Milford Sound

January 11^th

Our activity of the day was to take a two-hour cruise on Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord, not a sound and I can’t remember the difference.) This activity would require 2 hours of driving in the morning and then 5 hours in the evening to our next hotel. The first drive was spectacular as we got higher in elevation. We drove through and between and amongst the dramatic mountains that they have here. I was told at some point that this country’s landscape is really young and that is why the mountains are so dramatic and craggy and sharply peaked—they haven’t worn down and softened yet.

There is a tunnel that goes through one of the mountains that is very primitive—nothing like the Eisenhower. It is a cement-lined, upside-down horseshoe-shaped hole in the side of the mountain with one lane inside and from our side, it went straight downhill. Before you could go in, you had to wait for the light to turn green which can take up to 15 minutes. Once it turns green, one direction of traffic goes through. The ceiling was dripping and the sporadic floodlights did little to illuminate the way. Then add in the downhill slope and it makes you feel a lot like Alice in Wonderland.

The cruise was gorgeous and we really enjoyed ourselves for about the first half. The second hour got a little tedious as those sorts of tours often do for me. The scenery was truly stunning as the waters were turquoise, the mountains high shooting right up out of the water and covered in trees. We learned that there is no soil on those rock faces and that the trees are rooted in lichen that grows on the rocks. The trees’ roots are all on the surface of the rock wall and they are intertwined with each other’s roots so when the rains get strong enough and one tree lets go, it starts a tree avalanche all the way down the side of the mountain since they are all connected. The rains in this area are impressive too as it rains 10 meters a day.

Oh, that reminds me, when we were on the boat on Lake Te Anau, they said that on one side of this lake, where the town was and the landscape was mostly brown with some spots of green scrub bushes, that it rains about 1 meter a year. On the opposite side of this skinny lake, only maybe a kilometer across, it rains 3 meters a year and that landscape is very lush and dense with trees. The reason for this just has to do with the climatology which means about as much to me as having no reason at all. But I thought it was interesting that you could turn your head left and see thick forests and turn right to see parched, sun-burnt hills.

Anyway, so with that perspective, in the Milford Sound, 10 meters a year of rain means that it is raining most days. We happened to be there on a beautiful sunny day so we enjoyed the fruits of the rain without having to suffer through it. I was happy about that.

The most exciting part of this cruise was when the boat’s captain drove the boat right up and almost underneath this towering waterfall. The mountain it was sliding down was so steep that the water wasn’t touching any surface area by the time it was halfway down—it was just spraying down as out of a unruly faucet. The boat people suggested we put on one of their complimentary rain coats which we did. And good thing because everything not covered with the rain jacket—my hair, Mark’s head, our legs—were soaked through and through. The bow of the boat was crowded with rain-jacket clad tourists to start, including our kids. But within seconds of sneaking up to the edge of this waterfall, all the spray sent 80% of the folks running for cover, including our kids. They were safely inside while Mark and I and a few others stayed out to bask in the effects of one of nature’s powerful tricks. It was exhilarating to feel the force of the water and mist thundering down from hundreds of feet above our heads. That experience made the cruise.

After the boat ride, we all went to the bathroom before we started off on our five hour drive. (You may think I’m getting too detailed with these blogs but this beginning is leading somewhere so stay with me.) Jordan and I went into the women’s bathroom where we went through our usual routine—she asks me if the toilet flushes automatically (because it scares her when it flushes before she’s gotten off the seat) and I tell her that you have to flush it yourself and she turns around to check and make sure I’m not lying to her. Then she asks which button you push for half flush and which button is for full flush and I told her that on this particular toilet, there is only one button. She saw a word written above the toilet and she asked if it said “full.” I said no. I noticed her really staring at each letter so I asked if she knew what it said. And she said, “Flush?” Yes! She read her first word!!! Sure there was a little context but that was real-life reading!!! We were both so excited! There was another word on the little trash receptacle in the stall so I asked her if she knew what that word was. She stared at it with the same intensity, looked at me after a few seconds and said, “push?” Yes!!! She read two words!!! I couldn’t believe it. It is fascinating to watch when kids’ brains become capable one moment of something they were incapable of the moment before and reading is one of those things for most kids. It is just as exciting to me as when they take their first steps or say their first word. We came roaring out of the bathroom to share that with Gabe and Mark and she was so proud! Because we aren’t pushing it, we haven’t asked again for her to read anything but it sure was fun to see a little glimpse of what’s to come for her.

Okay, enough about the bathroom. We drove to our next hotel room which was in Queenstown and it ended up only taking four hours with a break for dinner in the middle. We were a little overwhelmed by our first impression of Q’town as we drove right into the middle of it during dinner time on a Friday night. It was crawling with people. This city really is like we’d heard—the Aspen of New Zealand. It is known as the adventure capital of the world and it attracts all the young people out looking for the rush of their lives. It also attracts other various and sundry tourists as the city is cradled by green hills and bordered in the forefront by a vast lake and in the background by the craggy Remarkables mountain range.

There is a busy night life here and the daytime activities are infinite. We’ve heard more American accents here than everywhere else in NZ put together. It may be that Americans need a bit more stimulation than the rest of NZ offers and so we come to Q’town. I don’t think I’d like to live here though when I see pictures of what it looks like in the winter when people flock here to ski, I can imagine coming back.

As we walked in to what will be our most spacious accommodations for this entire trip, we gasped. We have a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-story apartment. Ahhhhh…space.