nary a stitch

Nary a stitch has been taken these past few weeks while Mr EF and I holidayed in New Zealand. WWIT did come with me but stayed in the suitcase and therefore is in exactly the same state as she was before we left, although somewhat better travelled.

 Centre broderie perse panel for WWIT

Lovely parcels greeted me on my return: background for Beyond the Cherry Trees, I spent a little time yesterday selecting fabrics and am very much looking forward to starting and finally participating in this group. If you haven't visited yet, do go over. Also waiting was fabric from Margo at Reproduction Fabrics.

 Background and border fabrics for BTCT - mostly French General

 from the "Hope" range

The rest of this post is about our Milford Trek, I hope you enjoy the pics and the very brief tour.

Settling back to work and home life after what can only be described as an "unforgettable" trip to The Land of The Long White Cloud has been a challenge for the empty field household this past week. After arriving home from Christchurch last Monday afternoon, both Mr EF and I were back at work Tuesday trying to do the post-holiday catch up.

Beautiful Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu our starting point - the view from our hotel 

It's the weekend now, and time to slow down again, back to Milford Track pace hopefully. I've just dropped Miss EF and her girlfriends to the airport to fly to Coolangatta for "Schoolies" so the coming week will be peaceful!

If ever you have an opportunity to visit New Zealand - grab the chance with both hands - it is truely the most beautiful country with astounding scenery, friendly people and warm hospitality.

 Clinton River along the Milford Track

The 5 day hike along the Milford Track was challenging but wonderful, walking about 10-13 miles (18-21 km) per day over 3 days with no hiking on the days either end.

Hidden Lake and waterfall

The glacial valleys we hiked through had almost vertical sides, their peaks often still capped with snow with an abundance of temporary and permanent waterfalls and beautiful crystal clear streams.

 Climbing up to Mackinnon  Pass

1154m - Mackinnon Pass

Day three saw us climbing 750m to the top of Mackinnon Pass to an elevation of 1154m to be rewarded with outstanding views of the valley we had climbed from and the one to which we were headed. The remainder of that day was spent descending 950m down an emergency track as the original track had been wiped out by an avalanche a few weeks prior.

Emergency Track

 

down the rabbit hole emergency track

Challenging, steep, scary and tiring, but "medicinal mood enhancing" chocolate works wonders on the trail! Day 4 greeted us with rain (not unusual in Milford which receives an average of 14m or 45' of rain per year) but the plus side was more waterfalls! (Keep in mind I'm from a VERY dry country!)

panorama stitched together doesn't really show the scale properly!

My photos, taken on the waterproof point-and-shoot,  do not do justice to this extraordinary landscape. Our guides and fellow hikers were such lovely people - on day 1 we met 28 fellow hikers and on day 5 we left with 28 new firm friends.

 Finished - soaked but exhilarated - and I still love my boots! 

Following Milford we travelled around the South Island for an additional 5 days. It feels like we've been away far longer than only 10 days. A truely unforgetable trip.

I wish all my North American friends a happy Thanksgiving. I too have much to be thankful for. Happy stitching. K