Fiordland and Glenorchy

Man it’s been a scenic two weeks. True, we’ve spent the last two weekends going on trips outside of Wanaka, but the mountains around town are FINALLY getting a dusting of snow and it makes everything look way more epic. Now we just need the ski areas to open.

While we wait, we’ve been squeezing in some last few shoulder season adventures before our lives become dominated by skiing. First up, Fiordland last weekend.

 

May 24th – 26th

Victoria had gotten a photography job from a buddy who wanted her to come to Fiordland and shoot the traveller’s lodge he had just recently bought. We all got to go along because V needed models, so Alanna, me, Mike (from Ohau) and our new friend Phil from the West Coast signed up.

We arrived at the lodge late on Friday night. Because it’s not open yet, the whole place was deserted. It had some very “The Shining” vibes, but it was kind of cool just to be able to do whatever we wanted and explore the place. We had a few glasses of wine by the fire and then called it a night pretty early.

The next morning, the lodge owner came out and made us breakfast while Victoria went around and shot the rooms. After that, we headed out to walking trails around the lake to get some photos of the scenery.

That night, we had dinner at the lodge and then spent the rest of the evening sitting around the fire getting a wee bit drunk and listening to the giant thunder outside. Somewhere along the way, it became a running joke that Mike and I should get married (I think it’s because we’re both quite dry) and it became a theme for the rest of the weekend.

The next morning, it was still pouring rain and thundering and we were kind of at a loss for what to do. Mike suggested driving the 1.5 hours down the road to Milford Sound and to be honest, I wasn’t feeling super motivated.

Last time I did Milford was with Rachel and although it was beautiful, I’ll admit I was a little unimpressed. I had heard people go on and on about it and I just felt like it didn’t live up to the hype.

But everyone else was keen to check it out in the rain, so we decided to go.

Wow, I am so, so glad I tagged along. Milford Sound in the rain is amazing.

First of all, the drive itself is incredible. We were in the middle of a torrential downpour and we could hear the thunder even over the music in the truck.

The road starts out in the woods and you can’t really see much. But as soon as we got into the valley, it was incredible. All the cliffs above us had turned into huge waterfalls – it felt like something out of a movie. Unfortunately, the photos don’t really do it justice. Just the sheer amount of water coming off of these huge cliffs was amazing.

It literally looked that the whole way down to the valley to the Sound – just the most ridiculous waterfalls. When Rachel and I had gone, none of that existed. Even on the way back from the Sound, when the rain had stopped, the waterfalls were noticeably lighter.

This effect continued into Milford. Bowen Falls, which Rachel and I had cruised by, was pumping now. The below two photos show the difference.

Pretty wild right?

After gawking for a bit at the Falls, we piled back into the truck and headed home. After a wet weekend, we were all pretty tuckered out, but the day driving to Milford was totally worth it – I’d rank it among one of my top five favourite days here so far.

 

May 31st – June 3rd

Puckey left two weeks ago on a trip to South Africa and while he’s gone, he left us with his truck, which has a rooftop tent. We knew we wanted to take full advantage of that, so on Saturday this weekend we headed out to Glenorchy, which is this incredible mountain-scaped farmland just past Queenstown.

Like most trips in New Zealand, the drive was almost better than the destination. We started out driving this winding road along the lake with snowcapped mountains in the background. Then we moved into lush green farm fields. Finally, we ended up in the woods a little, crossing streams and rivers in the truck. Having a lifted vehicle is seriously a game-changer here.

We found this great little campspot with an amazing view of the mountains and set up the tents. For this journey, Mike joined us again, along with Alanna and Billy – an American friend from Queenstown.

Once we got camp set up, we got a fire going and put together a tailgate charcuterie board. We had also brought waaay too much alcohol along for five people – a problem which the boys promised to take care of before they went to bed.

At around 10pm, I called it a night – mostly because I was cold. Vic and I had set up a generator in the truck and plugged a heated blanket into it using an extension cord that connected the blanket in the tent. Definitely the closest to glamping I’ve ever been. (say it with me now Maze… “glamour girls”). But c’mon, you can’t say no to waking up to a view like this…

Before we faded off to sleep, we heard the boys finish off the last of the whiskey and then break into a campfire sing-a-long of Loveshack. At least they made good on the promise to finish the booze. That said, this is how Billy’s tent looked the next morning…

And this is what Mike looked like.

Way to take one for the team boys.

After some coffee in front of the mountains…

We went for a walk out to the mouth of the river. It was there that things really took a turn for Mike. I now present you with… a series of photos depicting Mike being hungover and useless.

After the walk, we packed up camp and said goodbye to the mountains.

Then headed back to Wanaka.

Today’s the Queens bday so it’s a holiday Monday. Originally, V and I were going to go for a bike ride, but we woke up a little unmotivated and instead did some window-shopping around town. Now we’re hanging out in a cafe working on some life admin. It’s actually nice just to sit still. Especially because I feel like the coming weeks are going to be crazy.

• JB