No Filter Required

Before we lived on the road I had never seen most of the picture postcard places NZ is so famous for; the Lord of the Rings country and all that.  To be honest, I'd never even seen the Lord of the Rings movies until Gareth insisted I had to and by then we were already in the van!  Once I saw them, I could understand instantly why visitors flock here in their tens of thousands every year.  Who wouldn't want to? But until I saw them in person with my own eyes, I honestly believed that the stunning images in all the tourist guides and social media weren't quite real.  I mean, nowhere could possibly be THAT perfect; they had to have been doctored or Photoshopped in some way, surely?  After all, I'd never seen any places like that in 25 years of living here!  Like many people though, before embarking on our journey I had never really travelled far from my own backyard. It's easy to get stuck in a rut and so much more convenient just to not go anywhere!  But boy, do you miss out on a lot.

The Homer Tunnel is 1.2km of hand carved access through the mountain

As it turns out however, I wasn't alone in thinking all those flashy images were too good to be true.  Fortunately, Liam was to learn the truth far sooner than I did.  We left our little cabins at Manapouri early to beat the traffic and were soon on our way.  'This is the end of civilisation as we know it', I smiled to Liam as we headed out of Te Anau and onto the only road which leads to Milford Sound.  Fiordland National Park is the largest of NZ's 14 national parks and until 1953 Milford Sound was inaccessible by road.  Fortunately a couple of enterprising and rather helpful chaps, one of whom was named William H. Homer, thought it would be rather a good idea to build a tunnel through the saddle they had recently discovered.  This commenced literally with five men using picks and wheelbarrows and thanks to avalanches and other disasters, the project took 18 years to finish.  You only have to drive through the Homer Tunnel today to see what a monumental achievement it was, and as a result well over half a million people now visit Milford Sound every year.  

Milford Sound on a typically broody day

You don't get waterfalls like these on a fine day!

There was just one thing which put a dampener on our day - literally - and that was the rain, which whilst it wasn't torrential, was pretty much incessant.  Despite people telling us that the rain was actually a GOOD thing, we found it hard to believe.  Last time Gareth and I had visited, it had been clear and sunny and we couldn't have hoped for better.  Still, seeing as it rains in Milford Sound around 250 days of the year we couldn't be picky and besides, we had a boat to jump both on and in, with wet weather gear assured.  Two hours later, we arrived at Milford Sound and I could see Liam was impressed as Mitre Peak loomed massively in front of us, all dark and brooding and shrouded in mist.   Rain or shine, it's impossible not to be blown away and for what was going to be many times that day, I was very grateful to that nice man Mr Homer for his tunnel.

The dainty looking but drenching Fairy Falls!

The rain kindly stopped as we boarded our Southern Discoveries vessel, the Lady Bowen for our Encounter Nature cruise and as we sailed out of the dock I was immediately impressed both with the ship and our friendly and informative skipper.  Our vessel was busy but not overly crowded and Gareth, Liam and I were able to secure a prime spot at the front of the ship.  As soon as we hit the water I had to eat my words about 'touristy things being overhyped and not worth it'.  Already this was better than anything we had managed to see in our last visit!  Seriously, you just can't compare standing on the shore admiring from a distance to literally being close enough to touch it.  There is so much more to Milford Sound than we realised, so much more depth and sheer size that you simply won't see any other way.  We passed colonies of fur seals, lounging on the rocks, who waved lazily at us with their flippers and got very wet at Fairy Falls, which is one of the few permanent waterfalls at Milford Sound which actually has a name.  The reason that so few of them have names is because whilst there are literally thousands of waterfalls streaming down the mountains on a wet day, they quite literally disappear half an hour after the rain stops.  This means that you will never see Milford Sound looking the same two days in a row as most of these waterfalls are completely unique.  Cool, huh?  It also meant that once again I had to eat my words, as the whole place takes on a completely new dimension when it rains that you don't get treated to on a sunny day.  It's true what people say, Milford Sound really IS better on a wet day!

Looking glamorous after stopping at Fairy Falls!

Which is just as well because we were getting incredibly wet on our cruise, even with our raincoats.  You didn't have to - the boat was incredibly comfortable and well equipped if you wanted to sit inside but we didn't want to miss a thing!  The Fairy Falls was one of my favourite stops, not only for its beauty but also for the story behind its name.  It got its name from a group of sailors who had been away at sea for a very long time.  Upon seeing land for the first time in months, they were so delighted they hit the whiskey big time and went on a bender for three days, by the end of which the captain was convinced he could see fairies dancing at the foot of the waterfall!  Our own skipper also delighted here in being able to guide the front of the boat actually into the waterfall, drenching unsuspecting passengers as they prepared to take the obligatory selfies! 

Where the fiord meets the Tasman Sea 

It's not surprising Captain Cook sailed past here twice!

On we cruised, marvelling at our surroundings with each second that passed.  Liam isn't a fella who says much as a rule, he's not one to gush or enthuse about things but you know he likes something when he starts taking photos and he took a LOT of photos!  'So this is where the cool stuff is', he grinned, looking around.  'Honestly, you see all these videos on TV and the likes of Unilad and I always thought "Where the hell are these places?  Are they even really in NZ, 'cos I've sure as hell never seen them?!" but now I know they're real.  Now I know where they are'.  'Yep, this is where the cool stuff is hiding!'  I laughed.  Eventually the water started to get a little more choppy and we reached the watery gateway to the Tasman Sea, where it was time for us to turn around and head back.  From this direction it is actually very hard to see the entrance to Milford Sound and Captain James Cook, when exploring the area in his ship the Resolution and compiling his map of NZ actually sailed past it twice, completely missing it!  The man responsible for first discovering the Sound by sea was actually a Welsh chap by the name of Captain John Grono.  He named Milford Sound after Milford Haven in Wales, although it should technically be called Milford Fiord, as it's not actually a Sound at all!  Sound or not, Grono's arrival was very bad news for the native fur seals.  Over the 20 or so years which followed, seal numbers in the area went from two million to less than 50,000; until the government discovered what was going on and seal hunting was banned nationwide, along with Grono and his men.

You just don't see any of this from the shore!

As we passed Seal Rock, where seal numbers today thankfully flourish, the view was quite possibly even more spectacular heading in the other direction.  The rain may have eased but our drenchings were still not finished, as we sailed into the final two permanent waterfalls - the 146 metre-high Stirling Falls and the landmark one which can be seen from the shore, the 160 metre Lady Bowen Falls.  This was first named after one of NZ's first governors, Sir George Bowen, who declared it to be one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen upon laying eyes on it for the first time and decided to earn some serious brownie points with his wife (who was standing on the deck next to him at the time) by naming it after her. 

The spectacular Lady Bowen Falls

So how did our taste of commercial tourism compare with doing Milford Sound under our own steam, as we had done the previous year?  Quite simply, you cannot compare the two, the cruise wins hands down.  The experience and value we got from Southern Discoveries far outweighs anything we were able to see previously and we learned so much along the way, none of which any of us knew before.  Seriously, I could keep talking all day about the things we learned - and our adventure wasn't even over yet, we still had to go kayaking!  Our advice to anyone thinking of seeing Milford Sound by boat? Just do it, you won't be disappointed; in our opinion it is some of the best money you can spend on a tourist activity and is worth every cent.  Huge thanks must go to the team and crew at Southern Discoveries for taking us out and showing us such an incredible time!  These guys are super professional, their gear and facilities are great and we would recommend them to anyone.  But don't stop there - wait until we tell you about the kayaking!

Thanks for an awesome cruise Southern Discoveries!

A Spontaneous Adventure

My goodness, what an amazing week of adventuring it's been.  In four days alone we drove 18 hours and almost 1500km!  Was totally pooped by the end of it but it was so worth it.  And the best thing of all was that I was able to share every bit of the awesomeness with my eldest, Liam.  The timing couldn't have been better as I had been feeling a bit blue up until then. It's been over a year now since Gareth and I have seen either of our mums, or Ali my youngest and I had been struggling with both the guilt of not seeing them, as well as missing them dreadfully.  Liam's spontaneous visit and the change of scenery was just what the travel doctor ordered!

Liam at Devil's Staircase lookout

Last time Liam came to visit was back in September and seeing as it was still pretty chilly we stayed in a motel in Dunedin.  This time I was looking forward to finally being able to give him an insight to life on the road and why his crazy mother loved living in a van!  The adventure started the moment I picked him up from Queenstown airport.  The drive from Gore to Queenstown is one of my favourites, as it winds past one of our most memorable freedom camps at Kingston and the mighty Lake Wakatipu.  As soon as the lake comes into view it makes me smile and I couldn't have wished for a better day to share it with Liam as the sun shone on the crystal clear water.  I could tell instantly that he was just as impressed as he took in the view from Devil's Staircase.  We stopped at Kingston and ate sandwiches at the little beach.  Liam is a champion at skimming stones and he paddled in the water for ages, sending stones skipping across the water.  Eventually we made our way back to Gore, where Liam was in for a very colourful welcome!  Unbeknown to him, he had arrived on the busiest day of the year at our campground, the A & P Show.  Far from the peaceful, pastoral scene I had described, he was greeted by hordes of people, fairground rides and enormous inflatables; not to mention goats, donkeys and even a few Clydesdales!

Skimming stones in Lake Wakatipu

So happy to share this special place with my boy!

Being Liam, he took it all in his stride and once everyone had packed up and gone, sat happily in his camping chair with a beer as we cooked dinner outside.  Several other campers stopped for a chat before we went for a walk around the grounds and to see Casper, our foster lamb who is now very much a sheep rather than human and hangs out with his flock but still knows who his mum and dad are!  Minnie loved having Liam around again and was most upset the next morning when she got taken to boarding kennels but no dogs are permitted in Fiordland National Park and that was where we were headed.  Milford Sound is a place which should be on EVERYONE'S bucket list and I had been watching the weather forecast incessantly leading up to Liam's arrival.  It wasn't looking the flashest but we decided we would bite the bullet and go.  Besides, everyone assured me that the rain didn't matter up there, in fact quite the contrary.  I failed to see how it could possibly be any more spectacular than it had been a year ago, when the sun had shone and we could see for miles, but one thing I knew for sure, you don't miss ANY opportunity to go to the Sound!

Walking the Kepler Track

Walking out of the bush into a rainbow

We arrived a couple of hours later in Te Anau, which was bustling with people as always.  The weather as predicted was drizzly and none too warm but we still had time to fit in a walk so parked at the Control Gates by the lake.  There are heaps of good walks of varying distances in the Te Anau area - in fact you can walk for days if you want to do the whole 60km long Kepler Track!  I would certainly love to do that one day but for today we contented ourselves with just a short walk to Dock Bay.  After our obstacle course hike at Piano Flat a few weeks earlier, this track was a dream!  So enjoyable and well maintained.  The many trees provided shelter from much of the rain and grey as it was, the lake still was broodingly beautiful.  As we emerged out of the bush on our way back, the sun came out and a gorgeous rainbow stretched out in front of us.  As the saying goes, you can't have a rainbow without a little rain!

Our cute little cabin

Whilst Te Anau is a nice little town, I really like Manapouri just down the road as it is quieter and in my opinion even more beautiful.  I knew just where I wanted to stay too!  The Manapouri Motels & Holiday Park looks out right opposite the lake and although we had two vans I decided to book us cabins, so that we could all travel together and Liam could just relax and enjoy the views.  As it turned out, this was definitely a smart option, as the prices were so reasonable it worked out cheaper for us to stay this way than it would have cost to fill the other van with petrol!  This quaint wee place is rather like going back in time but that is all part of its charm.  The cabins are very basic (the lady on the phone wanted to make sure I was very clear of that when I booked as many people think they are getting a motel) but are adorable and very cosy.  I slept better that first night in our cabin that I have in a long time!  'If this is what a tiny house is like, we could definitely live in one of these!' we smiled.

One thing I would definitely recommend however when visiting Te Anau is to bring your own food.  Whilst we brought enough with us for breakfasts and lunches, we had forgotten how expensive it is to eat there, not just to dine out but also in the town's only supermarket.  We managed to get through a couple of hundred dollars in restaurants on what was frankly some seriously mediocre food.  Next time we won't forget to bring the camping fridge with us!  Much better to spend a little time making decent food to take with us beforehand, even if it seems like a hassle at the time.  Despite the age and quirkiness of the campground at Manapouri, we all agreed that both the communal kitchen and the bathroom and shower facilities were some of the best we had come across.  It was funny for us being back at a regular campground after all this time, especially during peak season.  Our campground in Gore is so relaxed and spacious, there is plenty of room for everyone and you never have to worry about not being able to get in the showers or toilets.  Here however there was a queue!  In fact there was a queue for everything from the kettle to the toaster and I remembered gratefully that this was why we had decided to stay put in our peaceful Southland paradise for the summer, rather than join the merry throng of overseas tourists.

Still, it was good for Liam, who aspires to do some travelling of his own to see what it was all about and to realise the sheer extent of people touring the South Island under their own steam.  I say 'the South Island' rather than NZ as a whole because despite being from the Coromandel Peninsula, which is in itself a tourist hotspot, the number of travellers and people living the van life is nothing in the North Island compared to the South, where it's really next level.  This became even more apparent the next day when we set off for Milford Sound and every single vehicle we encountered was either a camper van, tourist bus or rental car.  The road to Milford Sound is notorious and has a reputation for being dangerous but it really isn't.  I'm the biggest wuss on the planet when it comes to challenging roads and I find it a pleasure to drive, it's easier than driving from Thames to Whangamata!  It's not the road which is the problem; it's the drivers.  We saw two accidents on the road and in both cases there were no other vehicles involved, both were Asian tourists and occurred on straight roads.  It seemed as though they were simply distracted by the scenery and veered off the road, quite spectacularly.  I guess it is pretty easy to do when the scenery is that incredible!  But in case you have also heard horror stories about the road, don't stress about it.  The main thing to remember is to use your lower gears, even in an automatic because it is very easy to 'cook' your brakes, particularly on the last 30km or so and trust me, you don't want to be out on that road needing a mechanic with no cellphone reception for 140km!

Last year's trip to Milford Sound was spectacular.  Could we possibly top it this time?

Last time Gareth and I visited Milford Sound we had no idea what to expect, just like Liam didn't now.  But this time was going to be just as different for us as the first time, and not just because of the weather.  On our previous visit we scoffed at all the touristy things, preferring to 'do' the Sound for free.  Us, pay for a swanky cruise or a helicopter flight?  No thank you very much!  We'd rather do things under our own steam.  Besides, there was so much to see along the way, the journey itself was just as good as the destination!  That's what we believed anyway; after all, we had already seen some incredible sights just from the roadside.  This time however we were going the whole hog.  Thanks to the team at Southern Discoveries, the three of us were going on a cruise through the Sound, and not only that, we would be kayaking too!  It goes without saying we were excited to say the least.  But how different was it going to be?  How much better was the touristy experience really going to be, compared to our previous el cheapo one?  All will be revealed in the next blog!