Milford Sound - Gallery I

These are photos from my one night cruise through Milford Sound to the Tasman Sea.  Fiordland National Park is New Zealand's rawest wilderness area of jagged mountains and forests.  It was cloudy and rainy in the evening so the sky was not clear enough to see the Fiordland's pristine skies.  The Southern Cross and Milky Way can be seen on a clear night. You have to be in the Southern Hemisphere to see Crux – the Southern Cross – in all its glory. Bluish Acrux, aka Alpha Crucis, is its brightest star.  I will probably never have the opportunity again.  Rain, Rain why didn't you go away?

 

Constellation Crux photo by Christopher J Picking in New Zealand. 

Te Anau Milford Highway

Driving to Milford Sound was probably the most nervous driving experience I had.  The sharp curves was a challenge for someone who is inexperience driving on the right side of the road.  I learned very quickly!  These photos were from the road side before heading up the mountains.

TSS Earnslaw Cruise Lake Wakatipu

 

The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian steam-powered boat where I took a 90 minute round trip cruise to the Walter Peak Farm.  It was a slow and pleasant experience of what steam boat transportation was like.  It is the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. 

Scenic Flight Over Lake Pukaki

Traveling to Mt. Cook Village in the South Island of New Zealand, I drove by Lake Pukaki.  How many shades does mother earth have of blue?  I call the color of Lake Pukaki Blue Ice.  I looked up the color "Blue Ice" and here is an explanation.



Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of the glacier. Air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue.

On the scenic flight, we flew over Mt. Cook, Tasman Glacier and Fox Glacier.  Lake Pukaki is the largest of three parallel alpine lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin.  The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue color, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers.

Lake Wakatipu at Glenorchy

I love trees in all sizes and shapes and the lake trees are the most interesting in how the sunlight, water and climate can affect their growth. 

A Lone Bird Perched on a Broken Limb

 

 

The Lonely Tree on a sunny day with its top branches reaching into the blue sky.  Unlike photo images I saw at the art show in Queenstown of Lake Wanaka, the waters were never still.  Reflections of the tree and nearby mountains were broken by the waves.  The wind comes off the mountains and the waves are always moving.  I had a difficult time seeing the bird standing on the broken limb.  His dark coloring blended into the tree like a extension of the limb.  A lone bird perched on a broken limb in the lonely tree.

The Lonely Tree After the Rain

 

 

Misty clouds settled on the mountains and the lake reflected a gray sky.  The sun did not come out this day. 

Lonely Tree of Lake Wanaka

The Lonely Tree is a Wanaka legend and was one of the top sights that my friend and I wanted to see.  Local Photographers have made the tree famous in art and craft shows in Queenstown.  We meet several couples who planned to search for the tree once they arrived in Wanaka.  If you Google "Lone Tree of Lake Wanaka" hundred's of photo shop images will pop up.  Since I have seen the tree in fog, rain and in sunshine, I know the real colors of the lake and mountains.  Photographers have made surreal images of the tree but I feel the tree has beauty on it's own.  I am from the south and it is not unusual to see trees growing in lakes in Georgia and Florida but this tree has a graceful and solitary feeling in it's loneliness away from the shore.

Paradise Road to Mt. Earnshaw

I wanted to travel to the end of the road but it was not on the tour.  Mt. Earnshaw is in the background and can only be reached by climbing trails or helicopter. 

"Paradise Found" Beorn's Home

I finally found Paradise and I had to travel across the earth to find it in the South Island of New Zealand!  This is the home of Beorn the "skin-changer".  In "The Hobbit" Beorn is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Hobbit as a "skin-changer", a man who could assume the appearance of a great black bear.  In The Hobbit film trilogy, Beorn is portrayed by Mikael Persbrandt in the films The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies.

 

 

I took a Jeep Safari tour of the locations where the film was made around Queenstown. The jeep's name was Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King under the Mountain.  The tour guide was very knowledgeable and we had a tea party in the forest a few miles down the road from Beorn's house.  It was an Hobbit "Adventure!"

The Road to Glenorchy Gallery

Glenorchy was one of my favorite places to explore.  Beautiful valleys and a quiet small village with no traffic or crowds. 

Morning at Lake Wakatipu

 

 

On the road to Glenorchy, Lake Wakatipu is the jewel of the region.  A Gorgeous glistening lake and misty peaks.  Queenstown is a tourist town very much like St. Augustine is in Florida and Glenorchy is low-key and lies at the head of Lake Wakatipu.  It is a 40 mile drive northwest from Queenstown.