Aotearoa Part V - Fiordland

We began our journey onto the Milford Road at a place called Te Anau two and a half hours from Queenstown and I guess the last town to collect provisions before you enter the wilds of Fiordland where there are no facilities for 170km until you reach Milford Sound.
 
On arrival at our campsite I ditched my family and went to the cinema. This might strike you as odd however our guide book said don't leave Te Anau without seeing a 35 minute film called Shadowlands which is a commentary less movie shot by helicopter over the course of four seasons and provides a glorious view of the Fiordland National Park. All 1.2 million hectares of it. 

The cinema seats 56 in plush wide chairs and you can take booze in there too. It is all very civilized. A short introduction by the guy who sold me my apple cider at the bar mentioned that the cinema was built purely to show this particular movie which was shot by a local helicopter pilot and directed by the cinematographer who did the location scouting for Lord of the Rings. As they blew the budget on the cinema they have now had to extend their offering to a bar as well in order to get more income.
 
The film itself was dazzling and it is easy to believe that the folks who walk the famous Milford Track or head to Doubtful Sound are only covering 2% of the entire national park. 

I am telling you all these dull facts because I want you to know how pleased I am with myself for remembering all that considering I was drunk by the time I left the cinema. I don't drink much anymore and now that my lunches have gone from Singapore fat face stuffing of dim sum or noodles to our old camping and hiking fayre of a ham sandwich and a banana it was hardly surprising I was legless after one drink. Also because my small lunch was burned off on a three hour hike prior to my movie I basically drank wife beater on an empty stomach. Usually my bottle of cider will last two hours but I had to neck it in 30 minutes so I ended up staggering back to our campsite and then cooked dinner for all of us using boiling water, hot oil and knives.
 
We took our time on the morning of our departure from Te Anau as we had waste to empty, petrol to fill, groceries to buy prior to our four days in the basic camps off the Milford Road. Oh and we had to prise the kids off the jumping pillow at the campsite.
 
The earlier sections of the road itself is not the most special we have driven so far and I therefore feel slightly bad for those folks who bomb it in from Queenstown by bus on a seven hour journey just to do the boat cruise on Milford Sound. It just doesn't enable you to take in the majesty of this national park. Still they have their reasons. 

Despite my inebriation the night before I knew the real thrill prior to getting on a boat would be the walks off the Milford road. As we have the kids we couldn't do the epic walks such as Milford, Keppler, or Routeburn which take days but we found some good day hike options on a helpful map from the DOC office in Te Anau.
 
Unfortunately the lady who advised us on the best walks for families with young children assumed our kids were amputees as the first place we stopped on her recommendation was a 100m long boardwalk where you can see some mountains reflected in a very clear and still puddle. Note: don't bother with Mirror Lakes. It's crap and is purely designed to be a dull stop for the long haul bus folk to stretch their legs before they get deep vein thrombosis.
 
We were out of there in about five minutes and instead after a lovely picnic lunch in a beautiful peaceful spot we decided rather foolishly to take on a three hour return hike to a place called Lake Marian. 

All sounded lovely. Gentle ascent to a beautiful lake through alpine forest along a powerful rushing river. 

It took us 3 hours just to get to the sodding lake and admittedly the forest was absolutely beautiful but it was raining, muddy as hell, slippery and incredibly long and we had two young children in tow. 

However after all the struggling and complaining up to the top (and the kids really did do very well as it was not easy at all) we reached the lake. I think I expected just a lake and that was it but I forgot where we were and we had basically climbed up a mountain. Surrounding this beautiful glacial lake were the snow-capped peaks of Fiordland mountains and I mean the peaks. Not just the mountains but the peaks with snow at eye level and waterfalls spilling out of the sides. It was glorious. And even though it was 6pm and we had a three hour hike back we knew it was worth it.
 

What made me giggle most was my cocksure daughter adopting all the unworthy confidence of Sir Edmund Hillary at the start of his descent from Everest. While my youngest decided this beautiful quiet scenic spot required a poo and my husband was shooing sand flies and I was holding open the door so he had some light in his porta potty I heard and saw my seven year old talking to an older gentleman who looked like he has been hiking his whole life. That composed confident but humble manner of a proper walker. Not those people who wear all the top gear and carry two poles which they over use when walking. Oooh that drives me nuts. Bloody over pollers. 

Anyway, I heard her tell him "the view is fantastic. It's really worth it". Further down on our return she told a couple of ladies who were heading up late in the day that it was worth it too in her poshest voice while rolling her eyes. I decided her smugness needed a bit of a dressing down and told those ladies that she is being a smug bug now and wasn't so chuffed with herself when she was whinging the whole way up for three hours.
 
The whinging was one thing but the endless questions drove me crazy. I do like talking to my children and I find them mildly interesting and know full well in a few years they won't talk to me at all but believe me three hours of asking me who I liked best out of her, her brother and Daddy was enough to make me want to lock myself in the porta potty and let the sand flies take me down.  Furthermore, because she is a dipstick she cannot walk and talk at the same time so slowed down every time she tried to get me to answer this stupid question. Given it was 7pm I was in no mood for chit chat so told her I despise you all equally and I like myself the best.
 
Anyway we made camp around 8pm and the setting was exquisite. Heads hit pillows at 10.30pm and out like a light. Little do the kids know we have another three hour summit hike tomorrow planned. We will tell them the usual lie of it's just a short walk like we did today and see how they get on now that all their outer wear is soaking and their boots are sodden.


Next Week:  Queenstown to Christchurch to Kaikoura