Best Western Te Anau Downs Mtr

... clear day and as we arrived at the small cruise terminal we were even happier to feel not a trace of wind. The glassy, smooth water with clouds peeling around the peaks made for a beautiful morning. The cruise was just awesome, we couldn't have been happier with the day. This was one of the smallest of the cruise companies and boats operating on the sound and the skipper and staff made everyone (all 12 of us) on the boat feel welcome and free to ask any questions of them. One of the ...

It has happened! Today has marked the entrance to the most beautiful place in the world. Fjordland National Park New Zealand. The entrance is guarded by a little town called Te Anau. I feel so ridiculous trying to pronounce these Maori names because I am never remotely close. The town was empty and so was our bellies so we stopped at a little German owned pizza shop called Naturally Fjorland. The food was decent and more importantly at this ...

... as waterfalls cascaded into the fjord. We even saw some bottlenosed dolphins that swam along with the boat and fur seals sunning themselves on a rock. I took more photos there than anywhere else, and many will be uploaded here at some point in the near future. The drive back was just as good as the one there, as the driver stopped at different spots for more photos. It was well worth the money spent.

That afternoon we drove up to Wanaka past Queenstown.

... after we complete the ferry crossing which has a reputation for being choppy. Fine today though and Kay Marie and I use the time to basically get to know each other better than our own families - we'll be best buddies for the rest of the trip south. First thing to do is pick up the newbies - basically two *****es from London. I mean that- a 33 year old Londoner who talks as if she had a brace but hasn't and is thick ...

... fell asleep. The next day I was moved into a diff**ent dorm, wh**e it seemed like I would get along with the people bett**. The second night in Wellington, I spent Richard: cute, en**getic and social, with a dorky smile and greeting wave that makes his whole body shake with the effort. The first night out on porch he off**ed me a TUI (NZ cheapo be**) and we talked about sociolology and anthropology, as those are our majors. He is on work and holiday, like ...

... the boat.  It was somewhat anticlimactic because we were leaving Helen and Chris but we will see them in four days.  Once we were back on the boat I locked myself in our dark cabin and watched TV to give my eyes a rest from the sunlight.  Simon however went to the top deck and waved goodbye to Helen and Chris who could see him from their house through their binoculars.  I thought that was pretty incredible.  Well, now we are back at sea. 

... We discovered this is the birthplace of Richard O'Brien's cult-classic, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".  They have a large statue of "Riff Raff" as a monument. We arrived at Kaori Lodge, a beautiful accommodation set right in the bush, in the early afternoon.  The main attraction in this area is the surfing -- apparently the beach has amazing conditions.  The local school claimed they could have anyone up on a board within one afternoon of lessons.  We opted for a ...

... hard to come by, but a few in our group made it into the stadium, though I was not included. That does not mean that we missed out on the party though! This city-wide party means that everyone dresses up in the wackiest costumes they can conceive of. Traffic cones, aliens and cross-dressers abound. Ours were a bit eclectic, but it's amazing what you can do with face paint, bedsheets, feathers, and beer-induced creativity. Anyway, we spend the day ...

... flowing Lake Manapouri into the
Doubtful Sound, for electric power. It was pretty boring so I think I
would rather have continued my nap on the bus for that 30 minutes. By
now we were exhausted so all we wanted to do was get on the next boat
back to Manapouri.

5:30 PM - Once we got back, we drove north 20
minutes to Te Anau where we checked into Radford's Lakefront hotel-
more ...

... end of the Routeburn, and also made it up to Lake Marian, a splendid glacial tarn surrounded by kilometre high rock walls. Andy has been up there before but in murky conditions, but that day was crystal clear and well worth the sweaty clamber up. The birdlife is also good fun; territorial robins inspect you at intervals (pecking at shoe laces), fantails squeak abuse and tiny riflemen whizz by. We continued on to worship in the presence of Milford Sound - hazy but awesome ...