mrsjono

Waitangi long weekend in Canterbury. I haven't booked any accommodation for our stay tonight as I waited to see how the weather would turn out for today. Finally got through the Rakaia Gorge camp ground number in the morning while I was at work. The man on the line was grumpy (I think I woke him up from his sleep) and said his office closes at 8.30pm. I tried Methven camp ground and was relieved the owner was happy to let us stay despite our late arrival. Had shower in the office at around 3pm and headed straight to airport after work for our 6.10pm Jetstar flight to Christchurch. Checked in two bags with combined weight of 15kg without problem. Arrived in Christchurch at 7pm sharp. Picked up rental car at Sudima - it was a 2013 red Toyota Corolla hatchback. Charged to Methven, racing against the sun set. It was around 9pm when we got to the campsite and put up our tent before it got completely dark. There weren't many guests; it was quiet and there was no wind. 

This was 6.50am the next morning, packed up and ready to go!

Breakfast at Sandfly Cafe was good; we have limited access to electricity when camping so it's a luxury to be able to each have a power point to charge our devices while we're out and about. The coffee was still as good as I remembered it when I visited this cafe in 2013. I was just saying we can take "customers" today as we didn't have our foldable mattress in the back seat and a hitchhiker really appeared shortly after we set off from Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park. We stopped without hesitation and picked up Nicole, a biostatistician from Sydney. She had been waiting awhile for a ride and this was her first time hitchhiking. She had just finished the Dusky Track (which she said was very muddy) and was going to run the Caples Track for the first time. Our initial plan was to sightsee along SH94 until we get to the end of the road at Milford Sound but decided to send Nicole all the way to The Divide and begin our sightseeing from Milford Sound instead. During the one hour journey, she shared many stories with us including her recent attachment to a Scottish guy and her plans to move to Christchurch. After dropping her off at The Divide, we continued on to Milford Sound where there were bus loads of tourists and it was difficult to find parking. 

 

View from the easy Milford Sound Lookout track

I'm not sure if I would ever pay for a cruise here as I would like to remember the Fiordland based on my Milford Track experience, not a commericalised cruise with tons of tourists around.

A woman appeared to have made her way into the waters from the foreshore walk

The Chasm

One of the two foot bridges along the easy Chasm walk where you get to peer down at water swirling down into a deep hole.

 

I suppose before the Homer Tunnel was built, people would have to walk the Milford Track in order to reach Milford Sound. 

Some photo opportunities before crossing the tunnel

I think this might be the Gertrude Valley Lookout

Lake Marian Falls (or rather cascades)

Passed by a massive patch of lupins 

Turns out there were quite a number of vehicles camping in the lupin bushes

 

Mirror Lakes looking rather pathetic on a cloudy day

Same for Eglinton Valley

Finally have a photo of my lantern lighting up our tent at night!