Sunday, December 2, 2012

NZ wanderings continue...

We are currently on the wild west coast of NZ - lots of wilderness and no mobile signals or wifi in many places. Laugh - funny how we come to expect the internet wherever we go!  Hence the only occasional reply to comments and the only very occasional comment on others' posts. I promise on return I'll do a fine catch up!

We left Te Anau, and headed for Milford Sound which was lovely, then had a couple of days r&r in Queenstown which is the adventure capital of the world. Barry and Fiona failed to engage in any adventure activities and in fact I ended up getting a haircut!

We stopped by Wanaka on the way out, and I fell in love with the area...


And here is a photo of my favourite man in Wanaka...


We moved onto Haast another wild and empty place and went for plenty of bush and beach walks - we are sleeping well at night.  I have fallen in love even more with the rocks and the stones.  They are ancient and they are wonderful, and they are everywhere...


We stopped off at Jackson's Bay - way beyond Haast and the harbour is framed by the mountains.


Of course, we find the most interesting marks on the boardwalks where we walk...


Then it was up to the two glaciers - Fox and Franz-Joseph.  A few more lengthy walks and again an early night.


And just in case you want to know a funny fact about Fiona - I really don't do bridges. I am not at all fond of walking across them, I get the weirdest sensations and impulses, and I managed to do TWO suspension bridges in a day - quite the feat!


The countryside is magnificent. I am particularly fond of the lakes (or sea) with snow-capped mountains. For an Australian, the idea of the sea, a coastal rainforest and the snow all begin so close together really does my head in! Our rain forests are tropical and in the far north and our snow is well inland and very south.

We head a wee bit further north now, then cut across again to the east coast, ready to make our way home. I promise more art on return!

9 comments:

  1. Ooh! I'm not good with those bridges either. But at least that one has netting...I had to deal with some horrors as a kid.Health and Safety? Hah!

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  2. Queestown,Wanaka, favorite ski towns, so glad you got to Haast, best burger in the world accordig to J last time we were there.

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  3. I'm laughing out loud at - Barry and Fiona failed to engage in any adventure activities! What a great line. Who needs al that adrenaline? Looks like you're having a great adventure at a pace that lets you look around you.

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  4. ... and I have fallen in love with the photo of beautiful rocks. What a wonderful place to walk.... and walk.

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  5. Wilderness, no mobile signal, no wifi... sounds like Wales! Sadly our geology and our weather is not as stunning as on the trip you're having Fiona. It looks magnificent.

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  6. I don't know about no adventure activities Fiona. In my experience, going to an "unknown" hairdresser can be considered an extreme sport! (At least in NZ they speak (much) the same language.)

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  7. It looks as though you are finding plenty of inspiration on your adventures (whether 'extreme' or not!)...and continuing to make art by way of your camera. I especially love the photo of the twisted wire rusting against the wood, and the rock/stone/pebbles make for such a nice composition.
    Enjoy the rest of your trip!

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  8. Thanks all - lots of variation and stunning things to see. Amanda I laughed at an unknown haircut being an extreme sport! Annie - so glad you got a laugh, Lisa the camera does help you see and participate in art, but I know I need to DO some soon, V- thanks, Lesley - it is wild and wonderful and am sure Wales has spectacular scenery as well, just different! Robyn - lots of walking and walking and even more rocks, Dinah - eek, OH&S on bridges has definitely improved, I couldn't have done it without something to grip; Penny - all special places; tho we missed the burger in Haast sorry...maybe next time!

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