Travel Tales.... - Page 2

mez · 06-05-2005, 15:42

great pictures & narration with them lettie, iv'e been there with you, hope you havn't finished yet.

Billcat · 06-05-2005, 16:48

I've always wanted to visit New Zealand and Lettie's pics and narrative just reinforce that desire! Great job, Lettie!

Margaret Pilkington · 06-05-2005, 21:39

Lettie.....i have just looked at your latest pics and narrative.......I am more than just a bit envious. I would love to do the helicopter thing.
Anyway what's this about you and heights.........? thought you were going to be my buddy for the Sydney Coat hanger climb!

janet · 07-05-2005, 15:57

You have some great photo's there Lettie.

lettie · 07-05-2005, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Anyway what's this about you and heights.........? thought you were going to be my buddy for the Sydney Coat hanger climb!

Hehehe, I'd still do it. My knees would be knocking every step of the way but it would be too good an opportunity to miss.

Margaret Pilkington · 07-05-2005, 20:08

Yeah.......I think mine would be knocking too, but one day........one day!

lettie · 08-05-2005, 19:43

On Tuesday we packed up our worldly goods into the car and set off down the west coast highway, destination Queenstown via Haast and the gorgeous Mt Aspiring National Park. It was a lovely drive and again, quite a long one. Mt Aspiring national park is the 3rd largest in NZ covering about 3,500 sq km. Scenery ranges from Alpine mountains to spectacular forested valleys and waterfalls.

We arrived in Queenstown mid afternoon and I was immediately blown away by the place. We had 4 days here and there was so much to do that we could've easily had a month. I've always wanted to visit Queenstown. Do you know that feeling of when you have a dream of something that you want to do or a place you want to visit, then when you actually get to do it it's not always how you pictured it would be. Queenstown was everything I had hoped for and more.

Situated on Lake Wakatipu NZ's 3rd largest lake and backed by the Remarkables mountain range the Queenstown area is extremely familiar looking. Many of the scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were filmed in this district. I once had an aquaintance who swore that the scenery from this film was computer generated because nowhere on earth could be that beautiful. I have to say that my friend is completely and utterly wrong, there is nothing computer generated about this place at all.

Lake Wakatipu is unique in that it breathes. Honestly the water level rises and falls as much as 12cms every 5 minutes, this movement is caused by variations in atmospheric pressure, but of course the Maori have a different explanation. Their legend has it that the lake was formed by the burned imprint of a sleeping demon killed by the lover of a beautiful princess that he had kidnapped. Because his heart did not perish it still beats and causes the rise and fall of the water level of the lake. I kinda like this explanation.

The Remarkables (Kawarau) were formed by the folding and faulting of Schist rock to the point where many of the rock faces are vertical. They are gorgeous to look at and are remarkable for 2 reasons. They are lovely to look at especially in the sunset and they are only one of two mountain ranges in the world that run from due north to south (the other being the American Rockies).

Here are some pics of Queenstown and district. A view of the wharf on Lake Wakatipu, Sparky and the Remarkables, Thunder Creek Falls in Mount Aspiring National Park and Queenstown taken from Bob's Peak as the sun started to set.

ANNE · 08-05-2005, 22:52

Love the photo's Lettie.

lettie · 12-05-2005, 21:30

Whilst staying in Queenstown we spent a day exploring Doubtful Sound in Fjordland National Park. A 14 hour day of pure pleasure. Travelling by coach through the rolling farmland of Southland to Manapouri where we were boarding our boat to take us across Lake Manapouri to the Wilmott Pass and on to the beautiful Doubtful Sound.

The most popular of the fjords to visit has to be Milford Sound. Fearing that Milford would be teeming with tourists we opted for Doubtful. Doubtful sound was named in 1770 by Captain James Cook. As he observed the narrow entrance to the Sound he thought it doubtful that he would be able to steer his vessel into it in order to make a safe landing.

This remote wilderness is a haven for marine life including fur seals, bottlenose dolphins and Fjordland crested penguins. The Fjord is about 25 miles long and 1380 feet deep. It is flanked by mountains and rainforest and is breathtakingly gorgeous.

What strikes you the most here is the absolute silence. Miles away from any kind of civilisation when the engines to the boat were cut you could hear nothing except the occasional splash of the dolphins leaping out of the water. The water is very dark in colour due to the high rainfall in the area washing down the colouring from the vegetation which surrounds the Sound. This makes the water so dark that some of the normally deep water marine species live relatively close to the surface. We caught a glimpse of a couple of the penguins swimming rapidly underneath our boat. They were gone in a flash and we were unable to photograph them. The stars of the day had to be the dolphins who came out to play.

It was a lovely sunny day and the views were amazing. It was the best weather they had had down there all year and we were very lucky to be there. I'll never forget the tranquility of Doubtful Sound watching the seals and the dolphins. It does your heart good to watch these creatures playing and living in their natural environment without a care in the world.

Here are some views from Wilmott Pass overlooking Doubtful Sound, Doubtful Sound from the boat and the little island where the seals hang out. I couldn't resist including a couple of pics of our playful dolphins saying hello to us.

mez · 13-05-2005, 08:05

lettie how serene & peaceful it looks, thanks once again .

lettie · 15-05-2005, 11:03

By far the best way to see Lake Wakatipu is to take a relaxing cruise on the TSS Earnslaw Vintage Steamship. Built in 1912 in Dunedin the TSS (Twin Screw Steamer) Earnslaw was dismantled, railed to Kingston on Lake Wakatipu, reassembled and put into service on the lake. The grandest ship to service the remote farming communities around the lake she was given the title The Lady of the Lake. She was originally a cargo ship and was capable of carrying 1,500 sheep and 30 cattle on her decks. Presently the TSS Earnslaw can carry around 350 passengers.

The TSS Earnslaw was one of many steamers which graced the lake from the 1860's onwards and she is now the only surviving vessel of this fleet of steamers. After a major re-fit in the late 60's/early 70's The Earnslaw was restored to her former glory and opened as a touris