East Coast and Fjordland
December 24-26, 2014
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After years of wanting to go to New Zealand, we finally had the
chance to visit! We flew into Christchurch (via a direct SFO to
Auckland flight), rented a little campervan, and didn't waste
any time to start driving! First we headed south along the east
coast, and went to Dunedin, where we went climbing at a little
climbing area on the coast called Lover's Leap (which was funny,
as we have our own Lover's Leap climbing area in California).
It happened to be Christmas Day, and we were wearing our Papa
Noel hats (that we bought in Bariloche, Argentina) to celebrate :)
The climbing there was basalt cracks, fun but nothing remarkable.
What *was* remarkable was the setting - you're climbing on a
beautiful cliff right next to the ocean, and to get to it you have
to descend down a really steep grassy gully. It felt like the
Third Pillar of Dana approach, but more slippery and insecure.
And every time we'd get gripped and look around, you'd see a sheep
staring you and wondering what the problem is... you can't make
this stuff up.
After Dunedin, we were excited to check out the mountains and
head to Queenstown and Wanaka. But first, we had to check out
Milford Sound!
Overall we were really lucky with the weather on this trip - we only had a
couple of days of rain over a total of 3 weeks - but of course, when we
went to Milford Sound, it wasn't exactly a bluebird day... it misty and a
bit socked in. There was supposed to be some amazing climbing in the area,
and we also had considered renting sea kayaks for a couple of days, but we
didn't want to do either in questionable weather. So instead we opted for
one of the commercial cruises that goes up and down the entire sound (which
is several miles long). It reminded us of Norway - it's quite similar in
many ways. Even driving to Milford was quite impressive - it's a steep road
and also involves a tunnel through a steep rock wall. Milford Sound feels
like Yosemite Valley - steep granite walls surrounding a narrow valley. The
biggest difference is that the weather is generally bad - they say that
it's only clear 1-2 days a week, and it doesn't matter what time of year it
is (there isn't a "dry season"). The steep walls were pouring with
waterfalls everywhere, which was gorgeous! We heard that when it's sunny
and dry there are no waterfalls, so some people say it's better to visit
when it's rainy? Either way, we had a great time. :-)
Next: the mountains!
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Final approach to Christchurch |
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Stocking up! |
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Melissa and Nellie (from Nellie the Elephant cartoon) :) |
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Gorgeous beach on the east coast |
Great place to BBQ and camp on our first night! |
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Christmas Day we climbed at Lover's Leap near Dunedin |
The enchanted forest... |
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Sheep are everywhere in NZ! :) |
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Approaching the climbing area through the sheep pastures |
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Lover's Leap near Dunedin, New Zealand |
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Lover's Leap, cool climbing area on the East Coast near Dunedin |
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NZ beef for dinner! |
Great campsite on the 2nd night |
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On the way to Milford Sound |
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If it was colder here, it would be an ice climber's paradise... |
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