Going home

Had a nice relaxing final week in Wellington including a day at the local primary school. Everyone very friendly and interested to make comparisons. Really a lot of similarities. especially in a lot of the AiFL techniques. They are just introducing a national curriculum with clear levels and targets for the first time so that is creating a lot of discussion.
Took the cable car up to the top of the wonderful Botanics in the town. Great views:


A slow walk down hill to the city takes about an hour:


I also visited the house of Katherine Mansfield a NZ short story writer from a century ago - an amazing woman with a real Bohemian lifestyle and a great writer. Below is the NZ parliament building:

On Friday I tool the 12 hour Overlander train journey to Auckland. Quite a scenic trip:


And from there it was a flight to Osaka in Japan, a few hours in the airport then on to Amsterdam and finally to Aberdeen.
So home now and looking forward to seeing many of you soon!
Sorley

Rob Roy Valley

On my last full day in the South Island I took a minibus about an hour out of Wanaka to Raspberry Flat on the West Matukituki River. Along the way there were views to Mt Aspiring:


It's a relatively easy walk across the river and up through the bush to the glacier:




Not sure what Rob Roy would have made of it all. Apparently the mountain and glacier were named for him by some early Scottish settlers.



So my last tramp of this trip:





Back in Wellington now for a week before I fly home. Hope you have had fun tramping with me!
Sorley

Wanaka

So from Queenstown I took a bus up to Wanaka and the landscape turned very dry:



Lot of vineyards in the area. Some big fruit too:


Wanaka is a calmer and smaller version of Queenstown with its own lake:


Star attraction for me was the Cinema Paradiso. It was started by a chap from Inverness nearly 20 years ago. It has a fantastic cafe and they bake fresk cookies for the intermission and sell an incredible selection of home made ice creams:


Inside there is an interesting range of seating including an old yellow Morris Minor:


Craigievar Film Club - this is could be you!

Rees-Dart

So my last multi-day tramp. I picked the Rees-Dart as it is not one of the Great Walks and therefore doesn't require booking and also is a bit wilder. The first day and a half follows the Rees River valley:


These cows were enjoying the grass along the river:

Looking up towards the back of Mt Earnslaw:


The first night the hut was full, so busier than I thought! But no-one is turned away. The track follows the river up to the Rees Saddle, 1447m. Here looking back down the valley:


Somewhere up in this range is a peak called Lochnagar, also with a loch of the same name below:


Spotted (and heard) this kea on a rock. There were quite a few about:


Some dramatic peaks:


Highly recommend a merino t-shirt - won't smell even after 4 days of wear!:


Once over the saddle there is the Snowy Creek to cross. The bridge is removed in winter to avoid it being destroyed by avalanches:


Looking across to the Hesse Glacier and down to the Dart River:


The Dart Hut, becoming very busy as lots of people stay an extra night to do some of the side routes, but the warden had provided some extra mattresses for people to bunk down in the kitchen:

The Scots have definitely been here too:


No boots in the hut and probably best to leave the socks out there too!:


Me and my shadow again:


One of the enjoyable things about this walk was the reduced track marking, few signs and lots of old rock cairns:


There was a fresh dusting of snow on the second night:


Looking back up the Dart Valley across cattle flat. A great variety of scenery on this walk:


Nearing the third hut this lovely open grassland at Quinns Flat:


More blue skies to end the day (there was frost on the ground the next morning):


Despite the busy huts I walked most of the time on my own, it all felt very peaceful and quite remolte. On the last day the track follows the Dart River down the valley:


So another 60km of track walked and back to Queenstown for a rest.

Video of a kea

Queenstown

Queenstown - the buzz capital of New Zealand. Bungy jumping started here, you can also skydive, jet boat, canyon, shoot the rapids in a kayak, raft or on a body board and much more. At night the bars and clubs are hoaching. In winter there's plenty of snow. So what did I do? Well enjoyed the scenery and the best beach ever for skimming stones on the shores of Lake Wakatipu!:

Some nice outdoor spaces to sit and enjoy a Fergburger (you need 2 hands to eat one!) or listen to the nice chap on the amplified pan pipes (not shown) playing Auld Lang Syne:


Looking down on the lake are the mountains known as the Remarkables:


Can be one of the hottest places in the country down here:


Plenty to do on the lake too with all manner of boats:


The TSS Earnslaw was once the major link with nearby Glenorchy until a road was built in the sixites and only sealed in 1997. It now takes visitors on lake cruises:


Some nice sunsets too:


The Remarkables:


I stocked up on supplies in Queenstown and took a minicoach along the road to Glenorchy with views up to Mount Earnslaw:


Onto a smaller vehicle in Glenorchy and on to Muddy Creek and the start of the 4 day Rees-Dart track. Here's a video of the view from Queenstown:

Doubtful Sound

This corner of New Zealand is known as Fiordland and that is what the 2 most famous Sounds - Doubtful and Milford - really are, deep fiords carved by the ice. Milford is perhaps more dramatic with steeper sides but is also the more accesible and popular. I chose instead remote Doubtful Sound named by Captain Cook who passed by the mouth and was 'doubtful' that the prevailing winds would allow the ship out again. The trip began with a bus from Te Anau to Manapouri and an hour's cruise across the lake of the same name:


At the end of the lake is a giant power station built inside these mountains (like our own Ben Cruachan):

From the power station a road leads up to the Wilmot Pass with views down to Deep Cove (5m of rain a year!) at the start of the Sound. The wharf is cantilevered due to the depth of the water:


The day turned cloudy and this added to the atmosphere:


Here I am at the bow of the Fiordland Navigator (click for video). The boat sleeps 70 but it never felt like there were that many on board. Met some nice people, the crew were great and the food fantastic:


During the trip we saw bottlenose dolphins twice and heard penguins. I woke very early and looking out the porthole saw dozens of barracuda splashing at the surface in the running lights of the boat. We also spent some time watching this colony of southern fur seals at the mouth of the Sound:


We explored several of the arms of the sound. Here we were able to go for a kayak trip:


And swim (including jumping off the side of the boat):


It was cold (about 16 centigrade) and the top few metres is fresh water run off from the forested hills around stained a dark peaty colour. The next morning was magical with the mist clearing and the sun catching the mountains:



The trees come right down to the waterline. In places they have covered sheer rock faces by interlacing their roots. Sometimes a tree slip occurs and a patch of bare cliff is exposed taking decades for the scar to heal:


In this arm the engines were shut down and the generator turned off for 10 minutes and we all stood in silent awe at the amazing sights around us:


This was an undoubted highlight of my trip and definitely recommended!