Aside from the mountains, one of the things that I was looking forward to the most from New Zealand was some time walking around on the ice of the Fox Glacier or the Franz Josef glacier on the west coast. We settled on the Fox Glacier, and took a long day hike out with a group. We were led by a guide who cut steps in the ice, and then made our own way with crampons up and down the ice faces. It was absolutely beautiful. I was constantly amazed by how varied New Zealand’s landscape is. Desert-like areas (see above) were only hours from rainforests, semi-tropical beaches, snow capped-mountains, and glaciers.

Blue ice caves some of my favorite glacier features (doesn’t that sound nerdy?). On the Fox glacier it was hard to get to them, since most occured in a section that was moving rapidly and dangerous to access. However, we did get lucky and had one form in a safe location further towards the bottom of the glacier. Belaying through the cave on a rope and then walking out through a crevasse was a thrilling and absolutely beautiful experience.

I finally made it into some photos too. Special thanks to Dean, our glacier guide from Australia, for this great photo.

Just off the Fox Glacier is a small lake called Lake Matheson. On a clear day you are supposed to be able to see Mt. Cook reflected in the background with exceptional clarity due to the high amount of tannins in the water that turn it into an almost perfectly black mirror. When we were there overcast skies cut out the mountains, but still made for some dramatic reflections.

On our way up the coast we stoped at the Pancake rocks, a popular area plagued by tour busses and crowds of people. However, it was a worthwhile 1 hour stop to see these incredible geological formations, and the thunderous surf crashing into the tunnels and blowholes around the cliffs.

We finished our time in the South Island at Abel Tasman National Park. The smallest national park in New Zealand, this little area is known for its pristine coves that seem almost tropical. Beware of the biting sand flies…but if you bring your repellent, or have a healthy dose of wind, this is one beautiful place to enjoy.

That’s it for the south island. I have one last post with photos from the north island coming up!

Looking for a slightly less traveled alternative, we came across the Doubtful Sounds. Lonely Planet’s guidebook says that when choosing between the Doubtful and Milford Sounds “there’s no doubt which one you should choose.” We took the advice, and headed out for the day towards Doubtful Sound. It was a long journey, crossing by boat over Lake Manapouri, with another classic New Zealand rainbow.

After crossing the lake, we then took a bus over a mountain pass before cresting over to a beautiful view of the Doubtful Sound.

A full day on the water took us through some dramatic changes is weather, from raging wind and rain to beautiful sunny spells of total calm. This area gets some of the most rain in the world, more than 6 meters per year, with rain on over 200 days of the year. However, it certainly made the place seem a lot more remote and wild, and all the more beautiful.

Off the water, we took a long day hike along the Keppler Track, starting from the shores of Lake Manapouri and climbing steeply through the cool weather rainforest and then above the treeline in the mountains.

Yes, I know that my dad is in a number of these pictures, I was the one with the camera the whole time. I did manage to get into a few photos though.

Overall, the Keppler Track was absolutely gorgeous. However, I was really looking forward to our long trek along the Routeburn Trail. Some say it’s better than the Milford Track, and I really wanted to get out for several days in the mountains. More to come! (Routeburn Trek, Fox Glacier, Pancake rocks, Abel Tasman national park, Volcano climbing and more)!

]]> http://www.hawthornephotography.com/new-zealand-doubtful-sound-fjordlands-national-park-keppler-track/feed/ 0 http://www.hawthornephotography.com/new-zealand-routeburn-track/ http://www.hawthornephotography.com/new-zealand-routeburn-track/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:39:17 +0000 Noah Hawthorne http://www.hawthornephotography.com/blog/?p=883 New Zealand is probably best known for its striking mountains, covered with snow throughout the year despite the fact that the tallest reach only around 12,000 feet of elevation. One of the best ways to explore these mountains is probably through the Routeburn Track, probably one of the prettiest, and less traveled of New Zealand’s great walks trails. The standard hike through the mountains starts an hours drive from Queenstown and lasts for 3 days (2 nights), with an optional extension trail for 1-2 days.

Here is the road leading towards Queenstown, and the start of the Routeburn trail. We passed by countless beautiful lakes, but this little section really stood apart for me.

Once on the Routeburn trail, it wound through trees, across suspension bridges, and across mountain passes far above treeline. It was really beyond description. Take a look at some photos, the best way to get a feel for what it was like.

Each night is spent at a Department of Conservation (DOC) hut, with gas stoves, and a surprising amount of luxury for such a remote area. These have to be booked months in advance, and the limited space means that there are really not many people who get out onto the trails.

I put in the following picture not because it is incredibly beautiful, but because it shows off the incredible location of one of the huts where we spend the night. The long walks meant I wasn’t able to wait for the perfect light as much as I would have hoped for with more time. Still, look at the middle of the photo a little the right and notice the speck of a building on the shore of the Lake Merritt. All materials for these buildings are brought in by helicopter, with supplies also being flown in every few days as well. These are truly spots of isolated beauty, and a surprisingly comfortable place to stay over, especially during the frequent bouts of bad weather. One local we talked to had a funny statement. “If you can see the mountains around you, it means it is going to rain. If you can’t see them because of the clouds then it is already raining.” Funny. Until you are hiking in the bitter cold and rain that is. Luckily we escaped any terrible weather, and the few sprinkles we felt were rather pleasant.

A small side trail along the side of Lake Merritt lead us to this great rock, aptly named Split Rock. Another great example of the mossy rainforest area that I grew to love in New Zealand.

And a final view from Lake Merrit

In all, the Routeburn Trek was a thrilling escape into the wilderness, and one of the absolute highlights of our trip.

Yes, still more photos to come. I’m about blogged out at the moment, but have another final set that I’m really happy with. Who wants to go to New Zealand now?

And of course, not to finish with a little trip to Arizona, I’m now off to New Zealand for a 3 week trip with my dad. It’s probably been 10+ years since we had out last father-son trip, and I’m looking forward to spending some quality time together. I’ll most likely turn into a bit of a landscape photographer for the next few weeks, and I’m excited! I should have access to email fairly regularly though, so feel free to shoot me a note if you need to get in touch. 

-Noah