11/03/2015 - Milford Sounds and the Key summit track.

 

 

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Getting up early to prepare ourselves for the trip to hike up the Key Summit track and to check out The small town of Milford Sounds was simple enough as Spencer and I did not need to mount our bicycles today because today we joined the two Québécois in their car to see the sights towards and around Milford Sounds.
Joelle and Stefanie were fantastic enough to have us tag along on their venture in the area and we all had an awesome day because not only the weather was blue skies and perfect but also the scenery was E-P-I-C!
I can't emphasize the extent of the incredibleness of the scenery we saw today other than to make up words.
The road to Milford sounds is a must-see for anyone visiting this part of New Zealand because wherever you go without doubt you have 360 degree views of the most unbelievable terrain you can witness on this earth and it only gets better the further you descend into Milford Sounds, This is no exaggeration as I have seen a lot of places in my lifetime.
The four of us got along really well and our day, as the pictures below show, was perfect.
We ended it with a delicious feast I cooked up as a huge thank you to the girls for having us join them for the day, with a 4 liter tub of ice cream as a bonus that was all consumed in one sitting, mostly by spencer and myself.
We were just feeding our inner fat kid.

 

​ 10/03/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 48 - Visa issues dealt with.

 

Lots of funky Mushrooms around the lake

Distance cycled: 69km from Mavora lakes to Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 19.7km/h
Moving Time: 3h31m
Elevation Ascended: 255m
Total Distance on Current trip: 3,493km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 4,914km
Money spent: $25

For whatever reason I was completely exhausted and ill rested, I struggled from the get go and although today's terrain had significantly more downhill than up I struggled; it also didn't help that the wind was against us.
Eventually spencer and I made it into the town of Te Anau where we booked into a hostel for the evening.
Soon arriving I wanted to sleep off the shitty state I was in but I got an email from the Canadian Visa office saying that I had my acceptance letter - this was great news as the Validity of my police check was going to expire tomorrow, this meant that I wouldn't have to go through the process of getting another.
I uploaded all the documents required for the Working holiday Visa I was applying for and all was going smoothly.. Too smoothly.
But when it came to paying the $100CAD fee my card was refused!!! Still exhausted and now stressed I tried every iteration possible with the details to make payment with no luck, I tried Spencer's card.. Without luck! Arrgg! Why wouldn't the Canadian government except my payment method.
I resorted to asking people in the hostel if they were Canadian to help me out using their card. Two girls from Quebec, Stefanie and Joelle were able to help me out using one of their cards. Finally it worked!
Instant relief of stress! Now all I have to todo is wait 6 weeks for my visa.
This is my last visa I'll be able to get for Canada and as I have already booked my tickets to return to NZ for tree planting here I'll use up the visa (24 months) next year.
I know this was off topic from my usual cycle touring blog but this is a huge burden levied from my shoulders.
Even better news is that Stefanie and Joelle were driving to Milford Sounds tomorrow, which is what Spencer and I were looking for as a small day trip to do a hike or two. I asked politely and they were positively happy to have us tag along.
You girls are awesome.
Time for some sleep right now!