Week 508 · Queenstown · Milford Sound · South Island NZ
Queenstown &
We took an extended weekend to the South Island of New Zealand — flew into Queenstown and out of Christchurch. Weather in early spring is sketchy; a couple of days before the trip the forecast was 90% rain for the entire trip. We ended up with a partially sunny day for Milford Sound and two glorious days for Mt. Cook and the drive to Christchurch.
New Zealand is completely different than Australia — Australia has few high mountains and the ones they have are very old (even in geological time) and wind has eroded the sharp edges off. The mountains in New Zealand are relatively new, formed by two crashing plates — much higher and jagged with glacier-formed valleys and lakes. The Southern Alps mountain range runs the entire length of the South Island.
New Zealand sits on the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, one of the most geologically active zones on Earth. The Southern Alps were formed by the ongoing collision of these two plates — the Alpine Fault runs the length of the South Island and produces a major earthquake approximately every 300 years (the last was 1717). By contrast, Australia is one of the world's most geologically stable continental masses, with its highest peak (Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228m) less than a fifth the height of Aoraki/Mount Cook (3,724m). New Zealand's South Island was only separated from Antarctica around 85 million years ago, explaining why it retains a landscape more similar to Patagonia or Norway than to its nearest neighbour across the Tasman Sea.
Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world — bungy jumping and jet boating were invented here. No adventures for us — all we did was take a gondola ride to the top of a mountain overlooking the city and lake. The town is nice and we visited a wine tasting room focused on the New Zealand region of Otago, which is known for Pinot Noir. We also went to two great restaurants — The Cow and The Flame.
Our primary activity in Queenstown was a bus trip to Milford Sound — 5-hour bus trip each way (very scenic with stops, passing many alpine lakes) and a 2-hour cruise in the sound. Really good day trip with a combination of rain, clouds, sun, snow, and blue sky.
The bus trip and cruise was pretty spectacular — very similar to the fjords of Norway. Rain, clouds, sun, snow, and blue sky all in one day. Stirling Falls at Milford Sound is 3 times higher than Niagara. The snow we'd driven through in the morning had turned the mountains white and created dozens of temporary waterfalls. The weather that seems like a problem turns out to be part of what makes it so dramatic.
"Very similar to the fjords of Norway. Rain, clouds, sun, snow, and blue sky — all in one day."