I arrived in Queenstown late Monday and went straight to campage site, check out the view of the mootons from tentage.
Tuesday I explored QT which is very touristic but also rather lovely. I walked up Queenstown Hill to admire the views of the mootons and town below and indulged in a picnic for one.
I may have developed a fungus fetish...
Wednesday was the start of my next Great Walk; The Routeburn Track. It was truly breathtaking and most of bloggingtons will be the photographs of the last few days. Please enjoy but there is no substitute for experiencing the awe and wonder first hand.
Day 1: I met Beth and Craig who I tagged along with. They are two gorgeous, like minded people from Edinburgh and we spent the 3 days appreciating the loveliness. Isn't nature brilliant! They got engaged whilst in NZ. Big congratulations guys:)
We didn't set off until around 3pm and it only took a couple of hours to reach the Routeburn Falls Hut. The walk followed the Routeburn River.
Adilady with Treebeard the Ent...
The Routeburn River.
A tom tit.
Check out the hut! Totally palatial. Unfortunately zero kippage for Adilady due to the loudest snoringtons I have ever heard in the next bunkage. I ended up sleeping on a hard, wooden bench in the dining area:(
Day 2: Here are the falls next to huttage.
And then it was a steep climb up to Harris Saddle giving fabuloso views of the mootons and lake.
We climbed Conical Hill to enjoy the views. On a clear day the breaking waves of the Tasmin Sea can be seen but cloudage stopped play. Still we did enjoy some beautiful views through the breaks in the mist.
This yellow bird is really rare but I can't remember the name of it:( see footnote 1
In the afternoon the midst really did descend and visibility was nil; a real shame as on a clear day we should have enjoyed extensive views of the Darran Mountains:
The decent to the hut was through a fabulous furry forest; very magical (see footnote 2)
When we arrived at Lake McKenzie Hut the sunshine broke through and it really was a gorgeous spot to chill and relax for the afternoon.
The other person in the red shirt is Wendy, also Scottish but now lives in Oz. She was lovely and shared her dinner with me.
Another night spent on a bench in the dining area; damn those pesky snorers!
Day 3: Craig, Beth and myself rose at 6am to go and see 'Split Rock', it was well worth it.
Views of the mootons at dawn...
A perfect reflection on the glass surface of lakeage.
The split rock, it was fooking huge!
Below is one of my favourite photos ever.
The weather was perfecto and we had a most splendid day. Check out the mootons.
We saw a family of Kea's calling to each other and impressing us with their flight and fantastic underwing, red plumage; unfortunately they were too quick to photograph whilst airborne. I think after this hike I could sooo easily become a twitcher; that's a birdwatcher Bobbio.
WTF! Another contribution from Google+!!!
Earland Falls were amazeballs. Craig, the crazy mofo, went for a very icy dip.
The views from the top of Key Summit were truly breathtaking, I got to see those Darren Mootons after all.
You can just see Lake Marian in the valley; Craig asked Beth to marry him on those shores :D
I had a real laugh with Craig and Beth and I can't wait to look them up in Scootland and climb a Munroe or two. The funniest story they told me was this. When they went to the chippy in QT Beth had meant to order deep fried calamari but instead asked for 'deep fried Maori'; the guy serving her was a big, fat, tattooed Maori dude, oops! She didn't even spot her faux pas and Craig had to point it out ha ha.
Much love to my gorgeous family and friends. It's not long now until the prodigal returns so get that fatted calf ready:)
Footnote 1 bird is called a yellow head
Footnote 2 addition of furry forest photos
