Hi, everyone! This past week was a good one. Saturday was another lonnnnng day, taking a coach trip to Milford Sound – but it was worth it. It was my final visit to that beloved region. It was interesting to go on another cruise along the sound. In a way, it serves as a bookend for my time in Queenstown. Read on!

Fiordland National Park

About three weeks after arriving in Queenstown, I went on a cruise to Milford Sound for my birthday. Now, about three weeks before leaving, I went on that cruise again. After coming back from the journey, I wondered if maybe it was actually a similar amount of days on either end. On my first count, my first visit was 18 days after arriving in Queenstown, and this trip was 17 days before leaving. What kind of timing is that? I later realized that I was counting from my first day at work, so actually it was 20 days after arriving in Queenstown. CLOSE ENOUGH!

It was my first big adventure from Queenstown, so it is fitting that it will be one of my last.

I wondered how different it would be this time. While I’ve been to Fiordland National Park a number of times at this point, it is only the second time I’ve gone on the cruise. Where at first, I went during the summer, this time it was winter. Before, I took a tour with Real NZ. This time I went with Southern Discoveries.

Along the way, some of the stops were the same, but others weren’t. Throughout this section, I’ll post side by side images of my first time to Milford vs. this time (there are a few exceptions but it’s pretty obvious. Perfect blue skies was November, mostly cloudy skies was August).

With Real NZ, we stopped at Eglington Valley, Mirror Lakes, Monkey Creek, and then finally Milford Sound. I was surprised Southern Discoveries didn’t stop at Mirror Lakes, but instead opted to stop at a lovely viewpoint just past the Homer Tunnel, which had a view of Hundred Falls.

I wasn’t sure if we would stop at Monkey Creek or not, but I was hoping we would. I mention this all the time in these posts, but once I bought my van at the beginning of the year, I had a big mission to get back to Monkey Creek so I could spend more time observing the wild kea. That spot has a special place in my heart.

Well, we did stop there! Yahoo! There were more wild kea hanging around then I’d ever seen before in Fiordland National Park. It was like they were coming out to say goodbye to me. I was really pleased to get a shot of an adult kea next to a juvenile kea. The juvenile kea kind of tugged at the adult with its beak. The adult one was unfazed. The difference is that adults have greyish coloring on their beaks/eyes, but juveniles are more of a yellow color.

At one point, three kea were all huddled together on the ground. I wonder what they were gossiping about?

Another kea was perched on a branch and, later, allowed me to get perhaps the best photo of a kea in flight that I’ve ever managed to capture. Yahoo!

The kea were even standing on top of the tour bus once we’d gotten back in. The bus had windows on the top, so we could see them hopping around. So adorable.

Surprisingly, we didn’t even need to go to Monkey Creek on this final trip to see kea. Aside from Monkey Creek, we saw them:

-ten minutes earlier on the hood of someone’s car
-at 100 Falls
-again, later, near Homer Tunnel
-and while leaving, still at Monkey Creek

We even saw them soaring around as we drove up the road towards Homer Tunnel. They were really out and about in a way I’d never seen before. Incredible!

WE LOVE you, KEA!!!

After Homer Tunnel, it was only another half hour or so before we’d arrived at Milford Sound. Once arriving, I was delighted to see my second wild weka! And managed to get a good photo of it, too, unlike my last visit to Fiordland. Yahoo!

I had about half an hour to kill before the cruise started, so I walked along the edge of the water where I saw two oystercatchers.

The day was mostly cloudy, but it was significantly better than when I’d traveled with Mo a month or so prior. That day, the visibility was awful. At least this time, there were patches of blue sky. The snow-peaked mountaintops were easily visible for the most part, save for Mitre Peak, the iconic mountain of Milford Sound. I would like to have seen the peak one last time, but it was still quite majestic in its gloominess.

After getting eaten alive by sandflies, it was time to board the boat. One REALLY nice thing about booking with Southern Discoveries is that they actually had a buffet lunch available. With Real NZ, it was just a sandwich and a cookie basically. This time, I really loaded up. Roasted potatoes, potatoes au gratin, pork belly, veggies, etc. And lamington cakes for dessert. And a piece of chocolate LOL. Food, food, food, food, food.

I was halfway through eating when the boat pulled out of the harbor. I tried to quickly finish my food so I could get out on the deck. I wanted to keep my eyes peeled for fiordland crested penguins – and to just be outside to check for wildlife in general. Maybe even whales this time? Surprise: there were no penguins or whales.

But there were dolphins! And they came much closer to the boat than the ones at Doubtful Sound, which was nice. Our skipper told us we were pretty lucky because the dolphins are not residents to Milford Sound, just visitors. They are only seen about once a week. How nice to see them!

The cruise was a slightly different experience this time around. When I’d last visited, it was almost peak summertime and so there was only maybe one or two waterfalls.

With rainfall the night before and probably an accumulation of constantly melting snow from the mountaintops, there were lots of little waterfalls pouring down the mountains all over the place. It was beautiful.

We went out to the Tasman Sea before turning around and heading back. Along the way, we stopped near two pretty strong waterfalls. One of them was the famed Stirling Falls. We got close enough to it again where we could feel the glacial water misting our faces.

We also saw some seals. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the seals are everywhere along the coast of Aotearoa New Zealand haha.

The tour was shy of two hours. It was really nice to get back to Milford Sound and I’m glad I chose to do the cruise one more time. I will say, if I had the option to go on the Milford Sound or the Doubtful Sound cruise… the choice is obvious. Doubtful Sound is the winner, without a doubt. The cruise is longer, the wildlife is arguably better, and the reflections were perfection.

Still, I am glad I went on this cruise one more time. It felt necessary to say goodbye to my favorite place in New Zealand.

On the way back, we saw kea a few more times as mentioned. Then it was time for our long journey back to Queenstown. A long day – but they always seem to be when going on adventures in New Zealand.

Goodbye, Fiordland National Park. Thank you for existing haha. Such a gorgeous location, with great hikes, wildlife, and views. Sigh. On to the next adventure.

Miscellaneous

Jasper is back in town as of Monday! Upon his return, Yvonne, he, and I went to get bubble tea. It was really nice to be reunited again. After bubble tea, Jasper had the amazing, incredible, 10/10 idea to go to Pak ‘n Save to go grocery shopping. I was very on board for that. Yvonne joined, too. BUT there was a slight hiccup. Even though I’d been starting Jasper’s car once a week and warming it up (and had JUST started it two days prior), the engine didn’t start. Oh, fuck, did I accidentally not shut the door strongly enough and the battery died? That couldn’t have been the case – I am always very paranoid about that happening so I practically slam car doors to avoid the possibility haha.

(Jasper, Yvonne, and I during the awful car situation, but also some candies Jasper brought me back from Malaysia!)

We ended up going to Pak ‘n Save in my car. Yvonne followed me while I did my grocery shopping. It was cute to have her tag along and be my little helper lol.

(Above features Yvonne looking like an eight year old and Renee’s DELICIOUS red bean bao buns!)

Once we’d finished, Jasper bought a pair of jumper cables and we went to jump his car. Jasper was on the phone with his dad, who is pretty knowledgeable about cars. He suggested that even though I started the car every week, it really should have been driven around to charge up the battery. Jasper had told me I didn’t need to worry about driving the car around, so I hadn’t done so. After Jasper’s dad coached us through the jumper cables, we successfully jumped the car. While I’ve observed it before and understand the concept, it definitely felt scary to do. I was like “JASPER, I’M SCARED!!!” haha but all ended up being okay. Once we’d finished it, we hugged. It was such a dilemma but we sorted it out. Butch as hell!

My car also started making some strange noises. I looked it up online and asked some mechanics on the internet with a video of the noise it’s making. I mentioned I just got my cambelt replaced and one of the guys said it sounds like the place I got it done need to tighten one of the tensioners. Hopefully they don’t charge me for that when I take it back, since it was their error to begin with. EEK!

One of my colleagues brought her dog Lola to work the other day. I was so excited because I don’t get much dog interaction here in Queenstown. Throughout the day, I kept visiting her and petting her haha.

One of my hostel friends, Jerome, and I said our goodbyes the other day. He is going on holiday to Australia for the next few weeks and he gets back literally the day I am leaving Queenstown – so we won’t see one another. We had a nice chat in the kitchen. Jerome has been at the hostel longer than I have, so it felt kind of emotional to say goodbye to him. I’ve said goodbye to plenty of people since I’ve been here, but I haven’t had to say goodbye to someone who has been here for so long in quite some time. Most of the time, it’s someone who was only here three or four months. Not nine, like me. I messaged him a little while later just to wish him all the best. He responded with a really kind message. He said, “I always enjoyed our chats here and there..! You have this natural way of being you that brings people to open up. I’m wishing you all the best on your journey, Steve!” so nice.

Angela and Colin are leaving as of tomorrow, too, although they weren’t here nearly as long. They were always very nice, though.

It is Winter Pride here in Queenstown, so lots of rainbow flags and various doings around town and up on the mountains. Jasper and I walked by a drag performance the other night on our way to get ramen. I’ve seen enough drag to last a lifetime so had no interest in watching the show haha. However, ramen was high on my priority list that night.

I also applied for some jobs in Antarctica. LOL. I hear that you typically don’t get hired on your first application, so I decided to just put it out there so they have my information on file for future reference. What an experience that would be. It’s usually on a contract basis, so people are there for a few months during the winter or for summer. It would be a cool thing to do once I finish my Asia trip. We’ll see. Just flirting with the idea.

Art of the Week

A bit gruesome, but… love it!

Reflections

It is a little insane to me that as of tomorrow, I have two weeks left at work. The following day, I leave Queenstown. Time is crawling by, but it’s moving along at the same time. To be honest, I have been counting down the weeks probably since before I visited home in April. While I’ve loved my time in Queenstown, I just am ready to not work. I got a sample of the freedom of not having a job for five months in Australia, and since I’ve been here, I’ve wanted that again. I didn’t originally intend to work for as long as I have here, but the plans changed once I was offered this job. But with that said, it’s crazy that in two weeks, it’s finally here. Funemployed, for probably about a year and a half. First time in life since, what, I was 14? Can’t wait!

I don’t think I’ve fully processed what it will feel like to say goodbye to the people here – especially Jasper and Yvonne. Although, I have faith we’ll meet again in the world one day. The world is big, but it is also small. Vienen y se van. This is how it goes.

So, what’s next? Geez – so much in the coming months.

This weekend, Jasper, Yvonne, Victoria, and I are driving down to the Catlins. I want to go to Slope Point, Curio Bay for yellow-eyed penguins and to see the petrified forest, McLean falls, and Nugget Point. I’m excited for this trip because we’ve never gone on an overnight trip somewhere together. It is also a nice grand finale for us before I leave.

The weekend after that will be in Queenstown. I want to have a little farewell party and go out dancing on Saturday night. And then, believe it or not, that is the last weekend in Queenstown. It’s just crazy. It’s almost here!

Until next time – I’m sending all my love. x