Wow, it is COLD on the water. There were times I wondered if I'd get frostbite if I stayed out any longer. It's been an hour and 15 minutes since the cruise and my ears are still cold.
Waiting for the bus now. It's 11:13AM computer time (12:13PM New Zealand). My bus comes at 2:15PM, and then it's a 4 and a half hour trip back to Queenstown, where I meet Jude at the grocery store at 7:30PM.
| The only way into Milford Sound by automobile, the tunnel was built with pick axes and man power. A few men died while building this tunnel; the result of avalanches from the steep terrain. |
If you look carefully, you can see evidence
of the manmade chisel work!
Jude must still be on the bus back to Queenstown. He left at 9:30AM, so he should arrive around 2PM. He's planning on going Parasailing, which should be fun. He said it was a bit cheaper than it would be at Torrey Pines. I imagine he will be flying tandem, so not too much to worry about there. I just hope he gets some photos and videos. I'd love to see it secondhand.
The cruise was nice. I went by foot to the wharf again (which is about a 20 minute hike). A guy from India that now lives in NYC stopped and picked me up on the way. After I gave him directions to the wharf and to the petrol station, I think he felt guilted into asking me for a lift. When I said "Okay" he soon after said "Well, that wasn't too far. I should have just left you there to walk." New Yorkers have a funny way of showing affection.
Back to the cruise...
So, I got on and went straight to the nose of the boat. We left the wharf just before 9AM. Because we were the first boat, the water was nice and calm. I froze for a bit, but met some nice folks from Minnesota, and a couple from Argentina. Man, this guy had the coolest eyes. He looked like that child (now grown-up) from that famous national geographic cover (with the red hood and the bright green eyes). Had I not felt way too silly asking, I would have taken a photo of him as well. Nonetheless, we had some great conversation. Turns out he just got back from a track as well, and had the same beautiful, snowy conditions we had on ours that one day. He gave me some great tips about the glacier (glassier) hikes. Apparently the "half-day" trip spends 3 hours on the trail; 1 hour on the glacier. Whereas, the the full day trail spends a fair amount of time on the ice; goes much higher, and gets out of all the nasty, grey ice. Looks like we'll be signing up for the full day. Also funny, this couple said they were also doing the same hike we're going to be doing around Mount Cook, "Mueller Hut", that we'll be doing; likely around the same time. Maybe we'll meet again.
On the cruise, there wasn't really much wild life to be found. Go figure, the animals were smart enough to realize that it was "bloody cold" outside and to seek shelter elsewhere. I got some good shots of the waterfall, and this one that I absolutely LOVE. It has one of the mountains catching the sunlight taking up the majority of the frame on the right, and in the wee distance on the bottom left you can see other fjord-scaped mountains layering in shades of blue against one another. I used a polarizer, so all the bush is vivid green, and the sky vivid blue. Ah...more Mason Jennings. This time "California". Ha...how nice.
Well, I hiked back to the Lodge. Since I was here yesterday, the staff knows my face. I don't think they will suspect I am no longer a "lodger," which is excellent because the sand flies, unlike dracula, love to suck your blood during the light hours. With any luck, that one girl will come back and play another mini-concert in the common room. Otherwise...I'm sure I'll find good ways to use the next hour.
One of the Hut Wardens on the Routeburn Track told us about this video called Shadowlands. They have it here in the gift shop and was very tempted to buy it, but I looked on Amazon and saw they have one used for 12.99 US (here it's $35 NZ); plus it would just be one more thing to haul back. The cinematography looks pretty amazing. I think it'll do a great job of showing you where we are.
Okay...I'm off now...
Cheers,
Ryan
