part of the Kepler track. (Apr 15-16, 2009)

So while Kevin and Laura took the van around the Milford Sound area, Kimbo and I went up to one of the huts on the Kepler track. Max, who was on our kayak tour of Doubtful Sound the day before came for the day. The forecast was for rain, wind, and cold....


A very nice track... definitely the widest and well marked track we'd been on.


We met up with a fellow tramper we had hiked with on the Rakiura Track.


The hike was straight up for day one... which was nice to get above the tree line and hike on he ridge... a great view for the rest of the day.


You get a view back at Te Anu from the ridge.


Kimbo enjoying the day.


After reaching the Luxmoore Hut, I ran up to Mt. Luxmoore just in time to catch up with Max.


After summiting and eating lunch, we decided to check out the nearby Luxmoore caves near by.


Turned out to be a great exploration. Kimbo squeezing in.


Look at this joker.


Great stalagtites, stalagmites, etc...


During the night I heard lots of footsteps outside our window... went to the bathroom and found these guys creating havoc on the deck..


Beautiful Kea


They're very smart... and makes for some entertaining viewing.


The Luxmoore Hut


And what's a hike in NZ without a rainbow sighting?


On the way our we ran into these two who were on their way up... a nice place to say our goodbyes.

Kayaking in Doubtful Sound...

Doubtful sound is the sound south of the more famous Milford Sound on the Southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Doubtful Sound is less crowded due to the fact that you have to take a boat across a large lake (30 min), then hop on a bus (where the manapouri power station is located) to the actual sound.

During the drive, our guide told us that all these "sounds" are actually not "sounds" but rather "fjords."

Kim and I had planned to do a 2 day Doubtful Sound kayak tour, but that tour got canceled... so Kim and I signed up for the 1 day tour... which turned out ok, as we got to spend the whole day with our favorite rugby playing Frenchman, "Max." Who we had met in many scenic areas, but finally talked to on the Raikiura Track... which I may not have blogged about yet.


That's our man...


A Kea at the Manapouri Station Visitor Center. Curious birds, some say the smartest bird in the world, and even smarter than monkeys... which means it's probably smarter than many humans... and might take over the human race soon. But they are awesome to watch. On another hike, the ranger told us that the resident Kea's at his hut didn't like getting pics taken with SLRs... and they've learned to bum rush the paparazzi and break the lens with their beak.


Our first view of Doubtful Sound


A weka came to say hi during our instructor's talk.


One of the hundreds of waterfalls in the Doubtful Sound.




Our tour prep talk...


Re-filling our water.


Pretty amazing place to kayak...


And a day in this area isn't complete until you see some sort of rainbow.


And a cold swim...


Max is having fun... though it may not look like it.

Later that night we all met up at the Red Cliff Tavern in Te Anu for drinks and dinner... I highly reccommend the wild hare salad btw.

Farewell for now...