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Fiordland
Sunday, 03 December 2006
Sorry that I have been lagging on the blog folks. From Christchurch I headed off to Wanaka, which reminded me a lot of Truckee. There is a large lake there surrounded by gorgeous mountains so I felt right at home. I then moved on to the Fiordland National Park. This is a huge park with many walks and islands that can only be reached by boat. I stayed in this little town called Manapouri at a place called Possum Lodge (http://www.possumlodge.co.nz) I went on a walk cleverly called the Circle Track, and yes it was a loop. I hopped on a boat to get to the trail head. It was VERY muddy and steep in spots. I had a good time slipping around and getting my entire foot suctioned down into the earth, serious though, I love mud. The next day the plan was to go on a boat tour of Doubtful Sound. I am putting in a couple links for two reasons. One is so that in case you want to come check out Fiordland you'll know where to go (http://www.lakevista.co.nz/fiordland-map-large.gif). The second is so you can see just as much as I did, cause I didn't see shit! (http://www.firstlighttravel.com/Assets/act_zqn_doubtfulsound-2.jpg) Ha, know why, cause it was raining! Even hailing at times. In fact the captain and the guy he was chatting to on the radio said it was the worst they had seen in 20 years!! We didn't even make it out to Doubtful Sound because the ride was too rough. BUT, it was wild and raw wilderness in its natural state and what I did see was spectacular. I have now been to the two wettest spots on Earth. Mount Waialeale in Kauai which gets about 9 meters of rain per year and Doubtful Sound which gets about 6.5 meters per year. When it rains in both of these places so many waterfalls come out. In Kauai it was a relatively dry day when I went to the center and I think that I saw maybe 50 waterfalls. On my Doubtful Sound trip I saw hundreds. They fell from so high up and being right beneath them at sea level was a dramatic view. The boat we were on was small and there were only about 10 of us on board. The captain could maneuver us around to small places the larger cruise ships couldn't go. There was also tea and coffee on board. Just as we were about to go under this waterfall a guy from Belgium stepped out onto the back observation deck holding a mug of coffee in each hand. The boat started rocking and the water started spraying toward us. The poor Belgium guy got water in his eyes and was helpless there with his hands full, eyes closed and mouth gaping open getting soaked. I should have helped him and taken a mug! But I was just stood there dumbfounded, “oh that poor guy he’s getting drenched!” He was in good spirits though and we all had a good laugh about it later.
Posted: 12.03.2006
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