NEW ZEALAND

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SOUTH ISLAND

Christchurch

Cathedral in Christchurch, one of the major tourist centers of the South Island

Mt. Cook

The road to Mt. Cook National Park leads along the 25km-long and beautiful lake Pukaki.

Glaciers bring rocks and murky water down to the valley below Mt. Cook.

Retreating glacier leaves clear marks on the valley floor.

Lindis Pass

On the way from Mt. Cook to Queenstown, we crossed Lindis Pass and stopped below the pass for lunch. We liked the surrounding hills and decided to go for a short walk. We climbed up a ridge few kilometers away and were surprised by the beautiful and unexpected views over mountain peaks in a distance. 

Queenstown

Queenstown is one of the most touristy places in New Zealand. It is also one of the most beautifully located towns, spreading along a lake shore with a backdrop of The Remarkables mountains.

Te Anau

We reached Te Anau, the entry point to the Fiordlands National Park, during a heavy downpour. However, the clouds disappeared by late afternoon and only a few patches of fog remained above the lake.

We found a little bird ZOO at a park by the lake, where injured birds that could not survive in the wild are being nursed. Kea, the bird on this picture, is a mountain parrot that does not fly. It feeds on insects and berries, but unfortunately also likes the tasty rubber on windshield wipers.

Fly agarics grow in New Zealand. 
But one can also find edible and tasty mushrooms there. We had an opportunity to taste those later during our trip.

From Te Anau to Milford Sound

Green hill covered with sheep is one of the most typical sceneries of New Zealand. That should be of no surprise, since there are 48 million of sheep on New Zealand - 12 times more than people.

Rainforests of the west coast of New Zealand are well fed by regular heavy precipitation.

However, only few hundred meters higher the rain forests disappear and alpine meadows and rocky cliffs emerge. This is a view from the Key Summit, which can be found at the beginning of Routeburn Trek, one of the nine Great Walks of New Zealand. 

The New Zealand flora and fauna contains many endogenous species. 

Another beautiful view form the Key Summit.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is the most famous fiord in New Zealand. We took a 3h cruise through this deeply cut valley all the way to the ocean (22km) and back.

It is amazing that trees manage to grow on these very steep rocks, having only very little soil for nutrition and support.

This 150m high waterfall is the tallest waterfall in Milford Sound. Heavy and regular precipitation (5m of rain per year!) provides constant water supply for the beautiful and countless waterfalls in this fiord. We got lucky - the day of our visit was a beautiful, sunny day.

Sea lions also enjoyed the sunny weather and decided to warm up on a rock.

Yet another beautiful waterfall

This is a view looking towards the mouth of Milford Sound, as seen from ships approaching from the sea. The tallest mountain, Mitre Peak, rises 1695m above the water level.

Return trip from Milford Sound back to Te Anau

Leaving Milford Sound, one climbs steeply up a massive rock where a tunnel cuts across to the other side. The view from the tunnel back to the valley offers this view.

We rented a car and camped all but one night while in New Zealand. We remained loyal to the Czech brand of tents (and other outdoor equipment), Gemma. When we had to say good buy to our first Gemma tent after 11 years of service, we tested several other brands, but in the end returned to our Czech favorite.

Morning view of a mountain ridge lit by the rising sun

Kepler trek

Kepler Trek is one of the nine Great Walks. As with other treks in New Zealand, trampers walk from a hut to a hut here, but due to the high popularity of the Great Walks, reservations for the huts have to be made several months in advance. We did not have reservations, but decided to go at least for a day trip at the beginning of the trek.

Kepler trek starts nearby Te Anau, in a rainforest.

After heavy rains, part of a boardwalk built on the side of a steep cliff was washed away.

Once we ascended through the forest, we emerged in an alpine area.

As we climbed higher and higher, more and more mountain ridges were appearing in the distance.

We kept hiking until we reached the peak of Luxmore Mountain - the highest point of the entire trek. Normally trampers reach this point in the middle of their second day, but we had to do it up and down in one day. The views were truly amazing from there, both down to the valley of Te Anau and to the mountains of the Fiordlands Park. 

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