Some general pics from Fiordland.

Here are some more recent pictures from Fiordland (and one from Southland) in general...

This Janwyn after day 1 of our "Catlin Top Track" experience. We were pretty excited to see our accommodations for the evening. To her right is a former bus from the Dunedin Transportation Authority, hauled up there and converted to a camper. It came complete with mosquito nets which were much used and appreciated!

This is the view on a clear day from McKinnon Pass towards Milford Sound while on the Milford Track. I'm attempting to upload a panoramic video I shot from this point as well. I hope it works!

Jim Brant, this one's for you! This campervan rental company, Escape, rents well painted vans in all sorts of designs. We've seen the Far Side cartoon van, a Pulp Fiction movie van, miscellaneous wildlife vans ... and this of course is the Korn van. On the right side is the design "Freak on a Leash". Classy.

Here's a picture of Janwyn from yesterday on our overnight Doubtful Sound cruise. We had the opportunity to kayak for about an hour, which we jumped at, and the chance to actually jump in 10-degree Celsius water. Well, Corey was the only one to jump at that one and injured my shoulder in the process. Hopefully it will be back in shape by the time we hike the Routeburn.

A bit about the "Fiordlands". There are 14 in Southwest South Island, New Zealand, and first explored by the English and Spanish and then settled by English and Scots. Those from the United Kingdom named them "Sounds" as being more familiar with that geological feature in their native lands. The difference between a sound and a true fjord is simple: "Sounds" are carved by rivers, are shallower, and feature a "V" shaped bottom. "Fjords" are carved by progressing Glaciers, are deep, and feature a "U" shaped bottom. Fjords are found in only two places in the world, Norway and New Zealand.

Unfortunately, those in New Zealand seem to be destined to stay in name Sounds, despite their true creation. Interestingly the bays of nearby Lake Te Anau (which I can see from where I'm sitting) are named "North Fiord", "West Fiord", and "South Fiord" despite the fact that they aren't fjords either ... they're not connected to the ocean. Still, when naming the National Park, and now World Heritage Area, the government of New Zealand settled on "Fiordland" using a correct nomenclature, yet still getting the name misspelled! Man, how many times could they get that wrong?

The Maori have yet another legend about how the Fjords were formed, but I've rattled on long enough and will keep that for another time!


And finally, here I am at McKinnon pass. The sign next to me says "Danger, steep cliffs, stay at a safe distance". And they weren't kidding. It's 300 meters (1000 feet) straight down. They call it a 12 second drop. Whoa. In the states, this would've been "Lawyered Up" with a fence, ruining the view for everybody. Glad we were able to enjoy it without that distraction.

We hiked up the next day to the pass with our packs, but the weather had changed, it was rainy and windy, and the clouds obscured the view. I'm glad I took the chance the day before to get to the top!

That's all for now ... Talk to everyone soon!