New Zealand 2017 - First Post

After two delayed flights we arrived in Christchurch on March 22 late in the afternoon.  After a little shopping and a quick meal we drove 5 hours to Mount Cook National Park.  The next morning we hiked the Hooker Valley Track.  We hoped the clouds would clear as forecast so we could get a good view of Mount Cook.  Kathy is standing on the first of three suspension bridges we will traverse on our way to the lake.  She is patiently waiting for me to finish taking this picture.

The valley we were hiking through was carved by glaciers.  You can see glacial ice poking through the clouds.

This is the outflow from Hooker Lake.  The water is very chalky in the lake.

This is a mountain daisy.  Most of the flowering plants had already bloomed and gone to seed.

This is Mount Sefton on the Hooker Valley Track.

There are small icebergs floating in Tasman Lake.  The Tasman Glacier is located at the rear of this lake but it is hard to pick out because it is covered with grey rocks and dust just like the iceberg in the center of the picture.

Another Tasman Lake picture with Mount Cook in the background.

The hike to this lake was listed as the Blue Lake hike but the lake is no longer blue.  It was blue when it was glacier fed but now the water source is rain.

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The view from Kea Point Lookout.

When we hiked the Hooker Valley Track earlier in the day I spotted this location as a possible sunset spot.  So I talked Kathy into walking back there again to get this shot.  We hiked over 15 miles our first full day in New Zealand.

The next day we drove to Fiordland National Park.  That night was going to be our only clear sky night so I went out for star pictures.  I like this cloud picture at twilight better than my star picture.

Kathy and I booked a boat trip on Milford Sound.  Milford Sound was a two hour drive from our hotel.  On the way we stopped at Chasm Falls to grab a photo before the bus loads of tourists arrived.

The Mitre Cap at Milford Sound.

We were fortunate to get a sunny day for our cruise of Milford Sound.  There are quite a few waterfalls in the Sound.  There was a rainbow in the mist from this waterfall.

The two and a half boat cruise was advertised as a nature cruise, but the only wildlife we saw were eight New Zealand fur seals on or around this rock.

Sunrays highlighted one of the largest waterfalls.

On rainy days there are even more falls into the Sound.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at Mirror Lakes.  But with the wind there was no mirror effect.

I spotted this line of yellow flowers and thought they would make a great leading line to the mountains.  Little did I know that they were sitting in 3 inches of water.  One wet foot later I decided to take this picture instead.

Kathy and I walked 8 miles in the rain this morning through a rain forest in Fiordland National Park.  We got just a little wet.  We found out that Kathy's rain gear was much better than mine.  This afternoon she is doing laundry and I am working on a blog.

Tomorrow we are off to Lake Wanaka and hopefully some sunshine.