West Coast National Parks

Easter Sunday: High cloud greeted us this morning as we met up with Fiordland Cruises outside the holiday camp in Te Anau where we had been staying, these guys were going to take us on an overnight cruise into Doubtful Sound.

First part was a 20km bus ride to Manapouri where we hopped onto a small speed boat to take us across the lake to West Arm. Unlike the more popular Milford Sound which can be reached by road Doubtful Sound is more remote and can only be accessed by boat.

The skies had cleared leaving an expanse of blue sky with white fluffy clouds sitting a top of the steep green, forest coated mountains that surround Lake Manapouri. We sped across the lake, gauged out by glaciers Lake Manapouri is the second deepest in New Zealand and surrounded by the Fiordland National Park.

After an hour we reached West Arm, here we met Dave our skipper and bus driver who took us over the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound. The pass is the most expensive road in New Zealand having cost over $5.5million to construct. It winds it way up and over the mountains through native beech and podocarp forest, the views for various lookouts were stunning but the best had to be that overlooking Doubtful Sound itself. The deep blue waters of the sound cut a path through vibrant green mountainsides.

Soon we arrived in Deep Cove at the start of Doubtful Sound and boarded M.V Waverly our transport and home for the trip through the sound. After a quick briefing we started out into the sound, we made our way straight up onto the the bow of the boat, watching the magnificent scenery of the sound unfold and scanning for its special wildlife. Doubtful Sound is stunning, steep forested mountains and dark, sheer cliffs of rock, shoot sky high from the still waters of the sound. Silver ribbons of waterfalls cascade down the rock faces, splashing into the water below. Slips of gravel and bare rock told of previous avalanches and rock falls caused by earthquake activity. Longer and more remote than Milford Sound it felt like we were the only ones there....

After a short while Lee suddenly piped up saying "Dolphins!" Sure enough as we headed over small groups of Fiordland Bottlenose Dolphin started surfacing a little way off the boat! As we got closer two dolphins breached and a youngster spy hopped, then they appeared on the bow! two or three at a time they cruised just below the water, turning right over to take a good look at us! they were so close we could hear them squealing and whistling below us. At one point 7 dolphins cruised in a line across the bow and a few more surfaced nearby, making a total of about 10 dolphins =)

All too soon the dolphins moved off continuing with their daily routine having checked us out and we continued down the sound heading for the mouth.
We remained up on the bow scanning for more wildlife and enjoying the views, soon a black blob on the water caught our attention. As the boat moved closer we could see it was a Fiordland Crested Penguin! Highly surprised we told Dave who edged in closer for a better look. These penguins do nest, feed and moult in the sound but we are out of those seasons, these guys should all be out at sea stocking up. Closer examination revealed why this guy was still in the Sound, he had a broken wing. Poor thing would probably not survive long as it could not swim and therefore feed but there was little we could do other than hope the wing heals sufficiently to allow him once more to dive beneath the waves.

We now moved into Crooked Arm, an offshoot of the sound, the walls of forest and rock closed in a little more and the water became black rather than dark blue. Hugging the coastline we looked up, craning our necks to see the tops of the mountains above. We reached a beautiful, rushing waterfall that, as we moved directly away, gave the optical illusion we were moving upwards!

Back out of the Arm and we made our way to the mouth of the sound, as we got closer the wind got colder, small waves started splashing over the bow, then the boat started to roll a little more. Not wanting to push it anymore Dave steered the boat across the mouth of the sound to the other side and we headed back in.

As we made our way back along the wall of the Sound we stopped a couple of times and did a little fishing, we are getting pretty good at it now and managed to catch 6 Blue Cod and 2 Scarlett Wrasse between us!

With the evening drawing in, the sun dipped behind the horizon touching wispy clouds above gold and then pink. We moored up for the night in Snug Cove, at the end of First Arm. Wendy, our crew member, cooked a wonderful meal of lamb, fresh fish and vegetables and topped it off with delicious apple and apricot danish with fresh cream and custard...yummy...

Not a light in the sky the Sound was pitch black, wonderfully quiet and very very cold. Not that we were worried all snug in our cosy bunks...

Easter Monday: 7am and the engine started, silently we slipped out of First Arm and made our way back down Doubtful Sound. A beautifully clear crisp morning welcomed us on deck, but a cold wind kept us on the rear deck this morning. A few small, wispy clouds hung low over the Sound, turning pink in the morning sun. Close to Deep Cove and we stopped for a while, the sun burst over the mountain top spilling golden light over the silky black waters of the Sound. The sound of bird song filtered through the forest, a seal popped its head up and then disappeared amongst the ripples. Our time in Doubtful Sound was coming to an end and we savoured the last few moment on board our peaceful boat.

Once back at Deep Cove we thanked Wendy and then Dave took us back over the Wilmot Pass to West Arm and our waiting water taxi. The clear blue skies continued to stretch across Lake Manapouri as we whizzed back.

Back in Te Anau we collected our car and then drove half way up the Milford Road, a wonderful, scenic road through the Eglington Valley towards Milford Sound. We stopped and went for a short walk through a beautiful beech forest, enjoying the golden sunlight that filtered through the branches, highlighting the soft green moss that carpeted the forest floor.

This evening we camped at a beautifully secluded camp surrounded by towering mountains. A wonderful spread of stars replaced the endless blue sky once the sun had disappeared.

Tuesday: The tops of the mountains were covered with grey misty clouds, overcast and rather dull we did not let the weather dampen our spirits and continued up the valley towards Milford Sound. A short distance later and the road started to climb over the mountains, low cloud swirled over the trees that covered the slopes and it started to rain. Still we climbed.

Soon we reached the Homer Tunnel, a 1.2km steep descent through the mountains to Milford Sound. Still it rained. On the other side the rain eased as we continued our descent down the steep valley to the Sound. We stopped near the bottom at the Chasm, a walkway led us through tall beech trees draped with ferns, mosses and lichens, and then over a series of waterfalls. Below us the water had sculptured smooth holes and plunge pools into which icy blue water raced in a wave of white water.

Further on and we arrived in Milford Sound, although much more accessible and touristy than Doubtful Sound this took nothing away from the stunning beauty of Milford Sound. Tall, sheer walls of rock rose up from the grey blue waters, curtains of misty rain and clouds drifted through the Sound, partly obscuring the peaks and lending an air of mystery to the waters beyond.

As the rain came in once more we headed back up the valley and through the Homer Tunnel, stopping on the other side to search a small nature walk for Rock Wren, another small endemic bird of New Zealand. Ribbons of water cascaded down the sheer cliffs around the tunnel as we spent two hours through showers of icy wind and rain, searching the tumble of rocks for this small bird. It was not to be, cold and more than a little damp we gave in and drove back down the valley to Te Anau.

From here we drove to Queenstown, nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by jagged mountain ranges including the famous Remarkables. We camped just outside the town itself on the shores of the lake.

Wednesday: Grey, rainy clouds drifted low over the mountains and lake, as we drove up the road to Glenorchy the mountains turned through shades of grey, bluey purple as clouds of rain drifted down the valleys.

After a little investigative work in Glenorchy we continued up a gravel road to Lake Sylvan nestled in the Mount Aspring National Park. Wrapped up against the wind and rain we went for a walk through the ancient beech forest to the shores of the lake and then round it. We squelched through muddy puddles and scrambled over slippery, fallen tree trunks as we searched for that elusive little bird, the Yellowhead....

After nearly two hours of walking we were almost at the point of turning round and heading for the car when we heard a noisy group of birds up ahead. Slowly we followed craning our necks as we searched the canopy, through our binoculars we caught sight of a bird....a Tomtit =/ almost ready to call it a day, suddenly Lee quietly calls out "Yellowhead" scanning, there high in the trees was a beautiful bird with a brown back and bright yellow head and chest! After nearly 14 hours of searching in various locations we had finally found the Yellowhead!!

We watched as 2-3 Yellowheads fed on the tree trunks, pulling moss away with their feet and then pecking at the food beneath. They were feeding and moving with a larger flock of birds that also including Brown Creeper and Yellow-crowned Parakeet.

Soon the group moved off and we headed back for our car at a quick pace.

Patchy showers continued to move down the valley, leaving behind blue sky and wispy clouds. We stopped briefly in Queenstown before driving on over the tussock covered Crown Mountain Range to Wanaka.

Thursday: A relaxing morning, showering, washing and sorting the car, making the most of a sunny morning before driving north from Wanaka towards Haast.

Driving between mountain ranges we caught our first glimpses of snow capped mountains, glinting in the sun against a bright blue sky. The road snaked through the valleys, Mount Aspring National Park to our left and too the right various conservation areas in the foothills before the Southern Alps.
We stopped at a beautiful waterfall cascading through the forest, then at a torrent of white water rushing below the road, and finally at the high falls of Thunder Creek.

Arriving in Haast on the West Coast and the clouds had filled the sky, coming in low over the mountain tops. We pushed on following the coastal road through tall podocarp and beech forests to Fox Glacier. Even in the dimming light we could appreciate the beauty of the glacier so close by, a swathe of white and blue ice cutting down between dark rock valleys, behind the snow capped peaks of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook.

We camped at Gillespies Beach, 20km from the town as the rain started to pour down.

Friday: The rain cleared during the night, leaving behind a clear star filled night that turned into a clear, morning, although high cloud still clung to the mountains behind us. We took a short walk on the wind swept Gillespies Beach, huge, white waves crashed onto the pebbly beach that was dotted with massive tree roots and trunks.

Then having eaten and sorted our tent we drove back to Fox Glacier Town admiring the stunning panoramic of mountains and glaciers as we went.
We then booked ourselves onto a scenic flight in a helicopter!

With the arrival of two other passengers we were taken a short way out of town to the helipad where we waited the arrival of our chopper. Once ready we made our wave over, instinctively ducking as the roater blades swirled over head. Neither of us had ever been in a helicopter and it was exhilarating. We watched as the ground fell away and we gained height, houses, cars and people becoming minuscule below us. The helicopter swayed and bounced a bit in the wind as we headed over and then up the Franz Josef Glacier. A river of ice cascaded down the valley, towering blocks of ice and deep blue crevasses transversed the surface. At the top the peaks were all covered in snow and ice, dazzling white in the sunshine. We crossed over the mountains, jagged peaks of dark rock rising up from the snow, circled and then landed at the head of the Fox Glacier! Here we were able to get out and walk onto the ice and snow!!! Low cloud had swirled in, blocking the view of the surrounding peaks, locking us into our own magical world of white snow. We took a few photos and threw a few snowballs (naturally!) and then it was back into the helicopter. Once last circle at the head of the glacier and then we were swooping down the Fox Glacier, peering out over masses of ice, it was an awesome sight.

In the blink of an eye we were back on the ground, breathless from our whirlwind tour of the glaciers.

Having seen it from above we now made our way to Fox Glacier from the ground, driving up the road that wound through the glacial river valley and then continuing on foot as the glacier loomed ahead of us! We couldn't get right up to the terminal face as it is really unstable and roped off to the public, a point proven as while we were there a huge chunk of ice fell away crashing to the ground with a loud Boom! The face of the glacier was a mix of white and blue ice with patches of dark gravel, it towered high above us with jagged peaks of ice soaring into the sky. It was an impressive display of nature.

The milky white waters of the Fox River ran through the flat, pebbled river bed, piles of moraine and dead ice lay at the edges and steep, forested slopes along with sheer, rock walls rose up on either side - the marks of the glacier.

A final look at the glacier from the valley side, we then drove to Lake Matheson, a mirror lake which on a fine day reflects the peaks of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook in its waters. We walked round, enjoying the play of colours on the peaks, which were unfortunately covered by high cloud, as the sun set behind us.

Saturday: We got up ridiculously early and returned to Lake Matheson to watch the sunrise over the mountain peaks... and was it worth it....you bet it was!

A perfectly clear, still morning, the snow covered peaks of Mt Cook and Tasman reflecting in the calm waters of the lake, the light continually changing...from dark blues and purples, to bright bluey greens, the snow touched pink and then golden in the rays of the rising sun...a beautiful scene, a perfect memory...