Castle Hill

There's not much going on besides a rather tedious cycle of writing and editing, but we did get out of the city for a day trip to Castle Hill, which is a limestone rock area about an hour-and-a-half's drive west. I can't believe it took us this long to get out there, because it was a really cool place (and also nearly freezing - somewhere around 4 C / 40 F). And since it's winter, there were snow-covered hills and mountains to see on the drive, and we stopped at an accessible patch of snow on the way back to throw some around (several other groups of people were doing the same thing). Snow in June is still such a foreign concept, even after years down here. I'm looking forward to some more free time after the thesis is completed to enjoy more of the beautiful New Zealand scenery.

Te Anau and Routeburne Track

To get to Milford Sound, you have to first go south through Te Anau, which is the gateway to the Fiordland and the place to get gas and food beforehand. (Then to get to Queenstown, you still have to go back through Te Anau.)



We took a leisurely drive from Dunedin to Te Anau and spent the night there. But because it stays light out so late in the spring and summer here, we were able to take a walk along the lake and gaze at the mountains and clouds.

The next day on the drive to Milford, we stopped to check out one of the rivers and saw lots of pretty flowers in bloom.

Then we did a hike on part of the Routeburn Track (one of the New Zealand Great Walks). It was steep on the way up, and I had to stop several times, but the views at the top were beautiful. Snow-covered mountains, a mountain lake in the distance, and the cute but naughty alpine parrot, the kea, which was keeping an eye on everyone for potential food scavenging opportunities. One of them soared past us a couple times, and they have a pretty orange underside that you can see.

these are mini carnivorous plants

South Island Itinerary: Queenstown Skiing

There are three skifields within a relatively short drive from Queenstown, so I finally decided to try out skiing since the scenery can't be beat. After plunking down a fair bit of money for all the gear (then another $10 to rent a locker) and getting fitted with the hard-to-walk-in boots, I had a fun day taking the beginner lessons and starting to get the hang of it on the bunny slopes. It is a cool feeling once you feel a little more in control, and they have conveyor belts so you don't have to awkwardly maneuver too much to get back up to try it again. I can definitely see how it can be an addictive sport. The drive up and down the mountains was pretty harrowing - there aren't guard rails for a lot of it - but the old car made it, and the views from The Remarkables were just that - simply breathtaking. There are views across the valley and the snow-covered mountains were beautiful.

South Island Itinerary: Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo is a gorgeous, glacier-fed lake on the drive to Queenstown. It's right off the highway so easy to stop at and take photos of the beautiful mountains and water. There's a small row of shops and a public toilet, so we usually stop off here on the way down and up for a quick break. The famous Church of the Good Shepherd is right on the waterfront - what a view!

Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park

Although Aoraki/Mount Cook was a no-show because it was encased in fog/clouds the whole two days we visited, it was a nice trip to the mountains and a good chance for me to visit for the first time one of the most popular tourist areas on the South Island. It was around four hours to drive from Christchurch to Mount Cook with some beautiful views of the country along the way. We stayed at the Glentanner Park Centre which is just outside of the park, and it has good views of the mountains and is close to the lake which you can walk to. There were also chickens and lots of bunnies around.

We drove into Mount Cook Village for dinner since there isn't anything else around, and the food was quite tasty at the Old Mountaineers' Cafe, Bar and Restaurant. The next day, because of the weather (or not enough people for them to make up a group), the tour company cancelled our morning tour, so we had to wait around to see if any of the afternoon ones would go through. Thankfully, a later one did so we were able to go out on a boat on the Tasman Glacier terminal lake. It was a bit more extreme than it sounded like online (whoops!), but it was so much fun to get right up to icebergs that had broken off from the glacier that day or the previous day and touch them and then hold a chunk that the tour guide broke off for us. The shades of blue are so gorgeous! My camera kept getting wet but I got a few good shots. We went really fast on the way to and from getting closer to the glacier itself, and so we got soaked on the way back because of the wind and going against the water flow. At the end, we almost saw one of the big icebergs flip, but it got stuck on the bottom of the lake -- we did see it start to tip and rocks and debris falling off of it as it moved. There were lots of wildflowers along the path as well, so all in all a fun experience nestled in the mountains.