December 5 (adding the dates because I'm a few days behind in blogging since we've been out of internet range off and on, so am throwing up a few posts in one night to catch up)
Woke up this morning to a suprisingly second sunny day in Milford Sound. Kohji was up at the crack of dawn, drawn by the prospect of sun rise over the mountains. When he got back, slapped on the running shoes for my 3rd run here in NZ. I must say, it's easy to take your mind off how painful running is when your destination is the wharf at Milford Sound as the morning sun starts to break over the crest of mountains.
After ridiculously expensive bagles at the Milford Lodge, we headed back for Te Anau hoping. The drive back to the Homer Tunnel was as stunning as the day before, almost more so as we realized that what surrounds the mouth of the Tunnel is almost a 360 degree rock amphitheater. Rather spectucular coming and going.
This time, we stopped at a couple of pull-out spots. The first was a little canyon called the gorge - basically a rocky gorge with a waterfall flowing that cuts through the rain forest. There is a short walkway leading to a bridge that spans the gorge, giving a great view of the torrent of water spilling under your feet. The kids had a great time tearing around the little bridge loop.
The second stop was a snow field right after the Homer Tunnel. We explored it a little bit, walking across the snow field that sits underneath a spectacular (have I overused that word yet) rock wall teaming with water falls. There were even small snow caves, which while too small to crawl thru (and hard to really look into because of steam billowing out) were fun to discover.
We arrived in Te Anau in time for a late lunch and went back to the same campground we stayed in a couple nights ago in time for nap and homework. It felt funny coming back to the same place. So much of this trip has been about moving forward. Interestingly, Kiyomi found a friend that she had initally made in Kaikoura (oh so long ago now). A little German girl named Noelle. Kiyomi doesn't seem bothered in the slightest about the language barriers. In fact, she's getting quite good at using hand signals to get her point across, better than me.
After throwing together some leftover bits and pieces for a quick on the move dinner, we headed for a short boat ride across Te Anau Lake to see a gloworm cave. The Lake itself was beatiful with large rounded mountains dominating the site lines. Had we seen it two days ago, we would have been blown away. But after Milford, it is merely beatiful (although we agreed a tad more magificent than the Ottawa river).
The caves themeselves are almost 7 kms long (we only went into the first little bit). Apparently, Te Anau means "cave of swirling water" and a local adventurer spent 3 years mapping the coast line of the lake and researching Maori legend in order to discover the caves in the mid-40s. The whole center is geared towards grabbing the tourist dollars, complete with the obligatory photo that gets taken as you arrive and presented to you in a neat little package before you leave. That said, it is definitely a worthwhile experience.
The walkway through the cave alone is pretty cool. Carved limestone walls gouched by a rushing undergound river. The acidity of the water within the cave means that the cave is in fact always changing as it continues to eat away at the limestone. There are a couple of underground waterfalls and a stunning whirlpool. But, the main attraction are the gloworms that reside inside. Tiny little things about an inch long and the width of 3 hairs. They can be spotted as you head into the cave along the walkway, but the fascinating part is when you board a little boat (that seats about 12) and you're taken into the Gloworm Grotto. The boat floats along in complete darkness. The only light comes from the tiny little gloworm bums - which light up to attract insects. I wasn't sure how the whole episode would go, especially with Ren as the excursion didn't even start until 7. However, he and Kiyomi sat silently as the boat drifted along. The guide pulls the boat along using a guidewire (or at least I think that's what happened as I couldn't see a thing). It's a little disorienting in the complete darkness, and at one point I was completely unaware of my bearings (not that that is really so hard to do with me). In the grotto, the worms appears like stars in the night ski above and below (through reflections in the water).
All in all, a neat experience.
Things we've learned: the oft mentioned plague of sandflies (known as blackflies back home) here is very much real. The little buggers were everywhere in Milford and have been feasting on my ankles and feet for much of the trip. Other than in Milford I actually didn't notice their presence other than the tell-tale itchy lumps covering my feet. Apparently, one of the Maori legend notes that when the area now known as Milford was first discovered by man, one of the dieties released the sandflies to make sure they wouldn't stay permanently.
Rainforest moss
On the boat to the gloworms
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