“Time loose, let, ice and always wins.” Jean-Jacques Goldman

The week resumes in Queenstown and we can fix one of the tires that was starting to deflate a little too regularly. Un inconvénient qui nous aura fait passer un superbe week-end sur les bords du lac Wakatipu. 😎

Nous poursuivons vers le sud pour un arrêt dans la petite et accueillante ville de Lumsden. En plein centre-ville, des places de parking sont destinées aux routards de toutes sortes, avec un coin évier, des tables, un bloc WC et la possibilité moyennant finance de prendre une douche à la piscine. The small library also offers Wi-Fi, a bit slow but free. We will be a good evening before taking the road to Te Anau the next morning. This is the entry town in the area of ​​Fiordland / Te Wahipounamu, the largest national park in New Zealand, covering 1,2 million d’hectares, mountain peaks, alpine lakes and valleys in the foam pad. If a network of five hundred kilometers of trails crisscrosses the World Heritage Area, we opted for a short cruise in the heart of Milford Sound.

Arrival in Milford Sound

Departure of the cruise

The west coast of Fiordland region is cut by fourteen fjords s & rsquo; span 215 kilometers of coastline. The rugged mountains s & rsquo; amount of & rsquo; Ocean and offer spectacular views. The first Europeans exploring the south coast Sounds gave names to these spectacular valleys, mais un véritable “sound” est une vallée fluviale qui a été inondée en raison de l’affaissement de la terre sous le niveau de la mer. Fjords are created by the & rsquo; glacial action that produces U-shaped valleys with steep cliffs. L & rsquo; error can be understood when the & rsquo; we know that many of these early sailors were d & rsquo; English and Welsh origin and were unfamiliar with the fjords. L & rsquo; error exists in the names of famous Sounds, but the area was renamed Fiordland to recognize the true nature of these rugged coves.

Arrival of the sun in Milford

Waterfall deep in Milford

The reservation made for the next day, We leave Te Anau head north to 120 kilometers of the most beautiful roads in the world-they announce. Encore faudrait-il qu’il fasse beau ! A heavy rain accompanied us under low clouds, hiding the landscape. We spend the night at Cascade Creek Camp, the exaggerated costs $13 for a large parking lot strewn with dry toilets, but being the closest and only place where camping is allowed.

Sunbeam Milford

Sunrise on Milford

Wednesday 20 February, at seven in the morning, nous avons le plaisir d’entendre que la pluie a cessé, only a slight haze persists and mountains are revealed little by little. The end of the road to the parking lot of Milford Sound, where are revealed multiple waterfalls under the rising sun, let us again mouth open, exchanging "ooooh", «Waaaouuuh» !
We ship at 8:45 and we surprised with a free breakfast, orange juice and scones welcome. We left for two hours in the fjord, to fill the waterfalls of peepers, of snow, of mountainsides and even some sea lions.

At the entrance fjord

Near Milford waterfalls

Milford is best known fjords and the only one that can be reached by road. Miter Peak s & rsquo; student 1690 meters above the sea and multiple cascades down steep cliffs. According to Maori legend, Tu-te-raki-whanoa carved fjords with his adze Te Hamo. He started in the & rsquo; extreme south where he created a rugged coastline with many islands. When & rsquo; he arrived in Milford Sound, he had perfected his technique and an impressive carved fjord, making Piopiotahi his greatest achievement. The goddess of the underworld, Hine-nui-te-po, came to the & rsquo; work of you and was so alarmed by the beauty of Piopiotahi that & rsquo; she feared that & rsquo; once people have seen the fjord, they would never leave. Pour obliger les humains à quitter la région, elle a relâché les phlébotomes dans le détroit de Milford !

Retour au port

Plus grosse cascade de Milford

Dernier regard sur Milford

Début de la route retour

Nous reprenons la route en sens inverse, sous le soleil cette fois-ci, avec quelques arrêts pour en profiter. Un deuxième petit-déjeuner – nous sommes en territoire Hobbit après tout 😀 – Falls Creek au débit impressionnant, Mirror Lake who calmly reflects part of the dramatic landscape that was hidden from us in the rain to the & rsquo; go… Et nous voilà de retour à Te Anau que nous quittons après un tour à son sanctuaire d’oiseaux où nous observons le rare Takahe qui fut cru éteint à la fin des années 1800, but was rediscovered in 1948. We leave to rejoin the rain in Clifden Suspension Bridge where we spend the night.

Falls Creek Falls

Oiseau nothing

Mirror Lake

Reflections in Mirror Lake

Thursday 21 February, I concur City Tuatapere, a small rural town of & rsquo; west to the main local industries based on forestry and & rsquo; agriculture. Nous y trouvons un club de scouts fermé mais possédant un auvent qui nous est fort utile pour cuisiner le petit-déjeuner à l’abri des nuages menaçants. Further, c & rsquo; is in the great city & rsquo; Invercargil that there is a replenishment of & rsquo; petrol, food and d & rsquo; & rsquo Internet before, get us a corner for the night in Fortrose where a ranger comes along and the sun passes between the vehicles to conduct satisfaction surveys campers.

Time s & rsquo; being interfered in the actual course of these events, he became aujourd & rsquo difficult; hui to remember anecdotes experienced this, already said, beautiful road (finally, no tar per se !) D’ailleurs on dit souvent “Oh yes, et en plus la route est belle”… à quel point est-ce la route qui est belle 😉

 

Quel oiseau eût traversé notre route, quel rayon de soleil m’a donné joie, quel son accompagnait ces beaux souvenirs ? Difficile de se souvenir de détails quand rien d’extraordinairement changeur de vie se passe.

 

Je dirais toutefois que le fait de voyager pendant une longue période dans une voiture et de manger au plus prés de la nature parmi la faune et la flore avec un minimum d’équipement, à en soi quelque chose d’extraordinairement changeur !

 

This, une leçon de bidouillage de mot ou comment écrire un texte sans aucun fond 🙂