New Zealand - Te Anau

The hills of Arrowtown are covered with the autumn shades of red, yellows, and greens. The neatest part was that all of the reds in the hills were actually bare trees with red berries, and not red leaves. The path followed the Arrow River, and in one section ropes hung from trees. I imagine in the summer kids swing from the ropes and jump into the river below.

Speaking of jumping into cold water, I decided to be daring and jump into Lake Te Anau, despite the fact that it was a brisk 7 degrees outside. I ran off the dock and jumped in, and sure enough, it was freezing!

We took a tour bus out to the Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord, not a sound) in Fiordland National Park. The scenery was beautiful. The mountain/lake scenery reminds me of Yellowstone with the mountain reflections in the water., but as a whole it reminded me of my trip to Alaska. Alaska had many of the same mirror images, and the cruise section of Milford Sound was reminiscent of Glacier Bay (and just as cold). The whole trip through the mountains and in the “sound” out to the Tasman Sea had “waterfalls” or vertical steams running from the mountain top. The snow melt carves all kinds of crevasses through the rock. You can see marks on the rocks where water once ran its course, and hundreds of new tiny steams form new ones.

It was certainly my day for wildlife. Just before we entered the Milford Sound Tunnel we spotted a kea. The world’s only Alpine parrot, and a native New Zealand bird. On our trip back from the sea we saw several New Zealand Fur Seals near the coast and on a few rocks. New Zealand Fur Seals being one of two endemic marine mammal species in New Zealand. As I looked out toward the bow, I also noticed the dorsal fins of a pod of dolphins. I pointed this out to the captain who then confirmed my sighting of bottlenose dolphins and took us in for a closer look. As we approached the dolphins greeted us and enjoyed playing in the wake of the boat. I saw numerous dolphins not only leap completely out of the water, but do tricks as if to entertain us. Some did flips and threw their bodies to the side as they leapt out of the water. As I was leaning over the railing in excitement, one dolphin leaped up toward my face close enough for me to touch. The only other “notable” animal that really lives in the sound are the crested penguins, which I did not see, but that was to be expected (they’re seen mostly in the spring months -- that is their spring months).

My trip through the sound was incredible. This experience alone I would say could make the whole trip to New Zealand worth it (not that the other events are any less worthy). I have five more days left, and I can’t wait to see what will happen next!