Hey, everyone! What a busy, busy weekend it has been. AHH!! My friend Mo came in to visit from Perth and we spent the weekend going up north to the Mackenzie Region and then down south to Fiordland National Park. It was a lot of driving. Mo kept track of the mileage and it was something like 1,500km. GEEZ. While I’ve been to Fiordland National Park before, it was my first time going to Aoraki/Mount Cook… and boy, was it grand.

(Disclaimer: LOTS of pictures of me haha)

Aoraki/Mount Cook

I hadn’t thought much of it ahead of the visit to Aoraki/Mount Cook, but my roommate Jasper told me, “I hope you get to see Mount Cook!” And then I started thinking… oh, is there a potential we won’t be able to see it? Oh, yeah. Clouds. AHH!!

We drove three and a half hours from Queenstown to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Along the way, we passed Lindi’s Pass, Omarama, etc. It was exciting to pass Omarama because I hadn’t been north of there yet (sans the flight to Christchurch). New sights!

Maybe fifty minutes from the national park and we started seeing our first glimpses of the mountain. There were clouds in the sky stretching from Queenstown through to the north, but it seemed Aoraki/Mount Cook was getting a free pass for the moment.

The surrounding area was beautiful – tall mountains dusted with snow. Wide open fields. Just gorgeous. We stopped for something to eat, snapped a few pictures, and we ventured further into the park. The main objective of the day was to hike the Hooker Valley track. I had heard excellent reviews about the track so I was eager to get there with Mo.

I was also pleased to recreate the iconic picture of Aoraki/Mount Cook – the highway that seems to head directly to the mountain. Yahoo! Unfortunately, my phone camera is lacking in quality haha. Mo has the Google Pixel and it was way better quality than mine – you can tell the difference when you see the pictures of me, as they were taken with his phone.

Anyway.

There was also a beautiful valley just before the start of the Hooker Valley track. The lighting was marvelous!

Brace yourselves for LOTS of pictures of me. I was taking constant pics of Mo per his request and in return, I got a lot of my own haha.

Hooker Valley Track

After stopping along the way to take pictures of the mountain, we finally arrived at the start of the track. It was supposed to be an easy walk and that it was. Easy, but with incredible views. Just how I like it! AND there were boardwalks along the way haha.

It was maybe fifteen minutes in when we started to get really WOW’d by the views. The trail opened up and we were able to see the first glacial lake. Mount Cook is home to the Tasman Glacier and so there are a few lakes along the way that are filled with glacial water. It is such a beautiful blue and pictures truly don’t do the color justice.

The Hooker Valley track had three suspension bridges to cross. I love suspension bridges and I think Aotearoa New Zealand does as well, because they are all over the place here haha.

We walked along. The track was busy – even busier than Roy’s Peak, which had a constant influx of hikers.

When we turned along the side of a mountain, Mount Cook was visible once again, but this time even closer.

The end of the hike stops at a glacial lake with a view of the glacier as well as Mount Cook’s peak. Spectacular! The only thing that’s a bummer is that, again, pictures do not do the view justice. It looks quite tiny in pictures, but it was massive.

We snapped some more pictures, then headed down to the water. Mo loves taking selfies and asks me to take pictures of him as well at any possible opportunity haha. While he was busy taking selfies, I walked next to the frozen lake and ate mouthfuls of ice cubes fresh from the lake.

While the temperature had been lovely all day long, it wasn’t until we got to the end of the hike that it started to feel cold. The wind was funneling through the mountains and blowing ferociously. I put my gloves and cap on to warm up. After enjoying the view, we began our journey back to the start of the trail.

A little over an hour later and we had returned to the car. The initial plan was to spend the day at Aoraki/Mount Cook, but the only other items on my list of things to do were hikes. Mo suggested maybe instead of going to Lake Tekapo the following day, we could drive up there for the afternoon. We started our journey very early in the morning so we had plenty of time left. Sure! After checking in to our Airbnb, we drove to Lake Tekapo.

I want to mention that I thought Aoraki/Mount Cook was really awesome. I hadn’t yet seen anything quite like the views I’d seen along the Hooker Valley Track. Absolutely spectacular!

Lake Tekapo

Along the way to Lake Tekapo, we were blessed with some otherworldly reflections of the mountains, starring Mount Cook. Lake Pukaki offered a mirror image of the mountains and clouds above it. With the sun tucked behind the clouds, the glow looked superb. Mo and I joked that it looked like heaven. It really did. In hindsight, it was one of our favorite moments of the trip together.

I wasn’t sure exactly what there was to do or see in Lake Tekapo. All I know is that any time I’ve ever heard it mentioned, everybody says they LOVE it there. So, sure!

We stopped for food and then walked along the edge of the lake. There were hikes to do around the area but we were pretty hiked out for the day and the sun was going down. Instead, we hung out near the water’s edge, then crossed a bridge which led to the iconic church next to the water. The reflections at Tekapo were excellent, too. The water was so clear.

After Tekapo, we drove to Twizel where we were staying for the night. The next day? Clay Cliffs and Glenorchy!

After dark, we played around with astrophotography a little. Lake Tekapo and the surrounding area are famed for being a Dark Sky Sanctuary. Since it had been kind of cloudy, it wasn’t at its best but similarly to Queenstown, the Milky Way was definitely visible!

Clay Cliffs & More

After Lake Tekapo, we ventured down to see the Clay Cliffs. I had briefly seen some pictures before when friends posted them but wow, what a sight! Located on farmland, the farmer has given permission for people to view the beauty for a small donation fee. We drove through gravel road for a few minutes (eek) and then arrived at the start of the trail. After a brisk walk, we had arrived.

The Clay Cliffs looked somewhat similar to the South Dakota badlands – throwback to a road trip I went on with my parents back when I had just graduated university!

The trail started with a view of the edge of the cliffs but as it reaches its end, it actually finishes INSIDE the cliffs. Walking through a narrow gap (similar to that of The Treasury in Petra), the area opens up and you are surrounded by all the beautifully shaped cliffs. How neat!

Someone was taking engagement photos/videos in the area. That’s how you know it’s a good spot haha.

After climbing a little bit too high and then scooching back down practically on my butt, it was time to leave!

Since it was early in the day still, we drove back to Queenstown. Along the way, we stopped at Lindi’s Pass.

…and continued on to Glenorchy. While I’ve been to Glenorchy before, it was Mo’s first time. Of course, we stopped at the iconic red shed and did the little nature walk. We also drove to… Paradise. That was a spot in Glenorchy I’d never been to before. It was basically the end of the road – that’s as far as it goes and then a buttload of mountains block the way to Milford Sound.

If a road to Milford Sound was made through the mountains, it would create a significant shortcut. Instead, people have to drive four hours from Queenstown to Milford Sound. Yikes!

Once at Paradise, a rainbow presented itself across the lake. It was the first rainbow I’d seen in Aotearoa New Zealand for some time. How fitting to see a rainbow in Paradise. Oh, Aotearoa.

Mo and I grabbed dinner and then went back to the Airbnb or the night. We had a huge drive the next day… we decided to drive all the way to Milford Sound. Even though there was a 90% chance of rain and the drive could potentially have some icy patches, Mo’s scenic flight was cancelled and it seemed like the next best thing.

Since we’d wrapped up our adventures just after dark, we hung out in the hotel sauna/hot tub for half an hour before retiring to the room for the evening. Some much needed relaxation after long car rides and an even longer one the following day!

Return to Milford Sound

I’ve been to Fiordland National Park a few times at this point. My first initial bus tour, then Objective: Kea after first buying Goldie, and then the tramping track to Green Lake Hut. And yet, I think I have decided it is my absolute favorite place in Aotearoa New Zealand so far. I just love it!

We woke up at 6.30am and… surprise – it was already raining and would continue to rain all day long. Mo is a really good driver and he ended up driving the entire day. Which was like nine hours of driving lol. THANKS, MO. Kept us safe and got us there in good time. Had I been driving…

It was dark when we left and I was sleepy. Since there was no scenery to admire at that hour, I closed my eyes for a while. We talked and listened to music. We stopped in Te Anau and continued on to Fiordland National Park. I love entering the area – the scenery completely changes as soon as you enter the park. And yet, the best views are the last hour to Milford Sound.

I was excited to see what Mo thought of the area. It was completely different from Aoraki/Mount Cook. Where Mount Cook had wide open spaces and towering mountains, Fiordland is a rainforest and has a mix of beautiful, unusually shaped mountains and large sections of trees graffitied in moss.

I haven’t been to the area for a few months and it was cool to see it again through a new lens. The ambience was much different with fog and low-hanging clouds. With all the rain, there were more waterfalls along the edges of the mountains. The closer we got to Milford Sound, the more waterfalls there were.

I knew we were getting close to Monkey Creek, which is where the kea typically hang out. I was hoping to stop there for a second so Mo could maybe see a kea but as soon as we got to the area, we ran into traffic and saw rangers keeping people from stopping. There was a parade of cars all waiting to go through the tunnel. And, more surprisingly, we were headed towards SNOW. The rain had turned to snow and the area was completely white. It was shocking. I hadn’t seen proper falling snow in ages. Beautiful! What a drastically different experience from my first time going to Milford.

Once through the tunnel, we passed the area with perhaps the most waterfalls. They were cascading down the mountains, one after another after another. There were probably over a hundred waterfalls that day. How cool!

The road descended rather rapidly and after a few minutes, we were at sea level. The snow was gone. Mo and I laughed about it because it’s like we went from only snow-peaked mountains to a full winter wonderland, and then back to no more snow. It was just this small little pocket of total WHITE.

Finally, we arrived at Milford Sound. Mo was originally considering on taking the scenic cruise, which I’d urged him to do but unfortunately 1) Mo felt it wasn’t worth it since the clouds were obscuring so much of the mountains and 2) we hadn’t gotten there in time anyway. He insisted he would come back to New Zealand in the summertime. “Maybe on my honeymoon,” he told me haha. Gotta get a wife first, dude!

Despite the clouds, we were still able to see the front of the famous mountain in Milford Sound and even the silhouette of the peak. I did feel kind of bad that Mo wasn’t able to see it on a sunny day but even so – the gloomy atmosphere was really menacing and “heavy metal.” I think he still enjoyed himself, although when reflecting on his New Zealand trip, he kept mentioning how it would have been perfect if there hadn’t been rain. If only we could control the weather! Still – it gave us more time to stop at places on the way back to Queenstown and for him to get to the airport without rushing too badly.

Which view do you prefer? Left was from the other day, right is from my first visit to Milford. What a difference and yet both beautiful.

The Chasm & Kea

There was a place I’d seen on the map called The Chasm which I realized I’d never gone to before. We stopped there and did the short walk to the viewing point. Unfortunately, the area was damaged pretty badly in 2020 and after severe rainfall, the bridges were destroyed. We weren’t able to see directly down the chasm like you used to be able to. Still, the sound of the waterfall crashing down into “the chasm” below was very powerful.

After the chasm, we stopped at some lookouts. Fiordland National Park is so beautiful, it’s hard not to take pictures at every turn.

And then, to my great surprise, there was a fucking KEA on the road! “PULL OVER” I ordered Mo, and thank God there was a layby right there. We pulled over and I excitedly got out of the car to observe the little guy. It was a brief experience, but I told Mo how happy I was he got to see one. “They’re the only alpine parrot in the world! They’re endangered and only about 10,000 left in the world and they’re all on the South Island of New Zealand!” He doesn’t care about wildlife as much as me haha but I think he was happy to see it haha.

We stopped at another viewpoint and then, I kid you not, there were THREE MORE kea. Happy days! They flew onto our car, started fighting/playing with each other, and then one of them came over to my foot and tried to start eating my shoe. The others started to try and eat the rubber bits from our rental car. “Hey! What are you doing?! Stop that!” Haha. They don’t care. I love those little guys and was ecstatic I got to see them again. KEAAAA!!

Our last stop was Cascade Creeks, where I slept in my van earlier this year. There was a nice and quick nature trail that I thought Mo might like. Immersed in the lush greenery, I kept my eyes out for the very, very slim chance that maybe we’d see a daytime kiwi. No such luck BUT what we did spot was close enough. A weka waited for us at the end of the track. I’ve never seen a weka in the wild before so it was a really nice treat for me. Heaps of kea AND a weka?! How cool!

I think the birds were out in full force this visit because of the rain. Rain brings out bugs/insects/grubs. As we drove along the road, there would be pockets where dozens and dozens of birds would fly up from the roadside and into the trees. It was pretty magical. I was like – what are we, Snow White?

Before long, we had exited Fiordland National Park. Such a fantastic area. I’m lucky I get to live here in Queenstown and can go on weekend trips like this. Very lucky!

And a huge thank you to Mo for coming to visit and for exploring some of the best parts of Aotearoa New Zealand with me. Thanks, legend! See you in Fiji!

Miscellaneous

I couldn’t help but compare the sound of Lake Pukaki to Bukkake so I started calling it Lake Bukkake. Jasper has since told me he does the same thing haha.

After being so lucky with the visibility of Mount Cook, I decided to look up the live cam on the rainy day in Fiordland National Park. Yep – COMPLETELY clouded out. Could not see even an inch of the mountain. The website also said that the mountain is only viewable 33% of the time, so pretty similar to Mount Denali in Alaska. We really lucked out with that one. Since that will be my only time visiting Mount Cook, I’m super glad we got to see it.

I also want to mention that it was really nice to have my friend Mo visit. Mo and I first met in Perth and he has also visited me in Tasmania. While of course, I’ve made some friends in Queenstown, it was great to see a familiar face and someone I haven’t seen for some time. I do wish friends and family from back home would visit but it’s so expensive and such a long flight to get from the states to New Zealand so I totally understand it. Maybe when I’m in Asia 🙂

And speaking of Asia… I have officially purchased my tickets for Chapter Three of the journey. February 20th, I will head from Chicago to Taiwan, which will kickstart my Asia chapter. EXCITING!

While reading about some places in Southeast Asia, I was very triggered to learn that there are leeches in the rainforests LOL. I actually had a physical body response when I read that. Fear of leeches: REACTIVATED.

Art of the Week

This one is a V2 of a drawing I’d made for my friend Carly. She is currently in Thailand and is maybe getting a tattoo of this (or potentially the V1 I did a couple months back).

Reflections

And just like that, I have six weeks left at work. Jasper is leaving on holiday for three weeks and while I’m excited to have the room to myself for a little bit, it will also be weird to not have him here. And when he’s back, we only have three weekends before I leave!

I knew it would come fast and while it’s not necessarily in the blink of an eye, it is rapidly approaching.

It has also been strange to start saying Goodbye to some places. Due to my itinerary upon leaving Queenstown, I won’t be passing through Aoraki/Mount Cook again. I won’t be going to Glenorchy again. However, I will probably go to Milford Sound again with Jasper closer to the time I leave. We both want to go to the underwater observatory there.

So, what’s next? I told y’all last week!

Next Sunday is Doubtful Sound. I’m looking forward to that because that’s a spot I haven’t been to yet and it’s supposed to be pretty phenomenal. I’ll let ya know. (It doesn’t hurt that it’s also part of Fiordland National Park.)

Until next time – sending you all my love xx.