First of all, if you've made the trip down to your local theater to see the cinematic masterpiece that is Serenity, then you get a gold star and a kiss from Summer Glau (she plays River in the film - I also got to meet her at the first Serenity screening I went to in Vegas). If not, you owe it to yourself (and to me & Summer) to mosey on over to Consolidated Ward Theaters or The Grove or Century City (or whatever is closest to you), buy a ticket to Serenity and enjoy one of the best movies of the year. Take it from me, it is an excellent film. You won't be disappointed.
So we left Dunedin just after 7 am expecting to roll into the Mt. Cook area around lunch time. The sun was out in Dunedin town, I had my Oakleys on and it was all looking pretty sweet. Well, it all started out fine and dandy but it sure didn't stay like that for as long as we would've liked. Three+ hours on the road and we made it to the beautiful Lake Pukaki, which is situated just outside of the Mount Cook region. We started to get a little worried since we could see a bit of grey cloud invading the clear blue sky. Arriving at Mount Cook, we were greeted with a completely overcast sky and a bit of a drizzle. After checking in with the Department of Conservation Information Hut, we ate a quick lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, muesli bars and hit the trail. The Hooker Valley Trail that is. Then, the skies opened up...
About 15-20 mins in, we hit the first swingbridge and my pants and hair were completely soaked. It's a miracle that my adidas ClimaWarm fleece had resisted the elements so well. Ryan & I crossed first while Jen & Stuart were not far behind. We tried to move as quickly as possible despite the rain that poured down onto us from above.
The cloud and rain really limited our views of the surroundings, but you could make out that it would've been beauty of the "jaw-dropping" magnitude. The Hooker River was looking particularly fierce today. The sound of the rushing water was impressive as well.
We hit the second swingbridge and the rain was not letting up. In fact, it turned up the intensity just a little bit. Even the wind chimed in with some forceful gusts here and there. Mother Nature, in one of her prettiest locations, was putting on a bit of a show just for us.
It just isn't a good sign when the trail you're supposed to be following starts looking like a stream. When the rain turned to hail and the wind maintained its strength, we decided that it was time to turn tail and rethink our weekend plans.
While it was nice being outdoors, the weather certainly wasn't going to let us enjoy the scenery. You can barely see the Southern Alps through the rain & clouds. You certainly couldn't see Mount Cook though we definitely should've been able to. As sad as it made me feel to turn around, it was the right decision. We climbed back into the car, drove on over to the Hermitage (a posh hotel with beautiful, public, marble bathrooms and a nice cozy fireplace) to change into some dry clothing and thaw out a bit. We ate a little snack at the Old Mountaineers Cafe just down the road from the Hermitage and unanimously decided to return to Dunedin. We weren't going to have a good time out here so we might as well head on home...
About three hours after that ordeal, we made it back to the East Coast and back to the sunshine. That was probably the most frustrating thing for me: seeing the variability of New Zealand weather at work. In any case, we stopped off at Oamaru to try and see the Blue Penguin colony. However, they asked for NZ$13.50 to see the penguins. Like your typical, cheap college students, we didn't go. Unlike your typical college students, we found a better alternative...
But first, we saw this bit of grafitti and knew we had to pose for pictures.
Stuart sure loves the penguins.
Ryan loves the penguins too.
And just to complete the triumvirate, I must admit, I also love the penguins.
Moving right along... With dusk fast approaching, we drove up the hill beside the penguin colony and found a trail that led through a military reserve. Apparently, it's open to the public...well, there were no signs advising otherwise...
We kept on going towards the ocean, knowing that we would have to get just past the building so we could look down and see the penguins. A couple of these bunkers were scattered around overlooking the ocean, built not long ago to protect New Zealand from invading forces (whomever they might be). Victory was near...
The purply-pinkish hues of the sunset upon the eastern horizon was quite a beautiful sight. Simply lovely.
And finally!!! We are victorious. A bit of trailblazing led to this amazing vantage above the penguin colony amphitheater. Losers!!! Haha. We win! We are better than all of you!!! This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Unfortunately, the penguins didn't come out like they were supposed to. We did, however, get pointed at by the spectators down below. At least we know where to go next time instead of paying!
With Friday in the books, and since we were back in Dunedin, we decided that we would go see Otago's last home game against Canterbury at the 'brook. It was a lot of fun and I finally got decent seats! It was also a beautiful day in Dunedin. Quite a contrast from the horrible weather we were treated to at Mt. Cook.
Here's an Otago lineout late in the first half. Otago jumped out to an early lead and was able to hold off a late Canterbury comeback to seal a 24-19 victory and a place in the semifinals.
Feeling like we had to make up for not being able to experience Mount Cook, we decided to do a night hike up Nicols Creek to see glow worms.
Speaking of Nicols Creek, here it is. We just couldn't escape the rain this past weekend and even though the day was gorgeous, it began to drizzle early in the evening. It was nowhere near the intensity of what we experienced at Mt. Cook but just enough to be annoying.
Once we were well up the trail and we turned off all our lights, the glow worms appeared. It was amazing seeing them line the sides of the trail like stars in the night sky. However, it is so difficult to get a decent picture of the glow worms. You can't use the flash because it'll just over power the faint glow, so you have to trust in your camera's abilities in low light. Try as she might, this is as good as my P8 could do. I'm actually quite impressed considering I couldn't see anything on the display. It was only after I loaded the images onto the computer that I caught the unmistakeable blue glow of the glow worms. Sorry I couldn't do any better, you'll just have to see them for yourself one of these days.
Sarah, Stuart and I paused for a pic while Ryan and other Sarah explored a bit farther down the trail. Despite the weather, it was well worth the effort.
All in all, the weekend didn't turn out exactly the way we had planned it but it was pretty darn fun nonetheless. I'm quite pleased we were able to figure out alternative activities although a proper trip to Mount Cook will have to come in the near future. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I'm not sure what exactly is on the cards for this weekend. We are hoping that the weather is nice enough to go to Stewart Island but it's all really up in the air. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned for the next post! And go see Serenity already!!!
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1 comment:
you are so obsessed with that movie!! what is the big deal with the penguins...
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