New Zealand - the first episode :)

Good day!!

 

I knew that I was in New Zealand when I landed and next to my landing strip was a flock of 100+ sheep grazing in the sun!!  Welcome to the land of 80 million sheep and 4 million inhabitants :) 

 

I landed in Christchurch and in true Sarah travelling style got on a bus the next day for somewhere else :)  (I'll figure out if Christchurch is worth the visit at the end ;)  I headed south on a bus to Dunedin, travelling along the eastern coast.  The scenery was beautiful and I had trouble keeping my eyes shut for even a moment during the journey.  Dunedin involved seeing Royal Albatross, yellow-eyed penguins (nearing extinction), an upclose encounter with sea lions, fur seals, a local brewery, the steepest street in the world (at 1: 2.86m - yes, that's 2.86m up for every 1m of asphalt) and a lovely train ride through the Taieri gorge. 

 

From Christchurch, I got on the "Bottombus" which travels the southern end of south island or the bottom :)  through the Catlins district.   We stopped for some beautiful, scenic stops, saw a petrified forest, I sheared a sheep, made jewellery, checked out some local producers and hoped for a dolphin sighting which didn't occur with an overnight in Invercargill.

 

I've since arrived in Te Anau, at a lovely backpackers, just outside of town.  Te Anau is picturesque beyond words (it reminds me of Lake Louise, though I've never actually been there), with its lake surrounded by mountains, some still snowcapped.  I've arrived here to see both Doubtful and Milford Sounds (which aren't sounds at all but fiords) before heading off to Queenstown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord for more on fiords).  Today I travelled to Doubtful Sound, through this beautiful overpass and then into the actual sound, paddling around in a sea kayak and marvelling at the steep rocky cliffs lined with trees and mosses.  Doubtful Sound gets around 8m of rain a year which is one heck of a lot of rain but it allows moss and lichens to grow on the sides of the mountain which then supports the trees.  It was a beautiful place which I am convinced will forever be etched in my memory.  I took some photos, however I know already that they will not be able to capture the beauty nor the sheer magnitude of the place. 

 

Tomorrow I head off to Milford Sound, which is the most visited of the sounds in Fiordland and then to Queenstown which is the adventure/adrenaline capital of New Zealand (and maybe the world!!).  I have completely booked out my travels as it seems that things book up substantially over the holiday season, particularly with Xmas.  I'm not completely convinced that I like travelling all booked but I felt compelled to book everything for fear of missing out.  And for those curious, I can you that I'm scheduled to do some daredevil events but I won't share which yet ;)

 

I hope you are all well - thinking of you over this holiday season :)

Hugs,

S

 

P.S.  For those who have a clue about my camera and lens, I dropped them both today on the boat in Doubtful Sound.  I didn't expect any damage until I opened the case to see that I'd cracked the filter.  Thankfully it was the filter and not the lens - $70 to replace instead of much more ;)