Queenstown sojourn.

We took the road south down through Alexandra then on to Queenstown.  I don't generally like staying in the towns so we headed out onto the Glenorchy rd.  It wasn't long and we came to a DOC camp called the 12 Mile.  We set up there on a roomy site and unhitched the rig.  Staying in the DOC camps is good for us as we have purchased a yearly pass through the NZMCA, so there is no further charges to stay at any of their camps.  The camp is right on the shore of lake Whakatipu.

The ducks are a bit cheeky at Glenorchy

Over the next three days we had a good look around the area.  The mountains are right in your face and very picturesque and almost rise right off the shore of the lake.  The town itself is very tourist orientated and seems to be a real party town with lots of young people around from countries all around the world.  There are a lot of bars and restaurants as well as the casino to entertain the night owls.But us old farts still struggle to stay up after 10pm.  Prices seemed to be rather inflated as well even for everyday groceries and wine etc.
I spent a couple of evenings in the kayak trolling a fly but only managed to catch 2 trout one of which we had for dinner.

We are still a bit budget conscious so we find we are not partaking too much of the touristy attractions like boat trips and adrenaline companies but we don't think we are missing out at all. there is still so much for us to see and do.

After three days at the 12 mile camp we thought we would get going again and head a bit further south before we had to go back to Oamaru for duck shooting.We ended up driving right through to Te Anau.  We ended up staying at a park over property which is a property usually owned by a member of the NZMCA who has a bit of room for motorhomes etc. You usually leave a donation of about $3 per person per night.

Next morning we headed to milford for a look and we decided we had to do the boat cruise on the famous Milford Sound. It takes around 2  1/2 hours to get to Milford from Te Anau but it really is a visual experience.   It is a scenic wonderland with the mountains climbing up either side of the road  with rushing torrents tumbling down gorges and then you get to the Homer Tunnel and drive right through the middle of a mountain.  A tunnel built with pick and shovel by men that were so much tougher than any of this generation.

The boat trip was great and we picked an awesome day weather wise with hardly a cloud in the sky.  We could see right to the top of the mountains.  The commentary on board was well presented and very informative.  Lunch was served as we boarded then we were straight into the presentation of the history of the fjord and the geology of the mountains.  It really was a great day and both Jocelyn and I were really impressed with our trip to Milford.

We spent 2 days in Te Anau .I was quite keen to have a look at the Manapouri Dam but all tours had been cancelled until november for new turbine installation.  We had a good bike around the town and around the boat harbour and also went for a bit of a look and a walk at the start of the Keplar track.  We met a doc ranger and had a good yak about the trapping program in place to keep the rat population down.Wherever we went on any of the formed hiking tracks there was always traps everywhere.

After Te Anau we headed to Mavora lakes Which is back towards Mossburn. You take a left and there is about 30kms of metal road that takes you into beech forest then you come out at the lakes.  Wow.  What a beautiful place.This is another DOC administered area and there is camp sites sprinkled through quite a large area.  We picked a spot right on the edge of the South Mavora lake.  Open tussock areas on the side we are camped then the mountains rise up from the lake on the other side.

  For the first day and a half the weather was nice but a trifle windy.Then it really turned to custard.  Shame really as I think I would like to get to know this place a bit better.  I struggled to catch a trout here so I will have to come back and put in a more concerted effort.  On the day before we left I braved the wind and climbed up onto the tops opposite our camp.  From way up there I got to see the whole place layed out before me and could see lots of potential for some good nymph or dry fly fishing.  It looks like this place is well utilised in the summer  but the numbers tail off into the autumn.  Next day the weather really packed it in so we packed up in the rain and started north again. We thought we would stop in Cromwell but once we emptied the tanks and filled the water we decided to carry on and maybe stop at lake Benmore around Twizel but I seemed to be in a driving mood and I really find this rig so easy to tow I just kept driving and we eventually found ourselves back at Rod and Catherines.  So now the mind goes firmly onto the coming duckshooting season.  Rod and James are both getting keen and we have Dane coming down from Auckland and Grace has informed us she is not missing out either as she wants to be there at daybreak opening morning.  As usual it is a real family affair.  Can't wait.