Spring snow

This is turning into a blog about snow in Dunedin! It is not the intention, but if it will snow at the wrong time of the year, maybe I should talk about it. We are all feeling the cold today, more so because in the mind we have already "switched over" to summer!

You had to be up and about relatively early this morning to see this unseasonal winter wonderland, because the sun came out and melted it all away in very little time.

Lovely snow pics from 15 August

On Monday 15 August 2011 the snow storms continued, leaving Lisa stranded in Christchurch, trying to get home from Wellington since Sunday afternoon. She finally made it by Wednesday afternoon!

Snow on the roof of the carport.

Willem collecting more wood for the fireplace during a lull between snow flurries.

Where's the road? We're not going anywhere!

Snow falling!

The usual view over the harbour and peninsula is obliterated by falling snow.

More snow

Sunday 14 August - snow blizzards! Very cold. Wind chill in Otago was minus 16 degrees C. Dunedin comes to a standstill... http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/173580/dunedin-cut-heavy-snow

Snow time

Winter was late, but when it finally arrived, it was spectacular! the snow arrived on Sunday 24 July and we were warned, so grocery shopping was done on Saturday.

Monday and Tuesday I could not get to work (a bit too far to walk), but Lisa and Willem did walk in to the office. By Wednesday the snow on the roads up our end of the hill had started melting and then froze again, so everything was extremely slippery. Buses and taxis hesitated to venture near us at first, but we finally got a bus down the hill, still unable to move the car from the driveway.

Willem stacking wood on Sunday while the snow sifts down gently.

 On Saturday morning we had a load of chopped wood delivered - just in time for the frosty weather! Monday was a beautiful day - the snow was soft and powdery and even though it was still snowing from time to time, the kids came out to play on their sleds and skis and families went to play in the snow on the nearby golf course. So on Monday afternoon while stacking wood, people were constantly passing our house and it struck me how happy everyone was! Nobody complained of the cold, all were having fun, and strangers started chatting and telling of the wonderful time they are having!

So, New Zealand, I shall never again believe anybody who complains of the cold. It is fun, and it is exhilarating!

Our car, in front of our house.

Our street.

Back yard with flowering Rhododendron.

Easter Weekend 5

Easter Monday 25 April was a beautiful day and we were ready at 10 am at the Lake Te Anau pier to meet Peter and his friend Ryce for a cruise on the lake. Here comes the 'Carousel'...

We spent most of the 3-hour cruise sitting on that front deck!
Entering the South Arm of the lake, we were amazed to see snow on the distant mountain - that was a fresh dusting from the night before; no wonder there was a certain refreshing bite in the air.

And here we are - proof that we were really there and not just showing you somebody else's pictures!

Willem

Leta

The boat tied up at a small wharf in the South Arm of the lake and we went on a short walk to one of the Hidden Lakes, then had a cup of tea before returning to Te Anau.

Hidden Lake

Fungi and mosses on the forest floor.

There is hardly any soil on the Fiordland mountains; the plant succession is lichen - moss - trees. The path through the forest consisted of a mat of tree roots:

What a wonderful weekend! We felt refreshed and re-charged with energy, ready to face the working week to follow. There's nothing to beat a little 'mountain therapy'!

Easter Weekend 4

Still Sunday 24 April, arriving in Milford to go on a cruise with the Southern Discoveries catamaran, 'Lady of the Sounds', on Milford Sound. By the way, Milford Sound is not a sound (formed by river action), it's a fiord (formed by glacial action).

The picture everybody takes - Mitre Peak (that's the one on the right):

Milford Sound, looking out towards the sea (not visible yet):

The fault line. Water cascades down the fault line (a crack in the mountains) on either side of the fiord - clearly visible directly after the rains of the night before:

Turning around, looking back down Milford Sound from the Tasman Sea end:

New Zealand fur seals dozing on a rock. We could not figure out how they got onto this huge rock with its vertical sides - it's still a mystery!

This is a permanent waterfall at the Milford end of the fiord, providing both water and electricity to the township.

Before returning to Milford we stopped at the floating underwater observatory:

Enjoy our wee movie taken from 10 meters under the surface of the water, and a snippet of a Dvořák symphony. The water is green because of the tannins leaching from the surrounding forests:

Easter Weekend 3

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day - nice and sunny - just as well, since we had a big day planned. We had organised a bus tour from Te Anau to Milford, and a cruise on Milford Sound. The road between Te Anau and Milford has much to offer, and here are but a few glimpses of the splendour of Fiordland.

The road winds its way through one of the oldest beech forests in New Zealand:

A photo stop at Eglinton Valley (the sun is out, but there's a fair bit of cloud about too):

A short walk from the road brings one to the small but very pretty Mirror Lake. It's easy to see where the name comes from:

Further along the road, getting closer to Milford, the mountains rise up majestically, waterfalls cascading down:

Another stop along the road to admire the mighty Hollyford River:

And the glaciers on the surrounding mountains:

Then through the Homer tunnel:

Another stop at The Chasm where we were most impressed by the lush tree ferns:

And the Chasm itself, with the churning waters of the river:

Next stop - Milford and the cruise. To be continued...

Easter Weekend 2

We had planned to tramp up to Lake Marian on Saturday and we were all set to go, but alas, Friday night the heavens opened up and the rains poured down, so much so that the top part of the trail to Lake Marian was impassable and the DOC staff advised us not to go there. It was still raining lightly and very misty, but since this was our day for tramping we decided to drive up to the Divide and walk up to Key Summit at the start of the Routeburn track.

On the way up - trees looming through the mist:

Going very slowly in the rain, up the rather steep track, nearly 2 hours later we reached the summit:

We enjoyed this misty scene of ghostly lichen-encrusted trees reflected in the pond:

We found a spot slightly sheltered from the cold wind at the top of the mountain and perched on a rock just long enough to eat a sandwich for lunch. We soon started getting chilled, so decided to cut short the rest and start the long descent along the winding path:

By this time the rain had stopped and we could admire the lush lichen and mosses next to the path:

There was even a spot of sunshine for a moment, just to make our day!

Because of all the rain there were numerous streams cascading down the side of the mountain - the most delicious water to quench a thirst!

Easter Weekend 1

Well actually, for us that would be day 1 and 2 - since we left Dunedin directly after Willem's midday class on Thursday, hitting the road to Te Anau at around 1 pm. A beautiful sunny trip all the way, arriving at the Red Tussock Motel in good time to unpack and then take a leisurely stroll to find some dinner in town. Then it was to bed early - two exhausted bunnies needing a good sleep and un-wind from the harrows of working life in the city.

We woke up refreshed on Friday morning - a slow start since Friday has been earmarked for not much besides catching our collective breath and building "gumption" for the days ahead and to explore Fiordland National Park. It struck us that we had slept really well - the bed was comfy, but mainly because it was so quiet!!! We were reminded that in the city there are always background sounds - the sound of traffic on the roads, even at a distance, ever present.

We went on a leisurely stroll along the lakeside towards the Wildlife Park which houses mostly endangered birds like pukeko, takahe and kereru (native pigeon).

Kereru

 It's not easy to photograph the birds behind the fencing, so here's a shot of the exotic Canada geese in a lovely large pond:

 

Walking back towards town we noticed the yacht club members were getting ready for a day on Lake Te Anau, so we hung around and watched them for a while:

On Sunday this wee plane was rather busy, but no, we were otherwise occupied. More about that later.