NZ Part three: Lake Te Anau, Milford Sound

12.3.
Today we left the coast and entered the fjordlands on the south west of south islands. there are alot of Fjords coming in from the west coast, rivers, lakes, glaciers and a lot of hiking can be done there but you have to pay for every walk and you have to carry your own stuff as the huts only provide a roof, a bed and a gas cooker. oh I LOVE our Austrian huts with Apfelstrudel and Gulaschsuppe and Kaiserschmarrn and a warm fire when you arrive!

We arrived in the pretty village of Te Anau on the 64 km long Lake Te Anau on a wonderful blue and warm afternoon and just spent the time by the lake and got a sleeping bag and pot for our hike.

In the evening we met three amazing young Gemrans (one girl two guys) "auf der Walz", they are already 2 and a half years on their way through Europe, a bit in Australia and now NZ and they have not more than a 5 or 6 kg small bag, including not even a tent! they sleep outside or if they are invited at someone's house, the walk all the way or they hitch hike. and they can tell stories!... in 2 weeks they have made almost the same way like us with the car!

it is quite easy to hitchhike here. People are raeally nice, helpful and friendly, and there are so many campers going too. and I (we) also try to take any hithchiker we find on the street as I will be doing it myself and hope to get a ride often! and it also helps to meet new people, cuase as I said before, we are a bit isolated in our car.

13.-16.3. Milford Sound Track.
The consequences of fast decisions and walking through the rain(y) forest

on this track, which leads 8 hours into a valley, then over a 1200m pass and 8 hours out of another valley, you are somehow trapped. you can only get to the start by bouat over the lake and you can only get back by boat on the Milford Sound. the forest is a really fascinating and beautiful southern rain forest with lots of huge trees, moss, Flechten, Fern and Fern Trees, rivers, wetlands, waterfalls, birds and ducks.

but it is a bit too much of a forest. and on the only part leading us UP to the VIEW, which view?!, we had rain and fog and didnt see anything of mountain tops or glaciers... (although also this would not have been much more than you can see in Austria) and this after more than a month without rain... naja, pech gehabt.

well we just made a wrong decision to book the most expensive trekk with the least view which was quite boring with too much of a forest, where ou dont have the option of changing date according to the weather. and compared to what you get ist is far too expensive. the huts are well kept but dont offer anything more than a shelter and the gas cooker. and it was 3 looooooooong afternoons (arriving at 2 or 3) with a loooooot of time and you cannot go on... hoch lebe der OEAV :)

and here they are again my two things to learn!
dont regret decisions!
and
patience!
:))

no, in the end it was a nice walk, good to be out in the nature, and the final swim in the Milford Sound was great too.

And then we decided to go on a crusie boat on the Sound and this was really beautiful. the rocks rise very steep from sea level up to 1600, 1700 m... and go down under the water surface for another 300 m.... so the glacier was up to 2000 m thick here! wow.