Milford Sound - Fiordland

We set out at 7:15 am for a cruise on the Milford Sound. Milford is one of New Zealand's famous fiords. We were staying at Te Anau, about 2-2,5hours driving from the Milford jetty. And we had booked a cruise for 9:45 cruise opting to beat the crowds to it. The weather looked unexpectedly lovely and sunny that morning.

The famous Mitre Peak, hidden in the clouds

But that didn't last very long. As we drove north, into the mountains, the road became quickly very misty and wet. By the time we came out of the Milford tunnel it was proper drizzling weather. We'll never wonder again why the West Coast is commonly referred to as Wet Coast. 

We're told the annual rainfall in the Milford Sound is almost 7meters! One of the wettest inhabited places on earth... About 182 rainy days a year, so we had about 50-50 chance, not taking into account that spring is the rainy season,

A few of the thousands of waterfalls 

The upside of all that rain? The gorgeous waterfalls of course! Because the rock doesn't retain any water, many waterfalls will stop 30 minutes after the rain ceases. We saw plenty of waterfalls, and most were absolutely pumping! 

Because the fiord walls are very steep, both above and under water, the boats can get right up to the walls. Sometimes touching the trees there, and once underneath a waterfall! 

Nature's hydro power

I sat inside for a fair bit of the trip, and suddenly I saw two dolphins next to the boat, very cool. Unfortunate they were gone before I could alert Rodie, who stood outside on the bow. 

The boat navigated the fiord right up to the border of the Tasman Sea, and there we could see another surprise: penguins! 

Can you spot the penguin?

Our guide told us these were yellow-eyed penguins, one of the rarest species on earth. We were delighted that we had our binoculars on us, cause it was hard to spot these birds from far off (the cruise boats luckily aren't allowed to disturb them). As we watched we saw two penguins. Clumsily hopping on the rocks on their bulbous pink feet. The bright yellow colour next to their eyes was very well visible too.

Penguin in the water

We watched as the bird made it to the water, and plunged in. Once in they look like a semi-sunken duck. We were quite excited to see one of these very rare penguins. The only thing is... 

A few days later we went to a dedicated viewing hide to watch yellow-eyed penguins and were (again) lucky enough to see them. And they definitely looked different! The pink feet were similar, but the yellow markings not. After some googling we believe we saw yellow-crested (Fiordland) penguins at Milford Sound. 

Sun at last

As we reach the Tasman Sea we distinguished a tiny patch of blue in the clouds, the sun had decided to come out and joins us. As we headed back to the jetty, we saw some other boats heading out. Even though we knew the surrounding cliffs were high, seeing the bits being dwarfed by them really gave some perspective to it all. 

 Seal rock

On our way out we has passed a rock strewn with seals on the south side, and now we passed another one on the north side: imaginatively named Seal Rock. Another batchelor fur seal hangout. 

I had never imagined how frequently we would see these animals!

Fur seal on display

At noon we were back at the jetty. We drove back to Te Anau, but now had time for some stops on the way. We stopped at The Chasm. A gorgeous short walk, with some impressive river views. And the place where we spotted our first Kea! 

Other good stops were Knobs Flat, the Mirror Lakes and Te Anau Downs.

Mirror Lakes

The search for sea lions - Victory Beach

New Zealand is home to much wildlife, and we have seen quite a lot of it! But, always looking for more, we really wanted to see some sea lions. We have seen many, many fur seals, and though they are super cute we haven't seen even one sea lion. (Although I've recently read that fur seals are actually misnamed sea lions, their external ears being proof of that.)

Somehow the need to see a sea lion turned into our self imposed quest...

Tussock dotted farmland

During our tour at the Albatross Centre, we eagerly asked our guide if she knew where it was most likely to see sea lions on the Otago Peninsula, since we had visited quite a few beaches already. She first advised Allan's Beach, where we look that morning, and if not there, give Victory Beach a try. We drove there as soon as we finished the Albatross tour.

En route to Victory Beach

From the carpark it was about 40 min walk to the beach. As usual in New Zealand, the walk itself was really pretty. First through farmland, then through dunes overflowing with flax and yellow lupin. The flax you see everywhere in New Zealand, but we haven't seen this much lupin before. 

Then we suddenly stumbled upon the beach. 

New Zealand flax

We intensely looked in both directions, but couldn't see anything seal or sea lion like. But, having learned from our previous experiences, we decided to walk north anyway. It's so hard to spot these animals, if you don't know where to look.

Victory Beach

And that was proven once again. After walking a few minutes, we saw something lying at the beach. Was it one of those kelp heaps? It wasn't moving for sure, but we walked towards it anyway. 

Coming closer we saw that it actual was an animal. But was it still alive? Her hind flippers and eyes were covered in flies... 

Is it alive?

As we closed in, she did move and it was definitely a sea lion! It didn't like us being too close and showed us her impressive set of teeth. All good. We kept some distance.

We still felt she wasn't the healthiest looking specimen, but later learned that sea lions are often covered in flies when lying at the beach. 

Look at those teeth!

We continued our walk, but didn't encounter any more sea lions. At the end of the beach, on the rocky outcrops were however a dozen or so fur seals. And some oystercatchers, and we did see some very freshly made penguins tracks. The walkers we talked to a few minutes before told us they saw two yellow-eyed penguins coming out of the water, but we just missed them...

Fur seal coming ashore

We walked back, and 'our' sea lion was still there. At the same spot, but her head was now towards the sea instead of the dunes, and she was sound asleep. 

She couldn't be bothered with us being near this time. 

Sleeping beauty

We walked back the same way we came. Today we saw albatrosses, red-billed gulls with chicks, oystercatchers, fur seals, white-faced herons, paradise shell ducks, pied stilts, and a sea lion. Not a bad day at all!

Sea lion at Victory Beach

Kea crazy - Fiordland

I think it's time for a single animal dedicated post again. Why? Well quite frankly because I can't choose which photos to post.... And having a Milford Sound post with 8 pictures of Kea and 4 of the sound would be a bit weird wouldn't it?

Our first kea

So what is a Kea? An alpine parrot! Endemic to New Zealand, and not too common since it was hunted to near extinction. You might wonder why, could it be that tasty? Or may be as stupid as a dodo?

Sitting pretty

None of the above, it's actually one of the more intelligent birds, but it does occasionally kill sheep! 

It's alpine habitat means it needs high caloric food to survive, like (animal) fat. To get that, some kea would tear open a sheep's backside and feed on its fatty layers. And most sheep apparently die as a result of that treatment.

Rainy kea

What do you of that that massive beak now? 

Not very surprisingly this behaviour led farmers to kill any kea they'd lay eyes on. There was even a bounty for every kea upper beak handed in. Nowadays kea are a protected species, though still occasionally (illegally) hunted. 

Windy kea

Now we've read on many sites that your bound to spot a kea when you stop anywhere in the Southern Alps. Kea are very opportunistic, and have learned that humans provide a generous and steady source of food, so they hang out at alpine viewing points and parking lots. 

Though they also like to destroy rubber window seals and windscreen wipers, and quite a few warnings are posted for that.

But we had been in the Alps for days and hadn't seen any. It was getting to the point that we feared we might not see any.

Up to no good kea

Luckily that change when we drive back form Milford Sound. At each stop we made, we saw one or multiple kea. And none of them very shy. They'd walk right up to us and our car, to see if there was anything interesting. We almost had an extra passenger. 

But looking at them walking around they do not look very intelligent. But I don't think any walking bird looks smart, they've got wings for a reason!

And kea have pretty wings too. Though they are an olive brown green hue when walking, once they take flight you see the brilliant orange on the bottom of their wings. But you'll have to google to see a picture of that. 

Fluffy kea

Time for chicks - Royal Albatross Centre

We spent a few days in Dunedin, and one of the must-see's there is the Otago Peninsula. And that's exactly where we went. The peninsula is home to the world's only mainland royal albatross colony. And a tour is the only way to actually see the albatrosses, so, cheapskates as we are, we got tickets through a discount site, and booked a tour for 3pm.

Taiaroa Head Lighthouse

The colony is right at the head of the peninsula. We arrived a bit early so had a look around at the parking lot, with lots of screaming gulls. But no albatrosses of yet. We took a stroll to the cliffs, looked at the lighthouse, and the fur seals below them. We have seen a lot of fur seals this trip!

Our tour started with a video of albatrosses and a short talk. Both very informative. Did you know albatrosses mostly eat floating dead squid because they can't dive very deep? I didn't. 

Anyway, after that we walked up to the observatory, right in between the nesting albatrosses. There were several binoculars, so we could take a look. November is nesting period, and with the binoculars, we could see 5 birds from the observatory. Our guide tolds us a bit about their personalities, and about life in the colony in general. 

Southern Royal Albatross nesting 

Lower at the cliff we could see the cormorants nesting. After about half an hour we walked down again. For some of the participants this was it, but we had booked the 'unique tour', so we were allowed up in the old fortress.

We got to see the disappearing gun (yes really!), the old armoury, but best of all... two albatrosses up close! Appearantly they prefer nesting closer to the viewing post of the fortress than next to the observatory, who knew?

Red-billed gull

After the fortress tour, we walked all the way down, passed the red-billed gull colony. We've seen these gulls a lot in New Zealand, and hadn't thought a lot about it. But they turn out to be endemic to New Zealand, and endangered at that. 

But the best thing? Unlike the albatrosses, that take like forever to incubate, the guls' chicks had already hatched! Cute as a button, even though I know they'll grown up to be annoying gulls. 

Posing like a grown up gull.

The colony as a whole was loud and smelly, as you'd expect from sea gulls. The chicks range widely in age. The youngest we saw was a very fluffy and shy day-old (maybe even hours?) next to an unhatched egg. But others were a lot bigger and bolder, screeching away. Very cool to see that many, and that close up!

Fluffy little chick

Walking in the wet - Abel Tasman Coastal Track

New Zealand is all about the outdoors, especially when hiking, or tramping as the Kiwis say. The country even has 9 Great Walks. These are multi day hiking trails, which supposedly have the bast views and divers landscapes.

Now, we are by no means avid walkers, but we felt like we at least had to try to do one of these trails. I mean, being in the country for almost two months, and not do one of the walks....? That's like missing out on the essentials of the country.

Start of the Abel Tasman from Maharou

After done online searching, we decided to walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. We chose this one for several reasons:

• Supposedly it's the easiest of the Great Walks, so manageable for leisurely walkers. 
• It's very accessible, so if you decide you cannot take it anymore, you can even decide to take a water taxi out.
• You walk a trail from hut to hut, where you spend the night. So the distance between two huts determines how far you have to walk each day. The Abel Tasman has 'extra' huts, so you can chose to walk the whole track in 3,4 or 5 days. (This whole track is 60km.)
• This area usually has really good weather: one of the sunniest parts of the country.

View over Tinline Bay

Because the huts have limited space, you have to book them before you start. By the time we thought about booking them, some of them were already fully booked. So this limited our options, both in length and dates. An attentive option would be you camp along the trail, but then we'd have to hire (and carry!) camping gear too. That's a bit too hardcore for me.

We would walk 3 days, from Marahau to Awaroa, staying 2 night in huts. 

Because the trails are all about nature, you can't buy anything en route. You have to carry all your food , clothing and sleeping gear with you.

The huts have drinking water, flushing toilets and cold showers. No heating or electricity, but some sort of heating would be available.

Walking the first day

At our hostel we arranged for a water taxi to pick us up at Awaroa on day 3, and hired an extra sleeping bag (we travel with just one) because the nights get pretty cold!

We headed out on the 6th of November. Just as one of the infrequent bad weather fronts rolled in... Well , if you let the rain get yo you, you can't do anything in New Zealand! But look at the sky in that first photo, imagine that the start of you three day walk....

Start of day 2, Drizzle at Anchorage Bay

On that first day we walked just over 13km. Most of it in lovely weather, and those views... Simply amazing. But our bags were pretty heavy, were of used to more than a day pack. And there were a couple of pretty steep climbs that day. 

We stopped for lunch at Appletree Bay, a lovely little cove. But the tide rose very quickly, so we climbed up again and walked to the hut at Achorage. The first real showers started after lunch, and about 20 minutes before we got to the hut it started to storm. We were utterly soaked by the time we reached the hut. 

The rain stopped about half an hour after we got there... So we spend a lovely few hours sitting in the sun. As soon as the rain stopped, the birds came out. A few ducks, some quail and even a weka! 

Day 2: rain

Achorage hut had 4 separate door rooms, with 4 bunks each (sleeping 8 per room). The matresses were plastic wrapped foam. Not the most comfortable ever. But hey, we weren't doing this for comfort.

Someone lights the fire, we rinsed our socks and shirt, and hung our clothes next to the fire to dry.

Our dinner consisted of a salad with avocado and a tin of teriyaki chicken each. Dessert was an energy bar. 

The huts don't have cooking facilities and we figured that hiring and carrying a portable gas stove was too much of a hassle. 

We had some nice chats that evening, prepared our overnight oats, and by nine o'clock everyone was in bed!

Start of day 3 at Bark Bay

We were looking forward to day 2, it was forcast to be a lovely sunny day, and our pack would be not as heavy.

Imagine our deception when we woke up to the sound of rain... 

We took our time eating our oats (that had turned out quite nice!) and staring out the window. Around 10 we figured we might as well start, it didn't get any sunnier as far as we could tell. And we were right unfortunately.

It rained all day long. We didn't stop for lunch, because we were quite sure our rice cake would fall apart from the moisture. 

A good thing that even in the rain, the track is gorgeous. But of course we would have preferred some more sunshine.

A tui, one of the most common birds on the track.

We reached Bark Bay hut at around 2pm, having walked again 13km. Since it had been such lovely weather (ahem) we had decided to take the high tide route and a detour to Cleopatra Pool.

But we did gave a lot of fun that afternoon in the hut. We chatted and laughed with some of the other walkers. Taking turns of making fun of each other's food turns out to be a good way to pass the time. (Our dinner was ready cooked rice, mustard tinned chicken, red peppers and tinned olives.)

Bark Bay hut was a little more basic than Anchorage: the same plastic matresses, but this time in 2 bed rooms, each sleeping 14 people in platform bunks. What is a platform bunk? Two platforms above each other, both with 7  matresses, right next to each other. It has been a while since I've slept that close to a stranger...

The creek just before Tonga Quarry

But what a nice surprise on day 3. We had given up hope, but the sun made it at last! What a gorgeous day it was. We had only 10km to walk today, and our pack was almost empty.

We saw so many birds that day and the sunlight made all the views just made all the little creeks glitter. Because of the rainy days the waterfalls and creeks were tumbeling.

Day 3: sun at Onetahuti Beach

At Onetahuti Beach we had a break, we watched the oystercatchers and red billed gulls at the beach, and staring at the sea, we even saw some seals in the water!

After Onetahuti we walked through an estuary and then got ready for our last hike uphill. Walking down we realised we were very early for our water taxi. We had booked a 3pm taxi, and we arrived at noon. We decided to walk to the beach, just in time to see the earlier water taxi arrive! 

We stepped aboard and 1,5 hours later we were back where we started.

Boat ride back

Sleepy seals - Cape Pallister

While we stayed in Wellington, we decided to do a daytrip to Cape Pallister, home to the largest New Zealand fur seal colony of the North Island.

View from the cape

The drive there took about 2,5 hours, and was really nice. When we were nearly there, we started to watch the sea intensely, hoping for a glimpse of seals.

What a comfortable position...

And suddenly we thought we saw one! We pulled over and indeed... there was one. On closer inspection, we saw several. Just lazing around, perfectly blending with the rocks.

Quite an active pose

We walked towards the sea, about 10meters off the road and there lay another in the grass! So quietly we didn't notice it at first! 

Can you see them all?

We were hoping to see some pups, but we were probably a few weeks too early. We did see some smaller ones though. Two out of the water. One was just hiding with its mum, the other one was trying to annoy all the grown ups. Biting and poking every single on as he passed them. 

What is that biped doing?

Staying a bit longer we saw them interact with each other, the proud male at the largest boulder, the young one playing in the water.

Love the difference between wet and dry

We stayed for about an hour, watching them from different locations. We then drove on to the lighthouse, but decide that we didn't feel like walking the 250steps up. So we didn't.

Nozzling 

We then drove back to Wellington, just in time for the afternoon traffic jams. Always fun. Despite that delay, we were just in time to do the last tour of the Weta workshop, but that's a whole other story! 

For now: I hope you like these pics as much as I do...

Which way is up?

In the shadow of Mt. Doom - Tongariro Alpine Crossing

5am, the sound of an alarm clock. Ours. Way too early in my world. But today we'll walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and our shuttle pickup is at 5:50.

This hike is supposed to be the best day hike in New Zealand. And, no less important for a fan, the site of Mordor and the infamous Mt. Doom...
From our hostel in Taupo, it is about an 1,5 hour drive to the start of the track. We quickly make and eat breakfast, pack our bag with snacks, lunch, water and some extra clothing and go outside. Just as the birds wake up.

Amazing ice formations

During our drive we watch the sun rise, the first rays of light give the snow capped peaks in pink hues over lake Taupo. At 7:20 we get a briefing and then we start walking. It's still freezing and we're glad we've got many layers on. 

The hike is divided into sections, to help you time your progress, the time for the main track is usually 6-8 hours. 

Through the Mangatepopo Valley

The first section is from Mangatepopo Valley to Soda Springs, and quite flat. After about 15 minutes we start peeling, the wind proof top layer isn't necessary as we're warming up. It's still freezing, but there's no wind, and the sun that peeks over Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom's real name), is strong. We apply sunscreen and walk passed low vegetation and icy pools. A boardwalk leads us through the frozen marshes. Every few minutes one or several people overtake us, but we are too busy savouring the views to mind. Before we know it, about an hour later, we are already at Soda Springs. Also the site of the last (busy!) toilet.

View from the Devil's Staircase

After Soda Spring we start the real ascent. The climb to South Crater is a challenging one. Mostly stairs, one after another. In between we seize many opportunities to admire the views (code for catching our breath...) But everyone here is panting, it's not just us! And the views are just stunning. After about an hour we are past the Devils Staircase, and decide that it's time for morning tea. The water in our thermos is still warm, which is good, since it's quite cold once you stop moving! We look back at the route we've walked and are amazed at how far we've come, and that that boardwalk definitely wasn't level either. While we take our break right at the foot of Mt Doom, we see the fresh snow on its slopes from the day before. And from its top continuously appear white plumes, Mt Doom is smoking...

Looking back at Mt Doom from the flat South Crater

We then walk on over a small the ridge, and are at South Crater. This is actually not a crater, but an glacially formed basin, filled with volcanic debris. Whatever it is, it's an amazing section. Though bit muddy, it's really impressive to walke across an empty space, bordered by volcanic ridges.  

At the other end is the last climb to the highest point of today. As we approach it we see people snaking up the track to the top. Slowly but steadily we climb up the first half of it. It's icy, slippery and rocky, so we have to focus on where to place our feet. Halfway up many people take a break, and we do too. We drink another cup of tea (only luke warm by now) and eat a nut bar. And admire the views, completely different from the last stop, and even more stunning.

Looking back from the top of the Red Crater

We move on to the top of the Red Crater. This part is really tricky. The track is in the shadow of the ridge, thus not thawed by the sun and on top of that, very narrow. On the right hand side is a rock wall, and on the left side a steep slope goes a hundred meters down. This is the first time (and it turns out, the only time) a steel chain is attached to the rock as a handhold. As we make it to the ridge, the smell of sulphur increases, and steam rises from the ground all around. On the left side we see Blue Lake in the distance, on the right we see the most bizarre and amazing rock formations. 

Looking forward from the top of the Red Crater

Another few meters to the top of the ridge. And what a spectacular view: the brilliant Emerald Lakes lay beneath us, Blue Lake further ahead and in between the Central Crater with patches of snow in between the whirls of steam. After a while we descend: a tricky business! The ash and pumice form a very loose surface: imagine a high sand dune. But with a ravine on both sides. 

Hopscotching we make our way down, and find a nice rock to have lunch on. Bacon and egg sandwiches in sulphur steam, that's a new experience. As we eat our sandwiches, they get harder to bite... That actually freeze while we eat! No wonder I feel like I have to eat with gloves on!

We don't sit for long, fearing we might get too cold.

Crossing the Central Crater

We make our way across the Central Crater towards Blue Lake walking occasionally through snow. Another quick ascent and were at the shore of Blue Lake. We start our final descent. Having said that, we're only halfway! We walk another hour over a narrow track towards the hut (and toilets) on the other side. Though it offers beautiful views, of both the geothermal area and Lake Taupo ahead, this part is simply not as spectacular and surprising as the previous sections. We walk through patches of snow, see several fumaroles, and the first flowering plants. Once we are on the others side of the craters, the track snakes down to Ketetahi hut. Ever winding we see the hut from above, but it takes a long time before we are actually there. In reality probably half an hour or so. Next to the path are the Ketetahi Springs. We can see and smell them, but they are not accessible.

On our way to Ketetahi hut

The final section is from the Ketetahi hut to the car park, where our shuttle awaits. This is the part where we are struggling. It's all downhill, and with many stairs on the way. Did I tell you 'bout my crappy knees before? I seriously dislike going downhill. And this time, I was not alone in my struggling. Maybe we are getting to old for this? But nothing to be done about it, we have to go on. Only 6 more kilometres.

It's getting a lot warmer now, and I remove another few layers of clothing. Going downhill so steeply does cause a interestingly quick change in vegetation. We start at low Alpine grasses, then walk through larger bushes, and after another turn we are suddenly in a forest! 

We've crossed a little stream higher up the hill, but by the sounds of it, we found a bigger one now. A sign tells us this us a Lahar hazard zone :  'Move quickly through', 'No stopping' and 'If you hear noise from upstream, do not enter'. 

We decide it's safe enough, and go on. We are at the carpark, and the shuttle, at half past three. Tired, but very content. 

 View from the Red Crater forward

And if you're wondering how the day after is? I'm sore all over! And we're staying in a first floor hostel, without a lift...