Last days in NZ: Kepler Track, Doubtful Sound and back to scoff in Queenstown
Well, we're near the end. We fly to Sydney on Friday after booking our flights tonight. I will be sad to leave NZ - the south-west where we've spent most of the last month is just amazing.
We're going out on a high though. Last week saw us tackle yet another NZ Great Walk - the Kepler Track. This is a 4-day tramp and we started off in wind and rain. Pete was so cold he couldn't get the sausages open. It was very nearly a disaster! The sight of the first hut in the snow was very welcome. The next day was cloudy and atmospheric as we tramped through knee-deep snow across the mountain ridges. I climbed to my first mountain summit - Mount Luxmore (1473m). It was an amazing day but the cloud stopped us from seeing what was around us on either side. Day 3 brought bright sunshine and we decided upon a quick change of plan - instead of the lovely flat walk to the next hut we'd climb 1000m+ back up into the mountains to see what we'd missed the day before... we didn't regret it (even with my 6 blisters). Ah. Fiordland.. God lives here, I tell you. The last day saw a mad sprint for the 3pm bus - but we made it and I happily hung up my boots for a while. My feet need to recover!
Yesterday we treated ourselves to a bit of luxury (with some help from Rob and Fee's voucher) and took an overnight cruise on the Doubtful Sound. We were the only boat on the water (apart from the Department of Conservation) and it was truly stunning. So was the food. And the fluffy white towels (real ones, not travel towels!) And the barman giving us lots of free cocktails for helping him fix his ipod. And the dolphins surfing under the front of the boat this morning. And the 4-share cabin to ourselves. And did I mention the food?
No photos of Kepler or Doubtful Sound, they will follow. In the meantime check out the albums that Pete has marvellously put together: Routeburn, Caples, Milford kayaking and Milford Track. You need a log on, but it doesn't cost and it's pretty quick.
We're going out on a high though. Last week saw us tackle yet another NZ Great Walk - the Kepler Track. This is a 4-day tramp and we started off in wind and rain. Pete was so cold he couldn't get the sausages open. It was very nearly a disaster! The sight of the first hut in the snow was very welcome. The next day was cloudy and atmospheric as we tramped through knee-deep snow across the mountain ridges. I climbed to my first mountain summit - Mount Luxmore (1473m). It was an amazing day but the cloud stopped us from seeing what was around us on either side. Day 3 brought bright sunshine and we decided upon a quick change of plan - instead of the lovely flat walk to the next hut we'd climb 1000m+ back up into the mountains to see what we'd missed the day before... we didn't regret it (even with my 6 blisters). Ah. Fiordland.. God lives here, I tell you. The last day saw a mad sprint for the 3pm bus - but we made it and I happily hung up my boots for a while. My feet need to recover!
Yesterday we treated ourselves to a bit of luxury (with some help from Rob and Fee's voucher) and took an overnight cruise on the Doubtful Sound. We were the only boat on the water (apart from the Department of Conservation) and it was truly stunning. So was the food. And the fluffy white towels (real ones, not travel towels!) And the barman giving us lots of free cocktails for helping him fix his ipod. And the dolphins surfing under the front of the boat this morning. And the 4-share cabin to ourselves. And did I mention the food?
No photos of Kepler or Doubtful Sound, they will follow. In the meantime check out the albums that Pete has marvellously put together: Routeburn, Caples, Milford kayaking and Milford Track. You need a log on, but it doesn't cost and it's pretty quick.
posted by Faye @ 7:51 am
1 Comments:
At 11:41 pm,
Anonymous said…
Woof woof postcard woof paw thankyou woof looks fab woof woof come back soon woof paw woof
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