The Queen Charlotte Track and Wineries!

We were ready to hit the trail again but this time, we decided to do it in a luxurious fashion. We drove to the northeastern tip of the South Island to the town of Picton and made arrangements to hike the Queen Charlotte Track, a 71 kilometer hike along the Queen Charlotte Sound. The hike follows a spit of hilly woodland that juts out between two bodies of water, the Kenepuru (which is a gorgeous aquamarine color) and the Queen Charlotte Sounds.

To get to the start of the hike, we took a water taxi to a Ship's Cove, a lovely, sheltered cove where explorer Captain Cook spent much of his time in New Zealand.


From here, the hike climbs to the ridge through forests of tree ferns (ferns that grow to 15 feet or more as trees).


We were greeted immediately by hungry wekas (pronounced "weck'-ah"), flightless birds native to NZ.


In late afternoon, we reached our evening stop at a hotel/backpacker accommodation with kitchen facilities and showers. Our heavy packs were already in our cabin, having been dropped off by the water taxi and moved there by the hotel staff. In the morning, we dropped our packs off on the pier and walked with light day packs, filled with raingear, water and food. What a great way to travel!



The backpacker accommodation we stayed in on our second night was our favorite backpacker in New Zealand. The Mahana Homestead was beautifully situated in a cove, had lovely and comfortable furnishings, friendly hosts and sold excellent wine. Again, what more could you ask for after a day of hiking!

We did experience some rain, but our spirits were high for most of the 4-day trek having slept in comfy beds, gotten ourselves clean and dry each night and enjoying tremendous scenery.





After completing the hike, we were invited by our Kiwi friend, Karen, to stay at her place and have her take us on a tour of the wineries of the Marlborough region. Having lived in the area for years, she has an impressive knowledge of winemaking and an even more impressive history of having business lunches at all of the nicest wineries. She took us on a tour of her favorites for a gourmet lunch and tastings Pinot Noirs, Rieslings and some wonderful liqueurs. It all felt very decadent. Thank you, Karen!

Swimming with Dolphins

Five years ago, when I was in New Zealand after my first time on the ice, I went swimming with the dusky dolphins in Kaikoura, a coastal town in the northeast of the South Island. Though, the weather was ugly and I suffered from a bit of sea sickness, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these special marine mammals. I knew that Michiel would enjoy it as much as I did, so we made arrangements for him to swim with the dolphins and for me to observe from the boat (and take photos).

We were too late to obtain a regular swimmer position for Michiel, since the company had already booked 13 people to swim (the maximum allowed in the water at any time) so he was offered a "shared swim" opportunity. For a reduced rate, he would be allowed in the water only if someone got out. If he didn't get his shot at swimming, the company would refund the difference between the shared swim rate and the observer rate. Good deal, right? Right!


Michiel got his wet suit, flippers and snorkel and and our group watched a video explaining how to swim with the dolphins, including how to attract them to you (diving and making squeeky noises) and how to keep them entertained while they are swimming with you (swim in circles and they will follow you and look into your eyes).


After traveling in the boat for about 20 minutes, we spotted a sizable pod of the small, dark gray and white dolphins. They are very playful and curious and love to show off by doing flips, twists, somersaults and tricks. We had a tremendous show and the best part was that a young lady decided after 2 minutes that she was too cold in the water. Michiel got a full tour's worth of swimming and I got to watch him transform into a dusky dolphin!





And here's a video of the dolphins.



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Moving up the East Coast

We headed up the east coast, with the intention of staying in Dunedin, a university town known for its Scottish background. We were less than enthused about it and decided to drive out the Otago Peninsula and enjoy Dunedin from afar.

On the Peninsula, we navigated insanely narrow and winding roads to find beautiful sandy beaches (perfect for Michiel' s drip sand castles) with seals and penguins (at sunset).




Our hikes never took us far from sheep....in fact, in New Zealand, you are NEVER far from sheep (or dead possums on the road, for that matter).



We left the Otago Peninsula and headed north along the coast, stopping at a place called Shag Point for lunch. We were delighted to discover that we had stumbled upon a huge colony of seals with lots of pups frolicking in the natural pools in the rock formations.

Our next stop was the town of Oamaru, where we saw the march of the blue penguins. An amphitheatre had been constructed to seat a couple of hundred people who come to see the blue penguins swim onto shore after sunset and waddle up the rocky beach to nesting sites that were created by a conservation group. No photos were permitted, so you'll have to go see it for yourselves. We did, however, see hundreds of cormorants on the road to the amphitheatre.

Milford Sound and the Southern Scenic Route

We spent a couple of days recovering and eating in a fairly expensive motel on the shore of Lake Manapouri. Though we never did get out on a boat or kayak, we did enjoy the views from our room. We watched the clouds change dramatically and the snow accumulate on the mountains ringing the lake.

Having recovered from the backpacking trip, we drove out to the Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the best known and most well visited attractions in New Zealand. It is located in the Fiordland area of the South Island (southwest) and receives on average 7 meters/21 feet of rain per year.

We had heard about the sound itself, but had no idea that the road to get there would be so beautiful and interesting. We also had incredible weather for our drive and hikes, which made it even more remarkable.

This is just one of many gorgeous views from the Milford Sound road.

We had read in several guide books that the Lake Marian hike along the road was well worth the effort. It led us through a moss forest up to a hidden alpine lake. We loved it!




Unfortunately, the typical weather pattern for the Milford Sound returned the next day and we opted not to take a boat tour due to the freezing horizontal downpour. Instead, we drove back out to the main road and headed south to the Southern Scenic Route, a marked (2-lane) road system that follows the southern coast of the South Island.



As it was now autumn, the weather was cool and unpredictable. We would have lots of gray days and rain for the next week, which made us decide not to make use of the numerous beachfront campgrounds, but to stay in inexpensive hostels (known as Backpackers in NZ). We would also; however, see lots of seals with playful pups, sea lions, penguins (yellow-eyed and blue) and rugged, wind-swept coastline in the days to come!










The penguins were a challenge to photograph as they would only come up onto the beach a couple of hours before sunset. Since they are very sensitive to predators, the Department of Conservation has created viewing platforms that are quite far from the shoreline. Michiel had to use maximum camera zoom to get decent photos.

Lord of the Rings

We stopped first at a camping area with gorgeous views of Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. Though the drive to this area was less than promising (very high winds and rain), we occasionally had clear skies and even rainbows above the impossibly blue, glacier-fed lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki.




View of Mt. Cook from our tent-site

The next day was warm and clear - perfect conditions for our hike into the Hooker Valley to a glacial lake at the base of Mt. Cook.

The drive into the National Park to get to the hike:


The hike:


From Mt. Cook, we blew through the disgustingly over commercialized Queenstown - home of the thrill-seeking adventures of the likes of gondola bungee jumping and river surfing - to the refreshingly small and under-developed town of Glenorchy, home base for hikes on the Routeburn and Rees-Dart Tracks and home to dozens of black swans.



The Routeburn is a world-famous three-day hike through some of the areas used in the filming of the Lord of the Rings. The 39 kilometer hike is connected to other tracks (Kiwi word for trail) which enable you to make a loop back to your starting point. We made reservations (essential) for the Routeburn while on the ice and secured bunks for ourselves in the three main huts along the way. At the end of the trail, we decided to connect with the Greenstone Track because of weather considerations. All together, we hiked 71 kilometers (42.5 miles) in 5 days with our backpacks.





The huts on the Routeburn could hold up to 48 people and were equipped with mattress pads, gas cookers, coal-burning stoves and drying racks for your soggy clothing (this area is well known for heavy rains). Dinner was a lively affair and it was always interesting to see what other people chose to bring along (from the gourmet: bags of wine, vacuum-sealed venison to the basic: cup of noodles).

Views of a "Great Track" hut. Huts on non-Great Tracks are simpler and smaller.




Almost every hike we did at at least one swing bridge. These seem to be an integral part of the hiking experience in NZ.

The following is a collection of some of our best photos from the Routeburn and Greenstone Tracks. The large trees covered with mosses are beech trees - they made for stunning subjects, especially when the sun shone through the branches.










We had uncommonly good weather while on the Routeburn...but in this climate zone, such things never last. The rain and winds hit us hard as we left the Routeburn and started down the wide Greenstone River valley. Notice how happy Michiel is with the change in weather.

Catching Up

It has been a while since we last used this space to talk about our travels and experiences. Since we left Antarctica on February 20 and I (Sheri) got to fly out in the cockpit of a military C-17 aircraft, we have spent 5 weeks on the South Island of New Zealand, a few days in Southern California and a month in the Netherlands. We are currently back in Alaska for another summer season and living in the same guest cabin (with wireless internet access, but no running water) as last year.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll attempt to get this weblog back up-to-date by recapping the highlights of our journeys in March and April.

New Zealand's South Island (February 20 to March 30): We were pretty exhausted after leaving the ice and I remembered after my first Antarctic season (2000-2001) how hard it is to make decisions again. During the 5 months at McMurdo, our toughest decisions were choosing between going to yoga class or to the art film showing in the coffee house or deciding whether to order that third glass of wine on a work night. Suddenly, we had to decide where to sleep and eat; we had to be aware of traffic (especially difficult getting used to the drivers in the left lane); we had to PAY for food!

Keeping all this in mind, we spent just a couple of days in Christchurch (we had to have Thai food at a good restaurant!) before heading out to the coastal town of Akaroa.



We spent four days hiking, walking, kayakking, exploring and socializing with other ice friends who had the same idea.


Kayakking in Akaroa Harbor

The rolling landscape of Banks Peninsula



It was on one of these hikes that Michiel saw his first New Zealand sheep muster (moving the sheep from one pasture to another). A farmer on a four-wheeler had just picked up a reluctant sheep and was commanding the dogs to herd the sheep in front of us.



After recharging in this wonderful, formerly French harbor town, (with an excellent art cinema! We recommend the movie "Mad Hot Ballroom".) we were ready to return to Christchurch to pick up our rental car and start the drive south east towards Mt. Cook and Lord of the Rings country.