Fjordland... Isn't that a type of car?

Saturday we left Franz Josef, headed for Makarora. We made a few stops along the way, saw some cool stuff, but all in all it was an uneventful day. We stayed the night at the Makarora Wilderness retreat, in the middle of NO WHERE. Which brings us to...

TRIVIA TIME WITH HUGH: The population of New Zealand equals only about 4 million. Of those, 1.5 million live in Auckland. Which leaves 2.5 million for the rest of the country. Though the south island is larger than the north, the vast majority of it is wilderness. Three million in total live on the north island, leaving only 1 million people who live on the south island. Around 300,000 of those live in New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch. Which leaves only 700,000 people scattered over quite a large island. Most of those left live in other urban centers like Queenstown, Nelson, Duneden and so forth. Hince, large portions of the south island lay as unsettled wilderness.

It was on this leg of the trip that I was properly introduced to Sandflies. These are horrible, horrible creatures. The best way to describe them is; mosquitoes on steroids, and lots of them. This area is largely Sub-tropical rain forrest, which is a haven for the Sandfly, so we all got to know sand flies quite well.

We left Makarora headed for Queenstown. There was lots to see and do along the way. The drive was beautiful, once again, largely across wilderness. We stopped and saw several waterfalls, some beautiful rivers, and crossed the Haast Pass. This pass traverses the mountains that run along the length of the west coast. Once over the pass we were inland and well on our way to Queenstown.

A bit further down the road, we stopped at a sign on the side of the road marking the 45th parallel. This is the latitudinal line that marks the 45 degree, or half way point between the equator and the south pole. Upon crossing this marker, we were closer to the south pole than the equator; truly, and without question, "down under."

We continued on, stopping for those who wished to bungy jump do so. I was happy to watch and take pictures, but did not partake. We finally arrived in Queenstown. We were there for 2 nights. I used the time to do some much needed laundry, and relax.

This morning we left Queenstown, passing the the "Remarkables" mountain range that is visible from the city. This range was used in the Lord of the Rings, it is easy to see why. They are truly amazingly beautiful, and just looking at them seems to somehow transport you into the story.

Our main stop today was the Milford Sound in the Fjordland National Park. The entire region was carved out by glaciers and is absolutely stunningly beautiful. Mountains appear out of a flat valley, and shoot straight up, some over 1000 meters. It is a very surreal place. When taking in the views, one feels like they are on another planet. We drove through the park, through a tunnel that cut directly through a mountain and then traveled on to Milford Sound. Once there, we got onto a boat and took a cruise around the sound. It was stunning. Once again mountains shot straight up out of the water to unbelievable heights, many with amazing waterfalls plummeting down the sides of the mountains into the water below. It is unbelievable that places like this exist. The whole experience was simply indescribable. An unbelievable amount of beauty permeates the place, and one cannot help but be in awe of the entire experience in the park.

TRIVIA TIME WITH HUGH: The Fjordland National Park is New Zealand's largest park. In Fact, the park covers 1/5th or 20% of the landmass of New Zealand. The area is also a World Heritage Site, a designation given through the United Nations, which recognizes an area's unique qualities and preciousness to humanity.

We moved along from there and are staying the night in Tuatapere. Tomorrow we travel to Invercargill, the southern-most city of the south island. For those who may have seen the movie "The Fastest Indian," the main character of the film is from Invercargill. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is a great film.

From Invercargill, some of us (including myself) will take the ferry to New Zealand's third major island, Stewart Island (a relatively small island just south of Invercargill). We will spend the night there. I will likely not post from there, as the island is very primitive (no electricity except what is provided by private generators). I am very excited about this stay. The stars are supposed to be amazing if the weather is clear. Not to mention that when standing on the south shore, nothing stands between you and Antarctica. Sounds pretty cool to me.

The following day, we travel to Duneden. From there I fly back to Auckland, ending my tour of New Zealand.