Milford's Gray Beauty

After having spent some time in Queenstown it turned out that most companies were not looking for new staff. As a matter of fact most of them just got out of the high season into the shoulder season and were not going to hire anybody for the upcoming 1,5-2 months. During two weeks I had one trial day in a restaurant in Wanaka. For a moment I thought of moving there. The village is as least as beautiful located as Queenstown, but way more relaxed. Queenstown is a buzzing tourist town and although I love Queenstown, Wanaka would have been a welcome alternative. A men's fashion shop offered me a trial day as well, but nothing came out of that either.

Therefore I decided to spend a last two nights in Te Anau with Mariska and Stu while waiting for results on the job hunt. You cannot have been on the South Island without having visited Milford Sound. On Monday afternoon I reached Te Anau after having hitched with 3 rides. On my second ride I got picked up in Frankton, a suburb of Queenstown, by two Danish hunters. Mathias and Son got them self a hunting license for incredibly cheap and were on their way to spend a few days in the wild. They drop me of in probably the smallest little village in New Zealand, Five Rivers. Five Rivers has one bar with the same name, but it is hard to imagine where those five rivers would have been. Two German men stop for me while I preparing a sandwich on the side of the road and they make me think of something I have thought of many times before. A French girl was already in their back seat with two bagpacks on her lap and I had to cramp into this tiny car. Why is it that people like this pick you up, it is much appreciated especially because they have so little space to offer, but that a massively big SUV barely stops.

To pass the time I go for a hike around Lake Te Anau, The trail around the lake doesn't seem to be to interesting at first, but I was positively surprise with the lovely surroundings and views on

the valley. Valleys that were not visible from the village. Just like me Caroline is hiking the same trail. Caroline is a French traveller that has the plan to visit Milford Sound the next day. That is great, as I was planning to hitchhike there too. The next morning she picks me up at 9 o'clock. I have got the impression I am actually turning into a normal person in New Zealand. Because of all the hiking and I tend to wake up around 8-9 o'clock every day, while my previous jobs always made me wake up around 11 o'clock. Milford Sound and the road leading there are known for their rainfall. 200 days a year it rains, which creates incredible lush mountains and numerous of wildly gushing waterfalls and rapids. Today is no exception and I now plan to finally buy myself a raincoat. After an hour on the road Caroline and I stop at the entrance of the Lake Marie-Ann trail. We are the only parked and go up the trail that should take us 3 hours round way. However, it is a steep climb and my regular winter jacket changes from a comfortably warm jacket into a broiling, or steaming, tropical micro climate packed onto my body. We decide to walk back just over the half way stage. Yes, I will buy a better jacket!

When you haven't been there it is hard to imagine why people would come here in these amounts even when it is raining cats and dogs. I tell you, it is worth it though. The closer you get to the fiord, the rougher the terrain becomes and more and more waterfalls stream down the grey and rocky flanks of the mountains from all angles. Initially we were not planning a cruise on the fiord, but once you have done the entire trip you might just well do it. You are only once in Milford Sound and believe it or not the fog and rain in a way added to the experience. The pictures are the proof I guess.

On the way back to Te Anau we only get telephone service again as we enter town. Iris, Mariska’s sister who lives in Hanmer Springs, sends a message with the promising text that there may be a job opportunity at the company she is working for. It concerns a job as photographer, taking pictures of tourists near the hot springs in

Hanmer Springs, just north of Christchurch....