roads in NZ given the size of the population. They wait in laybys to catch speeding or swerving motorists and are not slow in issuing fines. Our first night we were warned and so it has proved to be. We’ve seen quite a few people pulled over at the side of the road. It works. Very few local people speed in NZ. Also effective against drink driving I imagine.

Tues 29th January

Sunny, hot , 30 degrees.

After a lovely breakfast in the kitchen of Dorothy and Jamie’s B + B we headed off for Christchurch. Dorothy and Jamie are retired sheep farmers who after handing on the farm to their son,  moved into Timaru and the B+B is a little project for Dorothy - just one delightful room - which Jamie quietly tolerates. They were very interesting to talk to - over breakfast we discovered their views on government environmental pest control measures, vegans, possums etc., views which were not necessarily our own but interesting all the same...

It was good to hear working farmers perspective on things.

We asked about the petrol vs diesel thing. We noticed that diesel is way cheaper than petrol by 50 cents (26p) a litre, which is the opposite to Europe. Jamie explained that road tax is included in the price of petrol but not in the price of diesel. This is so farm vehicles that don’t use the road aren’t paying road tax through the pumps. Road tax for diesel vehicles is levied separately per kilometre. Jamie pays $600 for 10,000 kms. If you go over your tranch and are caught then it’s a fine + payment for the kms you skipped.

The drive to Christchurch was flat and boring and took 2 hours.

Christchurch proved to be a delightful city.A river - Avon- meanders through it and as we walked along people passed by on boats and punts. Very English.

Sadly it was devastated  by an earthquake in 2010 and 2011 and large areas are still under construction, some areas are still a demolition site where buildings maybe standing but are unsafe and are condemned. Dorothy had described how devastating it had been to watch the horror occurring on TV on the day. She told us a story of a tower office block receptionist deciding to pop out for a coffee and watched the block just coming down like a demolition effort. The people on the lower floors stood no chance but some others from the top floors apparently walked free stepping out on to the crumbled lower floors below with just light bruises. Many young foreign students lost their lives as an English language school for foreign students occupied the lower floors. 

We walked by a memorial on the actual plot the building had been en route to the Cardboard Cathedral - it was very moving.

Many old buildings were destroyed or have been demolished. The Cathedral is just in ruins but local campaigners have insisted it be rebuilt exactly the same using the original bricks as much as possible

. Much to Dorothy's disgust as she thinks the money would be better spent on supporting local people affected by the disaster, who would much prefer a newer more economical design.In the meantime a temporary Cathedral has been constructed mainly of cardboard tubes with some steel supports - a design by a Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, opened in 2013.

Carol bought a couple of Christmas Tree decorations in the Cathedral shop -  a Kiwi and a Tui - which will enable us to remember the glorious birds of New Zealand and the Cathedral - hopefully for many years to come.

In the centre it’s a mix of tourists and city types in smart shirts and suits, with green electric scooters (the push and glide type) littered everywhere. They have a scheme whereby once you have registered you can unlock any scooter with your smartphone, ride it, then just dump it anywhere, leaving it for the next person. Obviously the city has an opportunity to plan a second time for cycle and scooter lanes as vast areas have just been demolished.

We do some sight-seeing before returning the hire car and checking into the airport hotel.

Weds 30th January.

Hot, mainly sunny, 32 degrees

Our flight on to Australia leaves this afternoon - so after a leisurely breakfast we visit the Antarctic Centre - conveniently next door to the hotel.

It was excellent, we got senior discount ( great - G) . There were interactive displays, lots of information re the varoius different countries Antarctic  research stations, HD films, 4D films, occasional flurries of artificial snow, a blizzard simulator and .... blue penguins! We arrived just at feeding time so were able to see these little creatures close up. All the birds were either there permanantly because of illness, injury etc and were quite content. In fact although their lifespan in the wild is about 6 years - one little chap had just celebrated his 21st birthday - perhaps life in captivity is not so bad after all! There were burrows in rock just as we’d seen in Timaru where some birds were embedded in awaiting moulting for 3 weeks before thet could emerge with their new waterproof feathers - apparently this is quite a painful process for them - it must be such a relief to be able to plunge into the water and begin to feed again, this happens yearly.

Carol was able to nip out to a hairdresser near the hotel to change her side parting back into a fringe - and it was done without charge - how generous! Back at the Centre we went on a ride in a bumpy artic transit vehicle on a track with various slopes and challenges- think it was more fun for the driver! The children onboard had a great time though.

Then on to the airport for our flight to Adelaide via Melbourne.....

15.40  We set off on time for Melbourne enjoying a glass of bubbly, a lovely meal with wine.. flight takes just under 4 hours but as Australia is 2 hours behind New Zealand.....

17.50 ( Australia time)  On approach to Melbourne the captain explains there is an electrical storm in Melbourne - no flights can land - we head off to Tasmania to await change of conditions

18. 50.  Arrive on the runway at Launcerston, Tasmania - the lady behind asks if she can get off - this was where she was heading             anyway and her son has come to meet her. Sadly no - there are no customs officials available - we have to remain on the plane. They open the door to let some fresh air in but no-one can get off. The plane is refuelled and given the all clear to return. We head off back to Melbourne bumping along in turbulence.. We ask for Gin and Tonics!

20.00.  See Melbourne coastline below us, plane circles awaiting permission to land...... 

20.45.  The captain informs us it is very busy down there so we circle some more. The next message tells us there is no break in the clouds to allow landing after all, the storm is still in full force.... Captain decides to head off to Sydney...along with a load of other planes.

22.30.  Land in Sydney!   Hang on we’re supposed to arrive here in the campervan on the 12th Feb!

After queuing for an accommodation voucher and re allocated flight tickets to Adelaide for tomorrow, we taxi to a hotel 1/2 hour away. 

Bed just after 12.30 ( 2.30 am NZ time!) Thurs 31st Jan. And the bar was closed!  Today we need to get a taxi at 6am back to the airport. Thank goodness we weren’t flying Easyjet or Ryanair - with them you really are on your own. Virgin were at least on the ball. Three check-in clerks processing hotels and flights at nearly midnight - we are thankful even though the hotel is crap as they are the last beds in town.

What a day/night! 😱

Welcome to Australia!!

Twizel and Mount Cook

Sat 26th January.

Sunny periods , 28 degrees..

The journey to Twizel, Gateway to Mount Cook National Park takes us through the Lindis Pass, yellow tussucked hills of modest height above the tree-line, a bit like the pennines (but with a single carriageway instead of the M62) and higher.

Their softer, rounded peaks make a nice change from the brutal, dark landscape of Fiordland. Between the valleys are the remnants of old farms, eking out a living sheep farming. The usual viewpoints provide us with photo opportunities along the way.

Before the road these were monsters to cross, just like the Pennines!

After a while it flattens down into a huge valley, in the middle of which are some odd shaped hills. The Clay Cliffs are a visitor attraction privately owned by an enterprising farmer who has laid a stone track to them and charges an entrance fee by way of an honesty box. This is the only attraction en route so we stop and have a picnic and great views over the valley.

We continue on to Twizel. Twizel was constructed in the late 1960/70’s to accommodate workers for a complex of dams, canals and hydro power stations. It’s barracks-like, single storey buildings were supposed to be temporary but when the project was finished some workers refused to leave and bought up the plots. What is odd, is it has 2 identical (ie. same company), supermarkets opposite each other, stocking (or not) the same things. Why build another identical supermarket 50 paces from the first one? We enter the larger of the two looking for some wine and something to cook. No fresh fish - only frozen, not much of anything really. Graham asks one of the shelf stackers, any fresh fish? “Only what’s in the corner” comes the reply. That’s nothing then. “Guess you’ll have to cetch it yerself” comes the laughing reply.

Waiting for the wine to cool down we take a walk by the river and meet lots of dog walkers with mad, playful dogs. Then call in for a cold beer in one of the bars. The beer was really nice and restaurants were filling up. Look past the architecture and Twizel is actually a very nice place - no wonder the workers wanted to stay. We take a snapshot with the zoom of Mount Cook whilst on the walk - this is where we’re going tomorrow - getting excited!

Sun 27th Jan

Sunny periods, 29 degrees,

It’s hot as we drive to Mount Cook National Park and it looks like we’re going to have a fine day. Apparently the National Park has over 30 mountains over 3000m! In the Lake District the highest peak is Scafell Pike 964m. Our highest mountain in the UK is Ben Nevis at 1344m.

Today we plan to walk the Hooker Trail to the Hooker Glacier at the foot of Mount Cook. It’s Sunday so no doubt they’ll be a lot of us up there. 

The drive is less than an hour, most of it beside the jaw dropping beautiful Lake Pukaki. We stop at almost every viewpoint to drink in the beautiful colours.

We are stunned by Lake Pukaki.

It’s fed by snow and ice from the Mt Cook range and forms the first top-up lake for the hydro station further down the line. The turquoise colour comes from microscopic amount of rock brought down by the melted ice and suspended in the water. The colour is amazing - you really can’t take your eyes off it. 

We can’t stop taking photos and we’re not there yet. Hope the car park isn’t full.

The Hooker Trail is a very accessible 10km (3hrs or so) return walk up to the Hooker Glacier at the foot of Mount Cook and back again. The views promise to be stunning. It takes in tussock (course low growing grass growing in clumps), jagged mountains, alpine tarns, fast flowing rivers and narrow suspension  bridges. The track has been made very accessible and can be hiked by normal walkers. There is a campsite next to the car park so you can get an early start and see the mountain at dawn.

Mount Cook is 3,754m (12,316ft) and was a practice ground of Sir Edmund Hilary for his Everest campaign. There has been 239 deaths recorded on the mountain over the years of climbers and assistants, the latest being 2015. A book in the visitor centre records them all and there is a monument to the lost at the start of the walk.

One last look behind at Lake Pukaki  from the other end. It looks like a beach in the pic but really there are lots of small streams snaking through dried tussock as the water loses its power on its way to the lake.

The walk curves round tussock and rocks. They’ve really made a good job with this path.

As the glaciers melt, they throw down gallons of water forming alpine lakes.. The river snakes down over which wire suspension bridges have been built giving more photo opportunities. This really is a stunning walk.

After a couple of hours, we reach the end of the walk. Unfortunately the clouds roll in and obscure the top of Mt Cook. In front is the Hooker Glacier. A block of ice no more in the summer but a lake. Some of the glacier pieces are floating in the newly formed lake. The black bits in the front that look like islands are parts of the glacier which have broken off. Mainly black but with turquoise marbling.

We eat our picnic, rest our limbs, and after a couple of spots of rain, start to make our way back. An hour and a bit later, back at the visitor centre with a beer and a cup of tea, we look back to see Mt Cook has disappeared.

The visitor centre is a great piece of design, with the entrance leading your eye through a series of semi circles to the summit of the mountain. There is a collection of historic climbing tools, poems, and a register of mountaineers who have lost their lives climbing Mt Cook. One page per person. 239 pages in all.

Back in Twizel we visit our favourite bar and reflect on a fabulous day. One of our highlights in New Zealand and all free.

Tomorrow we head to the coast to Timaru and then the next day on to Christchurch. Our brief adventure in New Zealand will soon be over.....

Day 25 -27 Te Anau to Wanaka

 Thurs 24th Jan

18 - 20 degrees, sunny periods

We set off this am for yet another boat ride across a lake - this time across Lake Te Anau to THE glow worms caves.

The guide on the boat gave us an excellent commentary of which our frazzled fact laden brains could recall very little in retrospect!

However - we can tell you that the lake is the largest, deepest fresh water lake in New Zealand. So fresh you can drink the water straight from the lake.

She also told us that the area around where the caves are is carefully protected as it is home to around 200 rare birds, once thought extinct called the Takahē. These flightless birds are chicken sized, with blue/green plumage and red beaks and legs. There are others on nature reserves of which there is one in Te Anau. Think they look a bit like a chunkier version of the Pukeko we saw in Rotorua (but they can fly) There is a giant statue of one in Te Anau which we failed to photograph!

When we arrived at the visitor centre we were given an excellent presentation by a guide about the glow worms. 

Apparently they’re not worms but grubs of a type of fly. They create a kind of hammock to suspend themselves horizontally, that’s right, suspended at both ends, from the roof of the cave and then secrete a kind of luminous fishing line which hangs down from their hammocks and captures prey such as flies, moths, other glow-worms, glow-flies, etc. We watched a slo-mo film of a grub capturing a moth and then secreting some chemical to turn the inside of the moth to liquid food that it could feed on for several days - Yuck! The hungrier the grub the more they shine. Sadly after the grub stage they only live a few days as flies before they die, just enough time to reproduce. The female dies straight after giving birth, the males blunder on for a couple more days, often being eaten by other glow worms in the pupae stage.

We were then led to a cave entrance which was very low and deep. There were waterfalls whose volumous  waters  hurtled along at an alarming rate. Carol attempted to take a quick photo and then was severely told off by the rather cocky young guide as we were told not to take photos of the glow worms when we arrived to see them  (I knew that, i’m not stupid ! - C  - well i thought it but didn’t verbalise it..) We continued feeling our way through the dimly lit cave.

We were then ushered into a small boat on an waterway  and set off in the pitch black guided by rope operated by the guide. It was very disorientating but we were soon witness to the image of thousands of little lights on the cave roof. It was magical - in fact in the words of New Zealanders - awesome! Sadly as you know we could not take photos so you will just have to trust us on this one, but it was very good.

Back on to the boat, across Lake Te Anau and after a picnic by the lake we set off for Wanaka.

Enroute we called by an old gold mining town called Arrowtown.

It really looked a bit like a wild west frontier town! In a slightly disney way.

They’re still keen on flogging us those possum products!

L




The gold soon ran out and the town was abandoned, which is why the buildings remain (somewhat restored) in the original style they were built and laid out. It was pretty and we had our first good cup of tea in nearly a month - in lovely English vintage porcelain cups with cake.( Was going to say china but they said made in England on them and see below...)

We wanted to visit the museum but it shut at 5pm so instead we went to see the remains and restored remains of Chinatown (a dozen of poor huts and a store which was the centre of the village). In the late 1800’s NZ was desperate for population, and it was decreed that even the Chinese were better than no population at all, so were encouraged to come and prospect for gold. They were marginalised, racially abused we would call it these days, for working harder and finding more gold. But even then they were sold a dummy and, not finding the gold that was promised, most could not afford the fare to go home. Years later, says the info board, when they were old and no longer a threat, they were respected for their hard work. So states the information board. Hmmm. ( Graham)

Nevertheless they had their own community, maintained their cultural practices ( chinese new year celebrations with fireworks appeared to bemuse the locals( earlier european settlers). There were many interesting boards with info re the Chinese village. ( Carol)

 Ah Lum( also known as Lau Lei) was the owner of the last store in the Chinese village - he acted as the village leader, and as he was fluent in English and Chinese was able to translate and aid communication between the workers and the local business people etc. The store was also used as a bank ( sounds familiar - Monterey, California?). When he died in 1925 it kind of signalled the end for the settlement...

Gradually it became a ruin - until 1986 when it was restored and today many buildings can be seen - some made of tin, some stone and some built in to cave walls... 

The restored store-

One of the workers huts.

The road to Wanaka is a real pleasure, over the mountains through Cardrona, another gold rush town, but now a ski resort. The hills here were unique, yellow and bumpy, with every corner a ‘Whoa’ moment. And so down to Wanaka, another play town next to a lovely lake. We arrive, dump our stuff and head down for the famous blue cod and chips. God they were massive. We ate nearly all the fish and left all the chips and went to bed too full to move.One between two would have been enough.

Fri 25 January 

Cloudy but warm.22 degrees?

A bit of a fill in day today. We drive to see some waterfalls and pools noted for their turquoise blue colour. Fair enough. They were indeed turquoise with a quaint bridge over. We had a nice walk through the pools and a forest, had a picnic  and then head back for a wine tasting.

We head to Rippon Wines, which looks like a moderately successful winery with a grassy bank down to vineyards with lovely views over Lake Wanaka. A party of Chinese are taking the opportunity to take what look like wedding photos in the garden - well it seems that they are much more careful in their choice of shot poses than the slapdash Trees. We enquire as to the tasting opportunities and are told to come back in 5 minutes, so we go outside to watch the next Vogue shoot.

A few minutes later we are with an audience of a dozen being led through Rippon Wines selection. We start with an Osteiner, a cross between a Reisling and another (forget its name). It was awful. “What do you think?” asks the host. “A bit acidic” says Graham. “Ah, that’s the slate it roots into” says the host. Its natural. Next was the reisling. Awful, acidic. Next the Saunvignon Blanc. A bit better but I wouldn’t buy it. She bangs on about everything being so natural, so bio, there is nothing added to the wine, nothing. “What about sulphites?” Says Graham. “Ah, well we use a little sulphite, but not as much as other wine makers” comes the reply. “Only enough 

to preserve the wine”. Of course they do, nothing wrong with that - if you don’t use sulphites the wine may spoil in the bottle. Don’t know why I said it. Everyone uses sulphite. Next comes the pinot noir jeunesse, nice. And then the finalé, I get a big glass for asking awkward questions - the pinot noir from the older wines. Lovely. I could buy some of this until I see the price - $59! (£31) as in a famous Graham saying - “ How much!”

This is a great spot and so generous to give a free tasting, as soon as one group finishes, the next group starts. All free. I can’t see them continuing this for much longer.

These are the views from the tasting room and outside, ooooh, it’s lovely. And Graham in the chair of contemplation after being rude about their wines.

Tomorrow we head off to Twizel pronounced “ Twyzel”, with a “y” rather than a “ee”. Gateway to Mount Cook National Park. Here’s hoping the weather treats us better than in Fiordland....  

Day 24 Doubtful Sound

Weds 23rd Jan

Some sun, mainly cloudy ..... we’ll see ... about 14 degrees

Today we were up and at em and out of  the apartment just before 7am. We’re off on the big one - a long day trip to Doubtful Sound.

To get there involves a fair bit of travel. This is not by choice, to extend the trip for tourists, as it were. This is the ONLY way to get to Doubtful Sound.

We are picked up by coach at 07:15 and travel 20 - 30 mins to Lake Manapouri. 

We climb aboard a $5m catamaran (Capt is very proud) at the Pearl Harbour marina on the Waiau river which feeds Lake Manapouri and sail (under 2x1000hp engines - one each side) for 45 mins to the other side of the Lake. This lake covers 142 sq kms and is dotted with 34 islands. We take a photo but don’t know why we bother as this is nothing compared to what lies ahead (we hope).

We arrive at the visitor centre next to the Manapouri Hydroelectric Powerstation. The power station is a man-made wonder which takes advantage of the difference in heights of the mountains between the lake and Doubtful Sound to act as a natural dam. The water then flows out of a 10km tunnel to Deep Cove. The site is inaccessible apart from by boat. What strikes us is the logistics and investment made in constructing this, as everything needs to come by boat, diggers, men, food, buildings, hardware, everything. It is nothing short of astounding. We have an admiration for Kiwi eco-credentials. The turbines run all the time, continuous. If the level of Manapouri Lake drops, it is topped up by Lake Te Anau - largest lake in NZ by surface area (if you were paying attention). Already it is construction on a huge scale.

Then it is revealed the power station was built to power a smelting factory. Not the clean eco-power we thought to power all the homes in South NZ, but a dirty, belching, money making smelter to turn out the finest aluminium for China and Europe. Graham’s dream is shattered.

The Aluminium Smelter is 171 kms to the south, at Bluff. The Aluminium which is the very best quality and in much demand worldwide our driver Malcolm proclaims proudly. There is also some electricity left over to power thousands of homes.

 

We then get on a coach (which was initially brought across on a barge - in case you were wondering) which  will take us on the Wilmot Pass road (not tarmaced) of 22kms - completed in 1965 to facilitate the building of the powerstation. It cost more than $2 per cm to build! You may think that is cheap but all it is, is ground levelled, drained and stones laid. It is, in essence, a farm track.

Malcolm our driver was a mine of information as we travelled this expensive track. He explained how the trees and mosses intertwine on the steep rock cliffsides to make a rainforest of mostly silver beeches. The litchen which grows there can hold 25 times their dry weight in water which explains how the vegetation survives. The mosses appear to form a moss garden on the rock face.

We know because we got personal with the trees near Lake Gunn, the trees do not root in the ground. They root above ground. First comes the lichen clinging onto the rock, then comes the moss clinging onto the lichen, then comes the low growth, then come the trees. If there is a heavy rain the trees can dislodge and the have a tree avalanche leaving bare rock for the whole process to start again. We see several examples of this during the sail.

 

This tree is thousands of years old .. says Malcolm

We pass by the Cleve Garth Falls at 365m ( 1,200 ft) high above the pass road.

We slowly made our way up to the 670m ( 2,200 ft) summit and then down the 1:5 slope to Deep Cove - our access to Doubtful Sound.

Deep Cove hides the 10 km underground tunnel (!!) under the mountains where the outflow from the power station feeds the sound.

We climb aboard our boat - our home for 3 hrs.

and set off to explore Fiordlands second largest 40 km( 25 miles) long fiord and the deepest at 421m (1,380 ft) ! We now know why this area is so wet! It rains 2m a year at our motel in Te Anau and between 8m and 10m a year at Doubtful Sound - that’s a lot of water!! (9m equates to 354 inches,  but it doesn’t rain everyday).  Our guides happily tell us that we are lucky as it has been raining the last few days (really?) as therefore the waterfalls tumbling down the rockface along the sound will be even more spectacular! We’ve never met so many people who claim they like rain as much as these folk in Fiordland!

Kayakers getting up close to the waterfalls

It was misty.. atmospheric you could say as we made our way almost to the Tasman Sea and very very windy. Very rolly polly.  The weather was seriously against us as the wind picked up and the swell increased - our captain decided not to go any further. He explained what we already know: the Southern Ocean has no land mass to break up the waves, it just goes round and round, 360 degrees.

This seems a good time to answer the question. How did Doubtful Sound get its name? Well, it was named by Capt James Cook, who was one of the world’s great sailors, no mug. He was sailing by in 1770 wanting to make land but doubted if he entered whether he could get out again. His ship, the Endeavour (launched in Yorkshire did you know) had a speed of around 7 knots, with little ability to go upwind (modern yachts can tack 45’ into the wind, he could not). He decided not to enter, and named the sound Doubtful Sound on his chart. We, however, in our 2,000+hp, 30knot monster can go where we like. So, the big question. Could Cook have got out again if he went in? Well....... it’s doubtful.

He did however sail into another sound - Dusky Sound - just noting the entrance on his 1770 voyage calling it Dusky Bay - but did sail into it on his next trip. We have also discovered Dusky Sound but the one we love is a very tasty Pinot Gris - the wine that is!

Next stop: Argetina. These are the “ hares ears” - indicating the entrance to the Tasman sea.

As you can see we zoomed in to get them - the sea was not looking too friendly.

We passed by a hut like building - apparently used by fishermen very occasionally for big parties! but it also has a helipad.

It serves as a refuelling point and a refuge in bad weather. The most western inhabited building in New Zealand ( temporarily)

 

The  Blanket Bay Hotel!

In the middle of the sound the captain cut the engines, requested silence for several minutes and we all just relished this bit of wilderness and calm.

We cruise around the Sound and its many fingers. The views are amazing we just hope the camera conveys a little of what we saw.

On the way back. That californian state park wooly hat souvenir certainly came in handy for Carol! And then back to dry land.

We retrace our steps back to Te Anau the way we came. Te Anau was bathed in sunshine - is the fiords which are permanently in rain or just timing. Who knows.

Tomorrow we have a glow worm extravaganza, and then on to Wanaka, a lakeside town, gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.