Remember the endless summer days of your childhood, when fresh mornings gave way to the heat of long, lazy days? We had these again during the last week, and this is how we spent them... We spent a busy day in Queenstown, the worlds capitol of adrenaline sports. The most adrenaline we got was when we found our ticket for wrong parking...We got Rolf fixed again (this time he had the tiniest problem with his ceiling window but the ingenious guy from the garage came up with some creative help...), walked around the city (an alpine resort geared towards the adventurous that spent their days out in the beautiful surroundings and their nights out in town, not unlike what you'd find in Austria, Switzerland etc.) and spent a beautiful night out at the Twelve Mile Delta at Lake Wakatipu (Ithilien).
People are often raving about Queenstown but truth be told, we weren't that impressed. So we quickly moved on to the little town of Te Anau, a peaceful place next to the second largest lake of NZ that is best known as a gateway to the rugged mountains of Fiordland National Park. And that's exactly why we went there and stayed for a couple of nights. On our first day we went tramping on yet another of the 9 Great Walks of NZ, the Kepler Track. We started from the township and followed the lakeshore through beautiful beech forests and mossy rainforest. The sandflies were eating us alive whenever we stopped to take in the views so we rushed through the walk in an attempt to survive. The only place we just had to stop for a little longer was the Te Anau wildlife centre that is home to native birds of NZ like the very rare flightless Takahe, the Tui and the Kaka. NZ was the first landmass to break away from the southern megacontinent Gondwana and as a result the native flora and fauna evolved very distinctively.
When Maori and much later (but on a much higher level) the Europeans came to NZ they brought foreign animals and plants with them that brought many native species to the brink of extinction. The NZ people have realized this and protecting their native wildlife and flora has become a major mission. For us it sometimes seems a little extreme - killing the one species to protect the other. Especially the Possums, native to Australia, are radically being hunted down, but many others as well, even plants. But seeing the funny Takahe that was believed to be extinct for many years until a couple of pairs were being found and a huge rescue program was taken into place really put things into another perspective.
The next day we took a trip to famous Milford Sound. Milford Sound, that actually is a fjord, not a sound, is accessed via a road that is almost as well known for its beauty as the fjord itself. That's why we decided not to drive up there ourselves but take a guided tour there. The coach was perfect, with large windows, even in the ceiling so that we could see the mighty peaks on both sides of the road. We drove by beautiful Mirror Lakes, through the valley that sports the Misty Mountains in those movies everyone keeps talking about in NZ, through tiny Homer Tunnel that leads right through the granite of a massive skyhigh amphitheatre, crossed beautiful clear streams and saw thousands of waterfalls in the 'Valley of a thousand waterfalls' and spotted the beautiful Mount Tutoko, Fiordland's highest peak.
When we arrived in Milford we transferred to a nice little boat that took us on a 'Nature Encounter' cruise around the fjord all the way out to the open Tasman Sea. We saw and learned lots about the seabirds, seals, the forming of the landscape etc. The scenery was magnificent with the steep mountains rising out of the sea to their snowy heights, the beautiful hanging valleys and hundreds of beautiful waterfalls (that we experienced from up close and got all sorts of wet). We had a great time and definitely could have spent more time there.
After having visited Fiordland we ventured further 'down' to Southland, the southern tip of mainland NZ. We spent a night in the surprisingly big city of Invercargill where we stayed at a farm and got to finally meet NZ's majority population, the sheep, and their many animal friends when we fed them ourselves. The alpacas were especially cuddly and we would have loved to take one of them with us. We took the trip down to Bluff the next morning. It is a tiny township and really just Invercargill's port. We went to see the 'southern cross' - found out that Germany is a rough 19000 km away whereas it is only about 6000 km to the Southpole - and to officially have travelled NZ from tip to toe. This was probably the farthest south we will get on our journey, and also the point furthest away from home.
We're on our way back now, if you will. That way lead us into the Caitlins, the coastal region at the southern east that's usually windswept by the roaring forties. The days we spent there were beautiful and calm instead, with hot sun and zero clouds and very few other tourists. We spent some perfect beach days and more often than not our only companions in the lonely bays with their white beaches and blue waters were the 'locals': massive NZ sealions,playful Hector dolphins, graceful giant albatrosses, shy yellow eyed penguins and the cute little blue penguins.
The Caitlins are simply a great place for animal spotting and there is a rough romantic to their rugged landscape that truly make this area worth visiting. On our way up further north we also spent time in Dunedin, the eldest university town in NZ with a very Scottish flavour to it. The city is beautifully located at the ocean, sheltered by the picturesque Otago Peninsula, and has a great vibe, probably due to its many students. Another old city we spent an afternoon at was Oamaru. When that little city was built in the treeless plains, white stone was the cheapest and easiest building material to get.
That's why grand Victorian buildings were built that reminded of Athens - and the buildings still remain. The city is also home to the artists of Steampunk, an artstyle that is best explained by Steam meets Sciencefiction - what would our world look like today if we would still use steam, not electricity. It's a pretty cool mindgame and the exhibits are extraordinary. After great days at the ocean we ventured back inland to the South Island's backbone, the Southern Alps.
We went to Twizel and on into the Mount Cook National Park where we had the most scenic campground on the foot of the mountains with views of the glaciers. The first day we went hiking in the Hooker Village that was formed by its namesake glacier and offers great views of Mount Cook. The second day we tried out mountaineering (unintentionally so) when we tramped, climbed and snowwalked up to the Mueller Hut on the top of the Sealy Range. The whole track was only 10km but it took us 7 hours to complete it. With a 1km height difference on a 5 km distance you can imagine that getting up there (and down as well) was a real fight -
but the views from atop were definitely worth it! When we reached the mountaintop the view into the next valley opened up and showed us a world of hanging glaciers, sheer mountain cliffs and roaring waterfalls. The sun and heat of the day brought lots of action to the icy fields so we got to see and hear lots of massive avalanches from a safe distance while sitting in the sun, enjoying a well earned break. A magical place! When we got back down to the carpark our legs were shaking and we were tired so we went out of the National Park to beautiful little Lake Tekapo where we visited a small picturesque church and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the shade at the lakeside, sipping on our giant milkshakes. Oh these summer days...
Remember the endless summer days of your childhood, when fresh mornings gave way to the heat of long, lazy days? We had these again during the last week, and this is how we spent them... We spent a busy day in Queenstown, the worlds capitol of adrenaline sports. The most adrenaline we got was when we found our ticket for wrong parking...We got Rolf fixed again (this time he had the tiniest problem with his ceiling window but the ingenious guy from the garage came up with some creative help...), walked around the city (an alpine resort geared towards the adventurous that spent their days out in the beautiful surroundings and their nights out in town, not unlike what you'd find in Austria, Switzerland etc.) and spent a beautiful night out at the Twelve Mile Delta at Lake Wakatipu (Ithilien). 
People are often raving about Queenstown but truth be told, we weren't that impressed. So we quickly moved on to the little town of Te Anau, a peaceful place next to the second largest lake of NZ that is best known as a gateway to the rugged mountains of Fiordland National Park. And that's exactly why we went there and stayed for a couple of nights. On our first day we went tramping on yet another of the 9 Great Walks of NZ, the Kepler Track. We started from the township and followed the lakeshore through beautiful beech forests and mossy rainforest. The sandflies were eating us alive whenever we stopped to take in the views so we rushed through the walk in an attempt to survive. The only place we just had to stop for a little longer was the Te Anau wildlife centre that is home to native birds of NZ like the very rare flightless Takahe, the Tui and the Kaka. NZ was the first landmass to break away from the southern megacontinent Gondwana and as a result the native flora and fauna evolved very distinctively. 
When Maori and much later (but on a much higher level) the Europeans came to NZ they brought foreign animals and plants with them that brought many native species to the brink of extinction. The NZ people have realized this and protecting their native wildlife and flora has become a major mission. For us it sometimes seems a little extreme - killing the one species to protect the other. Especially the Possums, native to Australia, are radically being hunted down, but many others as well, even plants. But seeing the funny Takahe that was believed to be extinct for many years until a couple of pairs were being found and a huge rescue program was taken into place really put things into another perspective. 
The next day we took a trip to famous Milford Sound. Milford Sound, that actually is a fjord, not a sound, is accessed via a road that is almost as well known for its beauty as the fjord itself. That's why we decided not to drive up there ourselves but take a guided tour there. The coach was perfect, with large windows, even in the ceiling so that we could see the mighty peaks on both sides of the road. We drove by beautiful Mirror Lakes, through the valley that sports the Misty Mountains in those movies everyone keeps talking about in NZ, through tiny Homer Tunnel that leads right through the granite of a massive skyhigh amphitheatre, crossed beautiful clear streams and saw thousands of waterfalls in the 'Valley of a thousand waterfalls' and spotted the beautiful Mount Tutoko, Fiordland's highest peak. 
When we arrived in Milford we transferred to a nice little boat that took us on a 'Nature Encounter' cruise around the fjord all the way out to the open Tasman Sea. We saw and learned lots about the seabirds, seals, the forming of the landscape etc. The scenery was magnificent with the steep mountains rising out of the sea to their snowy heights, the beautiful hanging valleys and hundreds of beautiful waterfalls (that we experienced from up close and got all sorts of wet). We had a great time and definitely could have spent more time there.
After having visited Fiordland we ventured further 'down' to Southland, the southern tip of mainland NZ. We spent a night in the surprisingly big city of Invercargill where we stayed at a farm and got to finally meet NZ's majority population, the sheep, and their many animal friends when we fed them ourselves. The alpacas were especially cuddly and we would have loved to take one of them with us. We took the trip down to Bluff the next morning. It is a tiny township and really just Invercargill's port. We went to see the 'southern cross' - found out that Germany is a rough 19000 km away whereas it is only about 6000 km to the Southpole - and to officially have travelled NZ from tip to toe. This was probably the farthest south we will get on our journey, and also the point furthest away from home. 
We're on our way back now, if you will. That way lead us into the Caitlins, the coastal region at the southern east that's usually windswept by the roaring forties. The days we spent there were beautiful and calm instead, with hot sun and zero clouds and very few other tourists. We spent some perfect beach days and more often than not our only companions in the lonely bays with their white beaches and blue waters were the 'locals': massive NZ sealions,playful Hector dolphins, graceful giant albatrosses, shy yellow eyed penguins and the cute little blue penguins. 
The Caitlins are simply a great place for animal spotting and there is a rough romantic to their rugged landscape that truly make this area worth visiting. On our way up further north we also spent time in Dunedin, the eldest university town in NZ with a very Scottish flavour to it. The city is beautifully located at the ocean, sheltered by the picturesque Otago Peninsula, and has a great vibe, probably due to its many students. Another old city we spent an afternoon at was Oamaru. When that little city was built in the treeless plains, white stone was the cheapest and easiest building material to get. 
That's why grand Victorian buildings were built that reminded of Athens - and the buildings still remain. The city is also home to the artists of Steampunk, an artstyle that is best explained by Steam meets Sciencefiction - what would our world look like today if we would still use steam, not electricity. It's a pretty cool mindgame and the exhibits are extraordinary. After great days at the ocean we ventured back inland to the South Island's backbone, the Southern Alps.
but the views from atop were definitely worth it! When we reached the mountaintop the view into the next valley opened up and showed us a world of hanging glaciers, sheer mountain cliffs and roaring waterfalls. The sun and heat of the day brought lots of action to the icy fields so we got to see and hear lots of massive avalanches from a safe distance while sitting in the sun, enjoying a well earned break. A magical place! When we got back down to the carpark our legs were shaking and we were tired so we went out of the National Park to beautiful little Lake Tekapo where we visited a small picturesque church and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the shade at the lakeside, sipping on our giant milkshakes. Oh these summer days...
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