The Deep South

Greetings from Invercargill! My sister Lee-Ann and her fiance Aaron live at one of the furthest-south points of New Zealand, having moved here from the central-north island city of Palmerston North. I flew down here on Friday from my parents place and spent a great weekend with them.

We drove to Aaron's parents holiday home in Te Anau, which sits on a beautiful lake with a stunning view of part of the southern alps. Obviously it would all be so much more interesting if I could upload some pics, but that will have to wait until my return.

The weather was for the most-part good, although there was some wind, rain, and snow down to about 400 meters (we were below the snowline). Lee & Aaron took me out to Queenstown (the tourist capital of the island), and through to Milford Sound, which was phenomenal.

The rainfall in the sound is in the 7 meters per year range, so there was an abundance of waterfalls rolling down the steep cliff sides of the sound and into the deep cold water below. We took a boat trip out into the sound, and were able to get an amazingly up-close appreciation for the grandeur of the place. Simply put, it is incredible. I want to go back in the summer for sure, and would love to be able to hike the Milford Track, which starts out in the sound.

The boat made the two-and-a-half hour trip, which included attempts to drench those of us on board who were silly enough to remain on-deck during up-close looks at some of the more impressive waterfalls. Out to the mouth of the sound - which had been missed twice by Captain James Cook in the 1700's - and then back into the sound. We were lucky enough to have the weather clear for us on the return leg, and so were treated to amazing views of the alps.

I also got to see Kea up close for the first time. Kea are our native parrot, and live high in the alps. They are a rich green colour, and have incredibly sharp, pointy beaks that have caused many a tourist a bloody finger. They are also well-deserved of their reputation of being "cheeky". They are adept at pulling the rubber sealer strip out of car windows, and even shredding tyres. I had only ever seen them on TV, and so the opportunity to get up-close was great.

The opportunity to observe our native birds again is one that I am very much enjoying. The Kowhai trees are heavy laden with their yellow trumpet flowers, and so Tui and Kereru (NZ Pigeon) are jostling with one another to gorge on the succulent flowers and their sweet nectar. Both birds are fat and heavy, but especially the Keeru - which has us all wondering if the Kereru is "good eatin'" as lore has it. The bird song is just wonderful, particularly the Tui.

Aaron's parents - Laurie & Christine - and his sister - Michelle - were wonderful hosts. Lots of laughter and fun - it will be great to see the two families together at the wedding next month. I think there will be a lot of things in common. Laurie has a boat, and so took us out o lake Te Anau yesterday morning - beautiful clear skies, with spectacular views of the snow-covered peaks. Really great folks.

I am very pleased with the life Lee has here with Aaron. She is happy, confident, and so obviously loved by everyone she comes in contact with. She and I have always had a very special close bond, and have even found out we are more alike - if such a thing is possible. Even down to the way we arrange items in the fridge and cabinets (yikes!).

Here are some links that will give you an idea of the places/things this entry talks about - and even an opportunity to hear some bird-song.

www.nzbirds.com/birds

http://www.fiordland.org.nz/