After Queenstown, we ventured on to Te Anau which is where most people stay who are planning trips to see the Fjords. Our plan was to visit Doubtful Sound — named by Captain Cook due to his doubting it was navigable — in hindsight, I think Fletcher wished this were true. It was a stunningly beautiful, but long trip for us (especially Fletcher). The day included a car ride, bus ride and two boats rides all totaling about ten hours. And as any of you who have young boys know, nothing excites a kid more than looking at scenery for hours and hours on end! The part he enjoyed most was the power plant we visited on the way. It is the largest hydroelectric power plant in New Zealand built two kilometers directly into a solid granite mountain. The tunnel is so large that two buses can pass each other (I think it’s actually wider than most of the roads in Bali!) and the hall where we viewed the turbines looks like something out of a James Bond Movie.
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- In the tunnel to the powerstation
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- The turbines from the viewing deck
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- Kids looking out onto floor of powerstation
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- Scenes from Doubtful Sound
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- More scenery
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- Looking out toward the Tasman Sea
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- Fletcher looking out from inside the boat
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- One of the crew members found a box of legos which kept us busy for a little while
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- Kids coloring on the boat
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- The end of the sound – we didn’t venture out into the Tasman Sea due to the dangerously high surf – phew!
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- Waterfalls
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- About done!
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- Marc with the kids on the deck of the boat
Next we moved on to Dunedin which is known for its abundant wildlife. We visited an albatross colony which had over 20 nests with chicks. Albatross only have one chick every two years –and, when you see how large the chicks are and how much they eat, it isn’t surprising they don’t reproduce in greater numbers. One funny coincidence in Dunedin — the tour company we used to organize our trip booked us at the Fletcher Lodge — it was great! They even have a dog named Fletcher!
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- Kids climbing at the park – Dunedin
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- Fletcher enjoying the gardens
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- Fletcher and rail station in background
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- Albatross chick — only four months and almost as large as their parents
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- Albatross dad landing to feed his chick – their wings are so large it’s difficult for them to fold them in windy conditions
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- Both parents will take turns feeding the chick for a year until he is old enough to fly off on his own
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- Albatross mate for life – although “divorces” do occur!
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- At one year chicks are larger than their parents (in weight)
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- When chicks leave the nest they fly out to sea for up to five years — and won’t set foot on land until they return to find a mate.
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- They are huge beautiful birds with an average wingspan of 10 feet.
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- The Fletcher Lodge
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- Kids with Fletcher the dog
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- Fletcher Lodge
Our trip ended in Lake Tekapo where the Mt. John observatory is located. We took the evening tour up to the observatory to view the stars. It was extraordinary! Even with naked eyes, the view of the sky was awesome and it got even better with the help of the many telescopes at the facility. What fun to experience a whole new perspective from the southern hemisphere. I think when you live in the city you forget (or maybe have never known) what the skies actually contain. Being a city person for a very long time, I probably hadn’t seen the whole Milky way since I was a kid. It is spectacular!
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- Jackets provided by tour company – complete w Antarctica expedition team patch. It was chilly up at the observatory
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- The kids were not as excited as their parents. They spent most of the tour in the warming hut drinking hot chocolate!
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- Views of the stars
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- Views of the sky
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- View of the sky and the town below
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- More stars
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- Lake Tekapo
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- Check out the color of the lake – its glacier fed – looks like its been dyed
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- More of lake
Tomorrow we return to Bali. It’s been a great trip!!
cali2bali 
Oh my! Ooooh My!! What great views, and great photos. Thank you so much for including them. Especially the shots of the night sky. Unbelievable. Really. Who gets to see that many stars anymore, anywhere? What an experience! Loved the shots of the kids, particularly Fletch, trying so hard to be excited about scenery and sky. Oh, well. Sometimes, hot chocolate and legos are just necessary for comfort and sanity in the face of scenery-crazed parents. Thank goodness there was Fletcher Lodge to retire to. Whew!! Oh, and albatrosses. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to me, your getting to see albatrosses.