From Lake Wakatipu to Moeraki

After three wonderful days in Mount Cook National Park, we continue to Lake Wakapitu. The city of Queenstown is located on the lake, known for its wide range of adventure sports and party opportunities. We make a brief stop and then continue to Glenorchy, a smaller and quieter town on the same lake, but with numerous hiking opportunities in stunning nature! Since the weather is not great, we only walk along the lake and through a large swamp area with many birds. Since we really like it here, we decide to stay for two nights. Unfortunately, it rained so heavily the first night that our tent was flooded and we had to flee to the car at 3 am 😆 Fortunately, it stopped raining the next day and everything could dry. Here, we hike the first part of the well-known Routeburn Track, which is one of the most popular tracks here.

Afterwards, we continue to Te Anau and from there to Milford Sound. We had debated for a while whether we wanted to go there or not...because the fjord is one of the most popular tourist destinations here and the busiest in NZ. There are alternatives that are more difficult to access and therefore not as crowded, but unfortunately they cost almost four times as much, which is why we ultimately chose Milford Sound. Which turns out to be a good decision 😉 But first, I curse the actually beautiful way there and the crowds of Japanese, Americans, and goodness knows where they all came from, who are brought in by tour buses and just stand around and annoy 😤 When we then sail out on the fjord with the boat, the whole thing becomes somewhat more relaxed. We are on the smallest and last boat (which strangely enough is also the cheapest), which means that not as many people are out and about and you can enjoy the natural spectacle undisturbed! The sun is shining (which is rare in this area, 200 rainy days per year are forecasted), the clouds wind around the mountain peaks, hundreds of waterfalls rush down the mountains, several rainbows are created through the interplay between sun and waterfalls, and seals laze on the rocks or frolic in the water! It is incredibly beautiful and we are overwhelmed with joy at the sight! I must admit that the visit is truly one of our highlights!

As the next hiking challenge, we have chosen the four-day Kepler Track. After the slightly traumatic experience in Tongariro NP, we have booked all three nights in huts, which are also well visited by locals due to the Easter holidays. On the South Island, the hiking huts can only be used by paying guests, while on the North Island they are more lenient. Even as campers, you were allowed to use the kitchen, etc. there, you just had to sleep outside. On the South Island, huts and campsites are two different worlds. Here, as paying guests in the huts, we have the pleasure of the hut talks, i.e. the rangers come every evening at dinner time and tell us interesting things about the area and the track. The relative comfort in the huts is pleasant, the snoring of the fellow sleepers less so 😐 On the second day, we wake up above the clouds and the sun accompanies us throughout the day, which is definitely the most spectacular day as you walk along the mountain ridge for some time and have amazing views. Feelings of happiness times ten! We meet some young Keas, which are very trusting and extremely curious, and love to peck at plastic, rubber, or metal. They particularly enjoy playing with David's hiking poles, as well as cables and seals on the hut. The young Keas have yellow rings around their eyes, which later disappear. They are one of the three parrot species that live in NZ. There are also Kakas and Kakapos (yes, that's really what they're called), but you see them much less often. The nocturnal Kakapos can only be found on Stewart Island, an island in the south of the South Island, which has a more intact fauna because there are fewer introduced predators like possums, rats, or cats living there. There are also supposed to be more Kiwis there. NZ must have been a true paradise for birds before humans arrived! Overall, the Kepler Track was also very impressive, and we had 4 days of sunshine, which is quite lucky in this rainy region.

From here, we drive directly to the east coast to Dunedin. A surprisingly beautiful and student city with allegedly the steepest inhabited street in the world (it is really quite steep) right next to the Otago Peninsula, which is our next destination. Here, we can see Royal Albatrosses, seals, and penguins. But unfortunately, all only with an incredibly expensive tour and guide, and no, we're not interested. We see some Royal Albatrosses flying around, they belong to the largest flying birds with a wingspan of up to 3.5 m and are excellent flyers (I know, in the photo it looks like a seagull 😀 our camera can't do any better). Access to the area with the nests, etc. is only possible with a tour. At the beach, we spot some lazy seals and many birds, such as cormorants and many falcons. Nevertheless, we decide to continue driving after one night.

Thanks to Google, we found a place where we can see penguins without a tour. And indeed, the Yellow-eyed Penguins live near Moeraki in a protected area. The beach is not accessible, which is absolutely right, but you can observe them perfectly from a safe distance when they return from the sea after a hard day of fishing. The Yellow-eyed Penguins only live in New Zealand, are among the rarest worldwide, and unfortunately are critically endangered 😔 In Australia, we saw the little blue penguins, which was great, but seeing the yellow-eyed ones was overwhelming! The penguins share the area with a huge seal colony with many young animals - it is also absolutely stunning to watch them! Behind the protected area, there is a project that takes care of injured and sick penguins and is grateful for donations. We are happy to contribute!

In Moeraki, there are some spherical rocks on a beach, which are believed to have formed about 4-5 million years ago on the seabed and were exposed by the sea!

Tomorrow we are going to Kaikoura for whale watching, on Monday we will return the car, and after 2 days in Christchurch, our WWOOFing on Banks Peninsula will begin! Let's see who we meet there again, because you meet everyone again here! We met a nice guy from Munich a staggering four times in different places, and a couple from the US three times, and several others twice! If you meet someone once and travel in the same direction, that's what happens here. Apparently, all the Germans are slowly leaving, the season is almost over... it's becoming quieter and very autumnal in NZ.