Days 237, 238 & 239, Stewart Island, NZ

STEWART ISLAND (26/08/09 - 28/08/09)

Having endured the bumpiest boat trip we have had in a long time we arrived on Stewart Island, the most southerly part of New Zealand. Unfortunately the torrential rain kept us inside for the rest of the day but it was a good opportunity to catch up with the blog.

Our second day on the Island did not bring better weather- in fact it got worse. Lightning, thunder and large hailstones prevented us from doing anything other than a quick run to the local cafe for a coffee.

Some of the hailstones were as big as peas, these ones have melted a little.

On the third day the rain finally stopped for long enough (about an hour and a half) for us to go out for a short walk along the cliffs.

Just because the sun had come out for a bit didn't make it warm but we were just glad it had stopped raining for a while.

Day 236 - Invercargill, NZ

INVERCARGILL TUATARIUM (25/08/09)

The commercial town of Invercargill does not have much to offer the traveller other than being the nearest town to the Stewart Island ferry port. What it does have, however, is the best Tuatarium in the country. A Tuatarium, in case you don't know, is where a captive Tuatara lives. And a Tuatara is (to Adam at least) is a fascinating and beautiful creature and one of the highlights of the trip.

What is so interesting about the Tuatara is that while it looks similar to many lizards that are alive today it is, in fact, not closely related to them at all. It is the sole surviving member of a family of reptiles of which all other members went extinct 200 million years ago. This puts it in the amazing taxonomic position of being more closely related to a dinosaur than it is to modern reptiles. Extraordinarily a crocodile is actually more closely related to a Sparrow than it is to a Tuatara.

Another thing that makes Tuataras exceptional is their third eye on the top of their head. It is apparent in baby Tuataras but as they get older skin and scales cover it up. It has features of an ordinary eye such as a retina, lens and cornea but the actual function is a subject of ongoing research- it is thought to perhaps be useful in vitamin D production or for detecting light cycles.

The Invercargill Tuatarium has the most successful captive breeding program for these highly endangered reptiles. They have been almost wiped out in the wild by introduced animals such as rats and stoats who prey on their eggs and young. They also have the world's oldest Tuatara who is called Henry and is over 120 years old, although he decided to stay hidden away on our visit.

Day 235 - Milford Sound, NZ

MILFORD SOUND (24/08/09)

The road to Milford sound winds through some beautiful scenery - lakes, mountains and forest.

It also went through a dark, dark tunnel.

Milford Sound, a valley originally carved by a glacier before sea levels rose creating a fjord. The mountain on the right is Mitre Peak. We took a boat and sailed up the sound through the mouth and into the Tasman Sea.

A strip of bare rock caused by an interesting phenomena known as a 'tree avalanche'. Basically the trees that grow up the mountain side only have a loose root system attached to the rock in small cracks. In order to provide themselve with the stability to grow larger they attach their roots to the roots of other trees. This works fine un til one tree gets so big that it cannot be supported. When this tree falls it pulls the adjacent trees with it causing a chain reaction which peels a strip of trees off right down the mountainside.

One thing that has made Milford Sound famous is the huge number of waterfalls that cascade down the cliff faces into the sea below. The high ratio of freshwater mixed with seawater has created a unique underwater ecosystem and attracts hundreds of fascinated divers every year.

Despite the sunshine it was very cold and windy on the boat. At one point Adam's hat blew off and only narrowly missed going over the side- which is lucky because that would have been the end of our trip.

The entrance (or exit ) from Milford Sound into the Tasman Sea.

On the Tasman Sea looking into the Sound.

Another view of the entrance to the Sound.

Milford Sound is home to a small colony of Fur Seals.

On the way back to Te Anau we stopped off for a walk in some of the areas lush temperate rainforest. It is a very special and unique experience to walk through the rainforest whilst looking at snowy mountains through the trees.

As th road climbs steeply upwards it leaves the trees behind until, in winter time, you are surrounded by thick snow. There was even more snow around than normal since a special national park unit had been deliberately causing avalanches with dynamite just a few days before. By causing the avalanches themselves the national park can control them much better and consequently the road is much safer.

A Kea, a type of alpine parrot. Whilst we had red about these birds and knew that they lived high in the mountains we had no idea that they could actually be found in the snow. They are incredibly inquisitive birds who for some reason love rubber and plastic- they cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to windscreen wipers, tyres, rubber seals and bicycle seats every year.

A final stop before Te Anau at a small waterfall near the road. The turquoise of the water blended beautifully with the green of the plants and the orange of the rocks.

Day 234 - Te Anau, NZ

TE ANAU (23/08/09)

Te Anau is a small lakeside town near to the Fjordland National Park. We stayed on a farm with a beautiful view of the mountains over the farm land.

Sunset on the mountains.

The lights of the town reflected in Te Anau.

Day 233 - Arrowtown & Queenstown, NZ

ARROWTOWN & QUEENSTOWN (22/08/09)

The picturesque Arrowtown is geographically very close to Queenstown but (as we found out later) couldn't be further removed in other respects. A tiny town set at the foothills of the mountains it was a quiet and relaxing place to spend the night.

After one exceptionally good night's sleep we went for a morning walk along the beautiful Arrow river along parts of which scenes of Lord of the Rings were filmed. This is Adam's best Aragorn impression.

These elegant poplar trees are abundant all around the town.

The trees along parts of the riverbank were coloured this deep pink, we couldn't work out why until we got a bit closer.

Thousands of these berries were growing on the trees which, when viewed with their white bark, made them look pink from a distance.

After the tranquility of Arrowtown we headed to Queenstown for the night. The ' Adventure Capital of New Zealand' it proudly proclaimed but we found it more like Benidorm in the mountains. Crowds of drunken idiots were running around town at 1 in the afternoon and our hostel was a bit like a really run down student halls only far dirtier. Anyway we stayed long enough to ride the gondola up the mountain and enjoy this view of the town before checking back out of our hostel without even staying one night and high tailing it back to the sanctuary of Arrowtown.

Day 232 - Fox to Arrowtown, NZ

FOX GLACIER TO ARROWTOWN VIA THE HAAST PASS (21/08/09)

Before leaving the Fox Glacier area we paid a short visit to Lake Matheson well known for being exceptionally calm and reflective. Sure enough the lake displayed a near perfect mirror image of the mountains, trees and sky.

The lake was extremely beautiful and tranquil. In summer it is a popular attraction and once again we were grateful for having visited in winter.

It was only when a tiny breeze rippled the lake's surface that we noticed the almost complete lack of wind.

The road south passed the entrance to a view point on the other side of the glacier. We decided to take a final look from a different angle and were rewarded with a great view of the whole glacier. The lower, shadowed section is the part we had been climbing on.

The Haast Pass is a mountain road which runs right across the Southern Alps. It really is an incredible road passing more towering mountains, beautiful lakes and winding rivers than we could count.

On the other side of the Haast Pass, and nearly to Arrowtown where we were headed, was Lake Dunstan. Not at all well known it was even more stunningly reflective than Lake Matheson, so much so that the pictures have rather unfortunately come out looking as if they might have been faked.

Day 231 - Fox Glacier, NZ

FOX GLACIER (20/08/09)

Another of the things that both of us really wanted to do in New Zealand was to visit one of the glaciers. One of thwe largest and most accessible the Fox Glacier seemed a good option. As we arrived fairly early in the morning at the base of the glacier the sun was just starting to shine over the mountain tops promising us the fine weather we had been hoping for.

The very front, or terminal face, of the glacier is constantly breaking off and is consequently a very dangerous place to be (two Australian tourists were killed earlier this year when they crossed the safety barrier and got too close). As a result the best way of getting onto the glacier is by climbing steeply half way up one of the mountains before cutting across to a point further up. Here we are at the highest point, Liz has borrowed one of the guides ice axe for dramatic effect.

The jagged, constantly changing terminal face of the glacier.

Liz was very proud of her crampons. We put them on as we reached the edge of the ice and were extremely grateful for them.

Our two guides making rough steps to help us amateurs climb the walls of ice. The Glaciers change so rapidly that it would be almost impossible to cause significant damage to them, the features which we walked on and saw will have all gone in a month anyway.

Looking down the glacier into the valley we had walked up a couple of hours before.

As the time approached midday the sun rose high in the sky illuminating the glacier for a couple of hours before descending behind the mountains on the other side of the valley. We were very lucky to have blue sky and sunshine on the glacier, our guide said it was the first time in several months.

The entrance to an ice cave.

This particular ice cave was extremely narrow. Adam squeezed through (just) and although it felt extremely claustrophobic it was amazing crawling through a blue, smooth walled tunnel of ice.

We normally enjoy slightly different things but we both agreed that climbing across the glacier was on of the highlights of our whole trip.

The glacier is fed by snow falling onto Mount Tasman. The snow is compacted into ice which gradually flows down the mountain side. Such is the power of the glacier that it grinds it's way through solid rock takinng large boulders along with it. We stopped at a group of boulders for lunch, they are a lot more comfortable to sit on than solid ice!

After lunch the guides set up a rope going into a much larger ice cave. Above and below are a few pictures climbing into, and out of, the cave.

The ice cave came out at the bottom of a large crevasse. We had to squeeze through a narrow gap between sheer walls of ice in order to get out.

Ice crystals in a puddle of meltwater.

Back out of the crevasse, relieved but exilharated.

Another spectacular ice formation. We walked through the middle of this large half tube shape.

One of the guides maintaining the walkable parts of the glacier. By chipping off the edge of the top of the crevasse the chips fill the bottom. The chips will form a solid base and ensure that visitors will be able to safely walk through the crevasse for a few days to come.

As far down as we could safely go. Any nearer the terminal face and the ice becomes cracked, unpredictable and dangerous. This view clearly shows the glacial valley carved out by the glacier in colder times. The glacier has been getting smaller for many years now, amazingly before it started retreating about 60 years it ended roughly where the furthest most point of the valley floor turns a corner in the distance.

Liz traversing a large crack in the ice. Don't worry she hasn't broken her wrist in a really funny way she's just carrying her gloves rather than wearing them!

Surface ice which has been eroded by wind into a wave like pattern.

Liz really liked the ice axe.

The uppermost point where we could safely go was just before this area. Here the glacier narrows as the wide upper glacier is funneled into a much smaller gap. Consequently the ice becomes rough and jagged rather like the rapids of a river in extreme slow motion.

As the sun disappeared further behind the mountains the clouds started to roll in and it became much gloomier. However by this point it was nearly time to start the trek home and we were both extremely happy with the fantastic weather we had had almost all day.

Crossing back over the desolate, rock-strewn valley the glacier had created centuries before we looked back at the magnificent, soon to be cloud covered glacier.