I See Your True Colours
Trip Start
Aug 23, 2007
1
30
60
Trip End
Jul 17, 2008
Milford Sound,
New Zealand
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
As a result of maturity and not feeling great, I have opted out of most of the adreneline pumping activities offered in the Queenstown area, but have found a beautiful underbelley of sweet soothing activites. I just don't feel the desire to throw myself off a bridge or out of a plane, you know? So, it was off to Invercargill. You may have heard of it because it was featured in an Anthony Hopkins film called "The World's Fastest Indian" that told the true story of a Kiwi who was determined to break the speed records on his motorbike on the salt sands speedway of California. It would be a great rental...and good for kids too!!
Invercargill is at the mouth of Milford Sound, a spectacular body of water surrounded by mountains, that leads out to the Tasman Sea. The weather was perfect and the waters were calm. I passed the snow that remained from the winter's avalanches and could see the rocks that had fallen into the creeks and on the roads from earthquakes. They say this part of the world is well overdue for a big quake...but our driver promised it wouldn't happen on her shift. We stopped at a waterfall that had carved beautiful shapes out of the rocks. They had a quotation posted from Thoreau: "The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time." Throughout the passage down Milford Sound we passed countless groups of fur seals lounging in the sun and watched comical crested penguins balance their way up and down the rocks. On the way home, the sun was setting and it cast the most unusual shadows along the green hills of the region and I laughed to see the lambs frolicking in small groups in the fields. What a perfect place for play before bedtime.
The next day, my Vancouver friend Ann and I headed out for a wine tour of the Otago region. Famous for their Pinot Noir grapes, we sampled countless sparkling, white, rose and red wines from one of the best regions in the world. One of the wineries gave us a sample of the 2000 wine of the year. Ann and I had a riot trying to identify the fragrances in the wine...was that quince or brioche? We have no idea what we're talking about, but it was fun to pretend to be a conoisseur.
Today I took the gondola up for a gorgeous view of Lake Wakapita and the Remarkables, a mountain range so called because they go from West to East rather than the usual North to South. Hmmm. Later, I wrote post cards which some of you will get by Christmas and sipped my Cappucino in the brilliant sunshine. Oh, life is hard. Actually, Ann and I have booked a twin room in Christchurch again because we just can't bear the thought of going back to the dorm life...no doubt, it will soon be upon me. Like I said before, nothing a little Pinot Noir won't cure...with the fragrance of cherries, or was that peaches, or maybe silk stockings....whatever!!! Stay warm everyone, as I know winter is on its way for many of you.
