Whirlwind of Car, Glaciers, Hotels, Lakes, Waterfalls, Mountains, Sounds, and Everything Else in Between
9/18-9/21
Franz-Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier - 9/18
We got up early, ate breakfast, and drove to Franz-Josef. We ate our packed lunch in the car and then began our hike on the Robert’s Point Track. As far as the hikes we’ve done so far, it was kind of a combination between the Likeke Falls one in Hawaii and the Grinnell Glacier one in Glacier National Park. It was like we went to South America, somewhere in the Andes, Peru or Chile. We were in the middle of a temperate rainforest and it was very damp everywhere. Everything was green, with a little bit of brown. There was a lot of moss and ferns all over the trunks of trees and on the forest floor. I can definitely understand why ferns are such a symbol of New Zealand: they are everywhere. The first part of the hike was actually a hike; mostly gravel with a bit of an uphill climb. There were a lot of suspension bridges, waterfalls, creeks to cross, and climbing to do. About a third of the way through, it became very uphill. It was very rocky and a little slick. It was really fun, even though we had to climb with our hands and feet sometimes. I could tell that Mom and Dad were a little nervous about us going up slick rocks, especially Jackson, but it was worth it. By the end, we kept thinking “We’ll be there any minute now… any minute now...any minute now!?!” We didn’t end up making it to the top of the viewpoint, but the hike was very enjoyable. It was okay though because we could see the glacier from the parking lot and it was really beautiful.
It was really sad too though; the glacier used to fill the valley and now it’s just sitting in a crevice. I can’t believe that some people don’t believe in global warming. There is so much evidence staring us in the face. Global warming, endangered animals, it’s all so depressing. It’s such a big problem and it’s rooted in people’s heads. The movie 2040 comes to mind. It’s a realistic outlook on what the world would look like in that year if we only implemented what countermeasures already exist. We already have the plans, the technology; we just choose not to use it. It seems like such a big problem and it seems so hopeless. My dad says that our generation is the one that will fix it, that will restore what previous generations have done. Of course, there’s no pressure; being the one that must fix it could also mess it up even worse. I don’t want to finish this crazy rant with a cheesy “But we have to try.”, but it’s true. If we don’t, what are we leaving for future generations? I’m sorry for that cliche rant/speech, but I had to say something after mentioning the glacier shrinking.
We had to turn around because it was getting late and we wanted to be off the trail by dark. It was not a moment too soon; we got back to the car at four minutes to six. Going down took a much longer time. It had been drizzling most of the way up, so all the rocks were pretty slick and it was muddy too. We had to really take our time going down the steep parts and use our hands as well. Once we got back to the car, we drove to our hotel in the small town of Fox Glacier near Fox Glacier. We got dressed and walked into the little downtown for dinner. I got delicious creamy potato soup. We got pavlova, our first in New Zealand. Both New Zealanders and Australians claim to have invented it. I put stock in the New Zealanders’ story; they have much more delicious food that they’ve come up with and have a better culinary history. For those of you who don’t know, pavlova is a meringue-like, creamy dessert that’s usually served with lots of fresh fruit. It was the perfect size and not too sweet.
Lake Matheson, Mounts Cook and Tasman, and Fantail Falls - 9/19
After sleeping in a little, we got up, got ready, and drove out of Fox Glacier to Lake Matheson. We stopped at an amazing lookout on the way to the lake and breakfast. We looked back towards town and had a great view of a bunch of mountains. We could see Mount Cook and Mount Tasman in particular. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand and Mount Tasman is the second. They are right next to each other and were really breathtaking from a distance, in combination with all the other mountains around it. We could also see Fox Glacier (which was bigger than Franz-Josef) beneath Mount Douglas.
We stopped for breakfast at Lake Matheson Cafe. I got the smoked salmon Benedict, which was a-mazing. It had an interesting combination of pesto with the bagel, egg, and salmon. I had a really interesting infusion of strawberry-kiwi tea, which I had never seen before. It was really good, but tasted almost like hot juice instead of tea. We walked back to Lake Matheson and the Reflection Island lookout. It was a mesmerizing picture: the mountains, the trees on the other side of the lake, and the flawless reflection. The only difference between the reflection and the actual picture was that the sky was lighter than the reflection in the lake. It was a much longer walk than expected, but it was definitely worth it. The forest around the trail was like the one at Franz-Josef, a temperate rainforest. That’s how it looked from on the trail, but on the other side of the lake, it looked exactly like some landscapes in America, with the snow-capped mountains, the pine trees, and the lake. The only exception was that I had never seen anything like the reflection in Lake Matheson. It was unbelievable, completely undisturbed by any ripples or waves.
We walked back to the car and drove back to Wanaka. About halfway home, we stopped at Fantail Falls. It was the shortest walk ever and we came out of the forest to see this protected little valley with a blue, blue creek and a petite little waterfall surrounded completely by pine trees. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as glaciers or huge mountains, but it was just such a perfect picture that it really stuck with me. The water was a deep turquoise and the waterfall made a quiet rushing noise in the background. Once we got back to the house, I changed for field hockey at the rec center. As usual, it was really nice to get to practice with other people again. We had dinner at the house, packed, and went to bed early in preparation for another early morning.
Cardrona and Te Anau: 9/20
In the morning, we finished packing up the car. We drove to Cardrona Resort for skiing and reached the exit road in about half an hour. The road to the top of the mountain was 12 kilometers, but it took so long because it was A) twisty-turny, B) uphill, C) gravel, and D) had a very steep drop-off at the edge of the road. It was very bumpy and my nerves were half on-edge the entire way up. At the top, we checked in, got our lift passes, and went to rentals. We got our helmets, boots, skis, and poles.
Before I describe the skiing, I want to get one thing straight: I am no amazing skier. I am completely average and we only go skiing once or twice a year. I can do greens and blues pretty easily and have been wanting to try a black for several years, but I can’t find someone to do one with me. We did a few Greens to warm up and then did Blues the rest of the time. There were amazing views off both sides of the mountains. You could see Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown off one side and the entire valley with the town of Cardrona off the other side. I had some close calls where I almost wiped out on easy slopes when I was caught off-guard staring at the view. We got lunch at the cafeteria at the bottom of the slopes: butter chicken pie and rainbow salad.
After lunch, we went to the other side of the mountain and did some more Blue slopes (Shaun’s Way, Highway 81, The Longest Journey, and some others). I took a little detour over some moguls on one of the Blues twice and it was a new challenge. It gave me a little practice with turns and it was really fun. Dad went inside to take a break (his ankles were sore) and Jackson said he wanted to try the miniature terrain park. I did the first obstacle (a little drop-off after a flat sheet) and skipped the rails. I did the last little jump (very slowly) and landed okay. Jackson skipped all the obstacles and Mom said we could only do it again if he tried one of the tricks. I did the first thing again and decided to try one of the rails because I knew if I fell, I’d just get back up. Here’s where my only average skiing comes in. I made it almost over the rail, but then my ski slipped. I wiped out, which I knew would not feel great the next day and was my first real fall of the day, so it was rather disappointing, but that doesn’t mean I won’t maybe try another terrain park next time.
We returned our rentals and drove down the mountain. We stopped in the town of Cardrona for snacks and drove to Te Anau. We got settled in our hotel, got dressed, and walked to dinner at the Fat Duck. I got cheesy risotto balls and Jackson and I split creme brulee. Back at the hotel, we got ready and got in bed. I’d been thinking a lot and that night, I decided that my biggest character flaw is that I am not a brave person. I’m kind of shy with people that I don’t know, I can’t get up the nerve to go on big roller-coasters, and I could barely make myself try the miniature terrain park.
Mirror Lakes, Pop’s View, The Chasm, and Milford Sound - 9/21
We got up early in the morning to drive to Milford Sound for our 12:45 cruise. We got breakfast at the Sandfly Café, where I got a banana-berry smoothie and a mini sausage roll. We stopped at three places on the way to Milford Sound (refer to title). The Mirror Lakes were like miniatures of Lake Matheson. They’re tarns (mountain lakes) and almost perfectly reflected the Earl Mountains. It was very quiet and peaceful, with a few ducks, lakes, mountains, and a flat plain of reeds in between the two. Luckily, we left right as a tour bus pulled up and unloaded its cargo of tourists. At Pop’s View, we had an amazing look over the Hollyford Valley at an unknown mountain. The mountain looked like a professional picture: the clouds surrounded the peak, but the sun was shining so bright on the very top of the mountain and the snow and ice reflected it beautifully. Our last stop was the Chasm, that the Cleddau River ran through. There were some picturesque holes in the walls of the gorge with ferns growing in them. The water spun the pebbles around so much and so fast that it ground holes into the walls. It was so far down from the suspension bridge that you could barely hear the rush of the water, but the shadows and light on the water were gorgeous. We got to Milford Sound about an hour early and sat in the lobby, doing random things until the cruise started. It was breathtaking, close to too much so for words. There were beautiful mountains in different shapes, covered in ferns, moss, and trees that somehow found purchase on the steep stone slopes. The sides of the mountains were many different colors: silver or brown in most places, but there were many deposits of copper, oxidized or not. The splashes of bright bronzy brown or copper or moss green added to the whole experience, especially when we got close to the walls. The cliffs and mountains went deep and steeply into the waters of the Sound, so we could get almost a couple of yards away from the cliffs several times. It was awe-inspiring, with waterfalls, trees, clouds, and mountains (I could continue that list for a long time). It was almost too unreal; I couldn’t completely grasp the scale of the whole thing. The second time that the captain took us close to the shore, it was near Pixie and Fairy Falls. We got close to the Fairy Falls and without warning, he took us underneath the falls. We were on the front of the boat and Mom and Dad joined the stampede to get inside. I just stood to the side of the boat and enjoyed the show and I didn’t even get that wet. There were more beautiful mountains on the way to the entrance to the Sound from the Tasman Sea, in between New Zealand and Australia. The water was very calm out in the sea, from what I could tell, but I’ve heard about how rough the waters can get in that channel. We got to see a penguin in the water (no one could tell what kind) and a bunch of kekenos on a rock. They were just relaxing, most of them asleep. On the way back to the dock, we went under one big waterfall, but the captain gave us a warning beforehand. Some people intentionally stood underneath and got completely soaked; it looked like they had just jumped in the sound, but I doubt it was as cold. We got snacks at the Visitor’s Center and drove through Te Anau on our way to Queenstown. We got dinner at FergBurger, with a venison burger for me and Mom. We drove home to Wanaka and got in bed as soon as possible.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
