New Zealand - Key Summit and Glowworm Caves (Day 16)

I'm going to be honest, we both felt a little let down this day. After the Christmas Day paddle we had the day before, it was going to be hard to be impressed. The weather was pretty overcast as well, which always affects my mood. However, we still had a good day hiking, driving, and then checking out some cool glowworms. (This is also the first day I started feeling kind of tired of all the driving and traveling.) 

We left Milford Sound Lodge around 9am and were on the Routeburn Track up to Key Summit (919m) by 9:30 or so. Even though the whole hike is uphill or down, it didn't feel very strenuous. I feel like just about anyone could manage this hike. Lots of interesting ferns and plants along the way, and the views from the top are breathtaking. Definitely worth the stop (only takes a couple hours) and gives you an opportunity to walk on part of the world-famous Routeburn Track. 

On the way out, we stopped at Cascade Creek to take some photos of the incredible lupins growing along the river. I've never seen so many different colors of lupins or just so many. And they were so huge! This stop is not mentioned on any materials I've seen but definitely worth the stop. I'm not sure we'll ever see a field of flowers as incredible as this (although wildflowers in Glacier National Park in Montana were pretty incredible!)

Our original itinerary had us driving all the way back to Queenstown this day and then up to Mt. Cook the following afternoon. We realized somewhere along our journey that we would just feel rushed through arguably the best part of New Zealand. We opted for not going to Mt. Cook and taking more time in Fiordland National Park and Queenstown. I'm glad we did this, but I still wish we could have done Mt. Cook. Guess we'll go there next time!

Because we stayed a bit longer, we had the opportunity to go check out the Glowworm Caves in Te Anau. You have to take a boat across Lake Te Anau to get there. This lake is the largest lake on the South Island; second largest in New Zealand (largest is Lake Taupo - see day 3). The tour felt pretty touristy, but that's what we were right? You aren't allowed to take pictures in the caves, but they were pretty cool. I wouldn't say my mind was totally blown, but it was really interesting. Most people talk about doing Waitomo Caves up on the North Island, and if we'd had more time I think that could have been more fun. Warning: it's pretty claustrophobic in those caves! I had to keep reminding myself to breathe with a group of 14 people in such a dark, small space that was many meters below the earth's surface (tried to figure out the depth and I know they told us on the tour, but I can't remember!) I definitely didn't enjoy hearing that fact while I was down there!

We stayed in a holiday park (Fiordland Great Views Holiday Park) that evening and had great views of a bush. It was a place to sleep and shower, but not sure I'd recommend it. Today was a good day, but not the best. Tomorrow will be the most nauseating day but also full of adventure! Stay tuned...

New Zealand - Kayaking Milford Sound (Day 15)

Favorite day of our honeymoon. Christmas Day. One of my best days in all of my days. Think I enjoyed myself in Milford Sound? If you do one thing in New Zealand (and if you are reasonably fit because this trip is somewhat exhausting), kayak the length of Milford Sound with Rosco's Milford Kayaks. 

We signed up for the Morning Glory trip that begins at 6am at Milford Sound Lodge (where we were staying). Our guide, Adam, was terrific and super pumped considering it was 6am on Christmas Day! Adam drove us to the launching spot, where they had all the gear we would ever need and some incredible kayaks! I've never rented kayaks this nice. It helped that the water was like glass when we first began, but these kayaks seriously cut through the water like it wasn't even there. Pretty awesome. 

Milford Sound at sunrise

We started out with a real easy paddle and learning quite a bit about the sound. Adam was really knowledgeable and we definitely had an opportunity to dork out things like identifying bird calls and learning the reason for the dark color of the water (tannins from the vegetation that are brought down the steep mountain walls during heavy rainfall).

As we were heading toward Stirling Falls (we could see it but it was 9km from where we were!), we spotted some spouts of water off in the distance. Adam was sure it was a pod of Southern Bottlenose Dolphins, which he says sometimes are seen in the sound but he doesn't see them very often. We paddled hard to reach the dolphins and managed to get there. We ended up paddling more than intended that day because we turned ourselves in the direction the dolphins were heading and played with them for a bit.

I didn't take my camera out until the very end of our adventure with the dolphins because it was just so incredible. Our boat actually made contact with one of the dolphins and these beautiful animals were huge! About the size of our kayaks. I have a permanent image stuck in my brain of looking out to the right side of my kayak and seeing the most beautiful creature in the world swimming along right next to me in the water. I have goosebumps over two months later.

After the dolphins, I didn't really care what else we saw on our kayak tour. It made my day. However, the fun didn't stop. Next up was the sea otters, and we continued seeing many of them for the remainder of our paddle. The day winds (winds from the Tasman Sea that increase in strength as they are funneled through the sound) picked up in the sound mid-morning which meant that the water got a lot rougher. We rushed through the second half of the trip to make sure we didn't get stuck in water that was too rough. However, the trip wasn't complete without paddling right under Stirling Falls (155m tall; 508 ft). It was a little scary but mostly just invigorating.

Allyson and me at the mouth of the sound (everything we had paddled is behind us) and about to enter the Tasman Sea. 

Anita Bay (by St. Anne's Point) of the Tasman Sea

When we reached Anita Bay we hung out for awhile waiting for the Sea Shuttle (water taxi) to take us back. When the boat got there, everyone in our group jumped off the top of the boat and took a swim in the (freezing) Tasman Sea. It was just such an incredible experience! The shuttle ride back was super choppy and we tackled some big waves, but it was fun to take in all that we had accomplished that morning. 

The boat taxi we took the whole length of the sound back to where we began. 

This was one of those mornings that afterward I thought...my life is not the same as it was before I did this. Allyson and I were both pretty giddy about the experience. We took some time to call our families and wish them a Merry Christmas (even though it was only Christmas Eve in the US) and then relaxed for the afternoon. 

I'd like to say that we got "dressed up" (I know we don't look that fancy, but this was the fanciest we'd dressed for the whole trip) to go out for a nice Christmas dinner. And we thought that might be what we were doing. However, we basically hiked to dinner in our nice clothes and then had the worst meal either one of us had ever had in our lives at the Blue Duck Cafe. In all fairness, this place isn't trying to be nice. I think we just misunderstood, given that they had advertised a 3-course dinner for $50. No chance this was going to ruin our day though. We laughed so hard we cried because the meal was so awful and fell asleep almost as soon as we got back to our chalet (ok...that may have just been me) with big smiles on our faces. 

New Zealand - Fiordland National Park (Day 14)

Wanaka was the beginning of my favorite five days in New Zealand. Don't get me wrong, the whole trip was incredible. But if I had to pick one spot in New Zealand to spend more time (like the rest of my life), it would be the southwest part of the South Island: Wanaka, Fiordland National Park, and Queenstown. 

On Day 14, we drove from Arrowtown to Milford Sound. It's a long drive but totally doable and with lots of great stops along the way. The "Road to Milford Sound" is amazing. Someone we talked to suggested taking a tour bus down the road, so you don't have to worry about the drive. A couple thoughts on that....1. It wasn't THAT crazy to drive. 2. There were places we wanted to stop (e.g., the fields of lupines at Cascade Creek) that wouldn't be stops for the shuttle. 3. I'm glad we weren't on a time schedule when we were in Milford Sound. We spent two nights there and were very happy to be able to just relax. Anyway, I'm not a shuttle/tour bus kind of girl. If it's your thing, cool. But I recommend doing it on your own and enjoying every second of it. 

Our best friends on the trip: Really Good Peanut Butter and a big thermos of tea!

Arrowtown to Te Anau is the first leg of this drive. It's a beautiful drive, with a lot of it along Lake Wakatipu. (Note: Before taking off on your drive, hit up Arrowtown Bakery. We didn't know about this when we were there, but we hear the meat pies are out of this world!) We got to Te Anau around 11:30am or so and booked our glowworm caves tour (for Day 16) at a little gas station at the beginning of town. It was really convenient and a good thing we did it, because the trips booked up for that day. We also stopped at Miles Better Pies for lunch and the pies were delicious! Then we were ready to head down the infamous Road to Milford Sound. 

My pictures do nothing to capture the grandeur of this magnificent place! I felt so small in Fiordland National Park. And it seems to go on forever. 

Lupine (or Lupin in New Zealand) fields along the river

Mirror Lakes is a nice place to get out and stretch your legs. The breeze meant less of a mirror effect but it did keep the sand flies away. 

Right before the Homer Tunnel. This whole area had signs about not stopping and avalanche area. There is a woman in the little hut with a hard hat on her head (like that's going to save her if this wall comes crumbling down!) 

Wish this wasn't blurry. I really wanted this shot to turn out! 

Another place to stop is The Chasm. Picture doesn't do it justice. Thousands of years of strong, rushing waters have shaped the rocks below. It was pretty awesome and only a 400m walk. Totally worth it and you'll be ready to stretch your legs again. 

So far, the most incredible place I've ever been. Ever. Milford Sound. 

For months, I had been looking forward to our two night stay in a luxury chalet at Milford Sound Lodge. It could not have lived up to my expectations any more! It was positioned right along the river with the towering mountains right across the way (and our own little waterfall that had formed from the rainy days prior to us arriving). Once we got to the chalet, there was no chance we were heading back out that day. It happened to be Christmas Eve, so we opened one of our bottles of wine from Marlborough and sat ourselves right in front of the window for the rest of the evening (and evening lasts forever here! The sun seemed to be setting forever and it wasn't completely dark until at least 11pm). 

Our chalet

Christmas Eve spread consisted of veggies, cheese, crackers, hummus, etc. Super fancy. Not really, but it was perfect for us and look at that view!