Well it's taken me far too long to release New Zealand - Part 2 but I do hope it's worth the wait!
From Christchurch we travelled South towards our final destination of Queenstown. Despite the constant updates on the radio advising the South Island was having some of its heaviest snow falls in decades and the road to Queenstown was blocked we ventured forth - snow chains in the boot at the ready.
It wasn't long before the familiar landscape was unrecognisable, blanketed in a thick layer of snow. We had planned our first night to stay in Lake Tekapo so I could get up early and capture the sunrise over the Church of the Good Shepherd. We arrived late in the afternoon to a sea of tourists swarming over the area and while the Church stood majestically atop the snow covered hill at the edge of Lake Tekapo I was disheartened by my chances of photographing this beauty without hunderds of people in the shot.
Luckily for me most tourists don't rise before the sun so the following morning we made the trek to Church to discover just the snow, Church, Lake and the serenity.
Moving further around the lake...
Having trudged through the snow to get dinner (now that's a way to work off the calories) and spent night at the luxurious Peppers Bluewater Resort that overlooks Lake Tekapo, we continued on our journey.
For those of you who have spent any time in New Zealand you'll know there are 'Jucy' vans everywhere. Essentially they are low cost rentals for backpackers and tourists to make their way around the island. They seem to pop up everywhere and just when you think you've got a clear run you get stuck behind one of them. Awestruck by the scenery however, the slow pace was welcomed. Wanting to stop at every opportunity to take photographs I was becoming increasingly frustrated as the heavy snow falls and snow ploughing operations had left no verge to safely pull over.
Eventually we came to a safe area and we pulled up with two wheels in the snow and this is what I captured....
Feeling pretty proud of myself and having had an injection of clean, crisp air I felt invigorated as I tramped back to the car. Seatbelt on, engine on, indicate, head check for traffic, and slowly depress the accelerator. Slowly depress the accelerator.... At this stage we should have been back on the road and heading towards Queenstown but no, the wheels were spinning but we were going nowhere. Not to panic, we had taken the advice of the rental car company and invested in chains so we went to the boot and unravelled them. The apparently simple task of applying chains that had been demonstrated to us (we even stayed for the video) is not so easy in the middle of nowhere in the snow. The chains require some forward motion to fit correctly (of which we had none) so they were of little use. John started to rock the car which provided some movement however there was no way we were going to get the car out on our own.
Going through the various options we had at our disposal; calling a tow truck (expensive), walking to the nearest town (we were in the middle of nowhere), actually I think that was about it; none seemed particuarly appealing. Then, just as I was starting to give up hope a green van pulled up in front of us and out jumped five young, fit men. I have never been so glad to see a Juicy Van! With the extra muscle strength they were able to rock the car until it slid back onto the road and we were on our way again.
We stayed that night at the Waiorau homestead in the Cardrona Valley. http://www.waiorauhomestead.co.nz
Having not stayed in this form of accommodation before we were a little unsure what to expect and pleasantly surprised by the experience. Our hosts Ann and Blyth were very welcoming, helping us from the car (it had started to snow again) and showing us to our room to freshen up. The Hukapapa Room (The Snow Room) is beautifully appointed and tastefully decorated in soft grey and cream. It's high ceilings and French doors that lead onto the garden created a very spacious feel. The underfloor heating and heated mirrors and towel rails were a welcome addition to the luxury ensuite and the linen was equivalent to any five star hotel. After a very peaceful and comfortable evening we woke the next morning to an amazing breakfast prepared by Blyth. It was here that we met the other couple staying at the B & B. Owning a transport company that conveys vehicles for testing at the Southern Hemisphere Prooving Ground which is adjacent to the B & B, the couple were fascinating company for breakfast and very much added to our enjoyment of the stay. The only disappointing part of our stay was that we had only booked for one night - almost as soon as we arrived it was time to go again. Thank you Ann and Blyth for you hospitality and we will definitely be back again!
Given the limited time we had on the South Island we tossed up between skiing for a day and flying over the mountains to Milford Sound once we had settled in Queenstown. I won the toss so Milford Sound it was. We headed to the airport on a brilliantly crisp and clear day and were greeted a young lady at reception who briefed us on our flight. We were in a light plane that seated four and so were accompanied by an American tourist who happed to work for Adobe. Despite my best efforts he apparently couldn't get me a cheap upgrade in photoshop! Anyway we headed out through the hanger to the fixed wing aircraft only to discover that the lady at reception was in fact our pilot. Not sure if I'm getting old or pilots are getting younger but she seemed too young to have her driver's licence let a lone be our pilot. Nevertheless she was lovely and it wasn't long before we were in the air and she proved to be not only very knowledgeable on the area but also a very accomplished pilot. This part of our trip was just breathtaking! I felt like we were flying so close to the mountains that we could touch them. Despite shooting through perspex I was quite pleased with the images and I hope they give you a sense of the pristine environment we were priviledged to experience. The images below were taken from both the flight into and out of Milford Sound.
While Milford Sound boasts some amazingly steep vertical rock faces and its creation from mountains that started at the bottom of the sea and rose to towering heights during tectonic activity is facinating I felt that exploring the area by boat was somewhat uninsprining. The guides were knowledgeable and passionate about the area and ensured that we all knew that technically Milford Sound is in fact a Fiord due to glacial activity that had forged the crevices we see today. The boats were comfortable however having flown over the area, the ground level experience left me feeling underwhelmed. I did however enjoy the dolphins that came along for the ride for a short while.
We spent time in the centre of Queenstown, explored Glenorchy where John just loves the country feel of the old hotel before flying out of Queenstown airport. For anyone who usually flies out of Christchurch I encourage you to try Queenstown airport. Not only did it save the trip back up North but the process of checking in was so efficient that it felt like a domestic flight.
I have heard on the news just tonight - Valentines Day 2016 - that Christchurch has again been rocked by an earthquake. Fortunately there have been no reported serious injuries and out thoughts are with our Kiwi friends over the ocean.
Can't wait to get back to your beautiful country!