Friday 10 May 2013

Gertrude's Saddle

Okay, I promised a part two of our Fjiorlands (correct??) trip! But first, I have some exciting news...we got a dryer!!!! I can't even think of the last day we have NOT had rain so it was kind of a necessity! I had even forgotten what it's like to have fluffy, soft towels! I don't know if I'll be able to go back to the outside drying hangy-thing when the rain lightens up...but, our electricity bill is high enough as it is, without the added dryer! So, we'll see what it's like this month :/

Okay, back to trip pictures! Here are some of my favorites!

Last you heard, we had just arrived in Queenstown and done the gondola and luge (so fun!). The next day was supposed to be the ONLY day with sun/no rain so we decided to make that our Milford Sound/hiking day! We woke up and drove 4+ hours to Milford Sound. It would have taken less time if we didn't stop every second to take pictures of the amazing scenery! Pictures don't even do justice to the amazing landscapes and mountains surrounding us! Just the drive there was worth going!


We found this waterfall going under one of the bridges and you could climb all the way under it! Very cool!

We finally made it to Milford Sound and had lunch. There was a hike around Milford Sound but it was closed when we got there :( Too bad because it looks super cool! 


 After getting some recommendations from someone who worked around Milford Sound we decided to change our plans and head out to find a different hike, Gertrude's Saddle. This one was a LOT more intense and much longer than the original 3 hour hike we planned to take. We were first greeted with signs like this:


Good thing it was Summer (ish) and no snow around! The hike was pretty tough and I can't say that I made it as far as Ben and John did but it had some amazing views! 


We found this perfect pool of water (it looks deceptively small in this picture). If it wasn't freezing, I probably would have jumped in!!


I'm told this is a lake at the almost-top of the hike. I didn't make it this far... :( I was enjoying sitting on a rock and contemplating how I was going to hike back DOWN! 


In this picture we have climbed pretty far up! You can see by Ben's wrist is the carpark where we started! And the hike started by following that riverbed on the left. I wish it was just a little less bright :(


And I'm pretty sure I posted this on my last post but this is my favorite picture from the trip! The clouds dripping down the mountain...this was on our way back out of the hike...It almost does the beauty justice!


And last but not least...a reminder of our accomplishments as "fit and experienced trampers"! 

I'm off to get my hair done today...it's going to be cute!! Keep a lookout :)

2 comments:

Joanne Nixon said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

So glad to see the beautiful pictures of the countryside and that you are out enjoying it.

Libbi said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@Joanne Nixon Hopefully we will be taking more trips soon!!

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