The timing worked out for today in meeting the shuttle that picked me up for the sunrise kayaking trip today (even though it didn't meet until 8) in
Milford Sound (though actually more of a fjord). Last night was New Zealand' Daylight Saving Time, so with the clocks being adjusted one hour back, I was able to get a bit more rest! Several of us rode down to the marina where we would change into our wet gear and bring the boats to the water. I had wanted to rent a single kayak for a solo trip, however they apparently were not available for general use, so eventually just signed into a tour, only to find that they only used tandems.
Fortunately my kayak mate was ok with just going along for the ride, so as long as we were withing sight of the group, we were fine. The trip ended up being a bit more fun than I expected since i was able to do more of my own thing, so I did not end of being disappointed by having to stay with a slow group. We covered just about 10 miles, so definitely were able to see a lot even though the area was fairly thick with clouds and a bit drizzly while we were paddling. Milford Sound is very well known and is an astounding location.
Mitre Peak literally rises more than a mile above sea level with the entire sound surrounded by huge walls. It was very difficult to determine any kind of distance due to the relative size of everything. What seemed to be a relatively sized waterfall only a couple of miles away was actually over four miles away and several hundred feet tall. When we were about to head in we cam across a large pod of dolphin swimming around with their young and were able to hang out quite a while and enjoy them. It was especially neat to just see them swimming so close to land in what was probably still dozens of meters of depth. We even saw several seals sunning themselves on the rocks. After a stop by Bowen Falls, we headed in.
Several folks were heading to Te Anau, so I was able to hitch a ride to the start of my next big hike, the Routeburn Track. On the way there we stopped by Homer Tunnel to wait for traffic (since it allowed only one-way access) to clear, so I was able to get a few pictures there and at another few stops along the way. Apparently every April 1st around 10 there is an annual nude run through the tunnel which I assume has to have seen a hasher once or twice. I told my guide, Horey, a bit about hashing during the trip and hope he'd check it out sometime. It wasn't long before we reached The Divide. I was back on my way long the trail soon after being dropped off.
I wasn't really able to figure a way to get my bag to Queenstown, so this time I had to carry absolutely everything I had, including the iPod, extra food, roadmaps, etc. I was able to do one excellent side trail up to Key Summit before heading to the hut just before dark. It was a pretty exhausting day, but extremely satisfactory. How many other times in my life could I finish one of the world's top ten hike, go kayaking with dolphins surrounded by 1000+ meter high mountains and cliffs, and then start a hike that same day on another of the world's top ten tracks?
The timing worked out for today in meeting the shuttle that picked me up for the sunrise kayaking trip today (even though it didn't meet until 8) in Milford Sound (though actually more of a fjord). Last night was New Zealand' Daylight Saving Time, so with the clocks being adjusted one hour back, I was able to get a bit more rest! Several of us rode down to the marina where we would change into our wet gear and bring the boats to the water. I had wanted to rent a single kayak for a solo trip, however they apparently were not available for general use, so eventually just signed into a tour, only to find that they only used tandems. 
Fortunately my kayak mate was ok with just going along for the ride, so as long as we were withing sight of the group, we were fine. The trip ended up being a bit more fun than I expected since i was able to do more of my own thing, so I did not end of being disappointed by having to stay with a slow group. We covered just about 10 miles, so definitely were able to see a lot even though the area was fairly thick with clouds and a bit drizzly while we were paddling. Milford Sound is very well known and is an astounding location. Mitre Peak literally rises more than a mile above sea level with the entire sound surrounded by huge walls. It was very difficult to determine any kind of distance due to the relative size of everything. What seemed to be a relatively sized waterfall only a couple of miles away was actually over four miles away and several hundred feet tall. When we were about to head in we cam across a large pod of dolphin swimming around with their young and were able to hang out quite a while and enjoy them. It was especially neat to just see them swimming so close to land in what was probably still dozens of meters of depth. We even saw several seals sunning themselves on the rocks. After a stop by Bowen Falls, we headed in.
Several folks were heading to Te Anau, so I was able to hitch a ride to the start of my next big hike, the Routeburn Track. On the way there we stopped by Homer Tunnel to wait for traffic (since it allowed only one-way access) to clear, so I was able to get a few pictures there and at another few stops along the way. Apparently every April 1st around 10 there is an annual nude run through the tunnel which I assume has to have seen a hasher once or twice. I told my guide, Horey, a bit about hashing during the trip and hope he'd check it out sometime. It wasn't long before we reached The Divide. I was back on my way long the trail soon after being dropped off. 
I wasn't really able to figure a way to get my bag to Queenstown, so this time I had to carry absolutely everything I had, including the iPod, extra food, roadmaps, etc. I was able to do one excellent side trail up to Key Summit before heading to the hut just before dark. It was a pretty exhausting day, but extremely satisfactory. How many other times in my life could I finish one of the world's top ten hike, go kayaking with dolphins surrounded by 1000+ meter high mountains and cliffs, and then start a hike that same day on another of the world's top ten tracks?
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