Fiordland

today we ventured into fiordland, deep in the southeastern corner of NZ. where do i even begin?? we woke up super early, before the sun was up to beat all the tour busses up the mt. road...there are SO many tour busses!! it was very foggy and rainy, but still very beautiful as we ascended into the moutains. as we began to climb up, green green moutnains shot up from the vally floor and sparkling lakes lined the road. we passed through a tunnel (homer tunnel) that was carved out of the rock in the 1800's and has no electricity. it is one way and DARK. water squirts out of the cracks in the wall and it's foggy inside. crazy!! on the other side we found ourselves in another world. low hanging clouds were caught in the beech forests and there were waterfalls everywhere! no, i mean everywhere!! at the top of the pass we reached the famous milford sound (a fiord). can't even explain...please see picture for evidence. although the sun was not out (it only comes out about twice a week there) it was truely amazing. the mountains shoot right up out of the water...since it leads out to the ocean, it is salt water, but on top of the salt water is about 40 meters of fresh water that is rich in natural tannins. because of the tannins the water underneath satys dark, creating a natural habitat for deep sea life that can usually only exist at very deep points in the ocean.

after taking in milford sound, we headed back down the mountain road...we stopped off to see a chasm where the river has carved smooth designs and caves into the rocks. then we headed for lake marion...the jewel of our day. it was about an hour and a half tramp to the top of the trail. we ventured up through the beech forests...moss everywhere and a rushing river beside us. at the top we were rewarded as the trail opened into a spectacular hanging valley with lake marion right in front of us. the lake was the most amazing color green (not the color of our car, a different green) and three waterfalls poured into the water at every corner of the lake. we sat on the rocks and ate lunch, smelled the air and soaked up some sun (but we are still pale). it was a moment. we also met some other VERMONTERS!! when we walked into the clearing at the lake a group of trampers yelled "are you from VT?" having noticed my tattoo (see i knew i got it for a reason). turns out they were from middlebury college. the world is so small, even on the other side of it!

now we are at rest in a hostel in queenstown...zach almost nailed an escapee sheep on the way here, but with a near miss and another FANTASTIC drive here we are. more soon! we miss everyone and we hear it's snowing in VT so get out there and ski everyone!!!!

(we have heard there is sometimes confusion as to who is writing...nina wrote about the penguins, the rest you'll have to figure out yourselves!!)