Sunday, December 23, 2007

I love New Zealand!


originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed the Milford Track. It was beautiful, challenging and so much fun. The photo above is taken on top of the Mackinnon Pass, looking down the Clinton Canyon. The track follows the Clinton River in the base of the canyon, before climbing up over the pass and then descending on the other side.

A massive highlight of the track was the trip to Sutherland falls - the tallest waterfalls in New Zealand (580m). It's possible to get behind the falls, which is something that I would never have attempted on my own, as it's a little like standing in the eye of a cyclone... We crossed over a stream to the left of the falls and then hugged the rocks and scrambled in behind the water. At times I couldn't see shit, and the noise was so loud that even yelling was useless. Instead of returning the way we came it seemed like a good idea to keep on going and go all the way around. Unfortunately this meant we had to clamber back across a fast moving stream knee deep in freezing water.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hedda hedda hedda i love new zealand too ! just from the pictures along and your dialog... thank youm so much for keeping us up to date..... paulypaul

Unknown said...

Very idyllic scene - and those pretty alpine flowers!