Saturday I drove to Te Anau and set up campage by a lake, below are my evening and morning views from tentage.
Sunday was an 'Adilady needs to get herself organised' kinda day, very Dullsville but necessary.
Monday I got up before I went to bed. 6am and still pitch black. 'Why!' I hear you cry. Because I was planning a massive walk and had to drive to Milford Sounds that evening.
The Kepler Track is another of NZ's Great Walks and takes 3 days. I was planning to walk to the top of Mt Luxmore; day 1 and half of day 2 then back again which is about 38 km. Very doable but an estimated time of 10 to 12 hours.
The walk started along the shores of Lake Te Anau and then climbed steeply through a beech forest, glimpses of the lake could be seen through gaps in the trees.
These are apparently limestone bluffs. What the hell's a fooking bluff?
I emerged from the forest to enjoy views of Lake Te Anau on my right and Lake Manapouri on my left.
Snackage stop was taken at Luxmore Hut before the final ascent to the top of the mooton.
From the summit I enjoyed spectacular views of The Murchison Mootons, South Fiord and Lake Te Anau.
I met a lardy guy from Leicester on the way up, he looked old enough to be me dad. OMG, he totally burned me off, sprinting up the hills with his wonderpoles and dynamite in his Y-fronts. I saw him on the way down, wobbling his belly like a bowl full of jelly, WTF is that all about?!!
I also nearly got my fooking head knocked off by this bad boy, they should be more careful...
Anyway it took me 9 hours in total and I treated myself to a well earned beero before hopping in the sunny and driving the 2 hours to Milford Sounds; Tuesday I was going kayaking.
The campsite at Milford made me very Grumpsville indeed. 22 bucks, couldn't park sunny next to tentage and got eaten alive by sandflies during erectification. I wanted a hot meal after my epic walk but the cafe closed at 8.30pm; I made it 8.28 but they wouldn't budge. Blood curdling animal cries in the night made kippage impossible, I was expecting to see the place littered with corpses when I arose from my beeping slag. Maybe I would have but at 5.30am it was still pitchus blackus, very hard to dissemble tentage without the luxury of sight.
Still, kayaking around The Sounds soon got rid of my mardies. It was difficult to take photos from a kayak without risking a droppage situation but I did my best.
Stirling Falls...
A sleepy seal...
Bowden Falls.
I shared a kayak with Callie from Texas, she is travelling the globe in 4 months before she goes back to college. We saw a leopard seal which is a MASSIVE deal. At first I thought it was the hump of a bottlenose dolphin but soon realised it was the head of a ginormous seal. Our guide Jimmy got very excited and radioed in to tell his pals. Apparently they (leopard seals not Jimmy's pals) live in the Antarctic and are rarely seen this far north. They (again leopard seals not Jimmy's pals) are fierce predators and are only ever preyed upon by killer whales, although that is rare. Jimmy said they are about as long as our double kayaks, that's a big fooking seal...
I loved kayaking around The Sounds and was glad I'd put my hand in my pocket instead of doing the Cheapsville cruiser. The silence was eerie, bordering on mythical. I now know how the elves felt when they boarded their ships to leave middle earth:D
Tuesday afternoon I drove to Wanaka, here are the views en route.
Today I have spent a happy few hours walking the Rob Roy Glacier Track but more of that in next bloggage.
What pearls of wisdom have I learnt from bookage? Well I have been introduced to the term 'narrative fallacy', I knew of its existence but was unaware of the label. The notion of a 'narrative fallacy' describes how human beings use flawed stories of the past to shape their views of the world and expectations for the future; we are all deluded to some degree. Still, I'm happy here in Adiladyland, if I'm plugged into The Matrix of my mind it's neither here nor there lol.
Lots of love to you all, its 7pm here and I have just had a most welcome if not illegal shower at the YHA; their security is very lapsed. Off to make campage so must say goodnight and over and out xxx
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