Queenstown & Mt. Cook

Continuing on our adventure.......from Milford Sound we pumped it to Queenstown and then further on to Mt. Cook.....Both places are so beautiful and we just never knew what we would stumble across around the next bend......Speaking of bends......the roads!!!.....they are some of the most curvy roads I've ever been on. Okay that was a side note :) Back to what we were talking about......Queenstown, the thrill capital of the world. Holly went canyoning here for the day. I went for a hike up Queenstown Hill. The views were amazing!  

Someone had built a ferry town out of the flat rocks around.....there was even a can for donations that you could contribute to for the maintenance of the town!  This was on the hike up Queenstown Hill.

At the summit, you got a 360 degree view of all the mountains/lakes around you.....this was looking one way.

And another way.....don't you just love it? This was probably the brownest part of NZ that we came across.....most of it was vibrant green!

haha! Yup, completed another hike.

Incredible eh?! I had to chill at the top taking in the view.....even at this point in the trip, I was still trying to figure out how to soak it all in!

There Queenstown be.

Queenstown is surrounded by mountains everywhere. Beautiful.

Basket of Dreams. I found out later that you could actually sit in this basket and bask in the sun or simply enjoy the view from it. 

Quails.....I didn't expect to see any of these, but look there are little chicks! So cute.

I liked these mushrooms. The most definitely belong in a childrens story book.

A common NZ saying.....basically meaning it's all good or fine!

Fergburger. The crowd speaks for the restaurant. These were the biggest burgers I have ever seen though. Wowza! and oh so good!

Now we are moving on toward Mt. Cook. This is not a populated place, but the views are incredible!

This lake......amazing right?! It was so vibrant even without direct sunlight on it! Amazing :)

Jucy campavan! We saw these all over Nzed. Every one has a different saying.

This is our first hike of the day.....up Hooker Valley to Hooker Glacier. One of the three suspension bridges.

Even with the clouds and fog....it's stunning scenery!

Kea. The mountain parrot! Aren't they beautiful. There were about six of them just flying around this view point and one of them got really close to me......they can be vicious, so I wasn't sure what it had in mind.....in the end it just checked out my camera and flew off. 

This is what I wanted to capture.....the red underneath their wings!

Hooker Glacier at the base of Mt. Cook

Yup, Holly is loving it :)

View down the valley, looking away from Mt. Cook towards the amazing blue lake.

Later that day we hiked up Sealy Tarns.....to this viewpoint of Mt. Cook. Impressive eh? The hike up was a bit strenuous because it was staired out and it was one step to another step. It was steep then entire way, but so worth it!

The views from Sealy Tarns.

You bet! Holly is on top of the world! Or at least it feels like it :)

We are leaving Mt. Cook now....past the gorgeous blue lake again!

This is for those of you who have forgotten that we drive on the left side of the road! :) Hopefully I remember how to drive on the right side when I get back to the States. Haha!

Took advantage of the amazing water and went for a swim! 

The journey through Queenstown and Mt. Cook have come to an end, but stay tuned....coming up is the West Coast of the South Island! It was also spectacular :)

Milford Sound Surroundings

 The following pictures are those of the surrounding areas of Milford Sound. There is so much that a person could do there, that a few days was hardly enough. However, I reckon we did the best we could do and we saw a lot! Gertrude's Saddle and Key Summit were our longer hikes for the area and most definitely worth it. 

The hike up Gertrude's Saddle. It's hard to tell in here but the hike was quite steep and apparently if the weather is rainy, it's a bit sketch to hike up because the trails almost turn into rivers. This is why this hike is not advertised to tourists. We were so small in the magnitude of the mountains.

The waterfall coming down out of Black Lake. 

Black Lake from above. These guys were throwing rocks to see if they could get them in the lake, but to no avail.

Ahh! What we did the hike for. This is Gertrude's Saddle. The view you see is looking down towards Milford Sound, which you can see in the distance, further on to the Tasman Sea.

At the top of Gertrude's Saddle and we couldn't be happier. It was amazing and the weather was a rarity! Thanks for the pic Holly.

Loving the mountains :)

And if you look close....you'll see some cool stuff. I am not sure what this is....perhaps a type of fungi.

Mountaineering is nothing for Holly! She has it with the cable or not! :) Do you think she's scared?

A Kea, the only mountain parrot! They are cool birds :)

With the fog, the colors underneath almost look more vibrant. These red rocks are so neat!

What do you think? Love the crystal clear water? Then make NZ your next destination and there will be no lack of it.

The next day we took a hike up to Key Summit.....it was foggy out and we hadn't done research to check out what the hike was all about. We just trusted the recommendation and headed for it. Well because it was foggy, we were paying attention to the ground beneath us because that's all we could see. Here are some mountain orchids. They are so tiny!

Yes, I was being the tour guide! Reading the pamphlet as we went along :)

Even the moss is colorful in New Zealand....Not just green.

Lo and behold!!! The fog started lifting and we were actually surrounded by mountain peaks. What a pleasant surprise :) Loved it.

The fog came and went for awhile before it finally lifted. But isn't this still a marvelous view?

Holly is soaking it in! 

Wow!!

Neat, right?!

Holly utilized the panorama function on her phone and I'd say it takes pretty good photos! Here she is at the top of Key Summit with the fog partially lifted.

Another pano. You can get a better idea of the whole picture! :) It's so beautiful in New Zealand!

Road tripping it back towards Te Anua. We stopped at some of the key stops.....this is at Mirror Lakes. At morning and dusk the reflections are spectacular I hear. We were there late afternoon.

See the reflection?

The water is so clear!

You'll find lakes everywhere. Here is one with again another farm right up to the edge of it!