Milford Sound and Fiordland

 

Queenstown Hill

What a treat to find the Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus
Aseroe rubra

I decided I need to see Milford Sound and Queenstown before I leave New Zealand for good.   Sadly my days in New Zealand are coming to an end.   I will post details about that later.

The fonts are messed up for the next two paragraphs, maybe I'll fix it later. 

I  booked a flight and hotel to Queenstown via Hotwire.com and off I went.  I took a bus and a train and a taxi to the Wellington airport. At the airport my carry on bag was subject to a lengthily inspection due to my rechargeable batteries. 

I spent the first evening exploring a bit of the lakeshore trail in Queenstown and then it was early to bed for my 6:30am pick up for my Milford Sound Tour.  More on that trip in another post. 

The next day I climbed up Queenstown hill from a trail that started just behind my hotel.   I though of going up Ben Lomand but my shoulder and my hip have given me fits the entire time I've been in New Zealand and I did not want to risk falling and hurting my shoulder on the way down such a steep track.

The track starts in a Douglas-fir plantation.  This was a taste of home.  The first Douglas-fir plantation I've seen in almost 8 months.  

Queenstown Hill was just the right amount of work for me, it was almost too much, I thought I turning back early.   But on the final push up the summit my daughter called me for a facetime with her large chicken flock and that helped to distract me.

The view at the top was nice. I could see all of the Queenstown CBD and the Queenstown airport.

On the way back down I found a new type of stinkhorn mushroom that I have never found before but have seen pictures of. I was very happy to see it!

I'm going to do one more hike before I leave New Zealand.  I'll be relocated to Aberdeen for a few months and then back to my home in Shelton. 

I'm so glad that I did not sell my house or my car!

6 miles roundtrip with 1,850 feet elevation gain.  

I'm switching back to metric since I am on my way back to the USA.

This view could so easily be from the Pacific Northwest

The Skyline Gondola viewed from Queenstown Hill

Queenstown Airport

Turakirae Head Seal Colony

 

Wellington Railway Station to Wellington Airport

 

This was a long walk that was not planned but worked out well.  I started at the Wellington train station, walked to the airport and had lunch at the airport.

I took a bus back to Courtney place and then walked back down to the waterfront and had a Ruben sandwich at the Foxglove.  I really like Wellington.  Buses replaced trains again. 

Interislander ferry

Wellington Station

Wellington Station

Wellington Station

Waterloo Train Station

10 miles with 100 feet elevation gain for the day

Mount Taranaki

 

Wow has it been a while since I blogged.  I have been hiking but not quite as much as last month.  I was laying awake just now wondering what my last few hikes were and was surprised to see I had not updated this in so long.

First some photos from my hike on Mount Taranaki.

Taranaki hike was 6 miles with 1,400 feet elevation gain