Moody Mavora & Snowy Garston

Catch-up (early October 2019)

From the DOC camp at Cascade Creek on the Milford Road we returned to the NZMCA Park at Te Anau for a few days. After a week out of range, it was good to have cell phone & internet reception again before we headed to our next destination Mavora Lakes- one of our favourite South Island destinations- which is also out of range. 

The road to the lakes leaves the main highway about halfway between Te Anau & Mossburn and from there, there's 'just' 34kms of gravel to travel until you reach the lakes turnoff which is then followed by another 8kms of gravel to the lakes; past South Mavora and onto North Mavora Lake.

For the first 15kms or so we travel in an unseen grader's freshly scraped track. We not-so-quietly curse as clouds of dry dust billow out behind us. Sometimes you just can't win; another couple of days and the dust would have settled and the road would have been silky smooth. I guess dust is better than being rattled to death by the corrugations although we have them to contend with for the last half of the journey.

Never mind, our favourite camping spot is free which isn't really a surprise, only the hardy (or crazy) camp at the lakes at the tail end of winter when the weather swings between bitterly cold & freezing cold.   

North Mavora Lake & Mt Cerberus

That would be hardy people, crazy people or hardy crazy hunter people. There's a hunter's camp up the back of the plateau, tucked into and sheltered by the thick bush. There are a couple of pig dogs in a kennel beside a horse float and down in the horse paddock I can see two horses. 

As soon as they spot me, they gallop over to the fence for a chat & a pat and then follow me along the fence line hoping I have something tasty for them. I don't, there's just dry grass and more dry grass.   

I'm keen to cross the swingbridge and check out the bush for Robins/Toutouwai & Rifleman/Titiponamu...

...but all I manage to find is one lonely robin who watches me expectantly, hoping I'm going to scrape some leaf litter for him. Of course I oblige.

It really was bitterly cold. As night closes in, snow starts to fall and David is not impressed. He's turning into a fair weather fisherman. The snow doesn't amount to much and is gone by dawn. Thank God for our diesel heaters, we're kept toasty warm inside.

The next day I walk up to the plateau behind and disappear into the bush...

...there are a few more Robins up here but still no sign of any riflemen. In fact the bush is very quiet, perhaps it's just too cold for them and they've moved deeper into the bush seeking shelter.

I break apart a rotten log and several birds are very keen to see what I've unearthed. Although not so keen to share as they chase each other about trying to keep the spoils for themselves.

Several more 'crazy' people have arrived overnight, one parked up in the wide expanse of tussock on the lake shore below Mt Cerberus...

...and the other sheltering in the trees near the fire pits. 

David has been reluctant to get the inflatable boat out, it has been very cold & windy, and the forecast is for more wind and heavy snow. We'd also had some unsettling news from family on the way in that had us distracted and with no cellphone reception, we'd started to worry that we really should be in range. 

So when we woke the next morning, and with the weather no better, we made the decision to head on out.  

We'll leave Mavora Lakes for the summer this time. 

South Mavora Lake & the road out

We decided to head to the NZMCA Lowburn Park at Cromwell, somewhere where we could settle for a few days and re-plan our next few weeks. We needed to stay around the lower half of the South Island in case our Southland family needed us to head back to Winton to look after the house & cat if they were suddenly called away.

On the way to Cromwell we stopped for a night at one of our favourite (and 'secret') freedom camping sites near Garston.

Brightwater & Castle Hill, Garston

Although we missed the 'Closed due to Lambing' sign on the way in, seeing it on the passenger side of the road the next morning on our way out. Oops! We'd both been reading the trout fishery sign on the driver's side instead.  We also didn't see any sheep until the next morning, they must have been hiding under the willows at the far end of the paddock.

But we did see the neighbours walking their goats. The goats were having a great time too, snatching mouthfuls of grass, running to catch up, kicking up their feet and racing ahead of the others. 

It was once again bitterly cold overnight, our diesel heaters working overtime until we went to bed. We very rarely need to leave them on overnight due to the van's insulation and our winter bedding.

Sometime during the early hours of the morning I heard the familiar gentle splatter of snow on the roof. I silently hoped we'd be snowed in for a few days but on opening the door the next morning there was just a thin layer covering the ground. 

Never mind, it was still a wonderful sight and a winter wonderland 'Out There'. I love waking to snow, being 'johnny-on-the-spot' and able to step outside in my dressing gown & gumboots to take photos, all within 5 minutes of getting out of bed.

The Mataura River had turned a dirty brown, rain has obviously fallen in the back country.

Here's the stock bridge the afternoon before the snow fall (this bridge is my favourite piece of farm equipment in all of New Zealand) 

Thick cloud gave way to blue sky...

... and the snow started to disappear before my eyes.

And by the time we were ready to pull out the snow had gone and dark clouds had rolled back in.

Gunns Bush & Milford Sound- Fiordland National Park

Catch-up (Milford Road, Sept 2019)  

The Lake Gunn Nature Walk, a 45 minute loop track beside the DOC camp at Cascade Creek, should be on every Milford Road visitor's itinerary. It's a magnificent stand of beech forest bordered by Lake Gunn, the Eglinton River, Cascade Creek Camp & the Milford Road.

It is oozing in mystical charm, with layers and layers of emerald green mosses and lichen smothering the forest floor, dripping from the overhead branches and inching up the trunks of the beech trees...

The bush and surrounding mountains were used in the Misty Mountain scenes from Sir Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring. 

These photos were taken from the track on various days (hence the light difference in some)

Areas closer to the camp are more open, they have less windfall because campers are allowed to use fallen trees for firewood in the camp fire pits. 

I love the intricate patterns and beautiful colours of the lichen that cling to some of the smaller trucks & branches.

Gunn's Bush is also teeming in birdlife, but as is the case in any of our native forests, you have to be patient (and very quiet) if you want to not only hear the bird song but see the birds up close. Although that doesn't usually apply to the South Island Bush Robin who will introduce himself by silently gliding in when you're not looking. If you rough up the leaf litter or turn over a rotten log he'll be your new best friend.

Aside from the usual suspects; Robins, Riflemen, Tomtits, Brown Creepers, Grey Warblers and several non endemic birds, we briefly saw for the first time, several Kakariki/Yellow Crowned Parakeet. These noisy parakeets usually spend their time in the upper canopy of the forest so it was a thrill to see them down near the ground, if only for a few moments.

You'll have to excuse my bird photos, many of them were taken at the end of my lens reach or with exposure settings wound out as far as possible when shooting in very dark bush. They are quite 'noisy', that's the grain (digital noise) you can see through the photo. 

I had seen (and heard) a flock of Kaka (our large forest dwelling parrot) flying in and out of Gunns Bush while we were parked at Cascade Creek so I knew they were about but I hadn't spotted any while I was bush walking. On one my walks, while I was standing listening for other birds, great clumps of bark and moss suddenly stated raining down on me from above. I thought a branch might have broken lose in the canopy but no, when I looked up...

...I saw that it was a Kaka tearing apart a rotten tree, tossing everything it pulled free over the side.

It took no notice of me below and I had to duck out of the way as some big clumps headed in my direction.

I was disappointed that the Kaka was right up in the top of the canopy but grateful to be able to zoom in and then crop the photos later to see what it was up to.

I followed it from tree to tree for over an hour, I could hear his flock calling but he took no notice of them as they flew off up the mountain beside the lake. He just carried on tearing apart any rotten branch or tree he could get his beak on.

And it wasn't until I processed the photos that I could finally see what he was after- big fat huhu grubs! Check out the 2nd photo. (Huhu grubs are the larvae of a longhorn beetle that is endemic to New Zealand)

This kaka must have been quite happy with his own company, I found him by himself high in the trees most days. I just had to stand awhile and listen for the thuds, rustles, cracks and other tearing noises as his cast offs crashed through the branches and landed on the forest floor nearby.

One day as I was making my way back to camp after taking photos of the bush and checking for the Kaka, David gave me a hell of a fright when he popped out from behind a nearby tree as I passed by. He didn't mean to scare me but he didn't want to step out sooner because I was taking a photo.

He reasoned that I must have seen his head and I'd know he was there. I didn't & when I checked the photos we had a good laugh; there was a tiny wee head peeking out from behind a tree trunk (see red arrow). Yes, you'll need to super-size it to see anything, but he is there.

I love the sign on the DOC loo in the carpark although I can't decide if it means the person disposing of the rubbish will have to remove it by hand or the DOC cleaner will have to. I hope it means the person dropping the rubbish, this should be on the doors of all the DOC loos!

After a few days the weather started to close in so we made a quick dash through to Milford Sound; you can't drive the Milford Road without driving to the end, no matter that we've been to the end twice before. You never know, it may look different this time!

Hollyford River just past Marian Corner

First stop is at the Falls Creek Waterfall which flows into the Hollyford River. I know I've said it numerous times in the previous post but this area, from Marian Corner through to The Chasm, is now badly damaged by the recent rain storm that saw 1.2metres of rain fall over 5 days. You can see why the river above wiped out much of the road here.

Falls Creek Waterfall

The mountains tower over the road past Monkey Creek (a popular place to stop for photo opportunities and where Kea often hang out). Monkey Creek also took out much of the road along this section.

It's disappointing that there are many 'Avalanche Area, No Stopping' signs along the road and around the entrance to Homer Tunnel- a head's up, don't visit in early spring if you're wanting to photograph the stunning views and scenes along much of the Milford Road. There'll also be no stopping today to check for the elusive Rock Wren/Piwauwauout in the Rock Garden which is beside the tunnel entrance.

Our next stop is at The Chasm, I leave David shooing off a kea who is intent on checking out the ute and do the quick loop walk to where the Cleddau River disappears....

...through a very narrow....well, chasm. Hence it's name! And once again this walk is now closed due to damage from the storm. 

I wonder if the large logs that were jammed in some of the crevasses in the chasm have been dislodged. I can't imagine the amount of water that was forced through here during the storm. 

Milford Sound is very busy, we have to drive around a couple of times before we find a carpark. It's early afternoon and many visitors are out on cruises or just about to go. The outlook isn't actually the best as it's low tide and Mitre Peak has her head in the clouds. 

In the reeds on the far side of the the muddy estuary I spot what I think is the elusive Milford Sound White Heron/Kotuku, a lone bird that spends some of it's time here at the top of the Sound. I zoom in on it, only to discover that it's not a heron but a long white stick doing a very good impression.

We walk around to the boat terminal and there, much to my surprise, is the heron in the shallow water on the inside of the wharf. 

This is third time lucky for me. The heron is perched on a submerged log catching little fish that swim by.

We have our own lunch at one of the picnic tables along the wharf pier and watch as tour boats come & go.

On our return along the pier we find the heron now resting on the breakwater rocks, unfazed by all the activity around it and posing nicely for a few more photos as we pass by.

Back at the carpark the tide has now come in a little covering the mudflats and making the scene a lot more pleasant, although the tip of Mitre Peak is still hiding. 

We head off back to camp finding blue sky on the other side of the Homer Tunnel. That's it, our third visit to Fiordland National Park, done & dusted!