Is Not Chicago

awe·some (ôsm) adj. 1. Inspiring awe

awe (ô) n. 1. A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might (I had no idea dread was in there, but we’ll leave that out for my definition)

After spending the morning inside the awesome Milford Sound, the road back to Queenstown began. On the road back, we had plenty of time for the “wow, look at that, it’s amazing” stops we had to forgo that morning.Shortly after emerging from the Homer Tunnel off on the side of the road we saw a tall waterfall with snow at its base. Now it’s summer, sunny, and close to 80 degrees. Yet, there’s still snow. And naturally the only thing to do is climb the snow to the waterfall.

It doesn’t look that far off, does it? As I mentioned before, New Zealand likes to mess with your perception of distance. We began walking over the rocks, and several hundred yards later, we reached the edge of the snow. As we continued toward our final goal, the base of the waterfall, somehow, it seemed to keep getting farther away. By my approximation, it ended up being about a mile and a half up.

In addition to the surprise of distance, what we found at the top as just as shocking:

We hadn’t been walking on a little snow on top of rocks. We were on a good 10 feet of solid ice with water flowing through caves underneath. (Yes, me in my brilliance climbed down into the hole). But I did discover a small series of tunnels popping out on the surface at various locations.

The way down was quite a bit easier as we discovered Glacier Surfing. It’s like skiing, only without skis. And goggles. And a helmet. But it gets you down the hill quicker. Of course some people had more trouble than others:

Of course, I had trouble just standing up to film that.

(the idea was to photoshop our name for the waterfall on the signpost: Te Wakadirkajeegawau, a bastardization of the maori language combined with the fact that we watched Team America a couple days before)

A few more photos from the way home:

You’d think after a while I’d get tired of looking at awesome stuff, but New Zealand doesn’t let you stop. It’s like you and God are battling it out in an endurance match. He’s trying to see how much beauty you can take and still go back home.

The next morning we woke up early in Te Anau. We had a 9:30am ferry ride and we were two hours away. Unfortunately, that left us very little time for stopping along the way. Not so much bathroom stops as “wow, look at that, it’s amazing” stops. We did make one quick stop at Lake Gunn:

(I took this photo upside down)

I have never seen any place like Milford Sound. Technically, it’s not a sound, it’s a fjord. A sound is a river delta that the sea has taken over. A fjord is carved by glaciers. Those silly English explorers were wrong. But next time you need to know the difference between a sound and a fjord you’ll be right.

We took a ferry ride out into the sound, all the way out to where it opened into the Tasman Sea. Looking up at the cliff walls, as perception of depth disappears. Looking up at the cliffs, we had little idea that the top was a mile above us. A person standing among the trees there would be imperceptible.

Gorgeous waterfalls. Beautiful snow-capped mountains. Bright blue sea. Seals sunning themselves (they might have been sea lions, I don’t remember). Even penguins swimming around. Have I mentioned how beautiful this place is? You should go.

More photos…

I must concede that the rest of my birthday is not nearly as adventurous and wild as the first 4 hours, but it was no less enjoyable. After the adrenaline-inducing excitement of the Canyon Swing and the the Shotover Jetboat, it was time for a little relaxation.

Queenstown has an amazing botanic gardens right on Lake Wakatipu. We wandered through there enjoying the scenery, feeding the wildlife, and perhaps climbing trees. Because that’s what I do now that I’m 28. There might have been skipping involved, as well.

The plan for the evening was to rent a car and drive to Te Anau, halfway to Milford Sound, one of the most beautiful spots in all of the southern island (but as I have said before, NZ doesn’t quit with the beauty, it just keeps beating you in the eye with it).

After relaxing by the water for a while, it was time to hit the road. We made it to Te Anau, a town on Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the south island of New Zealand. It was a little late, so our restaurant choices were limited to The Moose. Not exactly the classiest of establishments, but they have their own special Moose Ale, and some fairly tasty food.

To punctuate the night, after arriving at the hostel, a few beers in me, it was the perfect time for looking at some stars. It was the middle of nowhere, so the view of the Milky Way was excellent. Of course, I was in the southern hemisphere, so the entire sky was a different sky. It was my first view of the Southern Cross. And even Orion was upside down.

It was the perfect way to end a stellar birthday (pun slightly intended).

Jump 1: Backwards

Jump 2: Birthday Gimp

And then Ann Marie and Emily do the Chair of Death:

There’s not much I can say about it that pictures can’t.

Here’s how the birthday began (videos coming soon)

We started off with the Canyon Swing (it was my birthday, so I got my second jump for free. nice)

Then off to the Shotover Jet

And then we got lunch. More to come later

More photos…