South Island Trip

Last month my mom came to visit, and the two of us took a trip to the South Island together. Most of the time we were hiking the Milford Trail together, but we did manage a few other things too in the mean time.

I loved these statues outside of the Queenstown Airport.


















When we first arrived in the South Island, it was cold and rainy, and (I have to admit it) we were a little daunted by the idea of actually going out for 4 days of hiking in it. It was tempting to hang out and maybe do other, non-outdoorsy things... like maybe hang out at cafes like this one and enjoy the art on the walls, the fire in the really cool fireplace and sip on chai lattes. This was was especially nice.











Well, we were talked into going by a really nice lady at the Fjordland Visitor Center, but we spent the day shopping for even more warm clothes. We kept yo-yo-ing. When it was rainy we thought ("Oh no! We are going to freeze! Let's throw in the extra sweater!") And when the sun came out? ("Oh no! Our packs are too heavy! We have to take some of these extra clothes out!") So back and forth, back and forth. So here Mom is, dressed in long underwear, midweight sweater, a coat, a down vest, and an raincoat. This must have been one of the rainy moments of the day.









Well, here are! The start of the Milford Trail! We caught a bus from here, the Fjordland National Park Visitor Centre.














The boat ride over was great! This really was the point of no return. No more anxiety of whether we packed the right stuff, knowing that if we don't have it now, we won't have it, and everything that we have now we are going to carry. Now's the time to enjoy the ride. Spectacular scenery! Sunny weather and amazing rocks, just jutting out of the water.