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!

Cascade Creek- Fiordland National Park

Catch-up (Sept 2019) 

It's purely by coincidence that my next few blogs are from our visit along the Milford Road back in September. Sadly in the past week a major rain storm has severely damaged the Milford Road, many tramping tracks and the Milford village with flooding, washouts, landslides and slips. An incredible 1.2 metres of rain, 240% of Fiordland's monthly rainfall at this time of the year has fallen in just five days. 

We left Winton, after staying with our Southland family for a few weeks, and headed west through Nightcaps and Ohai before coming out on SH99 at Clifden.

Clifden Suspension Bridge

We were heading on to Te Anau and then up the Milford Road for another visit to Fiordland National Park. We stopped at the freedom camping area beside the historic Clifden Suspension Bridge for lunch. Since we were last here the Southland District Council have improved the parking (and camping) area, opening it up, leveling, graveling and tidying up the plantings around the edge of the site.

This sign beside the entrance to the bridge (which is pedestrian only) made me smile- 

'Louie's Daffodil. I am 5 year's old. $2 Thankyou this money is for a motorbike.'

The daffodil bucket was empty and inside the yoghurt container, with a large slot in the top, I could see several gold coins. What an entrepreneurial young lad. And a trusting one too. I was worried that someone would come along and steal his money, there was only one house within view of the bridge and that was about 500 metres away up a farm track.

We stayed at the Te Anau NZMCA Park for a few days while we waited for the weather to settle. We've stayed here during the colder months several times in the past and   with very few neighbours. Only the hardy (or mad) brave Southland winters.

We strolled along the lake front and into town for lunch once the weather cleared...

...and then walked further along the lake front to check out the marina. The lake level was much lower than we'd ever seen it before (after this latest weather event it will no doubt be very full, possibly right up to the top of the marina walls).

One of the reasons I wanted to visit the marina again was to check on a Australasian Crested Grebe pair that had nested in the marina a couple of years ago. I thought they might have been nesting again but there was no sign of them this early in the season. 

We headed off up the Milford Road on a stunning blue sky day, and even though we have stopped at all the scenic viewpoints & attractions several times before,  we stop again 'just in case', just in case the view has changed, there are no people to get in the way, the weather is better, there's snow etc, etc. Some of my best shots are from 'just in case' times.

Although this time at the Eglinton Valley viewpoint I have to share the view with several busloads of tourists (which also means they'll be stopping at all the attractions further up the valley).

I walked out towards the middle, away from the 'crowd' and captured a couple who had also moved away from their fellow passengers, they give some perspective to the grand expanse of the valley. Eglinton Valley was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago, now the Milford Road runs alongside the Eglinton River up through the valley for it's entire length.

We pull out before the buses have gathered together their passengers. Our next stop near the top of the valley is at the famous Mirror Lakes. The buses soon catch us up and disgorge their passengers en-masse. I weave my way through the tourists as they slowly meander along the short board walk while David (who's seen it all before) drives the rig to the other end of the walk and lines up with the buses who have done the same.

Many of the tourists are taking selfies along the way or have no interest in the lakes and are chatting with their friends in small groups blocking a way through the throng. I can see that there are no reflections on the Mirror Lake today, a light breeze is ruffling the water along with a few NZ Scaups (a small diving duck). I maneuver my way to the front of the platform, take a couple of shots and then hurry along the boardwalk passing through just as many tourists coming in from the other end.  

We beat the buses back onto the road and have a clear run through to the DOC camp at Cascade Creek we're we'll be staying for a few days. 

The camp is empty and it's had a major overhaul since our last visit. I had heard that this was being done and was worried that herding campers into gravel parking areas and marking out the camping spaces would detract from the natural setting and wide open spaces of the old camp where you could park up wherever you liked. With over a hundred & twenty vehicles staying here during the height of the summer season I'd hoped it wasn't going to be little more than a large gravel carpark.

 I was pleasantly surprised to see that this wasn't the case at all and in fact it had been very well done. There were multiple large landscaped parking areas with picnic tables, dining shelters and toilet blocks strategically located throughout the camp.  This was pleasing to see as there was just 2 or 3 longdrop toilets in the old camp, nowhere near enough to service the number of people staying on a busy night. 

Although it was disappointing to find that the toilets, except for one at the entrance, were all locked up. 

Eglinton River & Cascade Creek DOC Camp

We drove to the far end of the camp and parked beside Cascade Creek looking south down the Eglinton Valley. This was the fabulous view from our front door-

We had great weather for the first couple of days, waking each morning to low cloud clinging to the surrounding mountains before it lifted and cleared for the day.

And then one night it got very cold, the next morning snow covered the mountains in the distance...

...with a nice dusting on the bush clad slopes surrounding Cascade Creek.

By the end of the day the temperature had taken another dive and we had both diesel heaters keeping the freezing cold out of the van as the wind howled and swirled outside. Just as daylight faded snow started to splatter against the sides of the rig.

On opening the door the next morning I was greeted by a snow covered doormat & steps ...

...and this stunning view, it wasn't the solid whiteout I was expecting (and hoping for) after the sound of snow falling on and off all night but it was still a good dusting.

It was easy to see which way the wind had been blowing though, the south side of the ute and 'out There' were coated in snow, it looked like someone had sprayed the sides with one of those whipped cream cans.

With my fluffy white dressing gown and gumboots on (looking very much like the abominable snowman), I headed off to take photos around the camp before the snow melted.

I walked to the far side of the camp crossing over the Eglington River, which flows from Lake Gunn and borders the west side of the campground, so I could take a photo looking back over the camp.

While I was taking photos I was surprised to find a pair of Tomtits/Miromiro flitting about in the long grasses very close by and I managed to take a few photos before they moved off into the bush. Female tomtits (left & right) are notoriously shy so I was pleased to be able to capture her up close while this time the male (centre) was less confiding. I have no idea how these tiny birds survive the harsh winters.

Puffed up against the cold, this Welcome Swallow watched me from a log in the river as I stomped about in the grasses chasing the tomtits.

Soon after taking the bird photos, I was thinking I should really get back home before I get caught out, far away from the rig, in my fluffy white dressing gown and gumboots. 

Back in the safety of doorway I took a few panoramic photos of our view before retreating inside to the cosy warmth. By mid afternoon the snow had melted and the camp returned to it's usual bush greens and rustic tussock colours; campers arriving later in the day oblivious to the stunning beauty of the morning. 

In the next blog you'll see photos from the Lake Marian swingbridge which has now been washed away, and photos of  a gently flowing Hollyford River which has now contributed to some major damage in the area.