Sea to Shining Peaks

Just tuning in?   After one of the warmest NZ autumns on record, winter is finally here — complete with few precious hours of daylight in which to do our adventuring.   We’re seven months down on our one year visas, and two months into a schedule of backpacking, work trade in NZ homes, and sightseeing.   Rinse and repeat!

We left Dunedin following the side of the harbor we’d yet to explore.   The advice of many encouraged us to visit Aramoana where the harbor meets the sea.   We weren’t disappointed!   The surfing action was fun to watch, the shells were amazing, and we even happened upon a sea lion!

From there we ascended to amazing, sweeping coastal vistas as we made our way along the scenic route.     We stretched our legs in the highly recommended tiny oceanside village of Karitane, before driving up to see the infamous Moeraki Boulders.   These oddities form much like pearls.   Eons ago, some mineral started collecting around organic fragments deep inside mudstone deposits and grew impressive orbs.   Erosion slowly sets the boulders free to roll down onto the beach where the ocean eventually breaks them along their fracture lines into puzzle pieces.   Their symmetry makes them beautiful!

The highlight of the coast was our sunset trip out to Katiki Point (thanks Rachel!).   Endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguins are shy birds who spend the day hunting at sea and bring home food for their young in the evening.   It’s said

that if a predator is spotted between the penguin and its nest, the penguin will not return to land — threatening its own life and potentially starving the chicks.   As a result, most places frequented by penguins have “hides” built so that the voracious tourism doesn’t further threaten the declining populations.   It was from one of these tiny shacks that I got to see several of the adorable, awkward birds struggle ashore as the sun set.   Very cool!

In the morning, Omaru was quiet and their visitor’s center closed.   So it was off across the plains toward the glacier-clad peaks in Mt. Cook National Park. It was our first day since beelining it from Christchurch to Wanaka six months ago of true road-tripping.   Because New Zealand is so small, none of

our drives so far have been longer than an hour or two.   We plugged in the iPod and made Mt. Cook before sundown!   The campground was swank, with a kitchen shelter to make meals and meet other tourists.   We packed gear for the next morning and were on the trail amongst the first fingers of daylight.

Our prize for the day was the Mueller hut poised at the base of Mt. Oliver overlooking the Mueller glacier.   Our total elevation change for the day was over 6,000 feet, so the views got more impressive with every step.   Clouds

slowly ambled through the valley, renewing my appreciation each time they concealed and revealed soaring, snow covered peaks.   The blue, gleaming glaciers and icefalls provided the soundtrack for the day, creating thunder and an impressive show as enormous chunks broke and tumbled down the slopes.

The milky turquoise terminal lakes disappeared as we clambered up onto the rock and snow leading up to the Mueller Hut.   After lunch, we headed up Mt.

Oliver behind the hut — the first peak climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary, a nationally loved New Zealander famous for being the first person ever to stand atop Mt. Everest.   It was glorious!

Pink evening skies foreshadowed a fantastic day to come.   We were up with the sun again to explore the Hooker valley.   Despite the winter inversion pressing clouds close to the ground, we were still thrilled by peep hole views up to peaks glistening in the morning sun.   After crossing dubious bridges spanning raging murky rivers of ice water, we were finally rewarded with icebergs close enough to touch (and we did)!   Our next conquest involved testing out our van’s 4WD

capabilities for the first time.   The beast successfully tugged all   3,000 pounds of itself, us, and our stuff over the glacial moraine of the Tasman Valley.   When the road got truly gnarly, we parked and set off on foot.

We slowly scrambled up a heap of glacial till to a breathtaking view high above vast expanse of melting ice.   The Tasman Glacier seemed to go on and on — over a mile across and over 15 miles up the valley.   A true outdoor junkie, I left Pat at our lunch spot to scramble down a scree slope and follow an old trail.   My ten minutes were up too quickly, as I promised myself I’d turn back after just one more view.     Just five or six more views later, I spied the Ball hut up on the flanks of a ridge and had to keep going.   I returned to Pat with my tail between my legs, so to speak, but still jazzed on the impressive scenes!

We were back in the Mt. Cook village in time to catch the last few planetarium shows.   The visitor center desk man tipped us off to “quiz night” at the local pub where we did exceptionally well for not having grown up in New Zealand.   The morning brought glorious showers (bathing is a life highlight when it only happens six times a month), more planetarium viewing, and an interesting visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center.   We rounded out our day taking in the visitor’s center displays and said goodbye to one of New Zealand’s most beautiful places at sunset!

Penguins, boulders, and hip bus stops here.

See our trail antics, sunrises, and glaciers by clicking here.