New Zealand Photos

Here are a few more photos of New Zealand and our adventures. I'm not quite skilled at massive upload of photos to this blog, so I'll post more on Facebook.

The photo to the left is from our 4-day backpack on the Kepler Track, south island. This is one of 9 New Zealand "Great Walks," and includes huts along the way; hikers must register and pay in advance during the summer. We stayed in huts two nights and camped one night, since there was one campground halfway. The Kepler Track travels up through forests to this amazing ridge and follows it back down in a loop -- 62k over four days. We had rain the first day and some fog/clouds the second day on the ridge but it cleared around the lunch hour. This is the hike I did on Transfiguration Sunday and, like Peter, I wanted to build a dwelling and stay put!

The photo to the above right is of Erik and I at the Key Summit of the Routeburn Track, one of the most famous multi-day hikes in fjordland, southern part of south island. We didn't do this whole hike, just did a day hike to this summit. The views were 360 and incredible.

The photo below was taken on the north island during the last few days of our trip. We were on the Coromandel Peninsula, a about two hours away from Auckland. We went here for some beach time and some quiet after weeks of hiking. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cloudy, especially the first day. We hiked to this tiny beach called Stingray Beach. It was too cloudy/rainy/cold for snorkeling, but we walked along the beach and enjoyed the views anyway.

The photo below is the view from the front seat of the kayak during our three-day paddle in Able Tasman National Park, northern part of the south island. We camped at the same place both nights and took day paddles and hikes each day. The beaches were lovely and full of beautiful shells. The weather was just about perfect and we had the chance to paddle by some seal colonies and see moms with pups.



The photo to the left is the view from the campsite we had at Nelson Lakes National Park, south island. This is a less-touristy area and the nicest campground I've ever seen (laundry, showers, cooking shelter with stove, etc). We camped here two nights and did long day hikes (6 miles the first day and 9 the next). The hikes took us above the lakes and onto ridge lines that seem to go on forever. There were only a small number of people around, peaceful and serene.

This last photo is taken on a cruise on the Milford Sound. I don't know what to say about this place. The sound is actually a fjord (glacier carved) and has some of the the world's highest mountains than end in the sea. Breathtaking (and a bit Alaskan, we thought).