01st May 2006 AD
First problem was finding a car park – there is barely any free parking available in Queenstown and the rest is all metered. We drove around for quite some time in shock and amazement at how difficult it was and in the end parked a good 15 minutes walk away from the town – which in the grand scheme of things wasn’t all that far at all!
We headed off soon afterwards – the rain had pretty much cleared, but the cloud was still threatening – and it would rain in a couple more spots as we proceeded towards Te Anau.
The scenery this time did not change too much – plenty of farming properties. More sheep and the occasional deer farm as well. A mostly uneventful drive and pretty straight forward – though it took a lot longer than I thought it would. We did pull over with enough time to capture a brilliant photo of a rainbow – a marvellous reminder of God’s goodness and mercy to His rebellious creation.
Wow...
Arrival at Te Anau came without fanfare. A small little town, we check into our motel and proceeded to ‘check out’ the town. We found a couple of stores and purchased a ‘Windbreaker’ beanie for Shte1’s brother. The ‘windbreaker’ brand uses Possum fur/wool (Possums are a big pest in NZ since their introduction and there is a thriving industry for their wool and hides) and the major benefits are that it’s a light and durable fabric – so material made from the fabric will keep people warm in winter and cool in summer, yet the material also breathes very well and thus will not stink you up after prolonged use :P
We decided to purchase lunch for the boat trip to Milford Sound (which we booked a little earlier that afternoon) instead of buying it onboard, and went to the local 4 Corner supermarket to pick it up. At the checkout I accidentally dropped a jar of corn relish which we were charged for because I was not carrying a basket! Lesson #145: always carry a basket when shopping in a small independent supermarket…
The dropped corn relish put a bit of a dampener on the rest of the night, however we did still manage to go out for dinner at a local restaurant. On second thoughts we should have tried a different venue, but oh well. The seafood entrée was nice, but the roast chicken salad and minted lamb was quite average.
To bed early for a long day ahead.
We opted for a coach for the fact that there was a lot to see on the way to Milford Sound, but the road was also quite windy and driving it would be an involving exercise. I opted to take a coach also for the fact that I wouldn’t have to do any driving!
A road to nowhere...
The ride up was split along the way with a couple of stops at various locations – namely ‘the Chasm’ and the ‘mirror lakes’. The chasm had been carved out over thousands of years of water running in and through the rock – leaving some spectacular looking gorges. The mirror lakes, on the other hand, had such crystal clear water that during the early morning and late evening, when the water was still, one could see a perfect reflection of the scenery. Very beautiful, even at 10am in the morning.
We stopped a few other times to take photos. This is where
I was able to capture a slice of infinity...
A bit further ahead we passed through a massively long tunnel cut through the mountain side heading towards the Sound. One way traffic meant going through the tunnel was an eerie driving experience – I attempted to take a number of photos but none turned out. Need a DSLR!!
Through the other side we wound steadily towards our destination. Upon arrival we found ourselves aboard ‘The Pride Of Milford Sound’ – a large ferry with three decks. As we set off from shore Shte1 and I settled down to munch on lunch.
The 'Pride of Milford' is the larger boat behind the 'Lady of the Sound'
The Sound itself was incredibly beautiful. Sheer rock cliffs hugging a still body of water – the Sound really did feel like Middle Earth. I had the chance to snap some photos – but there was not much wildlife to be seen. The wind on the deck was freezing, but the overall experience was great in itself. It was a relatively easy boat ride of a couple of hours, but it was worth the experience to immerse yourself in the splendour of God’s creation.
These two got in the way of a good photo... :P
Searching for Australia...
Another piece of God's glory
Before too long we were back on the harbour and getting back on the coach for the ride home. I slept for most of the way and woke up pretty much as we rolled into town. We decided to do some quick grocery shopping for breakfast tomorrow and the drive to
Vowing never again to go to the 4 Corners we found that there was a ‘Countdown’! Larger shopping centre! Yes! We stocked up on supplies and brought some takeaway Chinese food (Chinese people in Te Anau…what a novelty!) at the local restaurant. Whilst waiting for the food to arrive I picked up a leaflet on some herbal medicine and noted that whilst there may have been Chinese people in Te Anau, Engrish had also travelled with it. I quote:
Royal Jelly is a remarkably complete substabce that offers in trace amounts virtually every nutritional element needed for a healthy diet. Altogether, 16 vitamins, 16 minerals, 18 enzymes, 18 proteins and amino acids and 28 assorted additional elements such as fructose and glucose have been isolated. Royal Jelly contains the 10 essential amino acids the body requires from. an outside soure, and without it cannot synthesize new tissue. It contains vitamins A, D, E, K, C and the complete vitamin B complex. Also estrogen and androgen, the biological catalysts of nature, and rutin, which strengthens the walls of the body’s capillaries.
It was a good thing that the food was better! A filling meal and off to bed. I took a quick glance at the map for the next day and looked forward to the long drive to
Next: Dunedin, wildlife spotting, Lanarch castle and the last leg of our journey :)
No comments:
Post a Comment