Fantastic South Island Trip May-June 2016

Old Jun 15th, 2016, 08:35 PM
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Fantastic South Island Trip May-June 2016

We spent May 21-June 2 on the beautiful South Island. I've put our pictures into an album, and will do a full trip report here.

We're heading to Canada for a family reunion this weekend, but for now, here are our photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/3yNEdr21XdaYmnZK6

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 02:17 AM
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Gorgeous photos! Looks like you had pretty good weather during your trip as well.

Awaiting trip report with anticipation.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 03:26 AM
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Nice photos. Lucky to get Milford sound on a clear day
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 03:06 PM
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Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a fabulous time. Yes, you really lucked out with the weather, as May was quite a mixed bag.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 03:27 PM
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Fab pics, Elendilpickle - how lucky you were to get such clear skies at that time of year.

please come back and tell us how the trip was when you have time and enjoy Canada.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 06:01 PM
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Milford in the sun! Flat white art! Sheep traffic jams! All that brilliant white on the mountains!

Lovely!

Can't wait for the report.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 06:55 PM
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Wonderful photos! ...and now for the report!?
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Old Jun 18th, 2016, 07:20 PM
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We're with family all weekend, then heading home Monday. I plan to start the report Tuesday, Lord willing.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 18th, 2016, 09:31 PM
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Love the photos Lee Ann. I lived in Darfield which is just a few miles east of Sheffield for about four years. Went to high school there. The pie shop at Sheffield wasn't there then sadly!!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2016, 02:54 PM
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Okay, so we're doing this.

Thursday, May 19 Travel Time

I was really pleased with the way we worked out our flights. We had enough Southwest points to fly ABQ to LAX for free, and I was able to plan so we didn't have a huge layover before our NZ flight.

As always, Air New Zealand is a wonderful airline, with friendly staff, good food and wine, and decent legroom in economy, even for Mr. Pickle. I finally figured out the magic formula for being able to sleep on the plane, too - a Dramamine and a couple of glasses of wine. As far as I can tell, I slept about six hours, and really appreciated being fairly alert and awake when we arrived.

We bought a $49 SIM card from Vodafone http://www.vodafone.co.nz/travel-sim/ which worked really well for us. We almost always had great quality coverage.

Since we had our winter clothing, plus hiking boots and rain gear, we each had one carryon and one larger suitcase on this trip, plus our daypacks. We chose to take advantage of Air New Zealand's online offer to check an extra bag for $1 each way; I must say it was nice not hauling a carryon through the airport.

I don't remember where I read this tip, but if you're flying from Auckland to Queenstown, be sure to get a window seat on the right side of the plane. The views are spectacular, as you've seen if you looked at my pictures.

Once we arrived in Queenstown, we picked up our rental car from Apex. They gave us a brown Nissan Tiida, which I named Bill the Pony in honor of Sam Gamgee's faithful steed - small, sturdy, but strong and reliable.

We had a few hours before it was time to check in at our hostel, so we explored a bit of Queenstown. It wasn't super busy, though there were a number of other tourists. We had a very good lunch at Fergburger - venison burger for Mr. Pickle and tofu with a really good satay sauce for me.

It was harder than I thought it would be to find a supermarket in Queenstown, but eventually we got directions to a sort of natural foods store called Raeward Fresh, where we picked up dinner fixings and some breakfast items we could take along with us.

The location of Queenstown's Lakefront YHA can't be beat - on the Glenorchy Road across the street from Lake Wakatipu with a fantastic view. For some reason, I thought we had an ensuite room (probably got mixed up with other places we stayed); instead, there were private bathrooms down the hall, which worked out OK. It was good value for the money.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 22nd, 2016, 10:19 PM
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That was a bargain being able to check luggage for $1. I remember that promotion. Normally you have are only allowed one check in bag when you fly economy. Looking forward to the rest of your report.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2016, 02:27 PM
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We were really happy with that luggage deal. Instead of trying to put jackets, rain gear, hiking boots/shoes, etc. all in one suitcase, we were able to separate our stuff and have some room for packing souvenirs as well.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 01:41 PM
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May 22 Jet Boats and Fish and Views, Oh My!

Today was our Dart River Safari trip. http://www.dartriver.co.nz/ We chose to drive to Glenorchy so we could stop when we liked to take pictures and enjoy the views.

And what glorious scenery it was! It was early enough in the morning that the sun was just hitting the peaks across Lake Wakatipu - just breathtaking.

Our ride with Dart River Safari was a ton of fun. Our driver, Elliott, was skilled and entertaining. He had also worked on the Lord of the Rings movies, so he told us a few tidbits about driving the cast and crew around, as well as quite a bit about the importance of the river and surrounding mountains to the local Maori people.

It was thrilling...and cold. We both wore our winter jackets, gloves, scarves, hats, etc., as well as the knee-length insulated jackets supplied by Dart River. Mr. Pickle also had on something like three pairs of pants. Top all that with a life vest and he looked like Randy from A Christmas Story.

Providentially, at the end of the boat ride we got to sit on the bus (I think they swapped passengers with a group who was going to do their funyak tour) and enjoy some hot pumpkin soup.

Rob, the bus driver, took us on a walk through a patch of beech forest and talked about the trees and other flora, as well as New Zealand's ongoing problem with possums, stoats, and ferrets. He also got us to sample a bit of the horopito bush; its leaves are peppery and leave a burning sensation in your mouth. My stomach was feeling a bit odd after the last couple of 360-degree spins we'd done on the jet boat, and this didn't really help.

On the way back to Glenorchy, we stopped to see more movie filming sites. The mountains you see along the Paradise road were used in Lord of the Rings and the Narnia films, and we also saw the area where the set for Beorn's house was built for the Hobbit movies.

After we got back to Dart River and shed our gear, we walked down the street to a little cafe, where I enjoyed a delicious roasted veggie sandwich. Mr. Pickle had some really good pancakes. We did a little window shopping as well before we went back to Queenstown.

Along the way, we stopped at Twelve Mile Delta, where more Lord of the Rings scenes were shot - the part where Sam and Gollum have their "what's taters, precious?" discussion and where Frodo and Sam meet Faramir. I'd downloaded a GPS app for my phone, but it wasn't much help. When it started to rain hard, we gave up and drove back to the hostel.

As part of our jet boat experience, we each got a voucher for Erik's Fish and Chips, so we used those for dinner. Erik's is just off Marine Parade, so it's easy to find. It is actually a food truck/trailer - fortunately they have a covered area with seating, because it was still raining. It's definitely worth a stop, because their fish was super-fresh and really delicious.

Oh - I forgot to mention that if you like to shop for unusual gifts, there's a store called Vesta just a couple of doors down from Erik's that fits the bill. They had some fun artwork, jewelry, etc. that I liked quite a lot.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 03:34 PM
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Window shopping in Glenorchy? Let me guess, possum and sheep products?
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 03:00 AM
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we saw an entire family of stoats on a walk in that area, Lee Ann - they looked really sweet and we had to remind ourselves of what a pest they are.

thanks for keeping up with the TR - i'm enjoying it a lot.
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Old Jun 27th, 2016, 06:09 AM
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This all sounds incredible.
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Old Jun 29th, 2016, 01:50 PM
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Melnq8 - yeah, mostly. But there were some nice herbal creams and things like that as well.

I forgot to mention that we somehow managed to lose our New Zealand road map before we even arrived in the country. When I went in the lounge at our Queenstown hostel, there was a really nice AA road atlas free for the taking - so I did. It was dated 2004, but that wasn't a problem at all, and it had excellent detailed maps.

OK, back to the report!

May 23-24 Milford Sound

It took us almost the whole day to drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound, but we stopped a lot to take pictures of the Remarkables and other gorgeous places. We also spent a little time in Te Anau picking up some snacks and having lunch. Sadly, Miles Better Pies was closed for the winter, but we enjoyed our lunch at Wapiti Bakery and Cafe.

The Milford Road is really an incredible experience. It's worth driving yourself so you can stop when you like. We wanted to do the Key Summit Track, but realized we would be starting rather late in the day and wouldn't get to the Sound until after dark, so we postponed our hike until the next day.

Milford Sound Lodge https://www.milfordlodge.com/ offers a "bed and boat" package (dinner and breakfast at the lodge, early cruise with Southern Discoveries, lunch on the boat, and a visit to the underwater discovery center), which we found to be an excellent deal. Once we checked in, the receptionist encouraged us to head right to the sound to watch the beautiful sunset. The sky was mostly clear on this side of the mountains, and the scenery was just lovely.

Pro tip - remember to get gas in Te Anau before you drive to Milford Sound. We didn't. Fortunately, there is gas available next to the visitor center, and it was actually reasonably priced. We got enough to make it back to Te Anau the next day.

We thought the food at the lodge was very good. I enjoyed their lamb shank with mashed potatoes and lots of vegetables, and their full English breakfast the next morning was excellent. Good coffee and a nice selection of beer and wine, too.

The only drawback was wi-fi is only available in the lounge, and the connection is pretty spotty. It wouldn't have been a problem for me except that I needed to check with my kids to see how my dad was doing healthwise, and my daughter was trying to get in touch with me to let me know one of my close friends had passed away. She tried to use Skype so we could talk face to face, but only their text option worked. Eventually we got the text option figured out and were able to chat.

We stayed in the backpacker lodge in a double room. The bed was nice, but depending on the weather and your tolerance of cold, you may or may not enjoy walking to the restrooms at night. It is *cold* down there at 3:00 AM in late May! But hey, at least we didn't really have to worry about sandflies.

We took the first Southern Discoveries "encounter nature" tour of the day at 9:45. It was so cool to walk outside at 7:40 in the morning and see that the moon was still shining and there were stars in the sky!

The cruise was excellent. It was a smaller boat, and there were around 25-30 people aboard. Our guides were fun and shared quite a bit of interesting information about what we were seeing. As we came to the mouth of the sound and turned to head back, a pod of dolphins (including a calf) joined us and spent several minutes swimming with our boat.

On the way back, we stopped at the Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory, http://www.southerndiscoveries.co.nz...r-observatory/ which was built in Invercargill (if I remember correctly) and towed around the end of the island to be assembled. This was really interesting as well. The layer of fresh water which flows into the sound floats on top of the salt layer, creating conditions in which rare corals and deep water critters can live.

We were back on the road around 12:30. The weather was clear and lovely, so we decided to try the Key Summit Track on the way to Te Anau. We got about a mile into the track when Mr. Pickle got really tired of climbing uphill, so we turned around and got back in the car. We did some other stops, including Mirror Lakes, instead. I had done more walking before we left, but Mr. Pickle hadn't, so it's worth taking some time to build up some stamina!

Back in Te Anau, we decided to go see Ata Whenua, which was recommended to us by several of you here. Unfortunately, the non-drowsy version of Dramamine I'd taken that morning (wasn't sure how bumpy the cruise might be) kicked in, and there were a few parts of the film I didn't see.

Melnq8, thanks for recommending The Ranch. We really enjoyed our dinner!

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 29th, 2016, 04:34 PM
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Lee Ann, what a wonderful trip with great weather in May. The Dart River trip sounds especially fun.

I always recommend folks planning to drive Milford Road read the Dept. of Conservation "Te Anau Milford Road Fact Sheet," which has a great map, a list of highlights, and a brief list of tips including "fill up before you go."
Here's the link for those planning to head there in the future:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...-factsheet.pdf
And the NZ Transportation Agency Fact Sheet. Under "Before setting out", it advises:
"Before leaving Te Anau ensure your vehicle has full tank of fuel as the only the fuel stop is at Gunns Camp in the Hollyford Valley that involves taking a detour off the Milford Road. Petrol and diesel is available in Milford Sound from pumps that only certain credit cards with pin number access only."
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh94-milford-road/
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Old Jun 29th, 2016, 07:58 PM
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We don't have a credit card with a PIN, but thankfully we were able to get gas with no problems. Mr. Pickle says he thinks the machine was old and hadn't been updated yet. We knew we should get gas, too - we just forgot.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 07:18 PM
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Waiting with bated breath...
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