Blue Skies – Undoubtedly!

The natural beauty of New Zealand is astonishing. We saw vistas across the South island from Mt. Cook, The Remarkables in Queenstown, and Doubtful Sound. Each place had its own beauty. I found myself wondering, how can a place like this exist, and why aren’t we all there?

Mt. Cook was our first stop after leaving Christchurch and the trauma of the earthquake. We took a bus for the four hour ride from the plains of Christchurch to the mountains surrounding Mt. Cook, the highest point in the South island. The peaks of the mountains were obscured by clouds as we arrived so that could only imagine the view. I went for a walk to the valley to stretch my legs and was greeted by tall, purple lupine which remind me of Texas bluebonnets. The valley floor was covered with scrubby golden grasses that whispered in the breeze. There were large boulders sprinkled about that had been carelessly dropped by the glacier as it went through thousands of years before. The mountains rose up in the distance. I walked across glacial fed streams with waters gushing past, filled with fine silt from the melting ice. The water, minus the silt, was 99% pure. We would hear that again and again across New Zealand as we drank water directly from mountain streams.

Our room faced Mt. Cook – or so we were told. It would be a stunning view if only we could see the mountain (The Maori word for Mt. Cook translates as "cloud piercer." It is only visible one out of three days). And, next morning, there it was. I woke to sunlight streaming into the room and clear, blue sky out the window. It took a minute to register that there was a soaring mountain peak directly out the window. Beautiful. I photographed it every few minutes as the light changed against the snow-covered peak. Clouds roll in quickly so we soaked up the view for as long as we could. The peak would be invisible by noon. But, the weather was beautiful for our boat excursion to the Tasman Glacier. After a walk through an adjacent valley, we came to the lake that was created – only 30+ years ago – by the retreating glacier. The water was the same murky gray from silt as the streams. But we were in luck. When the earthquake rocked Christchurch the tremors also shook loose a chunk of the glacier. In fact, 30 million tons of ice calved that day and all of it was floating in the lake. It was the perfect time to see Mother Nature up close. Our guide took us through the small pieces of floating ice – like giant slush – so we could pry off an ice crystal to taste the perfectly pure water that was 300 years old. She took us as to the new, large icebergs as was safe as they were still fragile and unpredictable. These fresh bergs were turquoise blue from the densely compacted water. It was remarkable.

And speaking of remarkable, we left that afternoon for a five hour bus ride into Queenstown. Queenstown – a charming small city – is the epicenter for outdoor activities in New Zealand. It is situated on a large, deep blue lake and ringing by The Remarkables. The Remarkables are a range of mountains that seem to form a ragged, green wall protecting the lake and Queenstown. I look forward to hiking in those mountains on my next visit. This time, we were content to watch as the light and clouds changed them from green to blue to purple. However, we also enjoyed a boat ride on a 100 year old steam ship, TSS Earnslaw. We watched them shovel coal below decks as we motored along the blue water with mountains on all sides.

One of the excursions we were particularly excited about was an overnight boat trip to Doubtful Sound in Fjordland National Park. We held our breath for good weather as it is notoriously changeable in the fjords. Weather karma struck again and we were greeted with blue sky and puffy clouds when we arrived (a 2 hour bus trip this time) at the lake and village of Te Anau. Milford Sound is the best known of the tourist destinations in the Park, consequently, it is packed with bus-loads of tourists and airplanes doing scenic flights. We opted for the less trafficked Doubtful Sound. There’s a reason it has fewer tourists. Just to get there entailed a 55 minute ferry ride and a 40 minute drive over a pass on a steep, narrow, gravel road to arrive at the boat dock. Already, the scenery was stunning. Mountains shot up from the lake and lush vegetation blanketed the slopes.

Our boat had been custom-made for this tour and had sleeping berths for six couples plus the crew (captain and first mate). We boarded about noon and set up through the Sound. Doubtful Sound is actually a fjord, we learned, as fjords are carved by glaciers. The day was stunning and our first treat was the pod of dolphins playing with the boat. They jumped and spurted water so close that we could hear them breath – an inhale and sharp exhale that shot water into the air. They rolled around under the bow eyeing us as cameras snapped frantically.

Then we were off again. The vistas were ever changing as we motored though narrow passages with valleys cutting dramatically into the water. After lunch of fresh crayfish (they looked like large lobster) caught from the Sound, we sat back and enjoyed the ride. We went all the way to where the Sound opens to the Tasman Sea. When we arrived, giant albatross (we think they were really Mallymawk) swooped and soared behind the boat. They had round, compact bodies attached to long, slender wings and bright orange striped beaks. It was fascinating to watch them shift their bodies into a graceful turn. We had a close up view from the back of the boat.










As we turned back into the Sound, I overheard Captain Chris talking on the radio to another boat captain. Chris remarked on what a beautiful day it was to which the other captain exclaimed, “It’s a cracka of a day.” I couldn’t have said it better! Eventually, Captain Chris got out the fishing gear and Mike was in heaven. He caught fish after fish including some that we had for dinner that evening. A young man from Germany was traveling with us who had never fished before, so Mike successfully taught him. He caught the biggest fish of the trip.

While Mike fished, I kayaked. The kayaking was so peaceful. The only sounds were the splash of the paddles and the drip of water running down my arms. Every now and again a bird would chirp from the dense trees and ferns. The sun was warm and I felt like I could float there all day. But I was missing all the excitement of Mike’s fish!

With a glass of wine and a seat on the back deck, we watched the water and the mountains turn dusty colors as the sun dropped. Dinner was fresh fish and venison along with a variety of vegetables. As good as it was the main event was to follow. We all stayed awake until after 10PM to watch the darkening sky play host to the Milky Way. There are few things as astounding as a sky full of stars. It reminded me of being a little girl and standing in the back yard as my dad showed me that same vast swath of tiny lights. And there we all stood on the upper deck of the boat, barely able to make out each other in the blackness. We ohhed and ahhed at the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere: the Southern Cross and the upside down zodiac configurations. Orion, standing on his head, was the only one I could grasp.

I wish I could say we had a restful night, but we didn’t. The berths are not the most comfortable. But we woke in the middle of the Sound – fabulous. Chris started our trip back to the dock in the early morning hours. But this day was not full of blue sky. Rain sprinkled down as we traveled, and we were all thankful for the perfect day before. Chris returned us to the ferry dock and waved good bye as his next guests arrived. They, unfortunately, would spend their day fishing in the rain.

Doubtful Sound was all we could have hoped for, and, as for New Zealand, well, it’s a cracka!