New Zealand Day 5: Avalanche and the Milford Sound

Day 5 – Friday, 20th November 2009

I woke up at 5 in the morning, and noticed that Jeremy wasn’t in his bed. But after I showered and ate my breakfast and I re-entered our dorm room at about 6am, he was already in bed. He noticed me despite my best at trying to keep all noise levels at a minimum (which is a caveat of sorts of staying in a dorm I suppose), and he told me, “Good luck in your travels buddy.”

While I was eating breakfast earlier, a bunch of drunk British (nearly 10 of ‘em) were gathered in the lounge by the fireplace, one of them playing the guitar to the song that contained the lyrics of “if you know my name” which attracted me like bee to honey to them and sat near them, before one of them asked me to join them and chatted with me for a bit.

Then I set off to the i-SITE (the Clocktower building) to wait for the 6.50am Milford Sound Select/nakedbus bus, where on the way I encountered some police barriers blocking off my path near a shop with some broken glass (I read in the papers some days later that someone was killed in a drunken brawl wtf).

#1 Waiting for the bus.

#2 …and it turns out to be an amazingly luxurious couch with panoramic windows and glass ceilings that allow fantastic access to the breathtaking views around us, which trumps all the other buses I’ve ever sat in South-East Asia—yes, even Malaysia. I managed to book very early for this bus, and got the singular cheapest seat available which was around NZD$86 or something.

Initially I thought it was only going to be just the three of us (who were picked up there—it arrives on the dot, so it didn’t bother to wait more than a minute or two before leaving). I talked briefly to the couple in front of me, who were sitting two rows away from me and were at the most front seats (though I talked to the guy only really), and he said that he’s from Auckland, and was also studying Economics & Finance too (or rather, business).

#3 I was expecting myself to sleep in the bus, but the scenery from the bus simply.. overpowered my will to sleep, as this picture which I snapped by the window depicts.

#4 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

#5 What a lush landscape. Such utterly stunning views are a common sight every second—no words can describe such pristine beauty.

#6 Another snapshot of the interior of our bus and its mouth-watering, heart-stopping panoramic windows.

#7 As the sheep graze lazily in the fields.

Eye-opening informational commentary by our bus driver-cum-tour guide, Lester, who’s supposedly 75 years old (wtf) when he only looked like he’s in his 40s or 50s to me. He provided said commentary throughout the entire bus ride as we headed towards Milford Sound.

Some of the more interesting tidbits from Lester that I managed to jot down:
– Lake Wakatipu is New Zealand’s longest lake, about 70km long
– The lake breathes—it rises and falls by 1.2cm every 5 minutes
– Glaciers carved out the land in NZ
– NZ has very unique flora and fauna not found elsewhere after it was separated from the supercontinent and evolved.
– NZ has also went through 3 ice ages
– While in the coach, we also passed by what’s known as the Devil’s Staircase, so-named as 50-60 cars have driven off the bend and right into the lake
– Our entire journey consists of very smooth roads, and as such, made it a rather pleasant drive
– The Southland is home to some 200,000 people and 10 million sheep. Oh yeah. Hence the oft-repeated comment about sheep outnumbering humans in NZ is absolutely true
– Hundreds of earthquakes hit NZ every year and shifts the mountains up by 1.2cm, and a recent one apparently shifts the South Island closer to Australia hahaha
– The weather here changes very quickly

#8 Stopping by at Mossburn for a toilet break.

#9 I was delighted when our bus decided to stop at Te Anau for a toilet and breakfast break, and I can’t help myself but seized the opportunity to quickly snap some photos of this amazing little town, which wasn’t as rural as I had envisioned.

Instead of buying my breakfast at Kiwi Country (sandwiches were sold at NZD$3.80), I decided to walk out to the nearby sundry shop and bought a ham and egg sandwich for NZD$3.50.

#10 A more centralised shot of the earlier pic. There’s also a faint rainbow to the right if you could spot it.

#11 Ohai rainbow.

We had to eventually get on the bus, and I was actually slightly late (the rest were already on the bus) as I didn’t realise how quickly the time had passed.

#12 We then stopped by at yet a vast open area with some beautiful snow-capped mountains.

#13 Liberty.

#14 Me in front of some of the finest landscape of New Zealand.

#15 We also stopped at Mirror Lakes, which has a lake which was supposed to do as its name implies.

#16 …which it actually does at a certain angle.

#17 Some prehistoric-like brown hairy bushes swaying with the rhythms of the wind. This was yet another toilet break for us.

#18 A valley of forests. Some raindrops were accidentally caught on my lens.

We were also told by Lester that deer have a mysterious healing ability. Apparently if you see a deer with a broken leg, two or three weeks later when you return to the same deer it can mysteriously walk again. Also deer culling was introduced by the government as deer apparently are powerful enough to destroy the forest.

#19 Some small avalanche we spotted.

#20 A kea, the alpine parrot.

#21 For size comparison’s sake.

#22 Now this is a somewhat huge avalanche (for me anyway, having not seen one in real life before). The avalanche corner around here happens as 200kmph winds bring the snow down.

#23 This is the Homer Tunnel, 1.2km long. Also as it’s only one-way, it uses some kinda traffic light system, which is why we stopped here briefly to allow cars from the other end to pass through.

#24 We as the tourists checking out the kea.

#25 Fog sheaths the landscape.

#26 We made another stop at a popular tourist location whose name escapes me now.

#27 We also had to use the umbrella as it was drizzling a little bit.

#28 The flora in Southland is somewhat fascinating—trees and plants grow on the rocks, and Lester told us how they regenerate themselves if felled by the wind.

Oh Steven Spielberg was also supposedly around the region 3-4 months ago to film one of the last Jurassic Park movies.

#29 A river converging into a waterfall.

#30 At another stop where we spotted a kea couple pecking affectionately at each other wtf.

#31 A kea on someone’s car hahaha.

#32 And we finally arrived at Milford Sound!

#33 Milford Sound was initially disappointing as rain pelted us and the mist shrouded the sound in grey—a crass contrast to the pictures I saw on the Internet and brochures everywhere. I was quite disappointed as it really was one of the reasons I went to NZ in the first place, but nevertheless when the rain let up close to the end of the 90-minute cruise (we boarded at 1.15pm, and reached the boat terminal around 12.30pm), it really was quite mythical and Shangri-La-like.

#34 In the cruise.

#35 A torrential waterfall that splashed onto the cruise vigorously as we went closer to it—apparently this magnificent waterfall only happens during a rainy day, so we were supposedly “lucky” too, as the informational commentary went on in several languages to accommodate the tourists from different Asian countries (Japanese, Chinese).

#36 Spotted some seals too!! Too bad I can’t really zoom that much with my lens. :/

#37 Legendary.

#38 Yep, it was raining at the time.

#39 Even more legendary—it looks absolutely mythical.

And that was the end of my Milford Sound trip—I’d definitely return here in the future if I’m ever in New Zealand again in the hopes I’d be able to snap some even more awesome pics when the day’s clear.

On the way back to Queenstown in our comfortable coach, I saw a curious sight of a flock of white birds flying after a vehicle mowing or sowing a brown lawn, some close to the ground, and some in mid-air. There were also stains of blood from a carcass on the road; and the views were still as gratifying—the fields were flourishing with yellow-flowered shrubs, mowed grass, what seem to resemble pine trees, the occasional small shacks, farmhouses, motels, and an irrigation system.

After sending some texts to the Finnish guy who would be hosting me in his campervan, I asked Lester to drop me off at Frankston (he told me something about a bus shelter, and I said that would be fine).

#40 At Frankston.

At Goldfields, I saw someone paragliding high up in the air in circles, and I wondered what his view must be like, surveying the lands and the greenery beneath him with a nearby lake and alpine mountains bordering it.

#41 Eventually I managed to find him and met up with my Finnish host.

#42 We first went to Arrowtown…

#43 …where he bought Thai takeaway for NZD$17+ wtf. He was also a bit upset that there wasn’t any wheat-free sauces as he’s gluten intolerant or something, which makes the both of us the perfect pair as we were both intolerant to some sort of common food substance.

We also saw The Aviators parked near our van, where my Finnish host talked to soemone who turned out to be part of The Aviators (who plays “funk rock”), and they were playing at a pub that night. My host contemplated staying there briefly to watch them play, which I wouldn’t have minded watching, but in the end he decided to leave instead.

I think when we were on the way to Arrowtown, it was only then that I realised that I had left a bundle of dirty laundry in my dorm. :( At that point I was really quite far away and I even contemplated ringing them up and see if they could send it to Christchurch or back to Melbourne and I’d pay them.

#44 I walked around in search of some lactose-free milk or soy milk for breakfast, but eventually I could only find soy milk and had to buy it for NZD$6+ even though it was ridiculously exorbitant.. I didn’t have a choice. =/

#45 The Crown Range Road, which is a scenic route we chose to take to wherever the Finnish dude wanted to bring me to. He also played some AC/DC songs from his CD.

#46 The lookout point where we had our dinner, which accorded this view to us. It was a somewhat mesmerising experience.

#47 We drove on further to this spot for me to stop to take a photo, and it was then I realised that my Nakedbus had brought us here too previously en route from Christchurch to Queenstown.

#48 Driving through the Crown Range Road, which was positively thrilling with mountains all around us.

#49 Another look.

#50 At a small town called Cardrona, where we stopped briefly as my host thought it’d make a good photo.

We eventually went to a secret spot, at an incredibly off-beaten track in a clearing in the middle of a.. bush and near a river and a road. It was impossible to take photos in the near total darkness so I didn’t (my GPS didn’t seem to be able to detect any satellites when we were there), so I didn’t snap any (forgot to snap a photo before we left the next day too).

I spent 20 minutes helping him to set up his hammock (he’s a paraplegic), which looked awfully comfy. I, on the other hand, had to sleep with flies that managed to get into the van and were attracted to the light. My Finnish host told me very seriously that if I wanted to poop, I’d have to dig a hole and bury my own shit wtf when it comes to that.

#51 Inside his make-shift bed in his campervan. That’s the tiny kitchen on the right of this pic.

#52 A photo before retiring to bed.

My feet were also incredibly stinky wtf as I had been wearing socks the entire day, and I had been awake since 5am so naturally I was somewhat mentally exhausted. I tried to sleep at about 11.15pm, but I tossed around a bit (as I was being annoyed by the flies buzzing around) before finally sleeping at about 11.45pm.

And that’s how we started camping literally around the West Coast of the South Island, which was a prelude to many discomforts to come, but a precious experience I otherwise would never discover.