Sunday Jan 31, 2010 – Te Anau

We awoke to beautiful blue skies. We reserved a helicopter flight for noon. The flight we choose was the Dusky & Doubtful Sound trip that last 1½ hours.

Word just cannot describe the grandeur and magnificence of what we saw. From stunning tree filled valleys to bare rocky mountain peaks; small lakes to snowy peaks. Much of it is untouched by humans. It is too rugged to climb and the forest is too dense. There were hanging valleys, hidden valleys and waterfalls. Although, not that many falls as they are in a 10 day drought. Just a spectacular flight.

Dusky Sound is the largest of the fiords. We landed on a shoulder of Mt Pender to view this spectacular sound. The helicopter was turned off so we could experience the beauty and solitude of the area. There are 365 islands in the sound, most of them at the mouth. We sipped a glass of wine and walked around the area. It was very rugged and boggy. We were visited by 4 Kea parrots. They came quite close to us. The pilot kept an eye on them as they can do great damage to the helicopter in a short time. After leaving we soared above the peaks to get bird's eye view of Fiordland National Park. Peak after peak for miles and miles in all directions. We overfly 3 more fiords before descending Crooked Arm into Doubtful Sound. While flying up this fiord a detour is made into a unique hanging valley know as Campbell's Kingdom. You fly through a narrow opening which was exciting. On the other side it opens up to a beautiful lake. Our second landing was at Mt. Kidd. A remote alpine location with a lake with ice still on its shores. The peak had snow on the ground as well. Coming back we had a grand view of Lake Te Anau and surrounding valley. We would do another flight in a heartbeat. What a glorious way to spend the last day of January.

Deer hunting is encouraged here. You can shot as many as you wish at anytime for free. This is the only way to keep the numbers down. Our pilot Rod said they catch live deer and sell them to the deer farmers for a price. They do this by flying around and having a person drop from the copter unto the back of the deer. They also go out hunting with smaller copters, one person will stand on the strut, hanging on with one hand and shooting the deer from the air. An interesting side line for the copter business. They also get paid for the dead deer. Nothing is wasted from the deer. The meat is shipped overseas and the hides are tanned.

Charles is off golfing after this glorious flight, while I write this all down and go through pictures.