Descent into the Arthur Valley

The sheer face of the Mackinnon pass can be seen on the left. 

Clinton Valley, Fiordland

Taken from the top of the Mackinnon pass. The view behind us is the head of the Clinton valley.

View from the Mackinnon Pass

The Mackinnon pass is on the left. The sheer drop to the bottom is called 12 second drop, because thats how long it takes to fall. In the centre is the Arthur valley, our route out to Milford Sound. The mountain on the right is Mt Elliot and the Jervois glacier.
We were very lucky to have such good weather. Many people cross the pass in mist and rain.

Mackinnon Monument

At the top of the pass is a monument to Quintin Mackinnon who found the pass that opened an overland route to Milford Sound. That's me and my mum in front of it. 

Climbing out of the Clinton Valley

Day 3 starts with the long climb out of the Clinton Valley to the summit of the Mackinnon pass. 

Cooling Off 2

Another hot day, another swim. This time under a waterfall. 

Mountains, Waterfalls and Rivers

The land of the perpendicular. 

Clinton River

There were plenty of brown trout in the river. 

Cooling Off

It was blazing hot so we had a swim in the cold, clear green waters of the Clinton River. 

Mt Anau from Lake TeAnau

Day 1 of the Milford Track starts with a boat ride across Lake TeAnau. The track starts below Mt Anau.

The weather was just perfect.

Seaplane, Lake TeAnau

Taken from out motel balcony on the morning that we started the Milford Track.

Swimming in Lake TeAnau

 

Scaup Diving, Lake Wakatipu

This little duck was swimming like mad through the lake. Taken from the wharf at Queenstown.

Mt Cook Lily

Descending from Mt Olivier, a stroke of luck. A Mt Cook Lily posed perfectly in front of Mt Cook!

Tracy Sledging (on her Backside)

Descending Mt Olivier, Tracy took the easy option.

We Knocked the Bastard Off!

The summit of Mt Olivier, the first mountain that Sir Edmund Hillary ever climbed. I don't think we'll ever climb Everest so we went for the easier option. Mt Cook is in the distance.

Mueller Hut, Mt Cook National Park

DOC told us the hut was full, so I carried the tent up to the hut. When we got there we found out that there was plenty of room. But by then I decided that I had carried the bloody thing up, so we were damn well going to sleep in it. So we pitched the tent in the snow. You can see it next to the hut in the photo. It was a cold night.

Simon on Mt Olivier

Walking the ridge to the summit of Mt Olivier. There was a steep 1000m drop just behind me.

Mt Cook at Sunset

Taken from the Mueller hut.

Koru

Koru is the Maori name for the curled up shoot of a tree fern. This one was found in our back garden.

River, Abel Tasman National Park

 

Camp

After a hard day paddling, we were ready for food and a drink. Fortunately a sea kayak can carry a lot of wine. 

Silver Fern

Photographed in Abel Tasman National Park. The silver colour of the underside of this fern does not show up well. It would need a flash to bring out the colour.

Tracy Kayaking, Abel Tasman National Park

We spent the xmas holidays in Abel Tasman National Park with our friends Sian and Richard. We hired kayaks for 4 days and paddled our way north, camping on beaches at night. We started out in brilliant sunshine but spent the last night in the rain.

This is day 1, Tracy and I had a twin kayak, she at the front and me steering. In the background is Adele Island.

Richard and Sian