Wanaka, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Twizel, Mt. Cook
World Trip Two
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Fox Glacier-Wanaka, New Zealand
A snowcap peeking up from behind the forest.
Today's word must be primordial. It is the only word that could possibly describe the flourishing, green, and dense sub-tropical rainforest along our drive from Fox Glacier to Lake Wanaka.
Draping clouds.
The sharp and craggy hills that surrounded us were draped in clouds, like a dressmaker would hang material on a model to test a look. The look nature achieved was one where we could imagine dinosaurs still roamed and Homo sapiens had not yet evolved. We drove for hours through this wilderness without seeing another car, farm, or human. Its splendor staggered us, and its remoteness tore at our hearts.
Cliffs and gray sand beaches.
We eventually reached the ocean and stopped to view rugged cliffs and gray sand beaches. When we returned to our car, we found it infested with small but ravenous flies. They soon began biting Julia, and when they bit, they caused a sharp pain like someone jabbing you with a needle - quite a disproportionate pain compared to their size. Julia began hunting them down and squashing them like the filthy bugs they were. But she was bitten another two or three times while engaged in their destruction. I consoled her but was sure she was exaggerating their bite and sting. Then one bit me on my hand.
I knew then she was not overstating the pain. In my struggle with the beast, I inadvertently swerved the car all over the road but managed to regain control and kill the monster. I now knew what was sending Julia into her extinction frenzy. My goodness, these little buggers could bite! It took several hours before Julia had eradicated every last one from the cabin of our car. We had planned to take a hike on one of the trails nearby, but after this experience with the little flying terrors, we decided against it and pushed on to Lake Wanaka. We hoped it was far enough away that we would not have to endure these creatures again.
Sunrise over Lake Wanaka.
In what seemed the blink of an eye, we had left the rainforests for Lake Wanaka's dry, brown hinterland. The Southern Alps cause a vast rain shadow.
Less rain produces a completely different environment, still beautiful in its own way. Lake Wanaka is very large and surrounded by tall and weathered mountains denuded of trees and forest. The township of Wanaka was filled with magnificent fall colors. The golden browns, dark reds, and honey colors of the trees took our breath away as we drove the main street. These colors, produced mainly by non-native trees, seemed to fit perfectly with the brown plains and mountains all about. We finally arrived at our hotel and immediately took our walk along the lakeshore amongst the glorious fall hues.
Wanaka Video
Sunday, April 19, 2009: Lake Wanaka-Te Anau, New Zealand
Lake Te Anau.
We drove from Lake Wanaka to Te Anau this morning. Mount Remarkable was just as remarkable as the last time I saw it, even though it had no snow on it this time. Lake Wakatipu was very lovely, and the weather was getting clearer.
Te Anau, which a local informed me is pronounced as one word: "Teanau" (sounding like piano but with a T), is a splendid little town. It is rather like Wanaka but situated on the shores of Lake Te Anau. Its main attraction is its proximity to the Milford Sound and the New Zealand Fiordlands. But Te Anau has its own wonderful walks around the lake and a bird sanctuary, which we visited and were privileged to see the now nearly extinct Takahe. We ended the day by going on an astronomy tour. Richard, the tour guide, guided us through the Southern night sky, and it was a bejeweled spectacle.
Trip stats
Miles Flown: 7,411
Miles Hiked: 80
Miles Driven: 1,926
Miles Sailed: 89