7-10 Feb and 3 days of complete contrasts.........
The staggering scenery and remoteness of Doubtful Sound, adrenalin kicks in Queenstown and Franz Joseph Glacier -what a roller coaster of emotional cacaphony....
Well. its now 11 Feb and this is the first opportunity I have had for several days, 3 in fact, to stop and reflect on what has been a few days of amazing contrasts - high adrenalin kicks in Queenstown and Franz Joseph and the absolute solitude,the remoteness and staggering beauty on Doubtful Sound.
It all started after the horizontal rain that lasted 24 hours and most of our LONG journey around the bottom of the island on the ‘detour ‘ ... however Te-Anau on the 7 Feb was sunny and warm and we had time for a walk around the lake, gather supplies and head out to join our overnight jaunt on Doubtful Sound... an over night cruise... that sounded like a bit of luxury among the days and nights falling over each other in camper van ... don’t get me wrong... we are all getting along like a house on fire... its just a tincy bit limiting on the space when two out of four weigh rather more than we should and take up rather more space than we should.. then there is the little gas hob and efforts to conjure up gourmet cuisine to feed five thousand ... well we do have William on board...... not to mention the shower and loo which make airline loos seem positively spacious...I still haven’t worked out how on earth a dwarf, leave alone us larger mortals could shower in there... well maybe tiny people can....and Tim does scowl just a bit, at anyone who dare use the on board loo instead of running the gauntlet of the public toilets even in the early hours !
So a trip on a cruise ship? a little boat trip over Lake Manapouri which was fun, then into a coach over Wilmott Pass with fab commentary and good photo stops... then there it was.... before our eyes... a vista like no other emerged between the trees and our home for the next awesome 24 hours.... it was a truly OMG moment... a view of Doubtful Sound in all its remote beauty..and before we knew it we were off the coach, climbing the gang plank and we were on our way....
A very friendly intro by the 10 staff looking after 61 of us... we were shown to our rooms.. well we were right down below in the cheap seats - the quad share sounded ok when I booked, it turned out it was 4 tiny bunks and yet it was all rather cosy...
back up on deck and fresh warm muffins waited... and we were off.
Over the next few hours the boat pottered about up the main Sound, down the side channels... it stopped for kayaking and boat trips and anyone mad enough to swim... and no I didnt !!! it was freeeeezing.... we headed out to the Tasman Sea , saw fur seals on the rocks and then back into the undeniably awesome, tranquil, majestic,remote and extreme place to spend our night..
A buffet supper they said.. nothing had prepared us for what lay ahead.... and William thought he had died and landed in heaven ... local, fresh and a culinary masterpiece, as much as you could eat and all served by a relaxed and cheerful staff- gosh, how much we could learn from this lot... they have hospitality down to a fine art....
8 Feb
The next morning was misty as the sun rose- yes we all had to be up at 7 and they made sure by switching on the ships engines.... breakfast was again vast and fresh and yummy and we had another 3 hours pootling along among the towering peaks, mists and eery channels before finally coming to dock....
But aside from the really friendly atmosphere and amazing food, this trip was something really very special... it touched us all in different ways.... but for me this was the epitome of absolute oneness with nature.... the sheer remoteness of the place, the untouched forest, no other boats and a sense of us being at one with our surroundings was hugely powerful....the staggering beauty of the waterfalls, the mountains, the rain forest and cliff faces was beyond description......When they switched off the boat engines we really did hear the Sound of Silence..... it was spine tingling............
if you ever go to NZ and an do just one special treat... do Doubtful Sound.. and if you can... do the overnight.......LOVED IT, it will be etched on my soul forever !
So... disembarking the boat...and all feeling strangely touched by the experience of the last 24 hours it was off to Queenstown... the activity hub of NZ....
We landed after a short 2.5 hour drive..it was late afternoon and we headed straight off to explore... up the cable car to the top of town and a stunning view of mountains and lakes . Lowenna loved the luge rides down and had great fun....then out of town to the campsite, supper and bed... big day tomorrow...
Feb 9th
Up early... Tim and Lowenna headed off for a jet boat ride along a canyon, William and I headed off to the get the bus ride to town then out to his bungy !!!
half an hour later up a long windy track and OMG - there it was.....a pair of cables over a canyon some 200m high, a little hut thing built half way along and the ominous long white elastics of bungy chord dangling below.
Before we knew it we were harnessed up for the trip across and into the ‘cage ‘.I felt strangely confident all would be OK... I had packed some elastoplast just in case of accidents so felt prepared... but nothing, nowhere even begins to prepare you for seeing your offspring swallow dive into the abyss and fall 8 seconds and 134 m down into a canyon....
3.2.1 bungy and he went..... I had sort of expected him still to be standing there... a bit of hesitation perhaps... I remember when Tim did one on our honeymoon some 17 years ago..he sort of bent his knees before falling... as if that would make a difference !
But not Will... wow... full on swallow dive that would have given Tom Daley a run for his money....and perfect... I gave him a score of 10.
Anyway, it was really William’s personal triumph, his own journey that he let me share and my goodness he did it in real style... I felt totally in awe and massively proud to have shared his journey... and yes I had checked first he didn’t mind me coming along !
So a few shaking legs from adrenalin rush and it was back to town... we met the others who had an awesome morning shooting up canyons in the jet boat.... and Will and Tim had massive burgers for lunch from the famous Ferg Burger Bar... and after some discussion we decided that probably Queenstown was fab for a bit but we were ready to head on... an hour up the road we spent a really fun couple of hours at puzzle world where Lowenna was in her element....there were illusion rooms, puzzles and a giant maze..... we stayed till they closed the door on us, found a remote campground by Lake Wanaka , pitched there by the shore and had early nights.
Feb 10th
Next morning... 275 km drive to Franz Joseph Glacier via the Haast Pass.... everyone says the West Coast is the most amazing drive and we were not disappointed ,with Rain Forest,Mountains,Waterfalls, long sandy beaches littered with the driftwood from the mountains...oh.. not to forget ‘sandflies’ ...the drive passed quickly as there was so much staggering scenery to pass the time.We stopped by the famous Blue Pools where Glacier water forms large azure blue pools that are crystal clear ( well so it said in the guide book ) so that involved a bit of a walk.... we were that underwhelmed we walked right past them.... more like bit of a blueish river going on... but hey ho...we had a lot of rain so maybe they were diluted
Franz Joseph village, by the glacier and a place to stop for a couple of nights.Tim really ,really wanted to do a full day hike on the glacier, Lowenna and I decided that the mention in the leaflet of excellent agility and fitness required was a rather large hint in itself ,the mention of crampons to hire was the decider , enough said... Lowenna and I made 'plans' William booked a tandem skydive from 120000 feet....over the mountains ! as if the bungy wasn’t enough !
So, next morning we all went our ways...Lowenna and I did a bit of gift shop looking... and she finally finished Bangkok in the scrapbook !!!! hoorah.... scrap book and diary seem to be becoming more and more of a battle so am leaving it to her now....she has though read loads of books and giving her due there is actually very little down time in the frenetic moving between places and exploring when we get there....
We decided in the end to take the quick route to the glacier and did a very reasonable 30 minute heli flight to the top of the glacier, had 15 minutes on pristine snow on the top, then flew back down.... and I reckon we had the bet view of the lot....it was totally fascinating and staggering seeing it from above......
We met back in the evening down in the glacier hot pools - 38c of hot soaking in giant hot tubs and the first soak for 4 weeks -oh bliss !!!
Tim had had an amazing day climbing crevasses and steep ice slopes and steps and had made a new friend ( see pics), Will had an awesome tandem dive another personal triumph, and actually it had been good to have a few hours doing our own things...... a bit of space is never a bad thing !
So, tomorrow we move again....a couple of days now of long drives and scenery looking ,that will take us to Hammer Springs then to Kaikoura- it will be long and quite boring for Lowenna after all one mountain and lake looks like the next when you are only 11, so we need to make sure we find lots to occupy her over the next 550 km or so we have to do !
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