Visitors: Part Two

Highlights

-overnight kayaking

-Big Mountain and Old Ice

-Big Tree and Big Buck

-Arthur's Pass...or not.

So Dad and I drove to Te Anau where we were going to get a ride to our overnight kayaking trip.  We spent the day in Te Anau shopping and walking around and woke up super early the next morning for the van pick-up.  To get to Deep Cove, we had to take a long boat ride across Lake Manapouri which provided us with the most amazing sunrise.  

Another bus later and after lots of loading and unloading we were ready to get in the water!  Our group consisted of 1 guide and 8 clients in 4 double kayaks.  Doubtful Sound is amazing.  The weather the first day was warm and somewhat sunny, so we were able to take lots of photos.  

Dad and I had time to venture off when we got to Hall Arm and had fun looking at the jumping fish and huge cliffs.  It's hard to imagine what it would be like covered in ice.  We camped overnight in tents and kayaked back to the beginning the next day.  Day two rained the entire time, but it was great because Doubtful Sound is known for its waterfalls, so we saw heaps of them.  Dad and I dominated (of course) during the squall of wind and rain and waves.  A pod of 15 or so dolphins also swam past us a couple of times also!!!

After that adventure, we drove off and stopped overnight for a hot shower and beds to rest our heads on.  We slept so well that night!  Next we drove to Mount Cook, the tallest peak in New Zealand (12,316 feet) and did a day hike there.  We took our time and went over two swing bridges which were pretty cool.  The whole area (and a lot of NZ) has been formed by glaciers, some of which are still there.  The lakes turn colors like turquoise or tan and is super cold and we got to see the end of the Tasman Glacier (among others).  If you figure the last Ice Age was 12,000 years ago...and the ice was formed before that....we were looking at some really old ice.  This boggles my mind. 

We took a nap at the edge of the lake and moseyed back to drive to Lake Tekapo.  This is another lake that gets its color from the glacial runoff and this town offers (apparently) the darkest and best night sky for star-gazing.  We also had the best mushroom soup that night.

Next we drove to the Peel National Forest where we wandered for a while...it sort of reminded me of the woods up north.  Other than the fact that we saw 1000 year old trees and big stags and sheep and a cute church tucked into the woods. 

          

The birds make crazy noises here, which I don't think I've mentioned before, and they always do their call when you least expect it.  It's also sweet how every hike we did while I had visitors was completely different terrain...one of the things I love about this place.  We made it to Christchurch and did some shopping, stopped off in a few Irish pubs, had a Bangladeshi meal, and just enjoyed each other's company the last night.

I'm so grateful to my visitors and I thank the people who helped get them here.

My plan was to hike in Arthur's Pass and make my way back to Dunedin.  I hitched up there, torrential rain and lots of flooding, hitched back, then home.  Thursday was a long day.  One ride worth telling about is these two 20-something guys who picked me up.  They know more about the NBA than I do maybe and have the lifelong goal of going to a game!  They talked my ear off about different players and rules and coaches and stadiums...these guys from a small town in NZ know about the Palace of Auburn Hills.  WHAT?!  It was too funny.  Anyway, I'm safe and I must now begin to think about classes =)