Milford Sound
So right now, we're loving Te Anau.
Spent the night at the side of the road, which was cool, except for the rain - boo - but luckily it cleared up, so we went for a bit of a wander and checked the place out.
Te Anau is right by - you guessed it - Lake Te Anau, which is very large and very beautiful. Again. The town is tiny and really tourist oriented, but as we are in the off-season, it's all quiet and lovely.
We decided to go kayaking on Milford Sound, so we will get up very early and drive to Milford township. Milford Sound is stunningly beautiful. We drove the 140km, setting off in the dark and making our way over the windy-iest roads yet through the Homer Tunnel. Basically, it's a big tunnel that they drilled through the middle of this great big mountain so people can get to Milfod township. Handy.
I made Phil shout 'D'oh!' all the while we were driving through Homer Tunnel, which entertained me a lot. The tunnel is quite scary, it truly is a great big narrow hole through the mountain and I just wonder how they did it... They must have had a massive drill and just carved out the rock, or something.
So we get to the kayaking place and before you can say 'Bob's your uncle', we are loaded up with gear. We had to wear a swimsuit, then a thermal top and thermal leggings. Then we had to wear a neoprene vest on top and shorts or trousers. Then a fleece and waterproof trousers. Then a jacket. Then a special kayaking jacket that comes with a tutu attached to it and then a life jacket, too. And of course gloves, fleece hat and a sun hat and shoes and socks.
We were about eight people taking part and honestly, by the time everyone was wearing everything the right way round in the right order... dear me... So by this stage, we could hardly walk, so they shoved a paddle into our arms and showed us how to wave it about. Then how to get into the kayak without tipping it over. Then we were off! Hurrah!
It was great! I was in front and Phil was paddling in the back. No, let me rephrase that. I was in the front and I was paddling. Phil was in the back, taking pictures. Hmmm..... after a while I got grumpy and splashed him, heheheheh!
The kayaking was great, I loved it. Phil was moaning that I was going too fast, but I can't help being terribly fit and gorgeous now can I? You can see from the pics just how gorgeous I looked on the water. I truly did bring 'sexy back'.
Anyway! It was beautiful!!!!! We saw some seals swimming about and basking in the sun and fantastic waterfalls and we had the best weather ever! Blue skies and sunshine - the place is famous for its rain - they get about 6 metres of rain a year - no kidding! Thoroughly enjoyable - I wish everyone could go and do this - it was so beautiful and amazing. The air is so clean and the water is so clear and pure - it's really wonderful to be there.
Had some lunch and then after some more paddling, we were done and ready to drive back to Te Anau for some rest! The journey back there was the same route as in the morning - I like the fact that here, you get roads that take you to some point and then just end. That's it. No more. It's like a lot of places are not connected to each other though they are not too far apart. Most of it has to do with the geography of it though. Those Alpes kind of get in the way of road building!
To be honest, by the time we had dinner, our arms ached lots, but it was so worth it!
Spent the night at the side of the road, which was cool, except for the rain - boo - but luckily it cleared up, so we went for a bit of a wander and checked the place out.
Te Anau is right by - you guessed it - Lake Te Anau, which is very large and very beautiful. Again. The town is tiny and really tourist oriented, but as we are in the off-season, it's all quiet and lovely.
We decided to go kayaking on Milford Sound, so we will get up very early and drive to Milford township. Milford Sound is stunningly beautiful. We drove the 140km, setting off in the dark and making our way over the windy-iest roads yet through the Homer Tunnel. Basically, it's a big tunnel that they drilled through the middle of this great big mountain so people can get to Milfod township. Handy.
I made Phil shout 'D'oh!' all the while we were driving through Homer Tunnel, which entertained me a lot. The tunnel is quite scary, it truly is a great big narrow hole through the mountain and I just wonder how they did it... They must have had a massive drill and just carved out the rock, or something.
So we get to the kayaking place and before you can say 'Bob's your uncle', we are loaded up with gear. We had to wear a swimsuit, then a thermal top and thermal leggings. Then we had to wear a neoprene vest on top and shorts or trousers. Then a fleece and waterproof trousers. Then a jacket. Then a special kayaking jacket that comes with a tutu attached to it and then a life jacket, too. And of course gloves, fleece hat and a sun hat and shoes and socks.
We were about eight people taking part and honestly, by the time everyone was wearing everything the right way round in the right order... dear me... So by this stage, we could hardly walk, so they shoved a paddle into our arms and showed us how to wave it about. Then how to get into the kayak without tipping it over. Then we were off! Hurrah!
It was great! I was in front and Phil was paddling in the back. No, let me rephrase that. I was in the front and I was paddling. Phil was in the back, taking pictures. Hmmm..... after a while I got grumpy and splashed him, heheheheh!
The kayaking was great, I loved it. Phil was moaning that I was going too fast, but I can't help being terribly fit and gorgeous now can I? You can see from the pics just how gorgeous I looked on the water. I truly did bring 'sexy back'.
Anyway! It was beautiful!!!!! We saw some seals swimming about and basking in the sun and fantastic waterfalls and we had the best weather ever! Blue skies and sunshine - the place is famous for its rain - they get about 6 metres of rain a year - no kidding! Thoroughly enjoyable - I wish everyone could go and do this - it was so beautiful and amazing. The air is so clean and the water is so clear and pure - it's really wonderful to be there.
Had some lunch and then after some more paddling, we were done and ready to drive back to Te Anau for some rest! The journey back there was the same route as in the morning - I like the fact that here, you get roads that take you to some point and then just end. That's it. No more. It's like a lot of places are not connected to each other though they are not too far apart. Most of it has to do with the geography of it though. Those Alpes kind of get in the way of road building!
To be honest, by the time we had dinner, our arms ached lots, but it was so worth it!
posted by Phil and Tanja @ 12:08 AM
<< Home