An Unexpected Journey - Ten

April 20, 2016

An exciting day was planned for us, starting with a flight to Milford Sound for a cruise.  We were to call at 7 a.m. to confirm a 7:05 a.m. pickup.  So we enjoyed an early morning breakfast buffet in the tiny dining area of the Rees.  With as many tables as possible squeezed into the limited space, it was a challenge making one's way up to the buffet and back.  But the food was excellent, with a hot dish of our choice in addition to the buffet.

At 7 a.m. we called Milford Fly-Cruise-Fly, and were told the flight was on hold due to unfavorable weather conditions, and to call back at 8 a.m.  The weather looked beautiful from where we were, but apparently weather is frequently an issue at our destination.  Being in the middle of a rainforest, the place has some of the highest rainfall in the world.  We'd been told by others to be sure to see Milford Sound, but it was not to be - there would be no flights to the sound this morning.  There was a coach tour to Milford Sound that would've taken twelve hours, including the cruise.  Alternatively, they offered to fly us to Glenorchy for our afternoon Dart River Safari, bypassing the cruise of the Sound and the helicopter ride to Glenorchy altogether.  So we opted for that, even though we were sorely disappointed to miss this South Island highlight.

We were picked up at the Rees by a chatty Kiwi who told us of his encounters with famous American skiers Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller.  He said professional skiers flock to this area for year-round skiing when it is summer in the northern hemisphere.  This driver proudly shared his brushes with greatness.

We were let off at an unassuming outbuilding on the edge of a small airport, where we filled out some paperwork and soon climbed aboard a little six-seater with three other tourists.  We were being "dropped off" in Glenorchy, and the rest would continue their chartered tour around the area.  They were excited to have this little extra added to their itinerary.

Ready for takeoff!

The short flight was spectacular - up close views of the mountains and valleys from above.  The autumn colors were glorious, and we saw huge properties dotted with sheep like grains of rice, golf courses dotted with sandtraps, and the glistening blue lake below.

Golf course

Lake Wakatipu Blue

The Kawarau Bridge - site of the world's first commercially
operated Bungee Jump

Just a little getaway?

Autumn in New Zealand

Sheep!

The flight ended too soon on a grassy runway in the little town of Glenorchy.  We would be arriving a few hours early for our scheduled afternoon tour, so they managed to arrange transportation from the little landing strip into town.

Coming in for a landing

Glenorchy is a tiny town at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu with a population of just under 400.  As you might imagine, the options to while away three hours were a bit limited.  We checked in for our afternoon tour, where they gave us a map of some nice walking trails and two or three cafes on the main street where we might have something to eat.

The walk through town took all of five minutes.  The road ends at the lake, where we ran into a couple who were just getting out of their Jucy van.  We've seen these lime-green cars and vans all over New Zealand with an eye-catching "Live Jucy" logo.  Some had "The glass is half full, and the other half was delicious" painted on the side.  We thought perhaps is was a beverage company, but soon learned these are rentals from a company with a clever marketing strategy.  The couple had just opened the back of the van and were setting up a fold-out table - pretty nifty.

War Memorial in town

We decided to check out the Glenorchy Walkway, a boardwalk that traverses the wetlands and Glenorchy Lagoon just north of town.  It was an easy walk that got hot when we left the canopy of trees and wandered out into the treeless wetlands.  We found a quiet platform to rest a while - quiet, until a busload of noisy tourists converged, impelling us to move on.  We saw several black swans out on the water on our way back, and heard some interesting bird songs (see video below.)  It was a lovely, scenic walk ending at the edge of a golf course.  We had just enough time to have a quick beverage at the Glenorchy Cafe (GYC), where two handsome dogs waited patiently for their master's return.

We reported for our Dart River Safari, signed some more paperwork, locked up our packs in a locker, and got suited up with big raincoats and life vests.  We boarded a bus that carried us to the waiting boats.  We were instructed to go pose for a picture, then we were divided into groups of 15 and loaded onto the boats that would take us out onto the Dart River and the heart of Mt. Aspiring National Park, the Te Waipounamu World Heritage Area.

These were no ordinary boats, but jet boats, designed to zip along in shallow water by drawing water from under the boat through an intake, and propelling the water out the back.  This system with no external propeller makes for amazing control and offers a thrilling ride.  They can, from full speed, be reversed and brought to a full stop in little more than a boat length.  The 360° turns were a blast, and not numerous enough for my taste.  I guess they had to be considerate of the "old people" on board!  Tim had a little, old Asian woman next to him that had a white-knuckled grip on the bar the entire time.  I, on the other hand, was unrestrained in my enthusiasm, if you can imagine that.

Our captain, Daniel, flew through the shallows of the crystal-clear, glacier-fed river over and around shoals of small rocks to some beautiful, pristine corners of the park.  He pointed out peaks that appeared in the LOTR movies.  He stopped a few times by pointing the bow of the boat up onto the rocks, then easily backed off, and sped onward with gusto.  I was grateful for the coat's hood, as the wind whipped our hair and ears.

We stopped in a quiet cove and saw a huge trout lingering among the rocks.  Daniel explained the importance of Pounamu, or greenstone, that made the Dart River an important trading route for the early Maori settlers.  He gave us each a tiny piece to take home with us.

We headed back up the river to a different landing spot where we disembarked for a walk through an ancient beech forest.  We shed our life vests but kept our coats to help shield us from the mosquitoes.  A big bottle of bug repellent was wisely positioned at the entrance to the forest.  The trees here are false beech, or Nothofagus, as they are different than beech trees in the northern hemisphere.  The red- and silver-beeches in this ancient forest can reach 100 feet in height, with enormous trunks up to six feet thick.  The wood inside is pulpy and soft, making them undesirable for building.

The guide pointed out several "nursery trees," large tree stumps where many new saplings took root.  In the middle of the forest, we saw a giant chair, an example of perspective used in the LOTR movies to make a normal-sized actor appear smaller.  Our guide also showed us a hollowed out tree big enough to walk inside.  The walk reminded us of the walks in the back property of our home in Michigan, only on a much bigger scale.

a nursery tree

Hobbit in a chair

Hobbits coming out of a tree

Back on the bus, we forged a small stream, and came to a stop on the roadside.  We all piled out, and our guide gave a small talk about various views from this spot that were used in the LOTR movies, The Hobbit, Wolverine and some other movies and commercials.  One Swiss chocolate company came here to film a commercial, using this scenery to fill in for Switzerland...go figure.

It was a pretty drive back to Glenorchy, where we returned our coats, retrieved our belongings, and picked up our souvenir photos.  We were soon climbing onto yet another bus for the long drive back to Queenstown along beautiful Lake Wakatipu.  People were dropped at their various hotels in town, and soon it was just us and the guides left on the bus.  It was dark by the time we arrived back at the Rees.

After getting cleaned up, we hopped in the car and drove into town to explore.  Downtown Queenstown has a nice pedestrian mall on the edge of the lake.  Parking was crazy there - spaces on the street had the usual white "P" on a blue field, but with numbers underneath, like P 30.  We asked a guy at the bookstore counter what it meant, and he dourly replied it meant thirty minutes for free, "and they will ticket you."  Thanks, pal.

The mall had lots of shops, restaurants and bars, along with a number of travel agents.  Nearly everything was pricey, but we did find a few reasonable shops.  The restaurants all had a newer, trendy vibe and we checked several overpriced menus before deciding to eat dinner at Toro Kitchen and Bar - not great.  We walked around the mall a bit after dinner, which had some cool back-alley passageways, and stopped for an ice cream before calling it a night.  Night!