In October 2017, Doug and I spent ten days in New Zealand’s South Island. We had an animal sitter in Emma, so took advantage of that to have a break away. I love New Zealand – particularly the South Island. I really needed to see snow capped mountains as I felt it would move me from the mental rut I was in. It was a craving – maybe my mind and body had decided it would be like a kickstart – or a rebooting of my system to delete all the ‘viruses’ from the accident.
New Zealand is only a three hour flight from Australia, yet such a different landscape! We hired a car and set off for the Milford Sound area. Along the winding road to Milford Sound, there are many sightseeing areas and walking tracks. We ventured along many of these.
One of the walks is off the Routeburn track. It’s a three hour return trip to Key Summit.
The grade is a steady uphill climb – not particularly hard if you are of average fitness – but after spending such a long time being sedentary, it was quite a challenge for me. I did notice where I had an advantage. Having spent so much time with Feldenkrais, I had become aware of how I breathe. I had always clenched my throat tight and my breathing was shallow.
After focusing on my breath I had learnt to relax my throat and breathe into my lungs. I noticed others who passed us really labouring with their breath – even though they were walking much faster – but slow and steady wins the race!!
The view from the top was outstanding! It made me cry!!! It was a perfect day and everything was just sparkling. We explored around the top for an hour or two – I took photos and soaked up the scenery. It really was medicine for the soul. Most people spent ten minutes or so – I found it hard to leave! Here are some photos.
After many short detours exploring, we finally arrived at Milford Sound. We were staying there for two nights. It’s well worth staying – as once the tourist crowd leaves you have the place to yourself! We were once again fortunate to have perfect weather – and I would have to say, Milford Sound has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
We stayed in riverside cabins. In the busy tourist hours we spent time watching the hillside on the other side of the river. We also watched the small planes coming in to land – dwarfed by the mountain. The clouds swirled – then parted for a while – only to close in again. I didn’t know I could be entertained for so long from our cabin view.
We took a cruise on the Sound out of peak time – and wandered around the tracks and the shore.
I had to pinch myself that it was all real! Was I just dreaming? And the clear, blue sky! New Zealand is known for its wet weather – but we had nothing but blue skies!
I could feel myself gaining energy – and gaining confidence – but it wasn’t until the next experience when I truly felt a change!
COMING UP – THE MAGIC FOREST
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