The South Island of New Zealand, Part two. Fiordland, Milford
Sound and Central Otago
(NOTE: There are no enlargements on the article photos, please
see gallery links at the end)
Welcome to Part Two of our van camping journey around the South
Island of New Zealand. In Part One we journeyed down the east coast
to Dunedin and Invercargill before venturing into the Catlins. In
this article we find new season snow in Fiordland and Milford Sound.
We visit Queenstown and historic Central Otago. Please read Part
One if you wish to follow our van camping adventure from
the beginning.
The Journey finds us in the town of Balclutha, a river town on the
mighty Clutha. The Clutha begins its journey to the sea in Wanaka
and produces a large proportion of New Zealand's hydro electricity.
We stocked up on supplies and drove across the farms of Southland
via Gore to the lake resort of Te Anau. The gateway to the Fiordland
National Park.
Fiordland is a huge area at the South Western end of New Zealand.
The coastline is made up of many Fiords which are mistakenly called
Sounds. A Sound is a stretch of sheltered water created by rising
seas encroaching on river valleys. A Fiord is also a stretch of
sheltered water but the valleys were once carved by Glaciers or
rivers of ice. They are much more dramatic being deep, steep and
surrounded by mountain peaks. The Fiords meander deep in the Southern
Alps creating a truly spectacular coastal wonderland.
Te Anau (left) Mirror lakes on the Milford Rd (right)
Te Anau is a very pretty lake town and hugely popular with tourists.
The lake sparkles in the sun with a majestic backdrop of the Southern
Alps. The Te Anau downs are also very photogenic as they are covered
in red tussock. Trampers are busy here preparing or recovering from
wilderness alpine experiences. The famed Milford track is the most
popular in the country and is near here. So is the Routeburn track
and a number of others. Many are multi day experiences requiring
hut bookings and a lot of personal care. DOC NZ manages these walking
tracks. If you are trading your tramping boots for four tyres then
the amazing Milford Road begins in Te Anau.
The Milford Road is a high mountain pass over the Southern Alps
to Milford Sound. We topped up our fuel in Te Anau as we were expecting
to do over 200km and there is no way I wanted to be running on fumes
high in the mountains. The road is sealed all the way and very well
maintained. It is often closed over winter because of snow and avalanche
risk but it won't be a problem in the fall. We set off from Te Anau
to photograph New Zealand at its finest and we were not disappointed.
The Milford Road follows the old river valleys and tussock land
before rising into the mountains. The scenery is to die for. There
are many walks in the area but if you read this then please take
this advice. During our journey a search party was looking for a
young woman from Israel who was reported missing, tramping alone
and last seen on the Routeburn track. The cold is the biggest killer
of tourists in New Zealand so be prepared, even for a short walk
on a nice day. Travel in groups if you can and text home to say
where you are. There is cell phone coverage in Te Anau, Milford
Sound and Queenstown but not in the mountains. It was sad to learn
they found the young woman's body a few weeks later, not more than
a few hours walk from the Milford Road and off the Routeburn trail.
Beech forests on the Milford Road
At the top of Milford Pass the road passes through a large hole
in a wall of rock and ice. At over 1270 meters the Homer tunnel
is one way and controlled by lights. It's a scary climax to the
drive up the Milford Pass. The road then descends westward through
beautiful Southern Beech forests. We stopped at a natural river
feature called 'The Chasm'. A very short walk takes you to a deep
ravine where the cold water carves a noisy and turbulent pass through
the mountain granite. After a two hour drive from Te Anau counting
numerous photo stops we arrived at Milford Sound. The view was spectacular
even on a cloudy day as we looked down the fiord towards Mitre Peak.
We joined one of the many daily cruises in a large comfortable charter
boat. The cruise took us past waterfalls, steep mountains and wildlife
to the entrance to Milford Sound on the Tasman Sea. We thought the
giant fiord is more like a lake then part of the New Zealand coastline.
The day was overcast and more suitable for black and white photography.
Mitre Peak in cloud
Day two at Milford Sound was to prove the real treat. We rolled
into Milford Sound Lodge and booked our campervan park for the night.
What a great place, complete with satellite broadband Internet.
Cathy and I rose before sunrise as I was keen to get my share of
images from a new day on Milford Sound. We were treated to a crisp
blue sky morning in a place well known for a huge amount of annual
rainfall. A cold snap had dropped the temperatures and fresh powder
snow had dusted the mountains. What a difference a day makes and
I simply could not put my camera down.
Milford Sound the next day
Driving back over the Milford Pass it began to snow heavily. Not
enough to pose any driving risk especially in our 4wd van. Snow
can freeze over night, forming ice and make early morning travel
impossible in New Zealand. Fresh snow in the New Zealand mountains
and Beech forests is a photographers paradise. We found a little
off road to venture down for even more secluded serenity. Our journey
back through the Homer Tunnel was even scarier because the traffic
lights were not working. I read that they often turn them off to
minimize avalanche risk. We passed a large bus coming towards us
in the tunnel but fortunately there was plenty of room. I have to
admit it did add another dimension to our day. It can also be noted
that there are also many DOC camping grounds on the Milford Road
especially at the Te Anau end. We stopped for a mug of coffee by
the river in these reserves, having filled the Thermos with boiling
water from the lodge. Something we did each morning. Breathtaking
scenery, better than any city cafe. After a hot lunch by the fire
in a Te Anua hotel we continued on our way to Queenstown.
Homer Tunnel (left) Fiordland snow (right)
The cold front was dumping light snow down to low levels as we
drove up Lake Wakatipu. In the darkness it was amusing to see the
snow fall towards us into our light beams. It was a simple task
of following the black tyre marks of previous vehicles. If the snow
got any heavier we were well prepared to pull over and spend the
night in the van. It was very cold in Queenstown so we treated ourselves
to a few nights in a hotel. The camping grounds in this tourist
town were the most expensive we have seen on our trip. I have come
to the conclusion that you should not come to Queenstown and stay
in a van. Not when there are some great offseason accommodation
rates to be had in the Autumn.
Queenstown is an adventure tourism Mecca in the heart of the Southern
Alps. Built on the edge of a beautiful glacier carved lake. The
town never stops being an adventure centre for skiing, bungee jumping
and parasailing. It is also a wonderful romantic weekend getaway
for Kiwis and has the ozzy bonus with direct flights from Australia.
There are a lot of restaurants but our favorite is 'The Bunker'.
The Bunker is a boutique restaurant hidden behind a very humble
wooden door off Cow Lane. Cow Lane is essentially a service lane
for the Queenstown Mall. Here you can treat yourself to a candle
lit, fireside, romantic dinner. Make sure you wash it down with
a bottle of Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Cathy and I had been to Queenstown before and in a previous trip
we had gone to paradise and back. Literally! The drive up Lake Wakatipu
takes you to Glenorchy and a place called Paradise. They filmed
the Lothlorien scenes for the Lord of the Rings movies here and
I can swear we even saw hobbits along the river bank.
The next day we walked around town and booked our evening dinner
cruise on the historic steamer the 'TSS Earnslaw'. She is known
as the 'Lady of the Lake' and is an icon of the Queenstown culture.
Taking tourists across the lake to the Walter Peak Station for farm
tours and evening dinning. She has been a people and freight mover
since 1912. It is relaxing and warm on the trip over watching the
steam engines do their thing, handled by three skilled engineers.
A sing song around the piano on the return journey ends a very pleasant
experience.
Remarkable mountains (left) Looking from the Remarkables (right)
Next day we drove up the valley to Arrowtown passing the adventurous
Shotover River jet boat ride. Arrowtown locals and visitors were
in the middle of the Autumn festival and the town was busy with
artists and tourists. The centre of Arrowtown is a treasure and
full of many schist stone historic buildings. If you walk down to
the river you can walk through the ruins of early gold mining huts.
The mountains around the Arrow River were golden with the colours
of fall. It was in this carpet of fallen leaves that Cathy and I
walked for two very pleasant hours. On a trail high above Arrowtown
that begins with a walk up the river. We found old gold miners ruins
crumbling back into the mountains whence they came. On previous
trips to Central Otago we had driven up the Skippers Canyon road
which is a spectacular trip more suitable for 4WD vehicles. Your
rental car insurance is not valid on that road so be aware if you
venture there one day. The Crown road from the Gibbston Valley to
Wanaka is also a great way to go and is open to all. On this journey
we wanted to go to the town of Alexandra and the schist stone valleys
further south.
Above Arrowtown (left) Historic Arrowtown (right)
Skippers Canyon (left) Carpet of gold (right)
Our drive to Alex included beautiful Lake Hayes and Lake Dunstan.
Also the hydro towns and dams of Cromwell and Clyde. Alexandra is
a small rural community town in an industry centered around stone
fruit. If you were to travel here in spring you would be treated
to fields of bright pink blossom and maybe in time for the annual
blossom festival. We arrived in Alex in the late Autumn and the
recent cold front had left fresh snow on the hill and freezing frosty
nights. The area has very low rainfall and the landscape is rocky.
Pillars of Schist Stone tower from the dry lands. We travelled on
State Highway 8, the Dunedin road south from Alexandra to an area
in the valley called Fruitlands. Schist stone is like layered shale
and forms huge boulders. It has been a prized building material
for over one hundred years. There is a lot of historic architecture
in this area that makes wonderful photography. It was very cold
so we decided to overnight indoors to make a freezing night more
comfortable. It was in the historic Fruitlands Country Lodge B &
B that we met Ian and his beautifully restored 1869 hotel. We ditched
our van in favour of sipping wine beside the fireplace in this gorgeous
Schist stone building. A great price which included a fully catered
breakfast. I rose at 6am and wandered around capturing the sunrise
on a very frosty minus 5 degrees. The dawn of a beautiful blue sky
day in Central Otago. One of the best things about staying at B
& B's is the local knowledge of friendly hosts. On our departure
Ian pointed us to the historic Mitchell's cottage just up the road.
A fine example of nineteenth century Schist stone architecture.
Alone and at leisure we wandered around the buildings which were
surrounded by pillars of Schist stone in its natural state. The
cottage had literally been hewn from the bones of the earth on the
very spot it stood. There was even a schist stone fence where the
wire was threaded through holes in the stone slab.
Fruitlands B&B (left) Mitchell's Cottage (right)
Schist stone boulders (left) Schist stone fence (right)
Our journey would now take us from the dry lands of Central Otago
and back over the mountain passes to the lush green forest of Westland.
We then travel up the west coast crossing Arthur's Pass to Christchurch
on the east coast. In part Three we also journey to the hot springs
at Hanmer and then to the northern tip of the South Island. We go
to the hugely popular Abel Tasman National Park. Join us in part
three
Andrew and Cathy Whyte.
Be aware that if you are involved in the tourism industry in any
of the places we visit then you might like to become a linked sponsor
of this article. See the Ratecard.
I choose not to publish active links to sites of interest in case
they become inactive. A Quick Google search here will bring up valued
advertisers for your queries
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