Scenes from Milford Sound and Fiordlands National Park
When I decided to intersperse posts about the rest of our Southeast Asian travels with our current escapades in New Zealand, I didn’t plan to have back to back posts about Halong Bay and Milford Sound. But considering that Milford Sound reminds me of Halong Bay in many ways (minus the shoddy safety and karaoke), it is fitting.
Milford Sound is really a fiord carved out many years ago by glaciers. Fiordland National Park is widely considered the most beautiful area in New Zealand. As with Halong Bay, we experienced Milford Sound on a day that was cold and rainy and thick with fog. Considering it rains 200 days out of the year, with an annual rainfall of just shy of 300 inches, the weather we experienced was not a shock, but we were a little disappointed because we suspected the fog masked some of the area’s grandeur and scale. We made the most of it though, and ponied up for a cruise through the Sound to the Tasman Sea and back. On the 2 1/2 hour drive through Fiordlands National Park back to Te Anau from the Sound, we dragged ourselves out of the campervan into the rain at every viewpoint and short hike we could bear. It’s a beautiful area, even when it is ensconced in opaque whiteness.
We woke up early to get a head start before the crowds and got to see this sunrise over our campground. We thought the weather looked promising but the rain started falling harder the deeper we got into the Fiordlands.
The drive through the Fiordlands National Park is just as beautiful as Milford Sound itself.
Waiting for the light to change at the Homer Tunnel, we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of the keas (tropical parrots). You can see how thick the fog is; that's how the background really looked.
During our cruise, I had to retreat under the awning because the rain kept falling on my lens. At some point, we gave up and went inside to the warmth of the cabin.
One plus of being there on a rainy day is the streams of waterfalls. There were hundreds the day we visited.
Like this fantastic one.
One of the shots from a stop on the way back out of Fiordlands National Park.
Also carved by a glacier.
Towards the end of the afternoon, as we reached the edge of the park, the sun finally came out. This is the Mirror Lakes, named for obvious reasons.
Moody Mystical Halong Bay
Our last stop in Vietnam was at the moody, mystical Halong Bay. Halong Bay gets a bad rap because it is one of the top tourist spots in Vietnam and it is difficult to see it without going along with a pre-arranged tour. Some tour operators are honest, but many others cut corners. With tours ranging from luxury to bottom of the barrel, it is hard to trust that you will get your money’s worth.
Because of all of the horror stories, I was apprehensive about going to see Halong Bay. Then, just a few days before we planned to visit Halong Bay, something far worse than shoddy service or overcrowding happened. One of the junk boats used for tours of the bay sunk in the early morning hours as people were in their cabins sleeping, killing 12 tourists and crew, including two college-aged American girls. By all accounts, the tour was one of the cheap budget tours, but it still doesn’t make you feel confident about your safety.
We thought about not going, but considering Vietnamese officials were inspecting every boat rigorously in the aftermath of the sinking, we decided to book a one night, two day mid-priced tour through our hotel with Amigo Cruises. The boat was relatively new, with all important safety features like life jackets. I’m not going to lie; I slept a lot easier because our room was on the upper deck. While our tour wasn’t without issues (average food, gas smell in an otherwise nice cabin room, rushed kayaking in the Bay), the tour allowed us to experience beautiful Halong Bay safely.
Despite all of the tourists, there’s a stillness and quietness in Halong Bay. I’m sure this feeling was exacerbated by the somberness of what had transpired only days before, as well as the thick fog that hung heavy in the air, especially on our first day. With limestone karsts jutting up from the waters all around you, it is a beautiful place worth visiting, as long as you can do it safely. I hope that this latest accident causes safety standards to increase; unfortunately, I don’t have high hopes as this is the first fatal boating accident in Halong Bay.
Easter Randomness
– Easter is the one holiday on this trip that we spent away from home twice. Last Easter, we spent the day touring Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
– Even though our guidebook tells me New Zealanders are not that religious, they have some seriously strict laws about Easter. The government prohibits most businesses from trading on Good Friday and Easter, dashing many of our plans. Also, and most importantly, you can only buy alcohol in restaurants and only if you have the intention of eating. Thus, the true story of how the NZ government forced us to eat a scrumptious $28 NZD pizza on Good Friday.
– Kids from New Zealand get two! weeks! off from school for Easter.
– It is weird to eat chocolate eggs wrapped in pastel colored foils while the leaves outside are the deep colors of autumn.
That is all. May your Easter be filled with lots of chocolatey goodness.
Scenes from the Catlins and Southern Scenic Route
Sometimes the best things in life are things that are not planned. Like the picture, above. We had planned to drive further, but when we realized we could see yellow eyed penguins come ashore for free in Curio Bay, and further realized there was a pretty awesome campground wedged right between Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay, we parked our campervan and stayed put.
In fact, we almost didn’t take the Southern Scenic Route at all, which would have been a shame since, true to name, it was pretty darn scenic. The route snakes along the southern coast of the South Island from Dunedin and cuts north to Queenstown after Invercargill. We did the route in two days (not counting our detour to Te Anau and the Milford Sound), but you easily could spend more time meandering through. The Southern Scenic Route follows the rugged coastline for most of the way, with sandy curved bays popping up now and again, but some of the best parts are the short detours down the often unsealed Heritage Routes. Lighthouses, surprise sea lions on land, yellow eyed penguins waddling ashore, a high density of cows and sheep, remote gas stations which open upon request, college and pick-up rugby and cricket games, and short little hikes just how we like – it’s worth going the long way.
Sadly, the home team of Telleford were getting their butts kicked pretty bad in this rugby game.
Self-portrait at Nugget Point
We didn't spy any penguins from the hide at Roaring Bay, but did see a sea lion sunbathing on the beach.
One of the many gorgeous scenes in the heart of the Catlins.
As the sunset, we watched this little guy waddle ashore back to the young.
The Curio Bay Camp Ground
One of two sea lions we came across by surprise on shore. This one visited our campground.
Porpoise Bay in the morning
Curio Bay in the morning, where we watched the penguins the night before.
A lightkeeper and his family lived at Waipapa Point up until the 1970s.
Another beautiful stop
Back inland
Scenes from Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula
Dunedin is a little big city on the South Island’s east coast. Home to New Zealand’s largest university, it has a definite college town feel. Maybe because of the couches plunked on the front porches next to empty beer cans? Or maybe because it is full of young people and energy and architecture befitting a university next to stately trees. Whatever it is, Dunedin seems like a cool place to go to school. The town radiates out from the center octagon, filled with trendy shops and a Cadbury chocolate plant. There’s parks and hiking trails right within city limits, and if you go to the outskirts, you find a coastal road snaking out on the Otago Peninsula that is beautiful whether you take the high or low road. My favorite part of Dunedin was its happening little Saturday farmer’s market, located in the parking lot next to its stately train station. Fall (which apparently is an American word, I’m told) in April means you get apples next to hot cross buns. We filled our campervan’s tiny cupboards and fridge to the brim with sweet Pacific Beauty apples, juicy pears, crisp cucumbers, fresh sourdough bread, free range eggs, organic garlic, berry farm jam, crisp lettuce greens, and many more tasty treats (including a real honest to goodness chocolately brownie, a fair trade organic long black espresso drink, and savory pies that may have gotten stuffed into our pieholes before we even hit the road).
The mean streets of Dunedin.
The Octagon (well, one side of it anyway)
Not the same meaning in New Zealand as in the United States!
Dunedin has an independent music store, a dying breed. And it has cassette tapes! You know, those things contained music before CDs? Oh wait, you don't know what a CD is, either? Sheesh!
The lower coastal road on the Otago Peninsula.
Told you the sheep are fluffy!
View from the upper coastal road on the Otago Peninsula
Cute little houses in Dunedin (the ones that haven't been turned into frat houses)
A stop at the Whitestone Cheese factory in Omarau before heading south means wine and cheese party in the campervan!
A glimpse of the train station
A fall Saturday at the market