TE ANAU AND DOUBTFUL SOUND

I had to get up very early to get the bus at ten to seven in the morning in the pouring rain to go to Te Anau. Lake Te Anau is New Zealand's second largest lake at 417m deep,53km long and 10km across, at its widest point. It was gouged out by a huge glacier and has several arms that penetrate into the mountainous forest shores.
I got there about nine in the morning planning to have a very leisurely morning. But as I made myself a coffee in the kitchen I got talking to a girl from Denmark called Heidi and she asked me if I wanted to go on a trek with her. So off we went along the Kepler Track.

It is one of the great walks of New Zealand and heads off into the Kepler mountains. The whole walk can be done over four days, staying in special huts along the way. But we just did two hours into the walk and two hours back again. We were joined on the return section by an Iranian girl called Mila. She studies international peace and conflict, Heidi studies journalism and I am a journalist. We had some very stimulating discussions about world peace and the impact journalism has on situations. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We then met up later and went out for a meal. So much for my doing nothing for a day!!

The next day I joined a trip to Doubtful Sound. (Most people opt for the Milford Sound tour but Doubtful Sound is larger and gets less tourists. Captain Cook named it Doubtful because when he saw the sound he was doubtful he would be able to sail out of it if he proceeded further.) It is a silent wilderness that has only become accessible since the Wilmott pass was built in 1959. A place of towering peaks and bush clad islands. It is an incredibly beautiful fiord.
First I was picked up by bus from the hostel to join a boat to cruise the crystal clear waters of Lake Manapouri. There were only two other people on the bus with me,Jason and Stephanie, an English couple who live in Winchester.There were only about thirty of us who boarded the boat for a lovely cruise on the lake.




After an hour on the lake we boarded a bus to be driven over the Wilmot pass. We stopped along the way to experience some of Fiordlands most dense rainforest and to view Doubtful Sound glistening below.
When we got to Deep Cove we transferred to a catamaran for a three hour cruise which took in most of the stunning scenery of Doubtful Sound. I was so excited when we saw some bottlenose dolphins (I nearly dropped my camera in the water I was squeeling so much!!) A really large one was right at the edge of the boat. And there were lots of them in the distance playing and just throwing themselves into the air,it was lovely to see. At one point the captain shut the engines off and asked everyone not to take photos or walk around so that we could all just sit and absorbe the silence and beauty of our surroundings. It was a fabulous experience that I will always remember.It was so beautiful and peaceful.




When we got back to shore we were driven in the coach 2km underground to see Manapouri underground power station machine hall. It was not as boring as it sounds!

It is a major supplier of electricity in New Zealand. A tunnel was dug through the mountain from Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound and the massive flow of water from the lake to sound now drives the power stations turbines to generate the electricity.

It was a fantastic day and when we got back I went out for a chinese meal with Jason and Stephanie who were staying in a campervan near the youth hostel. They were moving on the next day, but I stayed on in Te Anau determined to have a day doing nothing!!! But I plan to meet up with them again in Queenstown.

WANAKA AND QUEENSTOWN

21st of June was the first anniversary of the death of my brother Jonathan from Lung Cancer. Here it is the shortest day and in England it will be the longest day. I woke up with a heavy heart but did not want to be sad. So Rachel and I took the hire car to Queenstown. It is an hour and a halfs drive from Wanaka. Again we passed some stunning scenery. When we got there we wandered around one end of the lake and there was a little church so I popped in to say a prayer for Jonathan. I really missed the rest of my family so much and felt so far away for the first time. But later in the day there was an email from my mother to all of us and it made me feel a lot closer to everyone. It really made me realise that family and friends are so important in life! I hope that Jonathan would be proud of what I am doing and what I have achieved in my trip so far.

There was a distinct buzz in Queenstown as they are preparing for their winter festival which starts at the end of the month. Many of the rich beautiful people were beginning to gather. For one second it made me hanker after the good life, but then I reflected on what I have enjoyed about this trip and it has to be the feeling of going back to basics and talking to people from all over the world, in all walks of life, and I dismissed the materialistic thoughts and headed back to Wanaka.

The next day I took the hire car to explore the surrounding areas of lake Wanaka.
I drove up as far as the start of the 4 wheel track to Treble Cone ski resort.
But then turned back because I would never have made it to the top in the hire car. I made my way back to the shores of Lake Wanaka where I sat and had a little cry as I thought about Jonathan and life in general and my work and how I feel I was treated by various people and how I would handle it so differently now. And how lucky I am to be enjoying this trip so much!
It was a particularly clear and beautiful afternoon and when I finished sitting there I felt so peaceful and focused on what I want from life.
That night Rachel and I went out for a meal to chill out before I left for Queenstown.
The next day I was up bright and breezy to catch the bus from Wanaka to Queenstown.
I was the only passenger so I got a very intensive commentary on the various vineyards and why Pinot noir is thriving in the region! And what areas were used in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. There are lots of advertisements for Lord of the Rings tours, but they would be lost on me because I have read the book, but I have not watched the films. Some people are arriving here in New Zealand and spending the whole day in the telly rooms at the hostels watching all three films back to back so that they can then go on the tour. I do now know why they do not just go out and enjoy the scenery for what it is, rather than wasting a day inside!!!!

I booked into the YHA on the edge of the lake Wakitupu in Queenstown and the view from the hostel was wonderful.

The remarkables mountain range and the Eyre mountains form a breathtaking backdrop to the town. I stayed in Queenstown for three days and I spent a lot of time walking around the lake and the park just soaking up the beauty and calm of the place and ignoring the commercial side of the place. I also took a ride up a hill on the gondola cable-car for some amazing views over the town.


And I explored the various laid back cafes and bars in the town before I left for Te Anau.