Queenstown
After Lake Wanaka I stayed 6 days in Queenstown. It is by far the most beautiful town I have been in so far with its picturesque location on the lake, surrounded by mountains with the atmoshere of a ski resort town. I could easily have spent more time there but there is still much to see in New Zealand and I have only four weeks left. It must be a very nice place to live! Chiropractor Neki Patel was so kind as to give me an adjust plus I treated myself to a massage with his physio therapist. It was much needed after four months of traveling and sleeping in hostel beds.
From Queenstown I made a day trip to Milford Sound, Fiordlands National Park. It was impressive but I didn't find it as spectacular as the tourist office would like to make it. Maybe because it is similar to what I have seen in Norway. Maybe because it was chilly and overcast. Maybe just because I have seen so much spectacular nature lately that I am slightly saturated.
Horse trekking in Glenorchy nearby Queenstown. Now that was spectacular - and impressive in spite of me riding my whole life! Three hours along dry riverbeds and crossing rivers, cantering in the bush in countryside where Lord of The Rings was filmed. It was like being in another world.
Dunedin Railway Station
Dunedin was next stop after Queenstown. Located on the East Coast on the South Island it gets it share of wind and rain and it didn’t really feel like summer. But I met another traveler, Silke from Germany and together we enjoyed a hike up Mount Cargill as well as going to the movies and tasting wine in an Irish Pub, listening to live music and sharing stories from our travels, bitching about staying in noisy backpacker hostels and praising the beauty of this country as well as the very hospitable Kiwi's.
The morning after our fun night out on town we boarded the Magic Bus at 8 am more or less sober, heading inland again towards Lake Tekapo. On the way to our destination the bus stops at places worth seeing, like these huge, perfectly round Mouraki Boulders.
And then there is Mount Cook! With 3754 meters it is New Zealand’s highest mountain and the mountain Sir Edmund Hillary practiced before he was the first man to summit Mount Everest in 1954. The Mauri name for Mount Cook is Aoraki which means 'Cloud Piercer'.
Silke and I are hiking in this beautiful landscape. Weather wise it is extremely unpredictable. We started our hike up Hooker Valley at 11:30 in sunshine between glaciers and snow topped mountains. By 13:10 the clouds were moving in fast, Mount Cook was not visible anymore and we walked back in gusty winds, rain and gray all around us. Nontheless we had a great time!
Hooker Valley Shelter, Mount Cook
Looking great!
ReplyDelete