Mom and Cory Come to Visit!

I finally got to share Te Anau with two of my favorite people, my mom and Cory!  Despite long travel days and delayed flights and almost missing the bus, my visitors made it safely on March 18th to my little patch of paradise.  We had a day of downtime (or at least, they did, while I had to work) and then hit the Kepler Track for an overnight adventure to Luxmore Hut:

Beautiful morning on Lake Te Anau on the way to the Kepler Track.

Mom and Cory at the start of the walk.

Reflection at the Control Gates, the real start of the Kepler Track.

Cory going for a swim at Brod Bay...just before being devoured by sandflies.

Limestone bluffs.

Crazy kid.

Twisted beech tree.

Step by step up the hill.

Beautiful beech forest.

View south once we (finally!) got above the bushline, Lake Manapouri in the distance.

Looking north across Lake Te Anau to the Darran Mountains.

Final push to the hut.

Boardwalk across a wetland.

We made it to Luxmore Hut!

Sunset from the hut over Lake Te Anau.

The team at the hut the next morning...good thing we had a clear view the night before.

The following day I had to work again, but I sent my visitors out on a day trip to Doubtful Sound (where I went for my overnight kayaking adventure in November).  My flatmate Ange, who works for Real Journeys, very generously arranged for a 50% discount for both of them for the trip, which was great because Doubtful isn't cheap.  The day was beautiful and they saw dolphins three times, so I think we can chalk that up as a hit.  Before we knew it, it was time to send Cory off back to Taupo (booo), and time for Mom and I to explore another (famous) part of Fiordland: the road to Milford Sound.

Waterfalls on the Milford Road - first rain in over a month!

Excited about waterfalls :)

Marian Creek, the start of the track to Lake Marian.

Serious picture...

...funny picture (but apparently I missed the memo).  My new fave.

Excited about the swingbridge!

While Mother Nature gave Fiordland a little drink of water, Mom and I had a down day, wandering into town to find a yummy flat white and watch Ata Whenua (or Shadowland, a fantastic movie about Fiordland) and planning the next stage of our adventure, which would take us to Queenstown and beyond...

 (Delicious) wine tasting at Peregrine Wines, followed by a walk along the Gibbston River Trail to Waitiri Creek winery and then Gibbston Valley Wines.

View towards Queenstown from the Crown Range Road, heading to Wanaka.

Moody Lake Wanaka.

Sunset colors from the parking lot of our holiday park in Wanaka.

Representing Colorado!  At the start of the Rob Roy Track in Mt Aspiring National Park (one north of Fiordland).

Crossing the west branch of the Matukituki River.

West Matukituki valley.

First view of the glacier from the track.

Beech forest playground.

The first of many waterfalls to greet us, 261 m (856 ft) high.

Getting closer...

...and closer...

...and closer...

...ahhhhhhh, there it is.

Mini avalanche/icefall we saw a literal minute after getting to the viewpoint.  Glacier's way of saying hello.

Yup, happy.

Glaciers are cool.

Wall of moss!

My favorite kind of forest.

Far viewpoint of the glacier, which we (unintentionally but brilliantly) saved for the way back down.

Pretty with water drops.

Cool mosses.

Next day's adventure: Moke Lake near Queenstown.

Another perfect day.

Went for a swim :)

Last day: morning over the northern end of Lake Wakatipu and the Humboldt Mountains.

Silly tree can't make up its mind.

Routeburn Track.

Fern Gully?

Tantalizing water of the Route Burn (burn = Scottish word for river).

Crossing the Route Burn.

View of the Routeburn Flats from a slip uphill.  New Zealand is divine.

Routeburn Falls - our lunch spot.

Routeburn Falls Hut from above, looking down onto the Routeburn Flats.

Watching a chopper land.

Typical alpine environment that I love.  Now let's play Where's Mom?

Our water fountain for the day.

Windblown and mindblown.

Me likey.

Me likey too.

Wall of Moss part two.

Lake Wakatipu again, this time in the afternoon.

Then off to the airport - bye Mom!  That was too fast :(

It was really fabulous to have visitors here, and it's made me realize how much pride I take in Te Anau and Fiordland - I feel as proud as a local, even though I've only been here for five months.  I think maybe I convinced them both to love it too (well, definitely Mom, but Cory's still being stubborn about thinking the North Island's better...denial...).  Now that they're both gone, things seem a little less exciting, but I suppose I just have to look forward to the next time I get to greet a smiling face and show them around...(hint hint, people).

I'll let these wonderfully-shaped rocks we found on our travels sum it up for me.  xoxo

"...and what happened then?  Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."

All photography copyright Kendall DeLyser.