Aotearoa

Next stop, Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook.  Andy and I didn't have enough time in April to visit Mount Cook and it was a must do this time around.  We arrived at Lake Tekapo around 10 in the morning but it was still another hour and a half to Mount Cook proper for the hiking.  At Mount Cook, one of the swinging bridges were being repaired so there was really only one hike available to us.  Sadly this trail was straight up the side of a mountain with hundreds of steps carved from wood and stone.  It was exhausting and less than two miles long.

We all made it to a giant rock outcropping about 2/3's up the path.  Stopping for a break and snacks we snapped lots of pictures.  Mom and I turned around and headed back while Andy and Wayne reached the top (or rather to cloud line, above which the valley isn't in view).  We all met back at the car, drove to Lake Tekapo and checked into our amazing motel overlooking the lake.

For dinner we ate at a Thai restaurant then went to the hot pools for a dip.  If you are ever in the area, check out the hot pools at Lake Tekapo.  There are three pools at three different temperatures, 36, 38, and 40 C, with incredible views of the lake and mountain.  It was a perfect way to end the day.

The next day we drove to Queenstown and checked into our motel.  Then headed along to Glenorchy, a tiny town at the north end of Lake Wakatipu (the lake that Queenstown is on), for our horse back riding tour.  It was a very eventful tour, with river crossings, trotting, and Wayne's horse rearing up and Wayne incredibly held on.

We saw a tiny part of one of the sets for The Hobbit (the new Peter Jackson version), through the trees and across a farm.

That night we ate at a great restaurant overlooking the lake and stopped by a bar with a fireplace on the way back to our motel for a drink and to warm up.

The entire next day was devoted to getting to Milford Sound.  We stopped along the way to get groceries and check out rented gear and taking pictures before arriving at Milford Lodge around six pm.  We tried to go for a walk after dinner but was swarmed by sandflies and gave up.

In the morning was our kayaking trip on the Milford Sound.  The company provided sweet kayaking clothes (imagine tight striped leggings and long sleeve shirt) luckily covered by a rain coat and kayak skirt.  We were dropped off about 12 km down the Milford Sound and kayaked back.  We stopped at two waterfalls, one of which we kayaked under, saw multiple seals, including one which swam along side our boats, saw two penguins, had snacks and tea on the water, and only got rained on towards the end of our trip.  Our guide, Abby was wonderful and genuinely interested in everyone's story and life experiences.

After our amazing kayak trip we headed to Te Anau for the night to prepare for our Milford Track Hike starting the following day.  At our hostel a Maori guy, with face tattoos and everything, sat in the living room area and played guitar and sang for several hours.  It was really amazing to hear him.