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My New Zealand trip inspired 28 pages of journal and hundreds of photos. I had to select among the photos. The last shall be first on this blogsite, so to follow my progress day by day go to number 1 in the New Zealand theme.. Each text page is followed by a photo page.

Day seventeen

(continued)   To guard against more glitches I set my alarm for 6.30 to get up and get down the hill to catch my bus to Te Anau from Athol Street. The mystery of the failure of Elaine and I to meet at the bus stop was now solved. My bus arrived at Camp Street though the bus I had first booked in Christchurch would have stopped in Athol Street. Another factor is her English level. My questions are often met with replies that are a mystery to me so I really don’t know what time she got there.

The journey down from Deco’s was easy and rapid and I got to town before any eating houses were open, but half an hour before departure time a nearby bakery opened its doors and I ate a pie and drank a cup of tea.

Shoreline, Te Anau

As I was sitting waiting a group of Chinese young people arrived. I found out they are Hong Kongers who met in Australia while touring independently and decided to go as a group to New Zealand. They were enjoying their group experience so I had no more conversation with them.

The parka/pillow I had bought was comfortable and I slept intermittently all the way to Te Anau. I woke often enough to see a lot of the scenery. All of the other passengers were on a day excursion from Queenstown to Milford Sound and back so I was the only departure in Te Anau.

Early rises were catching up with me so I wanted sleep. Lakefront Backpackers where I was to stay does not finish its cleaning routines till 1.00p.m. and that was not for a few hours so I walked around the lake shore and township. At least I was able to leave my heavier bags at the Hostel. What a location, as good as Picton.

When I got my room key it would not open my door for me. A second set produced the same result and the manager came and managed to open the room with it. I hate it when people develop a knack for something which gives them an excuse for failing to repair the problem device. Keys should work easily so anyone can use them. This lock was difficult for all my room mates too. It took endless fiddling till it finally clicked open.

After an hour’s sleep I organized my things. All three washing machines were in use. My Italian roommate Alessandro, a designer, arrived and we introduced ourselves and chatted briefly before I left for an afternoon walk and dinner. The shore of the lake inspired me and as often happened on my trip the sunlight came through the clouds in the late afternoon. It was a profitable photo excursion then I went into town and had tomato soup and a small spaghetti marinara for dinner. Aside from a brief chat at the lake with a Japanese fitness instructor that was my day. She was testing herself by tackling the hardest tracks and probably adventure activities. I was reminded of Amy. Amy and her husband would love New Zealand.

Day eighteen

This day proved to be the highlight of my trip. I had chosen a day trip to Milford including photo stops on the road and a two and a half hour cruise on Milford Sound. The company used the Maori name for the Sound, Piopiotahi, which is the name of a songbird that inhabits the area. In the morning the temperature was around 1 degree centigrade so I was glad of my parka and wondered as I awaited the coach if I should be wearing more. The sky was overcast. Only eight of us boarded the minivan and I’m sure we all wondered what kind of companions we had. Our driver, Les, was very informative and as the day went on I learned he is a man with a genuine interest in the human and natural history of the area. We were lucky to have him.

A cold and dull morning, but with its own beauties

The bus stopped at several spots along the road so we could look around and take photos. My camera and lens changing attracted comments in these days when everyone has a camera phone and a small point and shoot camera. The jokes were a good warm up and we began to cohere. The Nikon particularly attracted the attention of a young Italian chef but that day my eye took precedence over my tongue and I was not so communicative. I didn’t get a wonderful shot of the pools called Mirror Lakes because two ducks swimming on them disrupted the mirror properties.

The clouds gradually cleared and while they were around gave me some great dark moody shots of mountains and valleys. The sun was shining beautifully by the time we reached Milford. Les and the boat captain both pointed out that the word ‘Sound’ is not correct here, as Milford was carved by glaciers. It is therefore a Fiord, for a Sound is formed by river action. I must admit the name’Milford Fiord’ would be a little tricky on the tongue though.

We all boarded a three masted boat for the longest cruise available through the Sound to the Tasman Sea. In this often rainy place we had perfect weather and sailed very close to fur seals. The commentary on this day was given by an academic who was a bit of an expert on the area. He told us about the influence of a fresh water top layer on the development of the local mussels, keeping them much smaller than others of their species, and other fascinating facts. (to be continued)

My New Zealand trip inspired 28 pages of journal and hundreds of photos. I had to select among the photos. The last shall be first on this blogsite, so to follow my progress day by day go to number 1 in the New Zealand theme.. Each text page is followed by a photo page.

(continued)   When we got back to the hostel she said she would go on the internet. The hostel did not have computers but had a wi-fi network and she carried her own neat little machine. Her job in Taiwan is office work and selling computers and drivers. She offered to let me use it but there was no need because I went to the internet bar earlier. Elaine busied herself booking accommodation and activities. She’s a well organized person adept at finding discounts. We agreed to meet again at Charlie B’s the day before our planes left for Brisbane.

The office at Deco’s opens at 8.00a.m. while Elaine had to leave at 7.00 so she asked if I could get her key deposit. I set my alarm for 6.55 to get the key from her.

Pipers, Queenstown

Day sixteen

I actually wrote the day after before remembering to write up this day. I guess I didn’t want to think about some aspects of it.

The old steamer, Earnshaw. Built in 1912 she still sails several times daily from Queenstown. I took the cruise. Her varnished timbers and brass fittings inspired me and I even used the D700’s high ISO capabilities to take good shots of the engines. I checked each shot after taking it to make sure the exposures were good and sharp. The mood was there and I was seeing pictures better than I had for years. It puzzled me that the camera was doing something I had not set it for, displaying each picture spontaneously after shooting. I put it down to a wrong button pressed without realizing it.

On the way back up Lake Wakatipu I was sure I had beautiful shots of the ship and landscape but suddenly saw the camera was saving to its own internal memory. When I saved the previous day’s shots to my storage and viewing device I had not put the card back in the camera. It was deleting each shot and saving the next every time I took a picture! My heart sank and I couldn’t even summon up my usual sense of humour to cheer me up. For the journey back up to Queenstown my mood could be described as mildly dismal.

Dusk at Queenstown

I tried to ensure I would never be without a spare again by putting the spare cards in my daypack. Each has capacity for several days work.

That day I did little else but the evenings had been getting colder so I bought a cheap anorak/parka/kagool. $15.00! It was just like two that Joy and I bought in 1978, folding into its own pocket, but this one had a felt coating on the pocket so it can be used as a travel pillow. What a bargain.

My meal was more expensive than usual, a sadness remedy of Bhuna Ghosht that lived up to the promise of the scents that emanated from an Indian Restaurant on Camp Street at the mouth of an arcade, Freiya’s Restaurant. My nose is becoming quite expert at detecting good cooking. The meal made me happy again. I must get a real job so I can continue travelling and eating well.

I asked the guy in charge about the problem of getting my key deposit though leaving early and he just gave it to me straight away. There is one potentially serious problem at Deco’s and I have to mention it so they will fix it. The toilets are in a separate block out the back, reached through a small staircase and a covered way. The bottom step has been cut in half and is not noticeable easily from above. Three times I was stepping down and caught my heel on this half step. I landed heavily and if my ankles had not been strong I would have sprained them or jarred my leg badly. There is a real danger that Deco’s will one day have to face a law suit from someone who sprains or breaks their ankle or suffers a bone jarring injury. Do something guys.  (to be continued)