After the Routeburn trek was over last week, Brad and I decided that we needed one more night in Queenstown. The simple things like showers and beds seemed necessary before another week of camping could commence. We picked up our white 1995 Toyota Corolla (aptly named, Betty) in town and drove it all of 100 meters before stopping for the night and went out on the town shortly after.
The whole point of renting a car was so that we could do things cheaply. I figured I would be like Daniel as I just couldn't be asked to pay for campsites when I had a car. I figured wrong. Having a friend here has officially made me a "flashpacker." I'm spending more money than ever on accomodation and nightly meals. So I guess it's good that I was so frugal in the beginning. We ended up paying for campsites and hostels every night we had the car.
There was really no direction we knew where to go, but luckily only one road out of Queenstown, so we agreed on north. We decided that 400 km to Fox glacier seemed like a good choice. The road up was full of mountains and twisty, winding roads. Betty was a trooper, although her tiny little engine had a tough job to do. We drove through Haast Pass and it's verdant mountains. There were more streams and hundreds of waterfalls rushing down from the hillsides. The drive up and over was gorgeous, although from the drivers seat (this time) it was hard to take it all in. Driving on the left side of the road somehow requires more attention.
We came through the Pass and took in the Tasman Sea on the west cost. We stopped briefly for a photo on the beach and were instantly attacked by sandflies. I mean really swarmed by hundreds of the savage little beasts. I had to jump back in the car and apply repellant, and then still refused to get out of the car for fear that it wouldn't work. What is the purpose of these things on this earth anyway?! The coast was beautiful though, it was a bummer they kind of ruined the moment.
After hours of driving, we made it to Fox Glacier Village. We caught glimpses of the snow covered peaks as we were driving in. The one hostel in this tiny town was of course full, but we were able to set up a camp on their lawn anyway. The next morning, we awoke bright and early and made our way into the glacier.
At 13 km, Fox Glacier is the longest of New Zealands glaciers. We were able to drive into the valley in which it stops and see the tail end of it after a short hike. It was.... a glacier. I wish I had more to say about it. After a 400 km journey there, it was a bit underwhelming. It was quite dirty, although we could see the layers of blue ice underneath. It was really intimidating actually, knowing the power to wipe us all out that it had. There were ice boulders in the stream rushing out of it and huge rocky mountains that it carved out thousands of years ago. I think had we done a guided tour over the snow, it would have been a bit more spectacular...just a piece of advice for anyone planning to visit New Zealand.
We were going to make our way slowly back to Queenstown over a couple of days, but I found out that a friend of mine from South America was in Queenstown for just one more night, so Brad agreed to take the drive all the way back in one day. We drove back through the Pass, swirving around the Powerade blue lakes (yes, they are actually this color...we had the sports drinks to prove it) making it back into Queenstown by 6pm. I was able to find Sam and we caught up on the traveling gossip that's been going on. It turns out she's going to be in Thailand just a couple weeks after me! Looks like I won't be taking on Asia alone either!
Our next, and last real adventure here was the famous Milford Sound. Three hours from Queenstown there is the most gorgeous sound, which I've been told is incorrectly named...it's a fiord (interesting fact). With it's towering peaks that spill directly into the ocean and it's glacial view from afar, it was truly a sight to see. We camped that night at Lake Gunn, 40 km from the entrance to the sound. The camp was good and the wind kept the sandflies at bay. We slept on gravel, which had us both up and packed by 6am. Milford Sound was a dive day for me...and I was excited!
We arrived at the dock early and prepped ourselves with breakfast before a long day on the water. The clouds threatened rain, but the sunrise was still amazing. The boat left promply at 8:15 and we were on the water preparing for our first dive. I had been worried about the cold since I booked the trip, but the water wasn't too bad at 15 degrees. The thick wetsuit definitely held the heat in a bit more. The first dive was beautiful, although frustrating at times. With the cold and the layer of freshwater on the sound, it was hard to maintain buoyancy and I found myself flailing about around the black coral on the rocks below. My mask kept filling with water as well, so all in all, it wsn't the best. The water was dark, so the fishes were a bit more creepy. We saw brittlefish and sea cucumbers, black coral (which is actually white) and colorful sponges that I've never encountered before.
We emerged from the water and took an hour break before our second dive of the morning. Just as we were suiting up, one of the other passengers asked the skipper what kind of things we would see on this next trip under. As we had just parked around the corner from rock full of seals, I was eagerly awaiting this answer. And my worst fears were realized...the skipper said that they quite often see sharks at this dive site. Brad said that the color completely drained from my face. I was terrified and even contemplated not going on this second dive. I faced my fear though; I jumped in. My dive buddy, John, knew I was scared and stuck a little closer to me while we were under. I corrected my buoyancy and mask issues and felt a lot more comfortable with my movements this time, although my eyes were constantly looking out in the deep blue nothing for shadows moving toward me. We came around a corner, and John grabbed me all of the sudden and made a gesture with his hands about something big. Later on the boat, he told me that my eyes just about bugged out of my head. What he had been signaling me for was a dolphin. A beautiful, huge dolphin was circling the waters around us. Just as I was looking for the shark I was sure was coming, this dolphin came out of nowhere and swam right underneath our legs before sliding away around the rock. It looked up at us as it passed, eyeing us curiously in this freezing cold water. It was sensational!!! I didn't freak out too much, and after it left, I wanted it to come back. It was my first large object encountered while diving, and it couldn't have been a better one.
What an incredible time Milford Sound was, but it was the last big adventure for me here in New Zealand. Afterwards, we made our way back through the valleys, catching glimpses of the thousands of waterfalls that the day's rainfall had created. We camped out in Te Anau and then headed back to Queenstown yesterday. It was a heavy travel day as we hopped on a bus a couple of hours after returning the car and now Brad and I have made it back to Christchurch. I rode into town with a smile on my face feeling like I was returning home again. We'll spend just a day here and then it's on to Auckland, the last stop on the islands for a while.
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