The Milford Track (part 2) & Christchurch

Well, it took a little longer than expected to get back to part 2, but here we go.  Hopefully we’ll have more leisure time (and internet access) in Bali so we can get this blog up to date.

Day 3 (cont’d)

So after eating a well deserved lunch close to the top of the pass, we began the climb down to the valley below, but not before having the most scenic bathroom break I’ve ever had.  The “long drop” toilet as they call it had a window with a tremendous view.  If anything, it is worth the climb to the top just for that.

The hike down was fairly uneventful.  We came across some Kea’s that are a very interesting bird.  Supposedly they are quite smart, and have been known to open unattended backpacks and fly off with hikers’ belongings.

Six hours of hiking up and down a mountain wasn’t enough for us, so after dropping off our packs in our room for the night, we headed off on a 1.5 hour return hike to nearby Sutherland Falls, the tallest waterfall in NZ.  It was pretty spectacular.  Here are some pics…

Some Keas up to no good

Day 4

As we got further along and made our way back down into the rainforest, we hiked down beside this beautiful river which basically consisted of a waterfall after a waterfall and so on.  They had built a fair number of stairs for us to go down beside the river which I nearly fell down multiple times as I kept craning my neck to look at all the falls. 

 Waterfalls that just went on and on and on...

The walk down seemed to take forever.  Walking down was definitely much tougher on the body than going up.  It’s not too hard on the muscles, but it kills the joints.  By the time we made it to the lodge at 2pm (the first group in!) our knees and feet were killing us.  The last person in that day came in at 6pm and the all-time record for the latest in is 2:30am, or 19 hours from start to finish.  Many people don’t even make it to the top and turn around and go back.  Some even have to get flown out by helicopter.

The atmosphere back at the lodge that night was great.  Everybody was exhausted but in good spirits after surviving the tough day of hiking.  We were rewarded with delicious rib-eye steaks and some ice cream sundaes for dinner.  After dinner, I was somehow goaded into singing the Canadian national anthem in front of everyone.  I did Canada proud and rocked it if I don’t say so myself.  Sorry Quebec, I did not sing the bilingual version.

Day 4

The third day of hiking is the longest distance-wise (~13 miles) but thank goodness it is mostly flat.  We started out strong but by the end our feet and legs were in rough shape.  Here are some pics from the hike:

Sharon standing underneath the aptly named Bell rock.

Sharon grabbing a bite to eat in front of MacKay Falls.

We did it!  At the end of the Milford Track.

After the hike, there was a boat waiting to take us to the town of Milford Sound where we would be staying the night before heading out on a morning cruise of the Sound.  The lodge we stayed at had a very strong 70’s vibe to it, but it was groovy and comfortable nonetheless.

Our lodge in Milford Sound.

The view from the lounge at the lodge.

Some prized big heads on the wall

Day 5

The final day of our Milford adventure had arrived.  We got up early for a cruise of Milford Sound.  It really was breathtaking.  Unfortunately it hadn’t rained recently so the waterfalls were not in full effect, but it was still pretty amazing.  Here are some pics from the voyage:

After the cruise, we all headed back to Queenstown to go our separate ways.  Sharon and I had a fantastic time on the hike and are both very happy we did it.  The hike was awesome, and we were very lucky to have such great weather and such enjoyable company with our guides and fellow hikers.  I would totally recommend this hike to anyone (anyone except Jen Adams that is…I’ve seen her run and I’m not sure she could make it off the dock where you’re first dropped off on Day 1).

Huge props to my awesome wife who totally rocked the Milford Track.  I have never seen her move so fast.  No joke.  Put some hiking boots on her and give her a mountain to climb and she becomes a hiking machine.

Christchurch

In an effort to get this blog up to date, I’m just going to paste on a bit more about our two days in Christchurch before flying to Australia.

The day after coming back to Queenstown from our hike, we took a quick flight over to Christchurch to spend our last two days in NZ.  Here are a couple of pics from the plane that I took that really give you a good sense of the amazing landscape in that part of NZ.

Because of the earthquake that rocked Christchurch almost exactly a year ago, we weren’t quite sure what to expect.  We stayed at a really nice hostel that had just reopened that week for the first time since the quake struck.  We walked around the downtown area for a bit and it was really quite sad.  You got a sense of what a nice city it was before the quake, but the center of town was basically just a ghost town.  Huge parts are still closed off, and even the parts that are open are mostly empty with store after store closed down.

The time on the clock tower remains at 12:51, the exact time
of the second quake.  Reminds me of Back to the Future.

We went to a local museum that had a pretty big exhibit on the earthquakes including some video footage of the second earthquake taking place.  It was pretty intense.  They say it will take at least a full generation for Christchurch to bounce back to its former glory.

Since there wasn’t a ton to do there, Sharon and I decided to go to the casino to “donate” some money to the city.  Unfortunately, we ended up winning $50 instead.  Tough luck for us:)

Anyways, that is the end of our trip to NZ.  If you haven’t been, you have to go.  I feel like Sharon and I only did a small fraction of all the cool stuff you could do there.  I hope at some point in the future we get the chance to go back.