30 January 2012 - Alice Falls Anchorage, George Sound, Fiordland, South Island, New Zealand

What a busy day full of adventure & activity! After breakfast, BB & I went out in the dinghy with our rain gear on (just to make sure we keep our clothes dry) & looked for the place where our guidebook says we could find mussels. We had good success & got 60 mussels in only a few minutes, picking them off the rocks from the dinghy. The scenery was simply stunning with the still water reflecting the mountains, & Visions of Johanna gleaming white against the dark background. The moss everywhere, including in the water, makes everything look so verdant & alive - it's magical. The view down the sound was riveting.

After musseling, we went to look for the DOC (Dept. of Conservation) hut on shore. It's basic, but very livable for a few nights, with simple slat beds with vinyl cushions, a kitchen area, candles, & a wood fireplace. There was a shed nearby full of firewood, & a porta-potty down the track.

The bush was amazing. I wanted to hike the trail a bit, but we needed to get some blue cod & get back to the boat to collect the whole crew before going tramping.

Getting blue cod was the most fun I've ever had fishing. BB prepared the line, dropped it in 50' of water, & immediately pulled it back up again with a good-sized fish on it. Then he did it again, this time with two fish - a blue cod & a Maori Chieftain. The bait only had to get near the bottom & there were fish on the line. We never had to re-bait the hooks. BB let me try, & I got fish on both hooks! What fun! So easy! We were giddy with laughter. We had 5 good-sized fish in less than 5 minutes.

Once everyone got organized for the tramp, we dinked over near the DOC hut & started on the track to Lake Katherine. It was supposed to be a 1-2 hr hike, but we found it more challenging than expected, so it took us a bit longer... like most of the day. Here's what it says in our "Discover Fiordland" guide: "Although the route is reasonably well marked, you can expect to encounter tree falls, knee-deep mud, river crossings, tree roots & rough terrain. It is only recommended for experienced, well-equipped groups with high levels of fitness.” We’re all pretty fit, but thank heaven we weren't doing it with full packs, as most people do!

The look of the bush throughout the tramp was simply awesome - I've not seen anything like it since the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Words that come to mind are: enchanted forest, storybook, magical… It most definitely looks like the places described in Lord of the Rings, which I’ve just finished re-reading. It's easy to see why they filmed it here in NZ. Ferns everywhere, & soft fuzzy spongy moss on all the trees & rocks. It made for very nice cushy handholds without even getting your hands dirty. In fact, I often had to touch all the different types just to see how they felt; there were many colors & degrees of softness. The environment got much wetter as we climbed, even though everything was already saturated with water. Each of us eventually stepped up to our ankles in a hidden bog.

There was a lot of climbing rather than walking, & the track wasn't very well maintained, but we only got off-track a few times, & always managed to find the "orange blaze" trail markers. When we got to take 7 or 8 steps in a row without having to climb, it felt comparatively easy.

Not long after we got lost for the first time, we came to the river & the wire way bridge; decidedly my favorite part of the hike. Jo, on the other hand, stood shaking her head, not even saying anything. Gram went first, then BB. Jo said she was going back & Bill offered to go with her. I said, "just step up on the wire over the land & see how it feels, Jo, then decide if it's too scary." She stepped up, gripping the hand wires hard, & began to move forward slowly. I reminded her to breathe. Bill was grinning from ear to ear, happy that she was able to overcome her fear. After it was over, she was very pleased she’d done it.

I had a great time shaking the bridge, swinging it, & hanging over the edge for the feeling of vertigo, but everyone told me to hurry up. I could've played on that bridge all day!

We stopped at the river to eat our sandwiches & the last of the delicious cherries. Only Gram & BB seemed bothered by the sand flies.

I'm often puzzled at the lack of life in this verdant bush. I expected many more birds --we only saw a few fantails. And why aren’t there more slugs, worms, & snail-like things? Where are all the beetles, spiders & ants? What about lizards? Frogs? I saw very few of them, & I was looking hard. I find it strange there is so little visible life in that environment. We did see a bee – but only when it stung BB's finger on the return trip. I pulled out my mini medic kit & we extracted the stinger. Bill, a surgeon, promptly advised him to remove his wedding ring - glad he thought of that.

When we reached the lake, it was clear that our weather was deteriorating (we hadn't seen much of the sky during our hike), so we didn't linger. BB & I tried to walk to the waterfall that empties the lake into the river, but it was inaccessible. There was a whole new generation of plant life around the perimeter of the lake, but no birds at all. It was gorgeous & yet eerily devoid of life.

Due to the impending weather, we walked fairly quickly back to the dinghy, which was stranded out in deeper water than where we'd moored it.

We had a late dinner of blue cod, ratatouille, & mussels after the guys checked the lines (since it's supposed to blow 40 knots tomorrow). We were all zombies by 10pm, especially BB who had taken Benadryl for the bites & bee sting.

I love days like this, full of adventure, excitement, & beauty.

says ADR